5-Day Luxury Fly-In Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari – Gorillas – Tree Climbing Lions
5-Day Luxury Gorilla Trekking and Tree-Climbing Lions and other Wildlife Safari
5-Day Luxury Fly-In Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari, where you encounter the Mountain Gorillas and visit the Tree Climbing Lions seeing the other wildlife in the Ishasha region of Queen Elizabeth Park. See two of Africa’s rarities. Mountain Gorillas in Africa’s premier Gorilla Park and the best location in all of East Africa to see the Tree Climbing Lions.
The Safari brings together an ancient Rainforest and the open Savannah with its Tree-Climbing Lions, thriving Elephant population at the 1960s levels, vast Buffalo Herds, Uganda Kob, and Topi Antelopes by the thousands.
Enjoy breakfast and the traditional Sundowner in the Bush. Take the breathtaking view from your Lodge in Bwindi on this 5-Day Luxury Fly-In Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari with no extended drive times.
Fly in from Entebbe on a 75-minute flight with an AeroLink Cessna Grand Caravan, where your experienced driver-guide will ensure your needs and wishes are met as he introduces you to Uganda.
Stay at two top Lodges in Uganda with two nights at the exclusive Bwindi Lodge and the Ishasha Wilderness Camp, nestled along the Ntungwe River. Take advantage of this excellent safari offering and discover why Uganda is the Pearl of Africa.
Your 5-Day Luxury Fly-In Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari Highlights:
- AeroLink flight to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest: Fly from Entebbe to Kihihi airstrip. This is a 75-minute flight. Upon arrival, you are met by
your driver-guide, who will take you to your lodge. Read more about AeroLink.
- Lodges: Bwindi Lodge in Buhoma and Ishasha Wilderness Camp.
- Twice Gorilla Trekking: Trek Gorillas for two days. Permits are included in this Safari. Porter Services, Walking Sticks, Facial Masks, and bottled water are included for each trek.
- Batwa Experience: See the forest through the eyes of its first people who have lived here for thousands of years.
- Wildlife Game Drives: Game Drives where you will see the famous tree-climbing lions and other wildlife.
- Bush Breakfast – Sundowners: Two safari traditions in the Bush on the Ishasha Plains.
- Experienced Driver-Guide -Toyota Land Cruiser: The vehicle has a pop-up roof.
In addition, we arrange arrival and departure procedures plus a hotel for you to stay at in Entebbe.
Your 5-Day Luxury Fly-In Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari in Detail:
Arrival at Entebbe International Airport
Welcome to Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, for your African Gorilla Adventure in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, which according to CNN Travel, is one of the best parks in Africa.
You will be met by us no matter your arrival time. We will take you to your hotel where you can enjoy lunch or dinner.
Stay overnight at a luxury hotel that we arrange for you conveniently near the airport for an early flight to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with Aerolink Safari Airline.
This is the quickest and most convenient way chosen by an increasing number of our clients, and the convenience outweighs the extra cost and will give you more time in and around Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
We can also arrange a day room or an overnight stay before your flight out of Uganda. Entebbe International Airport Tourist Information.
Day 1: Fly to Kihihi – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest:
Departure times are at 7:00, 10:15, and 14:40. The morning flights are ideal if you want to enjoy the Buhoma area of the park and some of its choice activities. Take the early flight and maximize your time on Safari.
Your driver-guide will pick you up at the Hotel at the appointed time that you are checking 60minutes before your flight departure to the Kihihi airstrip near the Buhoma area of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
We can store any extra luggage you cannot take on your flight. Your luggage will be returned after you return to Entebbe.
It would be best to pack wisely since there is a 15 kg weight limit. Excess weight charges are six dollars per kilo. We suggest you wear your trekking boots on the flight and not put them into your luggage. Duffel bags are recommended but not required.
Your scenic flight to the Kihihi airstrip is 75 minutes. Kihihi airstrip is not in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest area, and it serves Safari Goers wanting to come to both Bwindi Forest and the Ishasha area of Queen Elizabeth Park.
On arrival, you are met up by your driver-guide, who will drive you to Bwindi Lodge in the Buhoma area of Bwindi Forest. The drive will take about 45 minutes.
