Our 3 Days Gorilla Trek Uganda Tour via Kigali Rwanda is perfect trip to book if you are short on time but want to encounter the rare and endangered Mountain Gorillas in their natural habitat.
This tour is just about the cheapest and quickest way to visit the mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda.
The drive time from Kigali to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is only between 4-5 hours as opposed to the 8-9 hour drive from Entebbe or Kampala.
And by tracking gorillas in Bwindi, you will be saving US$ 900 off each person as opposed to gorilla trekking in Rwanda
Your adventure starts in Kigali, Rwanda, where we pick you up and drive you across the border to Uganda and on to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
We take care of all ground transfers and offer comfortable accommodation to make this a hassle-free and unforgettable gorilla trekking safari experience for you.
This short 3 Days Gorilla Trekking Uganda Tour via Kigali Rwanda is also easy to combine with a safari tour in any of our other destinations in East Africa.
Highlights
Day 1: Transfer from Kigali (Rwanda) to Bwindi in Uganda
Day 2: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park
Day 3: Transfer back to Kigali (Rwanda).
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Transfer From Kigali To Bwindi
Experience the emerald green hills of Rwanda “the Land of a Thousand Hills” and Uganda – “the Pearl of Africa” on a spectacular drive from Kigali city to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
The winding roads meander through verdant rainforests, skirting hilltops (keep your eyes open for the volcanoes!) and dipping into quite rural villages in the valley before arriving to your lodge at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Our company representative/tour guide will carry out this transfer and can pick you up at Kigali International Airport or at any address in Kigali city.
Gorilla Trekking is the main highlight of a visit to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, but you are also in the perfect place for community village walks, Batwa Pygmies cultural tours, bird watching, and nature walks excursions.
Also the sunset scenes here are unforgettable so make sure to find your way to the lodge’s veranda in time for sundowners.
Please note: Your international flight must arrive no later than 1 pm to make the drive to your accommodation at Bwindi on the same day. For later arrivals we can arrange an overnight stay in Kigali city at an additional cost.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Mutanda Lake Resort
Midrange: Gorilla Mist Camp/Ichumbi Lodge/Agandi Eco Lodge
Budget: Trekkers Tarven
Meal Plan: Lunch & Dinner
Drive Time: 4 – 5 hours
Day 2: Gorilla Tracking
Today the unique opportunity to see Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park waits; definitely a life changing experience!
Half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas lives under the mist-covered canopies of Uganda’s most biologically diverse and oldest rainforest.
And encounters with Gorillas as they go about their daily lives are carefully managed. Expert trackers and ranger guides leads small groups of visitors up misty cloud forests to spend a precious hour just a few feet away from the gentle giants.
There are 19 gorilla families living in Bwindi Forest which are fully habituated. The families consist of at least one silverback along with several females and youngsters. Your day will start with breakfast followed by the drive to the park headquarters in at 7am as it is required.
On arrival you’ll be briefed on gorilla trekking rules and at 8 am, you’ll embark on the actual trek. Your trekking experience will be an exciting, yet challenging, hike along forested (often muddy and slippery) slopes, tangled vines, thick vegetation and bamboo forests before you reach the territory of the gorillas.
En-route, your ranger guide will point out telltale signs of previous gorilla activity, like dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots. Depending on the location of the gorillas on any given day the walk can take anything from 2 to 7 hours.
Once the family of gorillas have been located, settle in to your surroundings and enjoy the hour you have to quietly observe these fascinating Great Apes whose habits and mannerisms remind us so much of our own.
After this life-changing gorilla trekking experience you will enjoy a packed lunch and return to the starting point where you will receive your gorilla trekking certificate. Continue to your lodge and spend the rest of the day at leisure.
Optional Evening Activities:
You can visit Bwindi Community Hospital be humbled by the work done by this Community Hospital, which services at least 60 000 people. Uganda is rightly famous for its tea and a visit to the tea-processing plant.
Bwindi has long been home to the Batwa people and although they no longer live as they once did in the forest, they have kept many of their indispensable hunter-gatherer skills that they are happy to share with visitors.
Talking to the Batwa will give you a greater understanding of the forest ecosystem and how intermeshed human and animal life is.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Mutanda Lake Resort
Midrange: Gorilla Mist Camp/Ichumbi Lodge/Agandi Eco Lodge
Budget: Trekkers Tarven
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 3: Transfer Back To Kigali.
Enjoy your last sunrise in this beautiful corner of Uganda and have a delicious breakfast at the lodge. Our company representative or tour drive guide will drive you back across the border to Rwanda and drop you off at Kigali International Airport 3 hours before your departure time.
Please ensure your departure flight is after 4 pm at the very earliest. For flights departing before 4 pm you will need an extra night in Kigali, which we can help arrange for you at an additional cost.
Accommodation: Not included
Meal Plan: Breakfast
Drive Time: 4 – 5 hours
End of the Tour
Included
- Transfer from Kigali to Bwindi
- Transfer from, Bwindi to Kigali
- Full board accommodation on a safari
- Park entrance fees for Bwindi
- Uganda Gorilla permit at $ 700
Excluded
- International flight
- East African visa/entry visas to Uganda & Rwanda;
- A porter for during the gorilla trekking
- Tips and gratuities
- All expenses of personal nature
- Travel insurance