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15 Day Uganda Gorilla Trekking & Rwenzori Mountain Hiking

15 Day Uganda Gorilla Trekking & Rwenzori Mountain Hiking

Overview

Embark on the journey to hike to the third highest peak in Africa after Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania & Mt. kenya in Kenya, hiking to Mt. Stanley at 5,109 Msl with combination of wildlife Safari in QE & Golden Monkey, Chimpanzee & Gorilla Trekking is one of the memorable African journeys.
You start in Entebbe/Kampala Uganda & end in Kigali, Rwanda with a visit to the kigali genocide museum, a 1994 Rwandan genocide against Tutsi remembrance.

Included/Excluded

  • 1X Uganda Gorilla Trekking Permit
  • Rwenzori Trekking fees
  • Rwenzori National Park entrance fees
  • 1X Chimpanzee Trekking Permit
  • 1X Golden Monkey Trekking Permit
  • Services of English speaking guide driver
  • Accommodation listed on the itinerary or similar
  • Meals (13 breakfasts, Lunches & Dinners)
  • Golden Monkey Trekking permit
  • Park entrance fees QE
  • Boat cruise Trip QE
  • Cross countries transfers in a standard 4X4 Safari van among others
  • Price excludes all other things of personal nature like the bar bills, visas, gratitudes, personal insurance, porter hire among others

Tour Plan

Day 1; Kampala/Entebbe transfer to Kibale Forest National Park

From your residence in Entebbe, your guide driver meets you, shortly after safari briefing transfer to Kibale Forest National Park. The drive through the tea estates and farmland gives you a glimpse of Uganda's beauty. In afternoon you will do the Bigodi wetlands Community walk. Overnight at Kibale Forest Lodge or similar

Day 2; Chimpanzee Trekking, Kibale Forest National Park transfer to Rwenzori National Park

After an early morning breakfast, transfer to Kanyanchu visitors centre. At Kanyanchu, you will meet with a senior ranger guide who will hike in the forest with searching for a family of Chimpanzees. When you find them, you're permitted to be with them for an hour. Afterwards return back to the starting point for issuance of Trekking certificate. After this amazing adventure transfer to rwenzori Mountains National Park a head of your Rwenzori Mountain  hiking & trekking adventure. Overnight at Kilembe backpackers hostel.

Day 3; day 1 of Rwenzori Mountain Hiking & Trekking

Start at Trekkers at 1,450 meters and sleep at Sine Hut at 2,596 meters being a height gain of 1,146 meters, or those who are fit and want to proceed to Kalalama Camp at 3,134 metres may do so & apart from the fantastic views gives you more time at Mutinda Camp where you may climb up to Mutinda Lookout at 3,975 metres.

We start by walking up the valley floor through tall forest trees of the Afro Montane Forest Zone. This is a steady climb with multitudes of birds and a chance of seeing blue monkeys scampering off through the forest. At times visitors may see troupes of 15 to 20 black and white Colobus monkeys as they swing through the tree tops. There are rare sightings of the L’Hoest monkey which are part of the Bukonzo cultural emblems and are protected by the virtue of the King or Omusinga or you may hear wild chimpanzee in the distance. There is wide variety of plant species from forest trees to bamboos thickets, low shrubs, flowers, fungi, and with many moss and lichen covered vines hanging from the tall trees creating an awesome appeal. Enock’s Falls are just 200 meters from Sine Hut and offer a splendid opportunity to capture a great screensaver for your memories.

At Sine Camp 2,596 metres there’s wooden huts set between tall forest trees on a narrow ridge where you may sit and enjoy the beauty of the Afro Montane forest while you look down at a fantastic waterfall crashing over the rocks far below. Some clients prefer to sit outside enjoying the warmth of the campfire and chat to the guides about the mountains and life in their community. Sine is just below the bamboo zone and the area around has many different bird species. 150 meters from the camp is Enock falls which is set in livid green vegetation & hanging vine. Truly beautiful.