Your Gorilla Trekking Lodge – Bwindi Lodge
Bwindi Lodge, where you are welcomed Ugandan style in the spirit of African Hospitality at its best. Bwindi Lodge is among the best lodges in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and beyond. There are the standard Luxury Bandas (cottages) and two deluxe cabins, all with private views of the ancient rainforest. WiFi is in the main lodge area.
The Lodge is adjacent to the park, and often you will see primates in the trees. On some rare occasions, Gorillas wander through the lodge area, an enjoyable and welcoming place to stay at.
The Lodge is adjacent to the Forest and near the park headquarters, where your gorilla trekking adventure begins. The meals served here will be beyond expectations, and dietary needs, including religious ones, can be met. If you have a dietary need or preference, please let us know when you book this Safari.
The Lodge tends to look out to meet the needs of its guests, and its friendly staff will show above-standard services at every level.
The Batwa Experience – a cultural encounter with the First People of the Forest
The Batwa Experience is one of the best interactive Forest Walks with the first people of the Forest, the Batwa Pygmies, who had lived here for thousands of years before any Bantu People arrived. They lived in harmony with nature, with the Mountain Gorillas in the Forest only taking what they needed to live,
They were hunters and gatherers, and today, you will see what they hunted and gathered in the Forest. One of their trademarks was the low ecological footprint that they left behind.
The Kellerman Foundation started the Batwa Experience and has worked for several decades with the Batwa People improving their well-being and education, empowering them to have a voice since they have been voiceless.
This is a three to four-hour interactive, guided walk, and you return to the Lodge well before sunset.
Meal Plan: Lunch – Dinner
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking: 
Breakfast and this is your big day of visiting the gentle giants of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. There are some things you will need for today’s trek. Packed lunch from the Lodge, a light backpack, light rain jacket, lightweight hiking boots, long-sleeved shirts to avoid getting scratched by branches and stung by nettles, a hat, long trousers or jeans, gardening gloves to pull yourself up on branches and vines to get close to the Mountain Gorillas.
At times people ask, “is gorilla trekking worth it?” You will soon find out that it is when you spend your hour with the Mountain Gorillas in the ancient rainforest of Bwindi. It is an experience you will never forget and a most critical time for you without comparison.
Gorilla tracking takes a couple of hours to over five since the Mountain Gorilla Families move daily and build new nests daily. The group you visit is habituated, meaning they are used to human beings near them.
Read about what to wear and bring for Gorilla Trek:Read our Gorilla Trekking Tips and Advice:
Meal Plan: Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner
Day 3: Ishasha Wilderness Camp:
Breakfast at Bwindi Lodge, and we take the short drive to the Ishasha area of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Here you check into the exclusive Ishasha Wilderness Tented Camp along the Ntungwe River, where you will be staying in your large and luxurious tent with an en-suite bath.
From your luxury tent or the main Lodge, you can often see elephants that have come to bathe and water – one can eat in the dining room or along the river. The setting is fabulous, and you are in the remote region of Queen Elizabeth Park.
Ishasha Wilderness Camp is the only Lodge located inside the Ishasha Region of the park. It is a luxury tented camp along the Ntungwe River where Elephants can be seen while you are having a meal. The Lodge provides comfort, excellent service, and superb meals to please the palate and the eyes.
While here, you can enjoy a traditional Bush Breakfast. For many, it becomes a very memorable occasion. Just think of a fabulous breakfast on the
Savannah under a tree. We can also arrange a Sundowner in the wild. The Sundowner goes back to colonial times when the British used to have their anti-malarial regimen of having a Gin and Tonic.
The Lodge has a natural wilderness feel since it is not as frequently visited as the northern area of Queen Elizabeth Park.
Settle in – and enjoy the surroundings of the African Wild at Ishasha Tented Camp. It is merely a wondrous place of comfort while you are in the bush and quite different from the setting at Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
Ishasha is Africa’s best place to see Tree Climbing Lions, a fantastic sight. Still, there is much more to Ishasha, such as many elephants, buffaloes, and antelopes, such as the Topi and the Uganda Kob. There are also leopards to be seen here, savannah birds, and along the Lake Swamps, the elusive Shoebill Stork.
