5-Day Gorilla and Lion Safari, Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth

Drive from Entebbe to Bwindi Forest

Your driver picks you up at 7:00 AM. We leave early to avoid the heavy city traffic. The road takes you through the green countryside of Central Uganda. We stop at the Equator line in Kayabwe — you can take photos and see how water swirls in different directions on each side of the world. After this, we continue through Mbarara, where you will see many long-horned cattle in the fields.

We stop for lunch at the Igongo Cultural Centre. In the afternoon, the road climbs into the high hills of the southwest. You will see tea plantations and deep valleys. You reach your lodge in Bwindi by late afternoon.

Lodges: Mahogany Springs (Luxury), Bakiga Lodge (Mid-Range), or Broadbill Forest Camp (Budget)

Tracking Gorillas in Bwindi

Eat a large breakfast at 6:00 AM. Your driver takes you to the park office for a 7:30 AM talk. Rangers will tell you the rules of the forest. You will join a group of eight people. The hike can be hard — the ground is steep and can be slippery, and you will walk through thick vines and trees.

When the trackers find the gorillas, you spend exactly one hour with them. You can watch them eat and play from a few meters away. Do not use a flash on your camera. After the hike, you return to the lodge. If you feel strong, you can walk to a local village in the evening and meet the Batwa people to see how they once lived in the forest.

To Queen Elizabeth Park via Ishasha

We leave Bwindi after breakfast. We enter the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park called Ishasha. This area is quiet and has few visitors. It is famous for tree-climbing lions — these lions like to sleep in the large fig trees during the day.

We spend the afternoon driving through the park to find them. You may also see elephants and large herds of antelope. In the late afternoon, we drive further north to the main area of the park and check into your next lodge.

Lodges: Mweya Safari Lodge (Luxury), Elephant Hub (Mid-Range), or The Bush Lodge (Budget)

Animals of Kasenyi and the Kazinga Channel

We start the day at 6:30 AM — this is when the lions and leopards are most active. We drive to the Kasenyi Plains. This area has many small hills and salt lakes and is the best place to see large animals hunting.

After a break for lunch, you take a boat on the Kazinga Channel. The boat trip starts at 2:00 PM. You will see hundreds of hippos in the water. Elephants often come down to the banks to drink and bathe, and you will also see many birds and large crocodiles on the shore.

Return to Entebbe

We eat breakfast and start the drive back to the city. We pass through the crater lakes region and stop in a local town for a hot lunch. You will arrive in Entebbe or Kampala by 5:00 PM. Your driver will take you to the airport for your flight home or to your hotel.