Day 4; Day 2 of Rwenzori Mountain Hiking & Trekking

Trekking starts at 8.30am and almost immediately you enter the Bamboo-Mimulopsis Zone which is steep climb with many high steps. In the wet season the bamboo zone is rather muddy & slippery making the going slow. However the atmosphere and the forest is beautiful as you climb 551 metres altitude and a distance of 1.8km to Kalalama Camp at 3,147 meters which is in the Heather-Rapanea Zone where you can take a rest and a quick cup of tea or coffee before heading on to Mutinda Camp. The trail meanders up and over several small knolls along a ridge top then drops down the side of the valley before climbing again, and in doing so cross several small streams and pass close to moss covered waterfalls. You then climb steadily along the side of a beautiful mossy river which tumbles down over the rocks under the Giant Heather trees whose trunks are covered in green moss with old man beards (Usnea lichen) hanging from the branches. The trail twists and turns as you climb up the deep valley, which has an enormous variety of plants and flowers. This valley is unique with many Giant Heather trees creating a beautiful atmosphere often shrouded in mist. 

In the afternoon you may wish to climb up to the top of the Mutinda Lookout (one to two hours up and one hour down) The views are amazing as you stand on moss covered rocks at 3,925 meters with views across the Rwenzori Mountains and down to Kasese town and Lake George. For those clients who are climbing to Margherita or any of the main peaks climbing Mutinda 3,975 meters is also an excellent way to acclimatise and reduce the risk of high altitude sickness. Sleep at Mutinda Camp at 3.582 metres

Day 5; day 3 of Rwenzori Mountain Hiking & Trekking

The trail to Bugata Camp is boggy particularly in the wet season but with a little skill you can step from tussock to tussock to make the going easier.  First you cross the Mutinda valley through the tussock grass and everlasting flowers interspersed with many Giant Lobelias before climbing a steep section up to the Namusangi Valley (3,840 meters), with sheer waterfalls and looking back you get fantastic views of Mutinda Peaks. The Namusangi Valley is wide, with many ups and downs as the trail climbs steadily to Bugata Camp at 4,100 metres.

Day 6; day 4 of Rwenzori Mountain Hiking & Trekking

Trek to Hunwick’s Camp via Bamwanjarra Pass. As you leave Bugata Camp you pass up a ridge then drop down slightly before ascending to Bamwanjarra Pass at 4,450 meters where we have a hut should the weather turn bad. From the pass on a clear day you get excellent views of the three main peaks. The trail passes down the valley and around the edge of some bogs and thick ever green vegetation, moss. giant groundsel and lobelia. Here is possibly the best place in all the Rwenzori to observe the Malachite Sunbird as it feeds on the many lobelia flowers and a known breeding site. Farther on there is some steep sections before a steady climb up and over a ridge to Hunwick’s Camp which is situated on the top of a deep valley and has good views of Mt Stanley, Mt Baker, Weismanns Peak and McConnell’s Prong.

Day 7; Day 5 of Rwenzori Mountain Hiking & Trekking

From Hunwick’s pass down and across the valley floor to Lake Kitendara which is very stunning with deep water and beautiful vegetation. From here you climb up Scott Elliott’s pass then up the ridge to Margherita Camp 4,485 metres which is situated between some huge rocks and offering some shelter from the strong winds. This is the very spot where the Duke of Abruzzi camped when making his climb to Margherita Peak in 1906.

Day 8; day 6 of Rwenzori Mountain Hiking & Trekking

Wake up at 2am and catch an early breakfast before heading off to climb Mt Stanley at 2.30am. This is necessary as the weather has changed a lot and often even during the dryer season the mountain is closed in with heavy clouds and snow falls from 1 pm to 4pm and this happens within a short period of 10 to 15 minutes as the clouds rise up from the extensive Congo rainforests. During January and February 2017 clients were closed in and unable to walk during heavy snow storms which previously were not heard of during the dryer season and arrived back at Margherita camp well after dark with one group arriving back at 11pm totally exhausted.

