The Majestic Mountain Gorillas

Meet your Travulous guide at your Entebbe hotel. After completing our arrival in country procedures, we depart for Murchison Falls National Park.

Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s largest National Park. Bisected by the Victoria Nile River, Murchison Falls National Park is where Ernest Hemingway's aircraft crashed in 1954 whilst on a sightseeing trip. The park is also the location where the 1951 Oscar nominated movie 'The African Queen', starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, was filmed. The park is home to an abundance of wildlife and the famous Murchison Falls, known locally as Kabalega or Kabarega Falls.

Upon arrival at Murchison Falls National Park, transfer to your accommodation. Spend the rest of your day at leisure enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 4:30 hours.

Meals: Dinner included, breakfast and lunch at own arrangement.

Overnight: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, you can enjoy your accommodation’s facilities, or explore Murchison Falls National Park. Activities include game drives, boat cruises, bird watching, and hiking to the top of the falls.

Murchison Falls National Park is home to a range of wildlife including lion, leopard, hyena, elephant, hippo, buffalo, giraffe, hartebeest, chimpanzee and over 460 bird species. An alternative activity, is a scenic boat trip to the base of Murchison Falls, where the mighty Nile River thunders its way through a 6 meter gap forming a 45 meter high waterfall, before flowing into Lake Albert. The boat ride typically last for 3 - 4 hours and stops very close to the 'devil's cauldron', an ideal spot to take pictures of the majestic falls.

All meals are served at your accommodation. Spend the evening relaxing, enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 0:00 hours (unless you choose a vehicle based activity in Murchison Falls National Park).

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, it is time to pack your vehicle and depart for Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve.

Among one of the first protected areas to be gazetted in Uganda, Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve was established as a game reserve in 1926. Situated between Lake Albert and the Rwenzori mountains, and boasting spectacular views of the Rift Valley escarpment, this magnificent wildlife reserve offers diverse landscapes comprised of woodland and savannah grasslands.

Upon arrival in Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve, transfer to your accommodation. Spend the rest of your day at leisure enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 5:30 hours.

Meals: Breakfast and dinner included, lunch at own arrangement.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, you can enjoy your accommodation’s facilities, or explore Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve. Activities include game drives, primate walks, nature walks and boat rides.

Toro Semliki Wildlife Reserve is home to elephant (both savannah and forest), buffalo, hippo, Uganda kob, warthog, and waterbuck amongst others. Living in the woodlands are primates including chimps, baboons, and colobus monkeys. Birders will enjoy discovering Toro Semliki as there are in excess of 400 bird species present in the wildlife reserve, including falcon, barbet, hornbill and the shoebill, which typically can be spotted in the marshes of Lake Albert.

All meals are served at your accommodation. Spend the evening relaxing, enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 0:00 hours (unless you choose a vehicle based activity in Semliki Wildlife Reserve).

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, it is time to pack your vehicle and depart for Kibale National Park.

Kibale National Park is one of Africa's greatest rainforest reserves, famous for its variety of primates and bird populations. Located in one of Africa’s most breath-taking landscapes that forms the Albertine Western Rift Valley, the national park contains one of the most varied tracts of tropical forest in Uganda. Forest cover, interspersed with patches of grassland and swamp, dominates the northern and central parts of the park on an elevated plateau.

Upon arrival in Kibale National Park, transfer to your accommodation. Spend the rest of your day at leisure enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 1:30 hours.

Meals: Breakfast and dinner included, lunch at own arrangement.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, you can enjoy your accommodation’s facilities or explore Kibale National Park. Activities include chimpanzee tracking, primate walk, or a visit to Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary.

Transfer to the park headquarters for chimpanzee tracking. Home to 13 primate species, Kibale Forest contains one of Africa's largest concentrations of primates, including chimpanzees, colobus and vervet monkeys, and over 320 species of birds. Kibale’s most popular activity is the Kanyanchu Primate Walk, where 13 species of primates can be found. Kanyanchu’s chimps have been tracked since 1993 and the chances of locating them are excellent. Guided walks start at 8am and 2pm and typically last an average of 3 hours.

All meals are served at your accommodation. Spend the evening relaxing, enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 0:00 hours (unless you choose a vehicle based activity).

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, it is time to pack your vehicle and depart for Queen Elizabeth National Park.

As Uganda's second largest and most popular savannah parks, Queen Elizabeth National Park is the best place to see lions in the country. The park has one of the highest biodiversity ratings of any game park in Africa. Its ecosystems, which includes lakes and wetlands, sprawling savanna and forests, make it the ideal habitat for lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, 10 primate species including chimpanzees, and over 600 species of birds.

Upon arrival at Queen Elizabeth National Park, transfer to your accommodation. Spend the rest of your day at leisure enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 2:00 hours.

