7-Day Gorilla Safari in Uganda with Batwa Trail and Ishasha Game Drives

• You arrive in Uganda - the Pearl of East Africa! Perhaps you have already caught a first glimpse of the massive Lake Victoria from the plane. Once you are standing on its shores, you immediately feel enchanted and dazzled by the sun's rays dancing across the lake's surface. Your driver will already be waiting to take you to your accommodation at the airport exit. The drive only takes about 10-15 minutes. Here, you check into your accommodation and can recover from the journey.

Overnight at the Boma Hotel (bed and breakfast) or similar.

• At 8:30, you will be whisked away on a small aircraft into the remote mountainous regions of southern Uganda. Upon arrival, you will head out for the 'Batwa' (pygmies) Cultural Trail. Taking this trail will enable you to interact with and learn about the interesting lifestyle of Uganda's unique pygmies. The Batwa pygmies were originally the traditional inhabitants of the Mgahinga Forest that the national park currently occupies. The trail exposes you to the hidden history of the Batwa pygmies before 1990, when they evacuated the forest area that had become protected and conserved as a national park.
• The Batwa trail is unique in that it showcases the authentic culture of the original inhabitants of this tropical forest, whose lives mainly depend on the natural habitat.
• While exploring the trail, you will experience the naturally endowed forest through a rare view of the local people.
• The experience comes along with different unique demonstrations of how the pygmies used to extract local herbs for healing different diseases, traditional ways of fetching water using locally made bamboo mugs, and the construction of grass huts.
• The highly rewarding cultural tour ends with a staged, authentic cultural performance organized by the Batwa community at the gate of the Garama Cave, which was highly regarded as a ceremonial place for the cultural leaders of the Batwa community.
• After your cultural excursion, check into your lodge for relaxation as you get ready for your big day.

Overnight at Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge (full board) or similar.

• Prepare for an encounter with Mgahinga's gentle giant: the rare Mountain Gorilla. For most people, this is the absolute highlight of their tour in Uganda. You will be required to wake up early in the morning and then be led to the visitor's reception center for a briefing about the park. You are allocated guides before heading into the forest for Mountain Gorillas.
• The Gorillas you will track belong to the habituated family group that can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day.
• Before reaching the Gorillas' habitat, your trek will be exciting along forested slopes, entwined vines, bushes, and bamboo.
• En route, your guide will point out signs of previous Gorilla activity, including dung, nests, and chewed bamboo shoots.
• The time taken to track the Gorillas can take as little as 2 hours or more! Once the Gorillas have been located, your group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. Coming face-to-face with a Mountain Gorilla is a truly humbling and emotional experience. This is a fantastic and privileged opportunity to get up close and personal with Uganda's 'Gorillas in the Mist'.

• The Golden Monkey is an endangered and endemic primate species to the Virunga massif, with a population estimated between 2,000 and 4,000, and shares its home with the world's famous Mountain Gorillas.
• Learn about this primate's life in the canopy, its habitat, and other forest-dwelling animals that share their home with the monkeys.
• This experience will give you insight and a better understanding of what it means to research, conserve, and protect an endangered species in the 21st century, and the many challenges faced every day by the team out in the field.
• More than 100 monkeys are in this forest, and they reproduce successfully. The work being carried out to research, conserve, and protect this species is important to its survival, habitat, and the many other animals and plants living there.
• You will witness how these tree-dwelling primates are the gymnasts of the forest, gain insight into their daily lives and the challenges they must overcome to survive. You will also gain an understanding of the forest, the plant life, and other species found there. If you are lucky, you are likely to spot wildlife such as Buffalo, Forest Elephant, Bushbuck, and Duiker.

Overnight at Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge (full board) or similar.

• After breakfast, you will head out to the beautiful wilderness of the Ishasha plains, which are part of Queen Elizabeth National Park - the oldest and second-largest national park in Uganda, located at the base of the massive Rwenzori Mountains, adjacent to Lakes Edward and George, and covered by savannah plains that provide abundant game viewing, such as Elephants that trumpet when you get too close, lazy Leopards laying in the sun, abundant Gazelle and buck, Lions, Buffaloes, Hippos, and others.
• Enjojo Lodge is situated just off the entrance to the Ishasha sector and is your accommodation for the night.

Overnight at Enjojo Lodge (full board) or similar.

• Today you go in for a morning and evening game drive in the Ishasha plains. If you're lucky, a game drive through the open savannah of Acacia on the edge of the Albertine Rift Valley will enable you to view 'tree climbing Lions' and other wild animals.
• The Ishasha sector is located near the southwesternmost edge of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The landscape in this section of the magnificent park differs significantly from that in other parts of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The Ishasha sector within QENP is a habitat for the tree lions unique to this location. The males of these extraordinary lions have black manes.

Overnight at Enjojo Lodge (full board) or similar.

• Transfer back to Entebbe. En route, you will stop at the Uganda Equator crossing for a requisite snapshot and souvenir shopping.
• Upon arrival in Entebbe, depending on how you feel, you can explore some craft shops for final souvenir shopping or relax as you relive your safari highlights before departing to the airport, from where you'll catch your departure flight.