Begin at Gorilla Valley Lodge, where walks into the lush forest bring you into contact with a variety of birds and primates. Tracking gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a highlight that you will remember forever. Perfect for the adventurous at heart, this journey delivers the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to discover mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, deep in the forests of Uganda.
Day 1
Journey the Cloudy Hills
An early start sees you off to Bwindi Forest Impenetrable National Park, the home of the Mountain Gorilla. You will be met by a representative and driven through the hills to Gorilla Valley Lodge.
This simple and elegant lodge is beautifully placed at the border of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park with stunning views over Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, the Great Albertine Rift Valley. Nightfall comes quickly on the equator, and before long you find yourself arriving at the forest and making your way to the lodge where a delightful dinner awaits you.
Day 2
The Gorillas of Bwindi
Entering the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is like stepping into a lost world, unchanged in millennia. Accessible only on foot, this forest is a biological hotspot that is home to an astonishing variety of species, from mammals and birds to plants and insects. The going is not easy through the seemingly unsurpassable wall of vegetation that closes in on you but the sounds of a gorilla family group noisily breaking branches somewhere ahead gets your pulse racing. Creeping closer in the footsteps of the trackers, the moment comes when you finally set eyes on one of our closest relatives on this planet, and all your fatigue vanishes. The group go about their everyday activities of feeding, grooming and playing as if you are invisible. Sometimes a curious youngster might approach you for a closer look or to tug at an item that attracts its attention, but on the whole, you are ignored; most particularly by the dominant male, whose indifference borders on the disdainful.
Looking into their deep brown eyes, you feel recognition, a feeling of kinship in a gaze that spans the aeons between you and our common ancestors. After what seems like only moments, your time is up, and it is time to leave. Walking back down the thickly forested slopes, you feel elation, an inexpressible lightness of spirit from an encounter unlike any other: you are now one of the privileged few who have experienced an intimate view into the lives of these great apes. You return to the lodge in the mist with your heart in the clouds.
Day 3
Back to Entebbe
You enjoy your last morning game drive in the park before driving back to Entebbe. Along the way take time to stop at the Equator crossing point for photo shoots and view the different crafts on sale nearby. Later arrive at the guesthouse, freshen up, and rest.
Our driver will take you to the international airport for your onward flight home. Bidding Uganda farewell as your plane climbs above the clouds, you think back over the incredible experiences of the previous days. You are now one of the privileged few, who have gazed into the eyes of a mountain gorilla, felt the connection with this intelligent and peaceful primate, and felt the magic of that moment.