Meals: Breakfast and dinner included, lunch at own arrangement.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, you can enjoy your accommodation’s facilities, or explore Queen Elizabeth National Park. Activities include game drives, boat cruises and bird watching.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to the Ishasha sector’s famous tree climbing lions, where when your guide shouts ‘lion’, you should definitely look up! It is also possible to see leopard, elephant, buffalo, jackal and various antelope species. Whilst on a Kazinga Channel boat cruise it is possible to spot elephant, hippo, buffalo, crocodile and water birds, along with storks, caimans, monitor lizards, fish eagles and weaver birds on a Kazinga Channel boat cruise.

All meals are served at your accommodation. Spend the evening relaxing, enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 0:00 hours (unless you choose a vehicle based activity in Queen Elizabeth National Park).

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, it is time to pack your vehicle and depart for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Declared a UNESCO’s world heritage site in 1994, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is home to one of Uganda's oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, protecting roughly half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas, with 23 habituated groups for tourists to visit. The park also provides shelter to a further 120 mammals, including elephants, antelopes and primates such as chimps and baboons. Bwindi offers some of the finest montane forest birding in Africa, including 23 Albertine Rift endemics.

Upon arrival in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, transfer to your accommodation. Spend the rest of your day at leisure enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 2:30 hours.

Meals: Breakfast and dinner included, lunch at own arrangement.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, you can enjoy your accommodation’s facilities, or go mountain gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.

Mountain Gorilla tracking starts with a briefing at 8am at the park headquarters. After the briefing you depart with the guide and rangers to find the mountain gorillas. The time spent tracking gorillas in Uganda depends and varies from half an hour to eight hours depending on the gorilla movements. Although the hike can be physically demanding, the beauty of the forest and its inhabitants is a fascinating and very rewarding experience. Once the gorilla families have been found, your visit with these great apes lasts for one magical hour.

All meals are served at your accommodation. Spend the evening relaxing, enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 0:00 hours (unless you choose a vehicle based activity).

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, it is time to pack your vehicle and depart for Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda.

Volcanoes National Park is the name given to the Rwandan side of the Virunga Massif, which also encompasses Mgahinga National Park in Uganda and Virunga National Park in the DRC. According to the most recent census, the population of mountain gorillas has increased from 480 to 604 individuals in the Virunga Massif, and from 400 to 459 in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Rwanda has embarked on an ambitious project to expand Volcanoes National Park by roughly 23%, increasing its size by 37.4 square kilometers (3,740 hectares).

Upon arrival in Volcanoes National Park, transfer to your accommodation. Spend the rest of your day at leisure enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 5:00 hours + 1 hour border crossing.

Meals: Breakfast and dinner included, lunch at own arrangement.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, you can enjoy your accommodation’s facilities, or go mountain gorilla tracking in Volcanoes National Park.

Mountain gorilla tracking starts with a transfer to Volcanoes National Park headquarters for a briefing by park staff, before meeting the rangers who will guide you to your assigned mountain gorilla family. Gorilla tracking does not present a serious physical challenge to a reasonably fit adult, regardless of age, although the altitude and terrain can sometimes be demanding. Gorilla tracking can take from 2 to 6 hours, with the guides stopping frequently for people to rest.

All meals are served at your accommodation. Spend the rest of your afternoon at leisure, or take an optional tour of the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

Driving Time: 0:00 hours (unless you choose a vehicle based activity).

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, it is time to pack your vehicle and depart for Akagera National Park.

The largest protected wetland in Central Africa, Akagera is the only place to spot the Big Five in Rwanda. The park’s savannah and woodlands are dominated by a labyrinth of swamps and lakes that follow the meandering course of the Akagera River. Since 2010, African Parks has managed Akagera in partnership with the Rwanda Development Board (RDB), transforming the park into a thriving ecosystem for African wildlife with over 13,000 animals living there.

Upon arrival at Akagera National Park, transfer to your accommodation. Spend the rest of your day at leisure enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 5:00 hours.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

Today, you can enjoy your accommodation’s facilities, or explore Akagera National Park. Activities include day and night game drives, boat trips, hot air balloon safaris, and conservation initiatives.

Akagera National Park is home to elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion, leopard, hippo, antelope, zebra, giraffe, baboons, monkeys, and the continent's largest concentration of waterbirds, including the papyrus gonolek and shoebill stork. By practically eliminating poaching, wildlife populations in Akagera have risen by almost 50%, with no losses of key species since 2010. Lions were reintroduced in 2015, followed by black rhinos in 2017 and white rhinos in 2021. Enjoy a boat trip on Lake Ihema and keep a lookout for more than 482 documented bird species.

All meals are served at your accommodation. Spend the evening relaxing, enjoying its facilities.

Driving Time: 0:00 hours (unless you choose a vehicle based activity).

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

Accommodations: When we create your itinerary, you will receive complete descriptions of all your property choices.

After breakfast, pack your vehicle and depart for Kigali International Airport, for your onward travel arrangements.

Alternatively, consider extending this trip by adding one of our Extension Ideas (see below) to this program.

Driving Time: 4:00 hours.

Meals: Breakfast included, lunch and dinner at own arrangement.