Due to this change in weather there’s set strict turn around time of 10am so if you do not reach the peak before then you must turn around regardless of the disappointment in the interests of safety. Margherita glacier has also suffered with global warming and as the outer edges of the glacier recede the ice is becoming steeper with one section of about 200 meters more than 60% grade. Combined with this much of the blacker has melted underneath causing caves under the ice and as it get thinner eventually caves in. So is necessary that clients understand and take advice of where the guides suggest to pass.

For those clients with less mountaineering experience we suggest that you stay on Stanley glacier and climb up to a good vantage point on a rocky outcrop on the southern edge of Alexandra Peak to enjoy fantastic views over Congo and the lower mountain ridges.

After ascending the peak at 5,109 metres you then pass directly down to Hunwick’s Camp at 3.874 metres.

Day 9; day 7 of Rwenzori Mountain Hiking & Trekking

Distance to Kiharo Camp 11km Time taken to walk 4 to 7 hours

From Hunwick’s Camp start the day by climbing up a ridge towards McConnell’s Prong where you get the best views of all three peaks and Scott Elliott’s Pass before reaching Oliver’s Pass at 4,505 metres. The distance from Hunwick’s Camp to the top of Olivers Pass is 3km The trail then cuts across below Weismann’s Peak to the confluence of the Nyamwamba River which flows down thought Kilembe and Kasese to Lake George in Queen Elisabeth National Park.

If you wish to climb Weismanns Peak 4,620 metres from Olivers pass you may do so at an extra cost of $50 each. On a clear day you get fantastic views of Margherita and Mt Stanley, Mt Speke and Mt Baker.

After crossing the confluence the trail meanders down the valley to Kiharo Camp at which is situated in a deep valley with high cliffs and dense vegetation. On the way down the valley after each bog you will climb over a ridge of stones and earth which seems out of place but actually was pushed there by slow moving glaciers which eventually stopped moving, melted and left a pile of rocks and debris in front of where the glacier once stood.

Day 10; day 8 of Rwenzori Mountain Hiking & Trekking will be followed by a transfer to QENP

Distance Kiharo Camp to the park gate 16km and another 2.8km down to Trekkers Hostel. 

The trail down the Nyamwamba Valley is mostly downhill and absolutely stunning with beautiful views, moss covered rocks along the river, cascading waterfalls, deep valleys and forests are possibly the best in the Rwenzori Mountains. This part of the trail took six years to find a way through and a route which is easy enough for tourists to use. In 1937 the explorer and geologist McConnell tried to find a way up this valley but failed and have to turn back and search for another route up the mountain but now you can experience this truly beautiful valley.

A few kilometres from Kiharo Camp the path turns off to the right to pass along the river. In the clear areas you may catch a glimpse of a Duiker quietly feeding in small clearings as you pass along the river. This area is possible the highest population of Rwenzori Red Duikers anywhere in the National Park  A few kilometres down the river it becomes  steeper with multitudes of stunning waterfalls.  After the waterfalls we climb up and over a high ridge then down though the dense forests with stunning views of the valley below.  There will be a stopover at Forest View Camp for lunch before proceeding back to Base Camp. A great experience and ending to a fantastic rwenzori trekking adventure and this will be followed by a transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Overnight at Bush Lodge or similar.

Day 11; Game Drive & Boat Cruise Safari, Queen Elizabeth National Park.

An early morning breakfast will be followed by a transfer to Kasenyi for a game drive. Kasenyi plains with highest concentration of prey attracts predators and which creates chances to encounter some of the big cats present in Queen Elizabeth National park while on this game drive adventure. In the afternoon participate on the boat cruise at Kazinga Channel that connects lake Edward and Lake George. During the two hours boat cruise safari, a lot of aquatic, semiaquatic, terrestrial & birdlife will be encountered marking the greatest day in Queen Elizabeth National park. Overnight at Bush Lodge or similar.

Day 12; Queen Elizabeth National Park transfer to Bwindi Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.

After a leisurely morning breakfast transfer to Bwindi Mgahinga Gorilla National Park a head of uganda gorilla trekking adventure. Overnight at Travelers Rest Hotel or similar.

