6 Days Gorilla-Golden Monkey Trekking, Batwa Trail Experience And Volcano Hiking

This 6 days mountain gorilla –Golden monkey trekking- Batwa trail experience and volcano hiking safari is one of the best adventures in Uganda that will take you to Mgahinga gorilla national park in southwestern Uganda to encounter the mountain gorillas and golden monkeys in their natural habitat, engage with the Batwa pygmy people who are proudly known as “the forest keepers” and hike mount Sabinyo one of the three volcanoes found in Mgahinga gorilla national. Mgahinga gorilla national park is attached to Virunga National Park in DR Congo and Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda which makes the Virunga conservation area. This 6 Days gorilla-golden monkey trekking, Batwa trail experience and volcano hiking starts and ends in Kampala or Entebbe international airport and can booked anytime of the year.

Highlights of the 6 Days Gorilla-Golden Monkey Trekking, Batwa Trail Experience And Volcano Hiking;

• Day 1: Pick up from Kampala / Entebbe international airport – Transfer to Mgahinga gorilla national park
• Day 2: Mountain gorilla trekking – Spend your evening relaxing
• Day 3: Golden monkey tracking – Boat canoeing on Lake Mutanda
• Day 4: Mount Sabinyo hiking – Spend your Evening relaxing
• Day 5: Batwa trail experience – Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
• Day 6 Lake Bunyonyi- Morning boat riding – Return to Kampala or Entebbe international airport

Day 1: Pick up from Kampala / Entebbe airport – Transfer to Mgahinga gorillas national park

Today early in the morning after breakfast at your hotel / residence (0600hrs) or on your arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be warmly met by our company representative who will be your safari guide on this 6 Days gorilla-golden monkey trekking, Batwa trail experience and volcano hiking safari for meet and greet, be briefed on about the safari, get all your luggage loaded in the vehicle and thereafter, start your adventurous journey to Mgahinga gorilla national park based in the virunga volcanoes in the southwestern Uganda across the equator. Mgahinga gorilla national park is one of the only four national parks in African where you can encounter the mountain gorillas and the only park in Uganda where you meet both the mountain gorillas and golden monkeys hence making it to be defined as the home of Gold meets Silver. Mgahinga gorilla national park is made up of bamboo and rain forests which gives conducive environment to both Mountain gorillas and golden monkeys.

On your way to Mgahinga gorilla national park, you will have a stopover at Kayabwe Equator line. The line where the planet separates into northern part and southern part to take some memorial photos when one foot is stepped on the northern hemisphere and one on the southern hemisphere, see the water experience that shows the movement of forces on each side of the planet and at the center. Have a cup coffee and then continue with your journey with another stopover to have lunch Igongo Cultural Center. After the lunch break, proceed your drive through the beautiful landscapes made of valleys, forested and terraced hills. You will arrive at your booked lodge in the evening to freshen yourself, have dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation option; Mount Gahinga Lodge (Luxury), Lake Mulehe safari Lodge (Mid-range), Lake Chahafi Lodge (Standard)

Meal plan; Lunch / Dinner

Day 2: Mgahinga gorilla national park – Mountain gorilla trekking – Spend your evening relaxing

Wake up very early in the morning (0600hrs) to dress up well as its recommended, get other mountain gorilla trekking gears such as heavy duty gloves, binoculars, camera among others, have breakfast (0630hrs), get your packed snacks from the lodge, your drinking water and meet your safari guide to transfer to Ntebeko park information center to meet other guests for to be briefed on the dos and don’ts to follow during mountain gorilla trekking,  expectations of gorilla trekking and how to be behave in the presence of mountain gorillas, be allocated a park  ranger guide who is well conversant with the park and start your forest walk to search magical mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. During mountain gorilla trekking safari, you may have a chance to encounter several other wildlife species such as birds, other primates like black and white colobus, l’hoest monkeys, dwarf Galago, other animals like buffaloes, bush pigs, bushbucks, forest elephants, bird species like black kite, cape robin chat, speckled mouse bird, double collared sunbird, paradise flycatcher among others and beautiful plant species and guide will be able to give you information about everything you will encounter which will make your safari so adventurous and charming. The forest walk while search for the mountain gorillas may take about 45 minutes to 4 hours depending on your walking spend and where the mountain gorillas are located.

