13 Days Gorilla Wildlife & Rwenzori Trek

Itinerary

Day 1: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable national park

In the morning, you will be picked up from Entebbe International airport by our company representative who will brief you about the safari and then make a transfer to the home of almost half of the world’s mountain gorillas ( Bwindi Impenetrable National Park) . You will reach the park in the evening hours and check in at your booked hotel for dinner and overnight. Rushaga Lodge

Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable national park

Wake up early and transfer to the park headquarters for briefing about the dos and don’ts during mountain gorilla trekking experience, You will be allocated the gorilla family for the visit and the certified Ranger guides for the jungle hunt of the Mountain gorillas

The experience involves hiking through the rain forests of the park in search of the mountain gorillas. Once sighted, you will be allowed to spend an hour with them as you take some videos and pictures. After gorilla trekking, you can opt to for a Batwa cultural tour who are the inhabitants of the forest.

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

After breakfast at the lodge, you will make your transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park with an en route visit of the crater lakes. Arrive at the park in the afternoon and connect for a community visit in Kasoga community where you will see fishermen and also enjoy the traditions of locals. Later, you will connect back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight. Bush Lodge

Day 4: Game drive and Boat cruise

In the morning after your breakfast, set off for a game drive in Kasenyi plains where you will encounter a number of wildlife including the four of the big five animals- lions, buffalo, leopard and elephants. Other animals you will spot include the Uganda kob, giant forest hog, water bucks, and on a lucky day, you will spot hyena in the plains.

After the game viewing experience, return to the lodge and later go for a boat cruise on Kazinga channel whose shores is a home to a number of water birds like saddle billed stork, pink-backed pelicans, pied and malachite kingfishers, pink backed pelicans and many others. Kilembe  Backpackers Camp

from this Day you will be using Huts and camps that are already existing in the Rwenzori Mountains national Park

Day 5: Kilembe (1,450m) to Kalalama Camp (3147m)

This is the first day of this masmerising trip that will start from the rangers post and head straight to the Rwenzori national park entrance point into this park and this will mark the official beginning of this hike.

This walk takes you the mountain forest zone where you might have encounters with species of monkeys like the colobus monkeys and the blue monkeys, then birds like the Rwenzori Turaco. You will proceed and reach Sine camp where you will have a stopover and enjoy your lunch and other refreshments. Then you will proceed and reach the first overnight camp at Kalalama which sits at 3,147 m.You will spend the first night at this camp in the cabins where you will be served dinner, get briefed about what will transpire the following day and then sleep over.

Day 6: Kalalama Camp (3.147m) to Mutinda Camp (3.688 m)

On this second day of this hike, you will be up by 7 AM and get ready for the days hike. You will enjoy your breakfast and at exactly 9AM you will set off for this hike that will see you pass through the bamboo-mimulopsis zone, which is steep climb with many high steps. You will reach a resting point where you will a cup of tea and some refreshments.

From this point you proceed along the heather zone, passing by several streams and even waterfalls, all covered by the typical green moss vegetation. You will see a lot of Giant Heather trees, sometimes in a misty atmosphere.

The arrival point of the day is Mutinda Camp, at 3.688 m named after the Mutinda Peaks. From this point, you can climb further to Mutinda Lookout, 3.925 m, about one hour and half walk plus one hour to descend back to the camp

The place is worth a visit as you stand on moss covered rocks with views across the Rwenzori Mountains, down to Kasese town and Lake George. You will reach this camp late in the evening and check into the cabins for dinner and overnight. You will be briefed about the following day and then retire to your beds.

Day 7: Mutinda Camp to Bugata Camp (4.062 m)

Still on the hike to the peak, here comes day 3 of this trip that will begin at exactly 9 Am that straight away starts with going through the boggy terrain with the typical wet vegetation and tussocks.

You enter the Alpine vegetation zone with the presence of the giant lobelias (Lobellia gibberoa), the groundsel (Senecio adnivalis) and the everlasting flowers as you cross the Mutinda valley. You later climb a steep section up to Namusangi Valley (3.840 m), from where you will enjoy the best view of the Mutinda Peaks. Along the Namusangi Valley you cross various bogs as you climb to Bugata Camp at 4.062 m which is the arrival point of the day.

You will have a view of the Weisman’s Peak of Mount Luigi of Savoy, often covered by the snow. The vegetation area is covered with tussock grass, everlasting flowers, giant groundsel and giant lobelia.

This walk also takes you via lake Kitandara that stretches up to the Democratic republic of Congo.From the nearby Plozza Rock you will get fantastic views of nine lakes down the valley and Lake Nusuranja.

