5-Day Gorilla and Chimpanzee Habituation Experience

Pick-up from your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe is at 6:30 am. You will be picked up by our driver guide after your breakfast. Drive westwards through the districts of Mityana, Mubende, and Kyenjojo and arrive at your lodge in time for your lunch. Thereafter, proceed for an evening nature walk in the nearby Bigodi Swamp to spot wildlife, including monkeys, birds, butterflies, and snakes, and then return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

The chimpanzee habituation experience gives you an opportunity to spend all day long with the chimps in their natural setting. This is not for the faint of heart—it means an early breakfast, a packed lunch, and you are off before dawn breaks into the forest. You meet your guide, and you are off to where the chimpanzees built nests the night before. Dawn is just breaking, and the chimpanzee community you are going to be with the rest of the day is rising from their sleep.

Your day will be full, your camera will fill up with quality pictures of the chimpanzees, and you will get to learn to identify them as individuals by their markings, sometimes scars, and other unique features that make them stand apart from the rest. The day ends as the chimpanzees climb into their newly built nests for the evening and you head back to your lodging for the evening.

Have an early breakfast and check out at around 8 am and travel to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park—home of the mountain gorillas. Travel southwards through Kasese whilst enjoying stunning views of the Rwenzori Mountains—the fabled "Mountains of the Moon." You will travel through Bushenyi, driving through the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park called Ishasha. The Ishasha area is popular for the tree-climbing lions along with big game such as topis, buffaloes, and elephants, all of which you have a chance of spotting. Continue to Rukungiri and finally to Kibale. Check in to your accommodation, situated just outside the thick forest of Bwindi. Lunch is en route.

The gorilla habituation experience gives you an opportunity to spend all day long with the gorillas in their natural habitat.

This is not for the faint of heart—it means an early breakfast, a packed lunch, and you are off before dawn breaks into the forest. You meet your guide, and you are off to a full-day interaction. Dawn is just breaking, and the gorilla community you are going to be with the rest of the day is rising from their sleep. Your day will be full, your camera will fill up with quality pictures of the gorillas, and you will get to learn to identify them as individuals by their markings, sometimes scars, and other unique features that make them stand apart from the rest. The day ends in the evening, and you head back to your lodging for the night.

After an early breakfast, check out and embark on the return journey to Kampala. You drive through Mbarara, where you shall make a stopover at the Igongo Cultural Center for lunch. Thereafter proceed through Kiruhuru, driving along the Lake Mburo National Park. You might see zebras and impalas grazing along the roadside. You will make another stopover at Uganda Equator Point in Mpigi for some picture moments and a chance to purchase some crafts at the craft shop. Thereafter proceed to Kampala and arrive late afternoon at about 6.00 pm. Drop off at your hotel/airport.