Day 13; Uganda Gorilla Trekking Bwindi/Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

After an early morning breakfast, transfer to the ranger station for Gorilla Trekking Briefing on dos and don’ts while you will be interacting with gorillas, afterwards you will be accompanied by a senior ranger guide & hike into the forest in search of gorillas. Once you find them, you will be allowed to stay with them for an hour & After the experience return back to the lodge. Overnight at Travelers Rest Hotel or similar 

Day 14; Golden Monkey Trekking Transfer to Kigali, Rwanda.

After an early morning breakfast, transfer to Ntebeko Mgahinga Gorilla National Park for golden monkey trekking. After the golden monkey trekking experience, transfer to Kigali, Rwanda. Overnight at Hotel Des Melli Collines or similar.

Day 15; Kigali Rwanda Transfer to the airport for Departure.

A leisurely morning breakfast, visit the kigali genocide museum to pay your last respect to the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide against Tutsi and depending on your outbound flight, this will be followed by a transfer to the airport targeting for your outbound flight marking the end of your trip.

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Lokman_13
Lokman_13
2022-09-02
Reliable Organization of Gorilla Trekking Experience I was very satisfied with the Gorilla Trekking Experience. It was a true once in a lifetime experience. With Safari 2 Gorilla Tours Ltd I especially liked the fast and reliable communication with Aron who usually answers the same day when you ask questions via WhatsApp or Email. The money for the Gorilla-Trekking could easily be paid via MTN money transfer, however also bank transfer or cash payment would have been possible. Aron picked me up from my hotel at Lake Bunyonyi and drove me all the way to Mgahinga National Park. In the National Park they have their own guides. So Aron and his colleagues waited for me outside until the Trekking was over and then drove me back to Lake Bunyonyi.
Claudia
Claudia
2022-08-29
I totally recommend it Aron is very professional, the tour went perfectly. He was always very attentive to my needs, flexible and, without a doubt, very kind. I totally recommend it.
Ronny R
Ronny R
2022-01-15
Not recommendable We booked a combined trip to Rwanda and DRC. The services in Rwanda were close to what was offered. In DRC, however, Aaron tried to rip us off. Instead of the 3-star lodge we had booked and paid for, they wanted to put us up in a room without any standard (no water, used towels). We had to spend a night there and really struggle to get to the lodge we had booked. The Congolese guide kept telling us that he had not received any money from Safari 2 Gorilla Tours and therefore could not pay for the services we had booked. Aaron only gave us completely idiotic excuses like Covid, no cook in the lodge (all lies, there were good staff in the lodge). Safari 2 Gorilla Tours is not recommended because they are dishonest and that is dangerous when paying in advance. 2 hours before departure we were suddenly informed of the change in accommodation, where there was no way of defending ourselves. Should tours deny this, photos of paid and received services as well as price and itinerary follow.
Janusz S
Janusz S
2021-04-11
Great time in Uganda In February, I had the opportunity to travel around Uganda with Safari 2 Gorilla Tours Ltd. Great impression and great experience. We drove across the country from Kidepo Valley Park in the north to Mgahinga Park on the southern tip of Uganda- a unique opportunity to see mountain gorillas. Excellent tour guides Martin and Barnice- professional and enthusiastic. Thanks to them I learned a lot and, above all, I spent an amazing and unforgettable time in beautiful Uganda. I highly recommend
Danielle
Danielle
2021-04-07
Great private taxi transfer service! Normally we travel independently but because of Covid-19 we try not to use public transport on this trip. Safari 2 Gorilla Tours offered us private taxi transfer service with good value for money multiple times: from lake Mburo to Rushaga, Rushaga to lake Bunyonyi, lake Bunyonyi to Kampala, Kampala to Jinja and Jinja to Entebbe.
Communication via WhatsApp to make arrangements went very smooth with Aron being quick and clear in his responses.
Aron drove us most of the time, but we also had a ride with driver Barnice. Every time they were in time, most of the times even early to make sure we could leave whenever we wanted. The service was more than just a private taxi service: Aron told us many interesting things about Uganda and let us taste some local food. That really made our trip more colourful and interesting.They know a lot of good places all over the country, like restaurants and accomodation. Although we organized our trip by ourselves, that was still an advantage. Above that, Aron uses his business in Uganda to help other Ugandans as well.