Afternoon Game Drive in Search of the Tree-Climbing Lions
Take an afternoon game drive in search of tree-climbing lions. Ishasha is the best place to do just that. The lions spend up to fifteen hours a day in a day sleeping, and no one knows precisely why they do that. Most likely, it is to escape annoying insects. Others feel that it is a cultural and a learned habit
n an open-air safari vehicle where nothing obstructs your view of the surroundings, the wildlife such as the tree-climbing lions, elephants, antelopes, including the handsome Topi and Uganda Kob, hopefully, a leopard or two and more. This is the most exciting way to see the unvisited Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth Park.
After the game drive, return to Ishasha Wilderness Tented Camp, where you can sit along the river and watch the elephants come to water and bathe along the Ntungwe River.
You might choose to have a sundowner at the Lodge along the river or on the deck of your tent. You certainly will enjoy dinner at Ishasha Wilderness Camp.
Meal Plan: Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner
Day 4: Ishasha Wilderness Are
We suggest having a Bush Breakfast this morning. Put aside any idea of a camping breakfast you had in the past. A safari bush breakfast has become a tradition and is a far cry from an Ernest Hemingway or Karen Blixen bush breakfast.
The crew from Ishasha Wilderness Camp will prepare you the breakfast of your choice in the Bush with nothing missing.
Breakfast becomes part of your game drive. We suggest having breakfast first since the tree-climbing lions do not climb into trees until about 8 am.
You will have an enjoyable morning by combining your game drive with a bush breakfast.
Enjoy some time at the Lodge, including lunch. You will find many animals and birds to see while seated by the Ntungwe River.
Embark on an afternoon game drive again, visiting the tree-climbing lions, and other wildlife found here. End the game drive with the sundowner tradition. Unlike the British colonialists with their gin and tonic drinks, you will find a whole variety of beverages that you can enjoy. Besides drinks, there is an assortment of freshly prepared snacks.
And then it is a sundowner with snacks in the Bush – another unique experience for you to enjoy.
Meal Plan: Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner
Day 5: Fly to Entebbe:
Departure times from Kihihi to Entebbe International airport are 9:45, arriving in Entebbe at 11:25, 11:40, arriving at 13:30, and 14:45 arriving in Entebbe at 16:15. We will arrange your morning in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest based on your wishes.
We can arrange for a day-room where you can freshen up before your flight out.
Meal Plan: Breakfast
Please Note: You can add a day and twice trek with the same or different group, and you can also add two days to see the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha. Just let us know.
What is included in this 5-Day Luxury Fly-In Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari?
- Experienced Ugandan Driver-Guide: A Safari becomes more enjoyable when you go with a knowledgeable and professional Local Driver-Guide.
- Greet and Meet at Airport upon arrival: We provide meet and greet services, including a welcome gift and Safari Informational Packet.
- AeroLink Safari Airline Flights: The flights to and from Entebbe are included.
- Full-Board Lodging: All meals are included except alcoholic drinks, sodas, and snacks that you might order apart from meals. Some luxury Lodges have non-premium alcoholic beverages and sodas.
- Private 4×4 Land Cruiser Safari Vehicle with pop-Up Roof: The vehicle has a car fridge, WiFi, and bottled Water.
- Gorilla Trekking: Gorilla Trekking Permits are included in your Safari. Additionally, we provide porter services, a walking stick for support, and bottled water. Read our Practical Gorilla Trekking Advice:
- Activities included in the itinerary: except where it states optional.
- WiFi Internet Access: Most Lodges only provide a WiFi Internet Connection in the main lodge. We offer you a MiFi Router that gives you and your party access to the internet in your cottage or room, depending on nearby transmission towers. Read Staying in touch with home.
- Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, Mandarin, Arabic Speaking Driver-Guides: At an extra cost.
- Your Dietary Needs can be met: Notify us if you are a vegan, vegetarian, or need a gluten-free diet. Halala dietary requirements can be met in most instances. Strictly kosher nutritional requirements cannot be met on safari.
- ;Automatic AMREF-Flying Doctors Air-Medivac Insurance coverage: Our clients have covered in the case of a rare need for medical evacuation to a hospital that meets international standards.
Not included: Visas, Travel Insurance, Tips, drinks at lodges such as Alcoholic drinks and sodas, extra day option.
