5-Days Gorillas and Lion Tracking safari with Tree climbing lions you will explore Uganda’s most visited national parks. This is Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, home to half of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas. While visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park “the medley of wonders”, you will have an experiential lion tracking game drive together with a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, as well as the Tree climbing lions of Ishasha.
Thereafter, you will proceed to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for your thrilling Gorilla trekking experience. You will get a golden opportunity to spend an hour with the endangered mountain Gorillas in the wild. You will learn about the Gorillas behaviours as well as how Gorilla react when they see humans who resemble them.
Lastly, you will proceed to Lake Bunyonyi, Uganda’s deepest lake, for relaxation before heading back to Kampala.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1. Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and evening game drive.
On this day, you will be picked up from the airport/ hotel and warmly welcomed by one of our professional driver guides. Thereafter, you will transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park passing through major centres and you will have lunch in fort portal town. You will proceed to the park and check into your accommodation for relaxation. You may opt for an evening game drive to see animals like elephants, antelopes and buffaloes among many others.
Later head to the lodge to relax, have dinner and overnight stay.
Destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Accommodation:
- Mweya Safari Lodge
- Buffalo Safari Lodge
- Irungu Forest Safari Lodge
Meal Arrangement: Lunch and Dinner.
Day 2. Experiential lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise
On this day, after your breakfast, you will head out to the Northern section of the park “Kasenyi planes”. While there, you will interface with the predators under the guidance of a ranger guide and researchers who drive around the park with radiation trackers. These trackers help them to find lions that have radio collars placed around their necks. The lion tracking experience takes about 3 hours and later on, you will return to the lodge for relaxation and lunch.
Later in the day when the sun is high in the sky and the animals make their way to the river for a drink, we will head to Kazinga Channel for an exciting boat cruise. You will spot more hippos today than you can possibly imagine. Herds of elephants, hundreds of hippos and buffaloes will also wander down to the shoreline to bathe in the cooling waters. A boat cruise is a fantastic way to get close to wildlife and for many visitors and the highlight of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Thereafter, you will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Destination: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Accommodation:
- Mweya Safari Lodge
- Buffalo Safari Lodge
- Irungu Forest Safari Lodge
Meal Arrangement: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Day 3. Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for gorilla trekking via Ishasha for tree climbing lions
On this day, you will be transferred to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via the Ishasha sector, an area in Queen Elizabeth National Park that is commonly known for the tree climbing lions. After the game drive in Ishasha, have lunch and later proceed with your journey to Bwindi reaching in the evening.
Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Accommodation:
- Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge.
- Buhoma Gorilla Camp
- Gorilla closeup lodge.
Meal Arrangement: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4. Gorilla trekking and transfer to Lake Bunyonyi for relaxation.
On this adventurous day, you wake up on an early morning breakfast and report to Bwindi Park headquarters for a short briefing with the leader tracker/ ranger guide before you start on your day activity. From here you will head into the montane forest for an encounter with the mountain gorillas.
Always watch out for their voices and listen to them grumble and the young as they swing from tree to tree, and marvel at the sheer size of the dominant male; the silverback.
It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rain forest knowing you are with a few of the last remaining mountain gorillas. The beauty of this rainforest is spectacular and it offers a dramatic steeply forested landscape which is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists.
You will look for these endangered Gorillas, and finding them will depending on the last nesting location of the previous night. The time taken to track the gorillas can be range from 4 to 7 hours or beyond. Once you locate a gorilla group, you will be allowed only one hour in their presence. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting and one in a life experience to be long savoured.
After gorilla trekking, you will have your packed lunch and then transfer to Lake Bunyonyi for relaxation.
While at Lake Bunyonyi, you may go for swimming in the lake if you like. Lake Bunyonyi is bilharzia, hippo and crocodile free making it very safe for water activities.
Destination: Lake Bunyonyi
Accommodation:
- Acadia lodge Lake Bunyonyi
- Lake Bunyonyi Rock Resort
- Hawk’s Eye Lodge Bunyonyi
Meal Arrangement: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5. Transfer back to Kampala with a stop-over at the Equator line.
On this day, you will wake up to a delicious breakfast and check out of the lodge. You will then head back to Kampala with a stop-over at the Equator line that separates the earth into two different parts i.e, the North and Southern hemisphere. You will have your lunch there, take some pictures and buy some souvenirs, then finally drive straight to Kampala/ Entebbe International Airport for your flight back home.
Meal Arrangement: Breakfast and Lunch
End of your 5-Days Gorillas and Lion Tracking safari