As featured in National Geographic Adventure's "The Best of Africa," September
2005, and Men's Journal's "World's Greatest Safaris." November 2006!
The beautiful emerald-green Virunga Volcanoes straddling the Rwanda-Uganda
border are the stronghold of the celebrated mountain gorilla. Along with
Uganda's Bwindi National Park, they form the setting for this ultimate mountain
gorilla safari.
On this extraordinary expedition, you will have four opportunities to track
gorillas in a variety of jungle habitats, from the jungles of Bwindi's
Impenetrable Forest to the bamboo thickets of Sabinyo and the mist-clad heights
of Karasimbi Volcano. Terrific gorilla observations and an in-depth exploration
of their forest environment are joined with chimpanzee tracking in the Kibale
Forest (the best in Africa), stunning Rift Valley scenery, and big game viewing
at Queen Elizabeth National Park.
A six-day extension tracks chimps and observes rainforest birds in the Budongo
Forest, then seeks big game along the Nile at Murchison Falls.
Day 1 ~ Arrive in Entebbe, Uganda, and transfer to hotel. Afternoon visit to
the nearby Entebbe Botanical Gardens, which harbor a multitude of interesting
birds, or the Entebbe Wildlife Center.
Day 2 ~ Drive through the lush green countryside of Uganda to the Kibale Forest.
In the late afternoon, we can hike around the crater lakes, or simply relax and
watch birds around the lodge.
Days 3-4 ~ Two days to hike through the Kibale Forest in search of chimpanzees
and other primates. Kibale is inhabited by three large “communities” of chimps,
each numbering more than 100 individuals.
Days 5-7 ~ At Queen Elizabeth National Park where we can find herds of antelope,
thousands of hippos (up to 30,000!) and a growing population of elephants. Other
wildlife at Queen Elizabeth includes bushbuck, the reddish-coated forest buffalo
as well as the more common black Cape buffalo, and the strange giant forest hog.
While here we take an exciting launch trip on the Kazinga Channel that connects
Lake Edward with smaller Lake George. We are certain to see tremendous numbers
of hippos and water birds of every type and hue, and elephant and leopard are
often encountered along the shore.
Days 8-9 ~ Two days gorilla tracking in the Impenetrable Forest of Bwindi
National Park. Although park rangers try to keep tabs on the whereabouts of the
gorillas, they are free ranging wild creatures and can be difficult to locate.
Sometimes finding the gorillas can be very easy, as they may remain close to the
area where they had been feeding the previous day. On other occasions, they
require constant tracking, which can be arduous.
Day 10 ~ We drive up to the mountainous spine of the Bwindi National Park into
Rwanda, then continue through volcanic uplands to Kinigi, headquarters of Parc
National des Volcans (Volcanoes National Park) . Here we have more outstanding
views of the Virunga Volcano range—the heartland of the mountain gorilla.
Days 11-12 ~ On each of the next two days, each participant will get to track
gorillas. Four family groups of gorillas are open to the public, and each lives
in a very different part of the park. Each day, we will try to assign group
members to track the gorilla family most appropriate to their strength and
hiking abilities. Once found, we will stay with the gorillas and observe them
closely for about one hour.
Day 13 ~ Drive through the scenic countryside of Rwanda to the nation’s capital,
Kigali. We’ll have time to shop and relax in Kigali before we transfer to the
airport for departure on homeward-bound flights via Entebbe or Nairobi.
Ready to go? Signing up is easy!
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