Day-by-day itinerary

What the operator has planned, day by day, across 4 days.

1. Day 1

   Kampala To Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

   You leave Kampala after an early breakfast, heading for Bwindi in the south-west of the country. The road climbs out of flat farmland into steep rolling hills and holds that scenery for much of the way. Lunch is taken en route in Mbarara before the final stretch to Bwindi, arriving in the late afternoon. You check in at your chosen lodge, all of which sit within sight or earshot of the park and its running water and forest birds, and settle in for dinner and overnight.

2. Day 2

   Gorilla Trekking In Bwindi Forest

   Breakfast is early and packed lunch goes with you, after which the driver guide takes you to park headquarters for the 8:00am ranger briefing on how to conduct yourself around the gorillas. Tracking takes between two and eight hours, so carry enough drinking water, strong shoes, a jacket and a walking stick. When the family is located you have time to watch the juveniles playing, the silverbacks and the adults feeding the young, with the camera flash switched off. Back at the lodge the evening is free to rest or walk through the Batwa community to meet them, see how they live and watch their dances and songs, before dinner and overnight.

3. Day 3

   Transfer To Kibale Forest National Park

   After breakfast you check out and set off north for Kibale National Park, with the scenery around Kabale worth the stops for photographs on the way. You reach Kibale late in the evening and check in at the lodge for dinner. Depending on which property you are staying at, an evening forest walk may be possible, with bush babies the likely sighting. You then turn in ahead of a long day.

4. Day 4

   Chimpanzee Tracking In Kibale Forest

   An early breakfast is followed by the move into the park for chimpanzee tracking. Along the trails you also see birds and other primates, among them black and white colobus monkeys, baboons, L'Hoest's monkeys and grey cheeked mangabeys. When the chimpanzees are found you watch them jumping between branches, feeding and playing, and can pick out the nests they sleep in, photographing with the flash off. Lunch is back at the lodge, after which you check out and take the road to Kampala, or on to Entebbe if you are flying the same day.