Overview
This 9-day Uganda culture and gorilla safari will provide you with two unique Ugandan experiences: mountain gorilla trekking and community interaction. Your first visit will be to see the endangered mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Following this trip, you will visit a neighborhood to see how average Ugandans live and to see traces of traditional rituals.
Safari Highlights
- Game drive and Boat ride
- Cultural and community trail
- Gorilla trekking
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival for your Uganda culture and gorilla safari
When you arrive at the airport, you are greeted by our african buffalo safaris guide and taken to your hotel for the night before embarking on your tour the next day.
Day 2: Journey to Bwindi Impenetrable national park
We begin our journey to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which is home to the ‘gentle giants of Bwindi.’ This rewarding excursion takes us into the Kigezi highlands, which have beautiful landscapes of terraced hills. You will stop in Mbarara for lunch before continuing to your lodge near to the impenetrable jungle for some much-needed relaxation before the next day’s excursion.
You may also fly from Entebbe to Kihihi Airstrip or Kisoro Airfield, where your naturalist guide will meet you and transport you to the resort.
Day 3: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Today you will experience the entirety of the impenetrable forest, which is teeming with life and home to several species of birds, butterflies, and primates. Following an early breakfast, your driver guide will transport you to the briefing location, where you will be briefed on your gorilla trekking adventure.
Following the briefing, you will be assigned to a group with a ranger who will guide you into the forest. You will come face to face with the massive and endangered mountain gorillas with the assistance of your guide and park ranger. The hiking experience might last anything from a few minutes to many hours, depending on the gorilla group assigned to you and where they nested the night before.
Day 4: Bwindi Cultural Trail & Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Interacting with the people (communities) who coexist with nature and contribute significantly to its protection is the finest way to understand, respect, and enjoy it. After breakfast, we’ll go along one of the gorilla-coexisting villages’ traditional routes. Prepare to acquire a new skill and join in these people’s daily lives.
We will have lunch in the community before departing for Lake Bunyonyi in the afternoon. Lake Bunyonyi is a gorgeous lake with many legends to tell about it.
Day 5: Lake Bunyonyi Island tour
Lake Bunyonyi is known as the “Land of Many Little Birds” in the native Rukiga language. Today we will spend some time on the lake exploring and learning about numerous islands with a rich history, such as how some were used as leper dumping grounds and another known as ‘punishment island,’ where young pregnant ladies were put to die for conceiving outside of wedlock.
Tour some of Lake Bunyonyi’s 29 islands; participate in a traditional activity on an island where you will have lunch with the locals.
Day 6: Transfer for the Ankore cultural tour
Following your trip at Lake Bunyonyi, you will go for Ankore to experience their traditional way of life. On this Uganda cultural adventure, relax and enjoy the rolling hills of the countryside.
Day 7: Traditional Homestead Experiences
You will spend the night in this neighborhood with a family. You will get up extremely early in the morning, before daylight, and help the herdsman milk the long-horned Ankole cows before they are set off for the day. We come home for breakfast after this milking experience and learning about the custom of milking cows.
We’ll take a short stroll to the village, where we’ll see more residences and varied viewpoints. Experience their way of life, cuisine, and other local practices. The path winds through rolling hills that provide views of the hamlet.
If you are interested, we will stop by a nearby school and you will have the opportunity to engage with the youngsters. Alternatively, you can accompany the herdsmen to the field to pasture the cows.
Day 8: Whispers of the wild in Lake Mburo National Park
After breakfast with our host family, we drive for Lake Mburo National Park, stopping at an Igongo cultural Museum to learn about the Ankore Kingdom’s history. Lake Mburo is Uganda’s smallest Savannah park.
We arrive at our resort and go on an afternoon boat ride on Lake Mburo, where we may view hippos, crocodiles, zebras, and buffaloes. The park boasts incredible bird life, which you will see while on the boat. After the boat trip, you may go on a nature walk in the park with an armed ranger guide to get up up and personal with the creatures.
Day 9: Transfer to Entebbe for departure
After a brief morning wildlife drive, we exit Lake Mburo. Enjoy the amazing scenery one more time before we go for Kampala. We’ll make a shopping and lunch stop at Equator. Depending on your departure time, arrive at Entebbe Airport that evening for your return journey or stay at your hotel.
