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Built for gorillas: two treks into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest from a Kigali start, with Batwa dances and Lake Bunyonyi, plus Queen Elizabeth Park and Murchison Falls add-ons.
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Hike into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest on two separate days to sit with a mountain gorilla family for an hour each time.
See the forest's Batwa people perform their traditional dances before the morning gorilla briefing.
Stop at Lake Bunyonyi, a deep lake speckled with green islands, on the drive back to Kigali.
Extend to Queen Elizabeth National Park for the lions that lounge in fig trees in the Ishasha sector.
On the Queen Elizabeth add-on, cruise the Kazinga Channel past hippos, buffalo and dense birdlife.
Add Murchison Falls to watch the Nile force itself through a seven-metre gap and thunder down.
Why two treks
Winston Churchill called Uganda the Pearl of Africa, and the gorillas are the reason most people come. This trip is unusual in giving you two treks into Bwindi on consecutive days. The first encounter is overwhelming; the second, with a different family, turns it into real understanding.
Getting to Bwindi
The route starts in Kigali, in neighbouring Rwanda, then drives four to six hours across the border into Uganda, watching the country change as you go. A single East Africa visa covers both countries, which keeps the crossing simple.
The forest and the Batwa
Bwindi is thick, ancient and steep, and shelters close to half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas. Before the trek, the forest's Batwa people share their dances. The walk itself can run one to six hours depending on the family you are assigned.
Savanna add-ons
Two extensions round out the wildlife. Queen Elizabeth National Park brings savanna game drives, the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha and a Kazinga Channel cruise, while Murchison Falls adds the drama of the Nile.
Share your travel dates and we'll secure your two Bwindi gorilla permits, then add Queen Elizabeth Park or Murchison Falls if you want the savanna too.
A Bwindi gorilla permit costs 800 US dollars per person in the high season, and this trip includes two permits so you can trek on two days. Each permit buys one hour with a gorilla family, and we book them well ahead as they sell out.
Bwindi sits close to the Rwandan border, and Kigali airport is often the quickest, smoothest way in. From there it is a four to six hour drive across the border into Uganda, covered by a single East Africa visa that our team arranges.
Yes. Queen Elizabeth National Park is a popular add-on for savanna game drives, the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha and a Kazinga Channel boat cruise, while Murchison Falls adds the Nile. Both extend the core five-night gorilla trip.
Uganda requires every visitor to carry a yellow fever vaccination certificate, so you will need the jab before you travel. We send a full pre-trip briefing, and our team helps with the East Africa visa and the rest of the paperwork.
Reasonably fit. Bwindi is steep and humid, and a trek can last anywhere from one to six hours on muddy forest trails. Guides set a steady pace, walking sticks help, and local porters are on hand to carry bags and lend an arm.
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