We would definitely recommend to travel with Safari 2 Gorilla Tours.
jpeters-pa
jpeters-pa
2020-11-06
Rwanda - GO NOW! I decided to book at trip to Rwanda in September and within a month I was staring at Muhoza. I could not have pulled off such a successful trip without Safari 2 Gorilla Tours and Aron. S2G’s planning, communication, and execution of schedule was key to a solo traveler such as me, particularly during these challenging covid times. Because no one is getting back out there yet, I essentially had private tours for a totally reasonable cost. Aron customized two tours for me, and I went on both of them (starting and returning to Kigali, I was in Rwanda the whole time). Tour one was a five-day, three-park primate adventure, with Danny as my trusted driver/tour guide/translator/and all-around great company! Much joy was driving between the parks, seeing all of Rwanda and her busy, productive people and learning about the local culture from Danny. Tour two was a three-day Akagera NP safari, with a full day of game drive and a morning boat tour of Lake Ihema. Danny was again my driver/compadre for the Akagera tour. He actually drove the 8 hour park loop as Gisele and I spotted all of the safari animals – again, private tours right now! The hotels they selected along the way were very nice (especially the Ingagi Park View Lodge), and the schedule allowed for downtime between the activities. This was a totally unique adventure during a weird, strange time. But Rwanda has this covid issue under control as well as any other country in the world. If you want the feeling of being the “only one there”, right now is the time to go, Rwanda is the place to go, and Aron at Safari 2 Gorillas is the guy to call!
Jon Peters
USA
Henning T
Henning T
2020-03-10
Queen Elizabeth Nationalpark with Safari 2 Gorilla-Tours: Amazing! We highly recommend travelling with Safari 2 Gorilla Tours. Our tour guide Aron made our trip to Queen Elizabeth Nationalpark unforgettable. He was always pleasant and reliable. Thanks to him we got to see so many animals, even a leopard (very rare !) and some lions. He organized even a chimpanzee trekking for us. It was a fantastic experience ! Thanks again Aron !
Taabu
Taabu
2020-02-21
Safrai 2 Gorrilla Tours 'welcome people from all over the world' except black Africans I contacted Aron in November 2019 to organise a 3 day Uganda Gorilla Trek and Golden Monkey tour from 25 January 2020. As many contributors have already noted Aron is polite, attentive, and responds to emails prompltly regardless of the time of day however once I'd paid the balance of the invoice, Aron went silent.
In my iniitial email to him I had explained that I'm Kenyan and would be travelling to Rwanda from Nairobi, Kenya. As an east African citizen I thought this information was useful in terms of national park fees and so on; little did I know that it would affect my whole Gorilla trek experience.

I'd settled the balance of my invoice in November 2019 and Aron emailed to confirm full payment. I never heard from Aron again except when I emailed him to find out the arrangements for when I arrived in Rwanda. At the time I didn't think much of it as I'd read so many glowing reviews of Aron and his tour company; his attentive nature, professionalism and general good nature. A fortnight or so before my arrival I'd still not heard from him so I emailed to find out the itinerary for when I arrived in Rwanda - nothing. Just a curt response confirming that he had the number for my hotel and presumably (Aron did not confirm) that he would call me at my hotel to arrange a time to pick me up from my hotel.

I arrived at the hotel, following a 10 hour flight from London on Friday, 24 January to find there was no message was left by Aron advising when I'd be picked up the following day. On Saturday, 25 January at about 9 am the receptionist knocked on my door to inform me that a driver had arrived to pick me up and drive me to Uganda. As I'd not had any advance information of this arrangement I was not ready; i hadn't showered or eaten breakfast. And so we did not set off until gone 10 am. This was the first poor service i'd received.

