5 Days Bwindi gorilla and Murchison falls safari
On your 5 days Bwindi gorilla and Murchison falls safari you will explore Murchison falls national park which is the most visited and largest national park in Uganda harboring various wildlife species including the big four mammals which are the elephants, lions, leopards, buffaloes and other animals like waterbucks, giraffes, warthogs, Jackson’s hartebeest, oribi, Uganda kobs, hippos, crocodiles among others. You will also visit Bwindi impenetrable national park which harbors half of the endangered mountain gorillas.
Highlights of the 5 days Bwindi gorilla and Murchison falls safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 2: Gorilla trekking and transfer to Lake Mburo national park
Day 3: Transfer from Lake Mburo national park to Murchison falls
Day 4: Game drive and boat cruise
Day 5: Departure
Detailed itinerary
Day 1 of the 5 days Bwindi gorilla and wildlife safari
On the first day of your 5 days Bwindi gorilla and Murchison falls safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will give you a short briefing about your safari and then start the journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park. You will pass via the equator where you will have a photo session and then continue the journey with en-route lunch at Igongo cultural Centre. After lunch you will continue the journey via Kabale and then to Bwindi impenetrable national park. The journey takes about 8 hours and upon arrival you will check into the lodge have dinner and overnight.
Accommodation option, Buhoma Community Haven Lodge (midrange),
Day 2: Gorilla trekking
You will wake up on the second day of your 5 days Bwindi gorilla and Murchison falls safari, have breakfast and with your packed lunch check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide and drive to the park headquarters where you will have a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations. After the briefing you will be grouped into 8 people to an allocated a gorilla group to trek. Grouping of individuals is done according to personal preferences, age and physical fitness therefore in case you are not physically fit you are advised to communicate with your driver guide so that you are allocated a gorilla group that is easy to trek.
After you have been grouped, you will start trekking in the jungle with a park guide who is well conversant with the trail to follow. Trekking of mountain gorillas in the park takes about 30 minutes to 6 hours and once the gorillas have been found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat taking photos, recording the moments and learning more about their lifestyle, behaviors, habits among others.
After spending an hour with the mountain gorillas you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet with your driver guide to transfer to Lake Mburo national park. The journey takes about 4 to 5 hours’ drive and upon arrival in the park you will check into the lodge have dinner and overnight.
Accommodation option, Rwakobo rock lodge (midrange)
Day 3: Transfer to Murchison falls national park
On the third day of your 5 days Bwindi gorilla and Murchison falls safari you will wake up early have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Murchison falls national park. You will drive through the park where you will have great views of the vegetation, birds and animals such as buffaloes, zebras, elands, topi, hyenas, giraffes, Sitatunga, bushbucks, warthogs, giant forest hogs among others as you use the Sanga gate. On the way you will have views of the long horned Ankole cows, crafts along the roadsides, landscapes, home steads and you will have en-route lunch.
After lunch you will continue the journey to Murchison falls national park which is the largest national park in Uganda. The journey takes about 8 hour drive and upon arrival you will check into the lodge have dinner and overnight.
Accommodation option, Pakuba safari lodge (mid-range)
Day 4: Game drive and boat cruise
You will wake up early on the fourth day of your five days Bwindi gorilla and Murchison falls safari, have breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to for the morning game drive which starts at around 7:00am. the game drive in Murchison falls national park is done following different tracks such as Buligi game track, albert, victoria game track among others. Murchison Falls national park harbors various wildlife species which you will be able to spot during your game drive such as elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, lions, leopards, bushbucks, waterbucks, Jackson’s hartebeest, oribi, warthogs and bird species such as majestic grey crowned crane, spur winged lapwing, marabou stork, bustard, ground hornbill, secretary bird among others. The game drive takes about 4 to 5 hours where after you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch your driver guide will pick you up and then transfer for the afternoon game drive which starts at 2pm. Boat cruise in Murchison falls national park is a thrilling and exciting activity which gives you a great experience as you ride close to the animals such as elephants, buffaloes, antelopes among other which will be along the water banks, hippos and crocodiles which will be in water and some water birds such as Papyrus Gonolek, king fishers, flamingos, fish eagles among others.
The boat will continue to the bottom of the falls where you will either opt to return back to the starting point or hike to the top of the falls. Hiking to the top of the falls is an adventurous activity but steep therefore visitors to participate in hiking need to be physically fit. After top of the falls hiking which takes about 45 minutes, your driver guide will be waiting for you on top to drive to the previous lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Departure
On the last day of your 5 days Bwindi gorilla and Murchison falls safari you will wake up, have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your drive guide for a short morning game drive in the park. During the game drive you will have an opportunity of viewing wildlife species which you will have missed during the previous game drive. After the game drive you will drive out of the park and start your journey to Kampala. On your way you will have a stopover for lunch in Masindi town and then continue with the journey. You will reach early evening because it takes about 6 hours’ drive from Murchison falls national park to Kampala. Upon arrival your driver guide will drop you off at your lodge in Kampala or at Entebbe international airport if you have a flight to catch.
End of 5 days Bwindi gorilla and Murchison falls safari
Tour includes
- An English speaking driver guide
- All park entrance fees
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off
- Vehicle and fuel
- Boat cruise
- Top of the falls hike
- Bottled water
Tour excludes
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, tips among others.
