GORILLA ITINERARY

October 29 Leave USA

October 30 Arrive Entebbe, Uganda. Transfer to Lake Victoria Hotel, a 4-star colonial hotel with beautiful gardens and a
swimming pool. Dinner and overnight.

October 31 After breakfast, we’ll drive 7 hours, first to the Budongo Forest for our first walk into the realm of the forest chimps. Then on to Murchison Falls National Park, descending the rift valley escarpment and driving along the valley floor to the southern banks of the Victoria Nile River.  Nile Safari Lodge is located on the banks of the Victoria Nile with each tented room overlooking the river. Each room has en suite shower and toilet at the rear, in front a deck to relax. The bar and restaurant also overlook the river with beautiful views of the sun setting over the river.

November 1 Drive to Paraa and take launch trip on the Victoria Nile to the base of Murchison Falls, viewing game and birds en route. Nile Crocodile are in abundance as are hippo and aquatic birds. A good chance of seeing Shoebills, 5' tall and
one of the rarest birds in the world. The launch trip is about three hours. Then drive to the top of the falls for lunch and walk
a ways to obtain excellent views of the falls where the Nile is forced through a 20-foot wide gap in the rocks and drops 145
feet over the escarpment. This is said to be the largest natural force of water in the world. Overnight at Nile Safari Lodge.

November 2 Drive and take a ferry across the Nile for a game drive into the northern sector of the park, where most of the game is found. This is where part of the movie ‘The African Queen’ was filmed. Game is returning quite rapidly and game drives can be very exciting. Animals often seen include elephant, oribi, giraffe, waterbuck, hartebeest, topi, buffalo, sitatunga, bushbuck, warthog, bush pig, lion, leopard, mongoose, genet, hyena, jackal and bat eared fox. Overnight at Nile Safari Lodge.

November 3 Drive 8 hours to the Kibale Forest. After leaving the Rift Valley pass through beautiful agricultural countryside where every type of fruit and vegetable imaginable is grown. Upon reaching Kyanjojo, in the lower foothills of the Rwenzori Mts. (Mountains of the Moon), we drive through beautiful tea plantations and into Kibale tropical rain forest. Overnight at Primate Lodge.

November 4 Today we take forest and swamp walks to see the rain forest and view primates, especially the chimpanzees. Walking is not difficult, as paths have been made in the forest and all walks are with excellent local guides. Overnight at Primate Lodge.

November 5 In the morning we’ll take an early walk in the forest looking for chimps. After lunch we’ll drive south for 3 hours, passing the eastern length of the Rwenzori Mountains, then gently descend into the Great Rift Valley, and Queen Elizabeth National Park. MweyaLodge is situated on a peninsula overlooking Lake Edward and Kasinga Channel, offering beautiful views of the park with the Rwenzori Mountains in the background.

November 6 A full day in Queen Elizabeth National Park, including a launch trip on the Kasinga Channel to view some of the largest concentrations of hippos in the world (reported to be about 30,000). We’ll spend the rest of the day walking some of the many trails that penetrate the park. Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of best birding parks in Africa, with 560+ recorded species and a record of 296 bird species seen in one 24 hour period. Overnight at Mweya Lodge.

November 7 Drive to the Ishasha region and search for tree-climbing lion and other game. After lunch we’ll drive about 6 hours to Bwindi National Park. Overnight at Mahogany Springs Lodge.

November 8 Gorilla tracking day. We’ll hike into the Impenetrable Forest, a World Heritage Site, from where the gorillas were seen the night before. It could take from 1 to 6 hours to locate the gorillas, and altitudes in excess of 7,500 feet could be reached. The terrain is rough and at times muddy, but the forest and the surrounding scenery are lovely. We’ll spend up to an hour with the gorillas. The up-close experience with the gorillas is often described as the most profound natural history experience in the world. Overnight at Mahogany Springs Lodge.

November 9 After breakfast we’ll leave Bwindi and drive through a region of spectacular scenery, mostly on dirt roads. We’ll head west toward Kisoro then through the Kanaba Gap, and finally cross the border into Rwanda. The views of the Virunga Mountains along the Uganda-Rwanda-Congo are exceptional. The Mountain Gorilla View Lodge rests in the highlands and overlooks the mountains and the Ruhengeri Valley below.

November 10 After breakfast, we’ll drive a short ways into Volcanoes National Park and to the starting point for the trek to the gorillas. The Virunga Volcanoes are among the best places to see these large primates. Once found, we’ll stay and observe them closely for up to an hour. Overnight at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge.

November 11 After a leisurely breakfast, we’ll drive about 3 hours through the “Land of a Thousand Hills” to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, in time for afternoon flights heading home.

November 12 Arrive home.

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