After a hearty breakfast, you’ll meet your driver-guide and start the 6-hour journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwestern Uganda. You’ll stop at the Equator Crossing in Kayabwe to observe the point separating the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

A well-interpreted water experiment will be performed to illustrate the different behaviors of water in the two hemispheres. You’ll also be able to take photos with one leg in the northern hemisphere and another in the southern hemisphere.

You’ll have another stop at the Igongo Cultural Centre for lunch before proceeding to the park. Upon arrival, you will start an afternoon game drive for your first sightings of the park’s resident game.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s premier big game destination and home to a host of incredible wildlife, including tree climbing lions, leopards, buffalos, hippos, crocodiles and primate species.

Enjoy a scintillating morning game drive to see diverse early risers, predators, and nocturnal animals. You can have breakfast at the lodge or pack a picnic breakfast to enjoy during your game drive. Expect to spot herds of buffaloes, antelopes, leopards, lions, and a collection of birds.

Queen Elizabeth National Park Launch Trip

In the afternoon, you will transfer to Mweya Jetty for a breathtaking 2-hour boat cruise along the famous Kazinga Channel, a wide, 32-kilometre (20-mile)-long natural channel that links Lake George and Lake Edward. Keep your eyes peeled for exciting wild- and birdlife drawn to the waterfront and see how many hippos you can spot – this is one of the world’s highest concentrations of hippos all year round.

With over 550 species of migrant and resident birds to explore, you are sure to tick off most of your favourites. The cruise also offers an excellent platform for photography.

Bid farewell to the northern sector of the Queen Elizabeth National Park and head towards the South while enjoying a thrilling game drive finale in the Ishasha Plains, best known for its tree-climbing lions (there are about 4 prides).

Depart Ishasha Sector for a spectacularly scenic drive traversing open plains, rolling hills and cultivated terraces before arriving at Bwindi Lodge in Buhoma Sector, which is your base for a once-in-a-lifetime gorilla trekking experience.

After a hearty breakfast, you’ll be transferred to the park headquarters to start your thrilling gorilla trekking experience. You’ll join a group of 7 other trekkers and then be led into the forest jungle by expert ranger guides and trackers.

Gorilla trekking in Bwindi involves choosing from among the 15 habituated gorilla families based on your age and overall fitness. You will walk along designated trails in search of these gentle giants. It might take between 2 and 6 hours to find a habituated family of gorillas, depending on their movement. Make sure you pack your lunch or some snacks, and drinking water.

Though hiking the steep slopes through shrubs and thickets can be strenuous, it’s well rewarding when you first set your eyes on the apes. You will be allowed to spend a maximum of one hour with them, observing them playing, munching, grooming, and napping. Enjoy every moment; take photos of them as you look straight into their inviting, expressive brown eyes.

After spending the one hour allotted to you with the gorillas, return to the headquarters to pick up your trekking certificate and return to the lodge for lunch (maybe).

In the afternoon, you will take a community walk by visiting the Batwa people, an indigenous tribe that once occupied the forest. This visit is punctuated with traditional dances, songs, and folklore.

Your 5 Days Uganda safari reaches its finale today. After breakfast, you will embark on a scenic 477 km road transfer to Kampala or Entebbe through the magical highlands of Kigezi. Along the way, enjoy breathtaking views of Ntungamo’s dramatic landscapes, decorated with extensive banana plantations and cattle farms.