5-Day Queen Elizabeth NP and Bwindi National Park Safari

You'll arrive at Entebbe International Airport. On arrival, your driver-guide will pick you up and transfer you to your overnight accommodation.

For early arrival, you can undertake optional short city excursions and visit a few interesting attractions, like the Uganda National Mosque, local markets, Uganda Wildlife Education Center, and the national museum if the time allows.

You'll have a hotel pick up and set off to Queen Elizabeth National Park. You'll drive past the equator monument in the Mpigi district, where you will take some pictures and interact with craft shop owners.

You'll continue through Mbarara town and finally Queen Elizabeth National Park. You'll arrive early afternoon and take some rest and lunch before proceeding out for an afternoon boat trip on Kazinga Channel. This is the world’s capital of hippos and crocodiles, as well as other animals which come to quench their thirst in the afternoons, like buffalo, monitor lizards, elephants, antelopes, and many bird species.

After lunch, you will go for a 2-hour boat trip on the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake George and Edward. You will be fascinated by the concentration of giant hippos, elephants, and crocodiles, among others. You will also spot a vast population of birds at the channel shores. You'll return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay at your accommodation.

You'll be up early and have your breakfast. You'll proceed for an adventurous chimpanzee trekking experience in Kyambura Gorge or Kalinzu forest. The first task is to go down 200 meters to the river in the valley. Chimps are very vocal, and their location can be identified by following their hoots and distant cries. In case they are quiet, their footprints (in mud) and poop can help you to locate them.

Once you locate them, you will be able to watch them play, breastfeed, mate, rest, and even fight. The chimps in Kyambura Gorge have a remarkable habit of getting down from the trees each time they see visitors. This allows for great photos from a close distance. Apart from the chimpanzees, hiking down the gorge exposes visitors to unique and amazing biodiversity.

Visitors will have an opportunity to spot rare vegetation and tall tropical trees. This activity takes between 2 to 3 hours.

After this experience, you will transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest through the southern exit.

Gorilla trekking starts very early at 8:00 am with a simple briefing at the park headquarters from the local ranger guide. At the ranger station, you are divided into groups of nine trekkers, the maximum number of trekkers allowed to visit a gorilla family per day.

Gorilla trekking takes about 1 to 6 hours of trekking into the impenetrable forest, depending on the movements of the apes or the speed of the trekkers. You will spend one magical hour in the presence of these apes, watching them carry on with their daily lives as you learn about them.

In the evening, after some relaxation, you'll visit the Batwa community. This is a community for the forest pygmies who were the first inhabitants of the impenetrable forest before they were resettled outside the park. You will enjoy traditional performances as you get close and personal encounters with the local people. You'll return to the lodge in the evening to prepare for departure the following day.

You'll have breakfast, check out of the lodge, and start driving to Kampala. That will be the end of the three-day trip in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. The journey gives you more spectacular views of the Kigezi Highlands and lush vegetation along the way.