Gorilla Tours

 

Gorilla Permit Guarantee
We sell our tours with Gorilla permits. If no permits are available for a tour, cancelling is free of charge and any paid money in advance will be refunded.

Included in the price for this trip
* Guides
* Safaris and launch trips
* Transport
* Park entrance
* Accommodations and  or Camping
* Rangers in the parks
* Tent with mattresses
* Travellers Rest Hotel Kisoro (BB)
* Chimp walk in Kibale Forest
* Bigodi swamp walk
* All game drives
* Launch trip on Kazinga Channel
* Full board on the luxury trip

Not included in the price for this trip
* Gorilla permit
* all activities in Kisoro
* Food (around 20$ per person per day)
* Drinks
* Visa (Uganda/Rwanda)
* If camping bring your sleeping bag

Permits
In Rwanda: 500$
In Mgahinga 500$
In Bwindi: 500$
In Nkuringo South Bwindi: 500$
In Congo: Currently not possible

Transport
4WD Toyota Land Cruiser (1-4 pers.)
4WD Toyota Land Cruiser Extended (4-8 pers.)
4WD Toyota Hiace (4-8 pers.)
4WD Tourist Truck (7-12 pers.)

These are our own cars and drivers.
The cars are well maintained and our drivers are experienced and English speaking Ugandans. If necessary we can also hire other cars.

7 Days Gorillas, QENP and Chimps

Day 1: To Kibale Forest

Early in the morning we will pick you up from the hotel or guesthouse of your choice and leave for Kibale Forest. In the afternoon we will arrive at Kibale Forest Camp, sleeping with the noises of the tropical rain forest. Sometimes we stay at Chimpanzee Guesthouse, overlooking Nyabikere Crater Lake. The lake is famous for the frogs: at night they always give a beautiful concert.

  • Driving time: ± 6,5 hours
  • Budget Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp (eco friendly self-contained tents) or Chimpanzee Guesthouse/Bandas (self-contained) - Both outside the Park)
  • Luxury Accommodation: Ndali Lodge or Primate Lodge Kibale

Day 2: Chimp walk

At 8.00am we will start with the 4 hour chimp walk - during which you may also get to see 10 other primates! It can also be in the afternoon at 2.00 pm depending on availability. Kibale park is also known for all the butterflies and birds. In the afternoon we will walk through Bigodi Swamp (home to a community based project).

  • Budget Accommodation: Kibale Forest Camp or Chimpanzee Guesthouse/Bandas (self-contained tents/Banda's)
  • Luxury Tour: Ndali Lodge or Primate Lodge Kibale

Day 3: To Queen Elizabeth NP

Early morning we will leave for Queen Elizabeth NP. We will travel through Fort Portal and reach Mweya in Queen Elizabeth NP at midday, with a stunningly beautiful view over Kazinga Channel. You will check in at your accommodation and have lunch, and in the late afternoon (4.00-7.00pm) we will go on a game drive.

  • Driving time: ± 4,5 hours
  • Budget Accommodation: Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge (eco friendly self-contained tents)
  • Luxury Tour: Mweya Safari Lodge or Jacana safari Lodge

Day 4: In Queen Elizabeth NP

This day is for a game drive on the plains of Queen Elizabeth NP, with thousands of Ugandan kobs, lions, elephants etc. Also on the programme is a two hours launch trip on the Kazinga channel where we will see all the animals from the waterside. In the evening we will go on a game drive to the mating grounds of the Uganda Kobs. The day ends back at Mweya peninsula, enjoying a great view of the park.

  • Budget Accommodation: Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge (eco friendly self-contained tents)
  • Luxury Tour: Mweya Safari Lodge or Jacana safari Lodge

Day 5: To Kisoro

Early in the morning we will leave for Kisoro. We will travel via Kabale and continue through a beautiful landscape also defined as the "Switzerland of Africa": mountains, lakes, hills with cultivated terraces, tropical rainforest and bamboo forest. On the last hill the landscape unfolds beneath us, taking in the vast planes between Uganda, Rwanda and Congo, with the Virunga volcanoes dominating the view. At the bottom of the valley is Kisoro, where we will stay at the famous Travellers Rest Hotel.

In the sixties the famous American ‘gorilla-woman’ Dian Fossey visited the Travellers Rest Hotel many, many times to do paperwork, relax or meet people. Fossey said about the hotel: "It was my second home". Travellers Rest Hotel is just outside Kisoro and offers a cozy stay for the tourists coming to see the endangered mountain gorilla. The hotel, built in a somewhat colonial style, and entirely renovated in 1999, has a comfortable ambiance.

  • Driving time: ± 8 hours
  • Budget Accommodation: Travellers Rest Hotel Kisoro
  • Luxury Accommodation: Travellers Rest Hotel Kisoro (Suite Room)

Day 6: Gorilla Tracking

The day of gorilla tracking!

You will travel by car from Travellers Rest Hotel in Kisoro to Nkuringo, in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest NP (1hr). Once there you will first receive a briefing (7.45am) and at 8.30am you will start the tracking. Once you have found the gorillas, you will be able to spend up to one hour with them! You will be expected back to the starting point by 7.00pm at the latest. Being physically fit is recommended.

It is always best to hear from other visitors, and this is Stella and Trudy's story:

"At a distance of about fifteen feet a mountain gorilla with her baby appears. She comes out of the bushes, looks at me and lies down. My presence does not seem to bother her. She just wants to rest, whether I am there or not. I can almost touch her. My heart dances with joy. I am in a good position to take pictures, so I let my camera do its work. It is the thrill of a lifetime. I cannot but agree with the American zoologist George Schaller, the first to study gorillas in the Virunga volcanoes, who once said: ‘No one who looks into the eyes of a gorilla, gentle and vulnerable, can remain unchanged."

Follow this link for more comments and stories from our guests.

    • Budget Accommodation: Travellers Rest Hotel  Kisoro
    • Luxury Accommodation: Travellers Rest Hotel Kisoro (Suite Room)

Day 7: To Kampala

Early in the morning after breakfast we will travel back to Kampala. On the way back to the city you will have lunch in Mbarara town, and after Masaka there will be an opportunity to a stop at the Equator for photo shoots and buying souvenirs and have tea or coffee.

We will then bring you to a guesthouse, campsite or hotel of your choice in Kampala or Entebbe - or, if you continue your holiday somewhere else or back home, we will bring you directly to Entebbe airport for an onwards flight.

  • Driving time: ± 9 hours

Prices

Type

Start date

Price p.p.

Indiv. BUDGET

2 pers

Any date

1400$

3 pers

Any date

1135$

4 pers

Any date

1000$

SINGLE OCCUPANCY PAYS 195$ MORE FOR BUDGET TOUR.

Luxury.

2 pers

Any date

2050$

3 pers

Any date

1740$

4 pers

Any date

1570$

SINGLE OCCUPANCY PAYS 320$ MORE.

Charges for trekking in Rwanda Adding To the Normal prices 70$ for a group

Book now!

Travellers Rest Kisoro

Additional Services

On arrival in Uganda
* Airport transfer to a hotel of your choice in Kampala (50$)
OR
* 1st night in our guesthouse (55$ double room; 45$ single room - includes breakfast and airport transfer)

At departure
* Airport transfer from a hotel of your choice in Kampala (50$)
OR
* Last night in our guesthouse (55$ double room; 45$ single room - includes breakfast and airport transfer).

Lions in Queen Elizabeth NP
Elephants in Queen Elizabeth NP
Crater lake near Kibale Forest
Elephants in Queen Elizabeth NP