5 Days Bwindi & Queen Elizabeth Wildlife Safari Tour

5 Days Bwindi & Queen Elizabeth Wildlife Safari Tour is a short Uganda Safari tour package that takes you to the most visited national parks in Uganda. Bwindi impenetrable national park is located in southwestern Uganda in Kanungu district and is home to the famous mountain gorillas. Bwindi national park is one of the most visited gorilla destinations because it harbors half of the endangered mountain gorillas compared to other destinations in Africa and they are found in four sectors of the park namely Ruhija sector, Rushaga sector, Buhoma sector, and Nkuringo sector. On your 5 days tour, you will view the gorillas in Bwindi national park and chimpanzees in Queen Elizabeth national park which is the second largest national park in Uganda located in western Uganda.

Activities involved on your tour include Gorilla trekking, Game drive/lion tracking, Boat cruise, Community tour in Bwindi forest national park which is optional and Chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura Gorge.

Summary of the 5 Days Bwindi & Queen Elizabeth Wildlife Safari Tour

Day 1: Transfer to Bwindi National Park
Day 2: Gorilla trekking activity
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 4: Morning game drive (lion tracking) and afternoon Boat cruise
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and departure to Kampala

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Transfer to Bwindi National Park

Transfer to Bwindi: Depending on your location, our driver-guide will pick you up from your location and brief you about your 5 days Bwindi impenetrable national park and Queen Elizabeth national park. You will then start your journey to Bwindi national park with a stopover at the equator where you will be able to view the craft shops, take photos standing at the equator and then continue the journey via Masaka and have another stopover for en-route lunch at Igongo Cultural Centre. After lunch, you will continue the journey via Ntungamo, Kabale, Kanungu and then Bwindi national park to a sector where you want to trek the gorillas such as Buhoma sector in the Eastern part of the park. The journey is long and takes about 9 to 10 hours’ drive but it’s worth the distance because you will have great views of the landscapes in Kabale, homesteads, local people on the way among others. After arrival, you will have dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Accommodation options include Buhoma Lodge (luxury), Buhoma Haven Lodge (mid-range)

Day 2: Gorilla trekking activity

Gorilla Trekking: You will wake up early have breakfast at the lodge and with your packed lunch your driver-guide will pick you up from the lodge and drive you to the starting point where you will be briefed about gorilla trekking expectation and grouped into 8 people depending on your interests and physical fitness. The Buhoma sector is the most visited sector in Bwindi forest national park. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park is unpredictable in that it can either take a short period of time or long period of time of about 2 to 8 hours depending on the location of the gorilla family. Once the gorillas are found you will spend one hour in their presence learning more about them, taking photos among others. After trekking the driver will drive you back to the lodge for evening relaxation, dinner, and overnight at the lodge.

Accommodation options include Buhoma lodge (luxury), Buhoma Haven lodge (mid-range).

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

Community tour: You will wake up early have breakfast and with your packed lunch you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver-guide for the community tour in Bwindi impenetrable national park. The community tour in the Buhoma sector takes about 3 hours and you will be able to learn more about the local people’s culture, lifestyle, farmlands, traditional healers who heal different diseases and the Batwa/Pygmies who used to live in the forest before it was gazette.
Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park: After the community tour, you will transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park which takes about 3 to 4 hours’ drive. You will pass via Ishasha sector which is located in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth national park. In Ishasha, you will view the tree climbing lions relaxing upon the fig tree branches looking down at the antelopes grazing. From Ishasha, you will continue to the park check-in at the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation options include Mweya Safari Lodge (luxury), Park View Safari Lodge (midrange) or Pumba Safari Lodge (budget).

Day 4: Morning game drive (lion tracking) and afternoon Boat cruise

Morning Game Drive: You will wake up early, have breakfast meet up with your guide and set off for the morning game drive and experiential lion tracking in Kansenyi plains where you will be able to track the lions using the tracking devices. Lion tracking activity gives you a 95% chance of spotting the lions and you will be able to view other animals in the park such as leopards, elephants, warthogs, buffaloes, bushbucks, waterbucks among others. After the game drive, you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Boat Cruise: After lunch, you will set off for the afternoon boat cruise at the Kazinga channel which takes about 2 to 3 hours. Kazinga channel is a water body that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. During the boat cruise, you will be able to cruise near the animals such as elephants, buffaloes, hippos, crocodiles, monitor lizards which will be seen along the water banks. You will also have a clear view of the water birds such as black bee-eater, African skimmer, long-tailed cormorant, pink backed pelican, kingfisher and the fishermen on the shores of the lake. After the boat cruise, you will drive back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Accommodation options include Mweya Safari Lodge (luxury), Park View Safari Lodge (midrange) or Pumba Safari Lodge (budget).

Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and departure to Kampala

Chimpanzee Trekking: You will wake up early have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your guide to transfer to Kyambura Gorge for chimpanzee trekking. On arrival in Kyambura Gorge you will have a briefing about the expectations and then start trekking in the jungle which takes about 2 to 4 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees. Once the chimpanzees have been found, you will spend one hour with them taking photos with a flashless camera, learning about their behaviors among others just like gorilla trekking in Bwindi forest national park.

Return to Kampala: After chimpanzee trekking, you will meet up with your driver-guide and drive out of Queen Elizabeth national park to Kampala City where you will make a stopover in Fort Portal for lunch. After lunch, you will continue the journey via Mubende town and you will reach in Kampala early evening. Your driver-guide will, therefore, drop you off at Entebbe International airport in case you have a flight to catch or at any place of convenience.

End of the 5 Days Bwindi & Queen Elizabeth Wildlife Safari Tour

Tour includes

An English speaking driver guide
Gorilla trekking permit
Chimpanzee trekking permit
Full board accommodation
Community tour
All park entrance fees
Boat cruise
Pick up and drop off
Vehicle and fuel
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.

Gorilla and Chimpanzee trekking tips for your safari

Hiking shoes
Garden gloves
Long sleeved shirt and trouser
Insect repellent
Waterproof rain jacket
Warm sweaters
Cotton stockings
Waterproof backpack to carry your equipment’s
camera
Drinking water and packed lunch from the lodge
Porter who will carry your equipment’s and give you a pull and push in steep and slippery areas