This is a strenuous activity and one should be physically fit to enjoy this safari. Professional guides will accompany groups but no porters are available to carry personal belongings. Minimum age is fifteen years. Anyone with signs of communicable disease will not be allowed to trek.

While possession of a gorilla permit is a guarantee of trekking, it cannot be a guarantee of sighting. However the chance of sighting is high - 95% or more. Maximum time allowed with the gorillas is one hour at a minimum distance of 7 meters.

No flash photography is allowed and fast film is therefore recommended (minimum 400-1600 ASA). Personal DVD recorders are allowed. Special arrangements need to be made for professional film makers and filming permits are required for commercial photography and filming.

For Gorilla Tracking, we strongly recommend a breathable and lightweight rain jacket or poncho, a warm jacket or fleece for overcast days and evening, long-sleeved shirt and trousers, sturdy waterproof walking boots (seasoned or well worn footwear), leather gardening type gloves, sunscreen, cap or sun hat, sunglasses, insect repellent, comfortable day pack for carrying water and minimum amount of personal items. Cameras and video cameras are allowed, but bring film and batteries from Kampala.

ITINERARY:
This safari will take you to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for mountain gorilla tracking. Bwindi is home to 326 gorillas, almost a half of the world's population of Mountain Gorillas. It is estimated that only about 700 Mountain Gorillas are remaining worldwide. The park has about 120 species of mammals including 7 diurnal primates and about 30 elephants.
Therefore tracking some of the last remaining closest relatives of man is an experience one should not miss.

Day 1: Arrival You will be met on arrival at Entebbe International Airport and driven to Kampala where you will be checked in your hotel and briefed on your tour itinerary. Dinner and overnight at Kampala Serena Hotel.

Day 2: Bwindi Gorilla Forest.
After an early breakfast you will leave Kampala for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. En route you will have a brief stop-over at The Equator, where you can take photographs. You will stop for lunch at Mbarara, after which you will proceed on your drive arriving in the late evening. Dinner and Overnight at Gorilla Resort Bwindi.

Day 3: Gorilla Trekking.
After breakfast, you will be picked from the Resort and taken to the ranger station for a briefing on Gorilla tracking. The park offers specialized guides with knowledge on the rare mammals who will lead you to the habitats of the Gorillas. This journey through heavy bushes can take anywhere from one hour to eight hours giving you an unforgettable jungle experience. Gorilla tracking is a tiresome activity and hence a reasonable degree of fitness is required On locating the gorillas you will be allowed to watch them and photograph them from a minimum of five meters distance. It's an indescribable feeling sitting among man's closest relatives. Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Resort.

Day 4: Nature Walks.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park offers some of the finest montane forest birding in Africa and is a key destination to any birder visiting Uganda. At least 23 of Uganda's 24 Albertine Rift Endemics are resident in Bwindi. Among these they include, spectacular globally threatened species such as African Green Broadbill and Shelley's Crimsonwing.

After breakfast you will be taken to the ranger station at Ruhizha at an altitude of 2300 m, with breath-taking views over steep, forested valleys towards the distant Virunga Volcanoes. This is a good place for excellent birding; birds are both plentiful and easy to see. You cannot miss birds such as the Handsome Francolin, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eaters, Western Green Tinker bird, Mountain and Yellow-streaked Greenbuls, Red-faced Woodland warbler, African Hill Babbler, Collard Apalis and Mountain illadopsis, among others. You will return to the resort for a late lunch, then relax.
After lunch you will have a guided walk on the Munyaga River trail. This trail leads to three crystal clear waterfalls and here you may also see plenty of birds and primates.
Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Resort.

Day 5: Return to Kampala.
After breakfast you will checkout and drive back to Kampala. Dinner and overnight at Speke Resort Munyonyo.

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