Bugata Camp has good facilities with solar lights, eco-toilets and bathroom. You have dinner and spend the night. You will be briefed about the following day and then retire to your cabins for the night.

Day 8: Bugata Camp to Hunwick’s Camp (3.974 m)

On this day you will wake up and have your breakfast and begin on the hike to the almost the epitome of this hike that started four days ago. After breakfast you will start your hike to climb up Bamwanjara Pass. The trail climbs steadily with several long flat bogs.

As you climb you look back to see the glacial lakes far down in the valley. On reaching the top of Banwamjara Pass (4.450n) you get excellent views of all the main snow capped peaks where we have a small shelter for you to rest and enjoy the scenery.

This walk leads you down to both lower and upper Kachope Lake which is steep and often very muddy but offers fantastic views of Kachope Lakes and McConnell’s Prong. Hunwick’s Camp (3,974m) is the arrival point of the day. The Camp is set on a ridge overlooking snow capped Mt Baker.

Day 9: From Hunwick’s Camp to Margherita Camp (4,485 m.)

This is the most important walk of this hike to the Margherita camp which will be followed with making it to the summit the following day. The walk is along the ridge before crossing several wet areas and small rivers coming from Mt Baker and Fresh fields Pass.

The walk up Scott Elliott Pass is enjoyable as you climb through the pass and up the ridge of Mt Stanley to Margherita Camp at 4,485 meters which is below Elena Hut of the Rwenzori mountaineering services.

It is sheltered with a ring of high rocks and it is the original camp used by the Italian Prince Luigi Amadeo di Savoia, Duke of the Abruzzi. From here you have great views of Mt Baker, Scott Elliot Pass and some of the high glaciers on Mt Stanley.

The day’s hike to this camp is 4.2 kilometers. So you will reach here late in the evening and relax a little bit. Then you will prepare and go through what will transpire the following summiting day. So this exercising will entail preparing the ropes, the hiking shoes, ice breaking axes as well as crampons. So you will pass through how to use these equipment and attires. Then you will retire to your cabins for a night.

Day 10: Hike to the Summit and back to Hunwick Camp

This is the D-day of this hike and it will turn out to be the longest and most hectic day yet the most sought after day on this entire hike. So this day will entail waking up as early as 3AM and have your breakfast.

So you will set off at exactly 4AM hiking to Margherita peak of Mt Stanley. This early movement is aimed at making it through the glacier before sunrise as it sunshine makes the glacier totally impassable as it melts.

The climb up Margherita glacier is steep and requires that you are fit. On getting near to the top of the glacier you then climb around an exposed section of rock, which is also bolted and roped, to get on the ridge running up to the top of Margherita Peak (5.109 m).

After reaching the summit you enjoy the scenic of almost the whole coun5ry as you are now at the highest point in the country. You will eat your special food package that you carried from day one at the starting point.

Day 11: Descend back to the Ranger post

Wake up to the shrill calls of the Ruwenzori Turaco (Ruwenzorornis johnstoni) and other birds. After breakfast you walk down the valley which is home to many species of birds that dive in and out the thick vegetation.

Chameleons are a common sight as they crawl along the branches of the thick vegetation feeding on insects. In the clear areas you may catch a glimpse of a Duiker quietly feeding surrounded by Giant Lobellias and a variety of flowering plants.

After descending a few kilometers, you climb two hundred metres height to a ridge overlooking the valley, before crossing several small valleys and streams to Kyalavula. Walk back to the Base Camp from where you will be awarded your Rwenzori hiking certificate and this will mark the end of this mesmerizing hike. Dinner and overnight at Equator Snow Lodge

Day 12: Transfer to Kibale forest national park 

In the morning, after your breakfast, you will make a transfer to Kibale national park in the western region for chimpanzee trekking. Have your lunch in Fort portal town and after visit the crater lakes and other places depending on the available time. Later, proceed to the park for dinner and overnight stay at  Isunga Lodge.

Day 13: Chimpanzee trekking, a walk at Bigodi and transfer to Entebbe

After the delicious breakfast, you will head to the park headquarters for preparation of the chimpanzee trekking experience. Chimpanzee trekking experience involves hiking through the thick rain forests of the park in search of the apes. Upon meeting the chimps, you will be allowed to spend some time with them as you take pictures and videos. The experience also exposes you to other primates including the grey cheeked mangabey, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys and many others.

After, you will make a transfer to Entebbe International airport for your overnight stay or departure flight.