I'd paid for a 3-day Gorilla trek etc which included on the first day a visit to the Rwanda Genocide memorial. When the driver set off we'd been driving and passed a sign to the memorial site, after almost an hour I asked if we were still going to the memoial site, and only then did the driver inform me that due to the late departure he had decided to postpone the visit to the memorial until the return leg of my three day trip. The second poor service i'd received.

Bwindi national park is in Uganda and so I was driven through Rwanda to Uganda via a land border, an eight hour journey that ordinarily shouldn't have taken that long. The third poor service.

During the drive Aron maintained constant communication with the driver - whose name escapes me - and not once did he ask the driver to pass the phone to me so that he could speak to me. By that I mean even welcoming me, asking me how my trip was, finding out if there was anything I needed, any issues or problems with the trip I'd paid for. The fourth poor service I received

When we arrived at Rushaga camp each visitor at dinner was assigned a table with the name of their guide on it; stupidly I immediately thought Ohhh so Aron had sent a driver to pick me up from Rwanda and that now I was going to meet him! How wrong i was. When i sat down expecting to meet Aron who should turn up? but the driver! Cheekily I asked if he was Aron and offended he curtly replied no!. When i asked what happend to Aron he informed me that Aron had been in constant communication throughout the day! When I asked why Aron hadn't even said hello or welcomed me he just said that Aron was on another tour. At that moment I realised what was happening and why. In Aron's eyes I was a black African tourist that yes, had paid for the same service and support that my white counterparts had received but due to his low perception of me and fellow black Africans I did not warrant the same service, attention, or even respect. I did not speak to the driver again for the rest of the evening. I was surrounded by fellow travellers that were accompanied by guides who made them feel welcome, valued and respected; they sat together sharing stories from their travels whilst I and the driver sat silently. Even as I tried to get the driver to understand how insulted and disrespected I felt he just didn't get it. A part of me feels if i was white he wouldn't have found it so hard understanding how poorly I'd been treated. But as a black African what reason did I have to complain? The fifth poor service I'd received

On the second day i was due to visit Mgahinga national park almost a two hour drive away. As debrief started at 8 am we arranged to leave Rushaga Gorilla camp by 6 am; arranging to meet for breakfast at 05:30 am. 06:00 am the driver was nowhere to be found. Finally at 06:30 he appears in the dinning room feigning an alarm malfunction. I had to demand an apology from him. The sixth poor service i'd received.

We arrived at the national park at 08:25. I was the only black tourist and when I asked the guide to summarise the debrief he audibly commented that as I'd arrived late he'd not be able to repeat it for me. Cynically I felt that If I was white he'd problably have ignored the fact that the driver had got me to the debrief late and still gone through the key points. The seventh poor sevice I'd received.

I could go on and on but I won't. I think you get the gist. I never once spoke to Aron, met him or communicated with him during my time in Rwanda and Uganda. I left Rwanda on Tuesday, 28 January 2020 and have delayed posting this review until now to see whether or not I'd hear from Aron. I haven't and I know I never will.

I would never recommend this company to anyone regardless of who you are. I pity and despise racists and would never support a business that openly discriminates against black Africans.
Sydney
Sydney
2020-01-05
3 day Uganda- Gorilla Trek and Golden Monkeys Would absolutely recommend them! Aaron was very professional when communicating with us. Our driver Martin picked us up in Kigali and he was great! Very professional and answered all our questions safe driver. He arranged all logistics and we were very happy!

Would absolutely recommend Safari 2 Gorilla Tours! Thanks Aaron and Martin for an unforgetable trip!
csimin
csimin
2020-01-03
일처리가 깔끔하고 친절한점이 훌륭했습니다. 카발레에서 당일치기로 고릴라 투어를 진행했는데 정시에 픽업을 나와주었고 투어 끝나고 Bunyonyi 호수를 들러달라는 요청도 들어주었습니다. (5만 실링 지불) 전반적으로 친절하였으며 메일 답장도 꽤 빨라서 추천할만합니다.

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