12-Day Gorilla Trek and Rwenzori Wildlife Tour from Kampala

• Meet your tour guide upon arrival at the airport and transfer to the hotel.
• Then transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. The drive to Bwindi takes between 7 and 8 hours, with a stopover at the Equator for breakfast and photos, as well as a lunch stop in Mbarara town.
• Enjoy views of Uganda's countryside and the beautiful Kigezi Highlands along the way.

Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Mist Camp or Rushaga Gorilla Camp.

• Have an early morning breakfast at the lodge.
• Drive to the park headquarters for a short briefing on the gorilla trekking rules and regulations, then enter the jungle to begin the search for the endangered mountain gorillas.
• Gorilla trekking in the jungle will take around 4 hours or more, and you will be allowed to spend one hour with the gorillas.
• After returning to the park headquarters to receive your gorilla trekking certificate, proceed to Lake Bunyonyi to relax at Bunyonyi Overland Resort.

• After an early morning breakfast, drive to Rwenzori National Park, passing through Queen Elizabeth National Park for a short game drive in search of tree-climbing lions, buffalos, warthogs, elephants, and different antelopes such as waterbucks, kobs, and topi, among others.
• Then proceed to Nyakalengija and check in at Mihunga Lodge.

• After breakfast at the camp, go to the RMS headquarters, where you will be briefed about the whole hike. Start the hike from Nyakalengija through the Bakonzo settlements to the Rwenzori Mountains National Park gate, where you will be registered before entering the park.
• Begin the central circuit trail trek through thick tropical forest with high elephant grass and dense bushes. This forest is home to various animal species such as forest elephant, chimpanzee, hyrax, black-and-white colobus, L'Hoest's monkeys, duiker, and three-horned chameleons, among many more. Some of the bird species include the Handsome Francolin, Rwenzori Turaco, Long-eared Owl, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Strange Weaver, Archer's Robin-chat, and Rwenzori Batis, as well as various tree and plant species.
• You can expect to see some of them along the way. It is about 8 km from Nyakalengija to Nyabitaba Hut.

Dinner and overnight at Nyabitaba Hut.

• Have breakfast at the hut, then move through thick shrubs and forest for about 30 minutes to the Kurt Shafer Bridge, at the confluence of the Mubuku and Bujuku rivers.
• You will then continue through bamboo mixed with montane forest and slippery moss-covered rocks for a couple of hours. As you hike, you can also expect to see various bird species in the forest.
• Continue up to Nyamulejju Rock Shelter, where the first hikers sometimes camped and spent the night, and stop here for lunch. If the weather is clear, you will have views of Mount Stanley and Mount Speke.
• Move through the alpine forest to John Matte Hut, where you will have dinner and spend the night. The hut is near the Bujuku River, and most hikers take a bath there. The water is very cold but also refreshing.
• You will also view the Margherita Glacier on Mount Stanley, between Alexandra and Margherita peaks. The distance from Nyabitaba to John Matte is about 11 km.

• After breakfast at the hut, cross the Bujuku River and continue through the forest to the lower Bigo Bog. This swampy valley is home to the giant lobelias. It used to be one of the most challenging parts of the Rwenzori because the area was so boggy. Jumping from one tussock to another was not easy for most hikers, especially for females.
• Walk on the boardwalk to the end of the boggy area, which makes the journey much easier for trekkers. Along the way, expect to see giant lobelias, everlasting flowers, and groundsels.
• You will then take a steep hike along a ridge leading to the start of the upper Bigo Bog. There is also a boardwalk up to Lake Bujuku.
• Continue through the remaining small boggy area without boardwalks to Bujuku Hut. See Lake Bujuku, Mount Speke, Mount Baker, and Mount Stanley.
• At this point, you can ascend Mount Speke and Mount Stanley. The distance from John Matte to Bujuku is about 5 km.

Dinner and overnight at Bujuku.

• Have breakfast at Bujuku Hut, then continue the hike to Elena Hut, a 5-7 hour trek. You will move along the sides of the upper Bigo Bog.
• Hike through the steep slopes above Lake Bujuku. Elena Hut is on the rocky part of Mount Stanley, and the area is very cold. You are now on the highest mountain in the Rwenzori, with direct views of Mount Baker and Mount Speke. At times, these two mountains may be hidden by fog.

Have dinner at Elena Hut, then spend the night.

• Today, you will wake up as early as 2 am. Have breakfast at Elena Hut, then hike to the top of Mount Stanley, Margherita Peak, via the Stanley Plateau and Margherita Glaciers. The guide will teach you how to use the equipment while on the ice.
• At the top, enjoy views of Irene Lake, Mount Speke, and the surrounding environment.
• Descend to Elena Hut for lunch, then continue down to Kitandara through Scott Elliot Pass. This is considered the most beautiful point of the Rwenzori.

Have dinner at Kitandara, then spend the night. If the group is large, you might spend another night at Elena Hut and continue the following day.

• Have breakfast at Kitandara, then move through the base of Mount Baker, where the trail can be slippery, so you will need to be very careful.
• From Kitandara, the trail ascends steeply up the headwall, spreading out from the base of Mount Baker and continuing along the south side of the Rwenzori Mountains to Freshfield Pass.
• Then descend past the rock shelter at Bujangolo, the base camp for the historic expedition by the Duke of Abruzzi in 1906. This section takes around 4-6 hours.
• Reach Guy Yeoman Hut, located on the banks of the Mubuku River, where you will have dinner and spend the night.

• Have breakfast at Guy Yeoman Hut, then descend back to Nyakalengija, which takes about 6 hours.
• Travel from Nyakalengija to Kibale Forest National Park, passing crater lakes and arriving at the hotel in the late evening.

Dinner and overnight at Kibale Forest Camp.

• After breakfast at the lodge, drive to Kibale National Park headquarters, where you will be briefed about chimpanzee trekking and the park in general. Most tourists visit the park to trek chimpanzees. Apart from the chimps, the forest is home to other primates such as monkeys, mangabeys, baboons, wild pigs, and various fish species. Chimpanzee trekking can be done in the morning at 8 am, in mid-morning at 11 am, or at 2 pm.
• Then start the trek through the forest to look for the chimps. Unlike gorillas, chimpanzees keep moving around the forest and jump from one tree to another as they go about their daily life, so do not expect to find them in one place.
• As you trek the chimps, you can also expect to see other primates that live in the forest and various bird species such as the great blue turaco.
• You will then return to the lodge to refresh, have lunch, dinner, and an overnight stay.

• After morning breakfast, start the journey back to Kampala at a relaxed pace, arriving in the afternoon.
• Have breakfast at the lodge at 7 am, check out of the camp, and drive back to Kampala.