Day 10: Gorilla Tracking

The day of gorilla tracking!

Buhoma is only 5 minutes' walk from the offices of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest NP, where at 7.45am you will receive a pre-briefing and at 8.30am you will start the gorilla trek. 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.

• Simple accommodation: Buhoma Community Bandas (toilet and showers are shared)
• Luxury Tour: Buhoma Lodge or Silverback Lodge

Day 11: To Lake Bunyonyi

After breakfast we will drive to Lake Bunyonyi, a beautiful place surrounded by the hills of Western Uganda. Lake Bunyonyi is famous for birds, otters and delicious crayfish. We will spend the rest of the day here, have a swim if you want, try a canoe, or simply relax looking at the over 300 birds species you can sometimes see from the veranda (bring your binoculars)!

• Driving time: ± 4,5 hours
• Simple accommodation: Overland Campsite and Bandas (self contained and breakfast inclusive)
• Luxury Tour: Bushara Island Luxury Tented Camp or Bunyonyi Safari Resort

Day 12: To Kisoro

Early in the morning we will leave for Kisoro, travelling 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: ± 3,5 hours
• Simple accommodation: Travellers Rest Hotel Kisoro
• Travellers Rest Hotel Kisoro (Suite Room)

Days 13-14: In Kisoro

Days 13 and 14 will be spent in and around Kisoro, with Travellers Rest Hotel as the home base.

In Kisoro you can undertake several very interesting activities, all of which can be done individually or in groups. They include:

1. Gorilla tracking in Nkuringo, South Bwindi (1 day - this could be either day 13 or 14, depending on the availability of permits).
2. Gorilla tracking in Rwanda (requires staying in Rwanda the night before, so for example if you decide to trek gorillas in Rwanda on day 14 you will spend the night of day 13 there). After the trekking you will cross back to Kisoro.
3. Climbing Muhavura Volcano (± 8 hrs; distance 12km; height 4127m; elevation gain 1700m).
4. Climbing Gahinga Volcano (± 6 hrs; distance 8km; height 3474m; elevation gain 1100m).
5. Visit to Sabinyo Gorge (± 4 hrs; distance 6km, no elevation gain).
6. Climbing Sabinyo Volcano (Sabinyo has three peaks, you can climb all three in the same walk, but you need to be fit!! ± 8 hrs; distance 14 km; height 3669m, elevation gain 1300 m).
7. Hiking in Mgahinga to the viewpoint and Garama Cave (pygmy cave) (± 4 hrs; distance 1 and 4 km).
8. Bird walk in Mgahinga (start at 10am, it can last until 4-5pm).
9. Cultural village walk (with a local guide walking through the land of the Bufumbira tribe)
10. Walk to Lake Mutanda. Visit Python island and go canoeing on this beautiful lake.
11. Batwa Trail:-
It starts at the base of Mt Muhavura at 8.00 am and finishes by 3-4 pm. You'll need walking shoes, hat, and raingear, and a packed lunch with sufficient drinks.
The Batwa Trail runs across the lower slopes of the Muhavura and Gahinga volcanoes in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. The forest is home to a variety of wildlife but the Batwa Trail is far from being a conventional nature walk. With the help of Batwa guides, you'll see the forest as a larder, pharmacy, builder's yard, tool kit and, above all a home. Along the trail, you'll fire a bow and arrow, check hives for wild honey, help repair a Batwa shelter, harvest plants for medicine and food, light a fire without a matches, listen to legends and learn about Batwa traditions.
The highlight of the trail is a descent into the Garama cave, a 200m-long lava tube beneath Mt. gahinga. The Batwa are famed for their music and dance and their historic, subterranean council chamber in Garama Cave provides the setting for an unforgettable performance.
The Batwa trail is celebration of the forest culture of the "'first people."It is impossible, however, to ignore the fact that Batwa life has greatly changed. The day's events conclude with a discussion about the Batwa's current situation; how it can be improved; and progress to date towards doing so.


Follow this link for more information about activities in Kisoro.

• Simple accommodation: Travellers Rest Hotel Kisoro
• Luxury Tour: Travellers Rest Hotel Kisoro (Suite Room)

Day 16: To Kampala

First thing in the morning we will go for a game drive/walk, and after a late breakfast the last part of the journey will bring us back to Kampala. On the way back 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

Go to the booking page