Once you meet the magical mountain gorillas you will be allowed to spend an hour with them in their natural habitat, you will be free to take as many photos as and recording videos of your beautiful moments while with the mountain gorillas as you would want and your park guide will help you to learn a lot about their behaviors, habits. You will watch them feeding, mothers breastfeeding their babies in case there are some and you will be free to ask as many questions as you would want about the gorillas and others. Thereafter spending an hour with the mountain gorillas, return to the park information center, get your certificate, meet up with your safari guide and drive back to your lodge to have full lunch, freshen yourself, and later spend rest of your time relaxing at the lodge. Dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation option; Mount Gahinga Lodge (Luxury), Lake Mulehe safari Lodge (Mid-range), Lake Chahafi Lodge (Standard)

Meal plan; Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 3: Mgahinga gorilla national park – Golden monkey trekking – Boat canoeing on Lake Mutanda

Rise up very early in the at (0600) to prepare for yourself for yet another primate adventure, have breakfast, get your packed snacks, drinking water and then meet your safari guide and drive you to the park information center to join other guests to be briefed on dos and don’ts of golden monkey tracking. Golden monkey are not popular primates and extremely unique. They were identified as an endangered primate specie due to their number that kept on reducing therefore, they are now under tight protection to ensure that they do not get extinct. Golden monkeys are only found in Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo and in only four national parks these include Mgahinga gorilla national park, Virunga national park and Volcanoes national park. The forest walk while searching for the golden monkeys may take about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on their movements because they move faster from one area to another in search of bamboo shoots, leaves. So, when tracking them, you be following their feeding trails. When you meet them, you will be allowed stay them for a maximum of one hour in their natural environment while learning about their lifestyle, seeing them playing while jumping up from one tree to another, take as many photos as you would want and ask some questions about them. After spending an hour with the beautiful golden monkeys, return to the park information center to meet your safari guide, drive back to your lodge to have lunch, relax and later go for an evening boat canoeing on Lake Mutanda one of the most scenic Lakes in all of Africa. Canoeing is one of the best activity to enjoy on the lake while seeing the scenic paradise that is beyond any imagination. Dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation option; Mount Gahinga Lodge (Luxury), Lake Mulehe safari Lodge (Mid-range), Lake Chahafi Lodge (Standard)

Meal plan; Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 4: Mgahinga gorilla national park – Mount Sabinyo volcano hiking – Spend your evening relaxing

After having your heavy breakfast, well prepared with your packed full lunch, some snacks, drinking water and then meet your safari guide to transferred to Ntebeko park information center to be briefed on your hiking safari on Mount Sabinyo, be allocated a park guide and later start the hike to summit of mount Sabinyo situated at an elevation of 3,645M above the sea level.  Mount Sabinyo is one of the 8 volcanoes found in the Virunga conservation area (virunga massif) that is found in southwestern Uganda along the Uganda Rwanda and DR Congo. So, while at its summit, you will have a chance to be in there countries at the same time. Mount Sabinyo got its name from its shape which resembles old man’s teeth thus the name Sabinyo. The other volcanoes found with in Virunga conservation area (Virunga massif) include; Mount Gahinga, Mount Muhabura, Mount Bisoke, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Nyiragongo Mount Mikeno, and Mount Nyamulagira all these volcanoes are spread with in three countries Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo and in three national parks these include Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda, Virunga national park in DR Congo and Volcanoes national park Rwanda.

Hiking Mount Sabinyo takes approximately 8 hours these include both ascending and descending depending on your hiking spend, physical fitness, climatic conditions and other hiking related factors. Mount Sabinyo hiking will take you through flats area, several swamps and bamboo forest covers of Mgahinga gorilla national park where you have chances to spot some wildlife species of the park such as golden monkeys, mountain gorillas, forest elephants and many others plus numerous bird species and guide will give you more information about everything that you will encounter. The most unique experience of Mount Sabinyo hiking is to reach at its summit have a chance to be in three countries (Rwanda Uganda and DR Congo) at the same particular time using one visa and also enjoying breathtaking landscapes from all countries like viewing Lake Kivu in Rwanda and the DR Congo, Lake Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda, Rwenzori mountain ranges and plus many other features. You will have a nice platform to take nice photos. Later, after enjoying all these magnificent sceneries, slowly descend to the starting point to meet your safari guide and then drive back to your lodge to freshen up and spend rest of your time relaxing, dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation option; Mount Gahinga Lodge (Luxury), Lake Mulehe safari Lodge (Mid-range), Lake Chahafi Lodge (Standard)

Meal plan; Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 5: Mgahinga gorilla national park – Batwa trail experience – Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi – Spend your evening relaxing

On this day, wake up to be served breakfast, get all your bags loaded in the vehicle, have your packed full lunch, check out of lodge, and drive to the Batwa pygmy people community where the trail experience starts from. You will be warmly welcomed by community members, be allocated a local Twa guide and then start the trail experience which normally starts with a prayer by lead by the guide begging for blessings from their spirits to keep everyone safe during the forest walk. The trail will take you through the Batwa ancient forest homes where they used to live before they were evicted when Mgahinga forest was created a national park to protect mountain gorillas, golden monkeys plus other wildlife species. Batwa trail experience is both a nature and cultural walk and you will learn a lot of how the Batwa pygmy people used to live happily in the forest, how they used to hunt, making herbs for medicine, gathered honey, how they made clothing, ate berries from the forest, used the bomboo trees to make home use utensils like cups, venting fire from wood plus many things of how they used to stay in their forest life. The trail will take you to visit Garama caves which used to be the hiding place to the King during times of war. The cave is about 342 meters in length and it used to contain the King’s quarter, drinking water, a kitchen and gathering meeting area. The trail will conclude with entertainment through traditional music, dance and drama from Batwa men and women groups. After the fascinating Batwa trail experience, meet your safari guide to enjoy your packed lunch, have some refreshments and then drive to Lake Bunyonyi the deepest Lake in Uganda to spend your evening relaxing while enjoying beautiful sceneries, dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation option; Birdnest Resort @Bunyonyi (Luxury), Bunyonyi Rock Resort (Mid-range), Bunyonyi View Resort (Standard)

Meal plan; Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Day 6: Lake Bunyonyi – Morning boat Riding – Return to Kampala / Entebbe international airport

After having breakfast, go for a morning boat riding on Lake Bunyonyi by your local canoe guide which will take 2 hours. Boat riding on Lake Bunyonyi gives a chance to enjoy the great views of the lake, landscape, terraced hills of the surrounding area, spotting several bird species and visiting of beautiful and historical islands on the lake such as the Akampene Island one of the small islands in Lake Bunyonyi which was used as the Punishment Island by the surrounding community of Bakiga people to punish their girls who would get pregnant before marriage by isolating them there till death as a way of scaring others from sex before marriage and to treasure their virginity until their official marriage. Later, discovering Lake Bunyonyi and visiting some island, return to your lodge to check out of your lodge and then start your journey back to your hotel/residence in Kampala or back to Entebbe international airport to prepare for your return flight. On your way to Kampala or Entebbe international airport, you will have a stopover at Igongo cultural center to have lunch, have another stop at Kayabwe Equator Landmark to shop some souvenirs and later drive straight to Kampala or Entebbe international airport and this will be the end of 6 Days gorilla-golden monkey trekking, Batwa trail experience and volcano hiking.

The package inclusions;

• Private 6 days transportation from Kampala/Entebbe international airport to Mgahinga gorilla national park and back using either Safari Land-cruiser or Safari Van (4WD, air-conditioned and pop up roof) Return airport transfers (Pick up and drop off)
• English speaking safari guide for 6 days
• Fuel for 6 days
• All en-route meals and bottled mineral water
• Private accommodation for 5 nights on full board meal plan (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)
• 1 mountain gorilla permit per person
• 1 golden monkey tracking permit
• Batwa trail experience
• Mount Sabinyo volcano hiking
• Boat canoeing on Lake Mutanda
• Boat riding on Lake Bunyonyi
• An en-route stop at Equator cross line
• A visit to Igingo cultural museum

The package excludes;

• International and domestic flights
• Country entry visa
• Personal travel insurance
• Souvenirs and gifts
• Porters
• Alcoholic and soft drinks (Beers, wines, whisks, sodas and special juices and coffee orders at the lodge)
• Tips
• Laundry and telephones services