9 Day Uganda Gorilla Safari with Lake Mburo

Arrive at Entebbe International Airport and meet your safari representative. Transfer to your hotel in Entebbe and spend the remainder of the day resting after your international journey. If you arrive earlier, optional activities can be organized in and around Entebbe.

Your guide will brief you about the upcoming journey, including what to expect in Lake Mburo and how to prepare for mountain gorilla trekking.

After breakfast, depart Entebbe and travel southwest toward Lake Mburo National Park. The journey passes through Uganda’s agricultural countryside and a number of regional towns. Stop around the Equator for photographs, refreshments and an opportunity to browse local crafts.

Continue toward Lake Mburo. The park contains a beautiful mixture of rolling hills, acacia woodland, grassland, wetlands and lakes. After check-in and lunch, begin your first game drive.

Lake Mburo is particularly well known for zebras and impalas. You may also see buffaloes, warthogs, waterbucks, elands and other animals. Return to your lodge in the evening.

Wake early for another activity within the Lake Mburo ecosystem. Depending on your interests and confirmed package, begin with a guided walking safari or game drive. A walking safari provides a very different perspective from viewing wildlife inside a vehicle.

Accompanied by an authorized ranger, you can learn about animal tracks, plants and smaller details of the ecosystem while searching for zebras, impalas and other wildlife from a safe distance. Alternatively, enjoy a longer vehicle-based game drive. Later in the day, an optional boat safari can be arranged.

The lake supports hippos and a wide variety of waterbirds. Spend the afternoon relaxing at your lodge or participating in another available activity. Having a full day in Lake Mburo allows you to appreciate the park rather than using it only as an overnight stop.

After breakfast, leave Lake Mburo and continue deeper into southwestern Uganda. The landscape gradually becomes more mountainous as you travel toward the gorilla region. Pass through farming areas, villages and towns while your guide explains local geography and culture.

Lunch is arranged along the route. Depending on the final routing, this day can be used to reach the Bwindi region or an intermediate destination that breaks up the journey. Arrive at your lodge in the afternoon or evening.

After breakfast, continue toward Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. As you approach the forest, the scenery becomes increasingly dramatic. Terraced hillsides and cultivated valleys surround forest-covered ridges.

Bwindi is one of Africa’s oldest and most biologically important rainforests and is internationally famous for mountain gorillas. Arrive at your lodge near the trekking sector specified on your permit. Spend the afternoon relaxing and preparing for your trek.

Your guide will advise you about boots, clothing, gloves, water and the following morning’s departure time.

Today is the defining experience of your 9 Day Uganda Gorilla Safari with Lake Mburo. Wake early and enjoy breakfast before transferring to the appropriate Uganda Wildlife Authority briefing point. Park personnel explain the rules of gorilla trekking and assign visitors to habituated families.

Enter the rainforest with ranger guides and trackers. The trek can be physically demanding because Bwindi is mountainous and trails may be steep or muddy. Mountain gorillas move freely through the forest, so the time required to locate them varies.

A porter is highly recommended.

Enjoy a more relaxed day after gorilla trekking. Depending on your interests, an optional community visit, forest walk or birding experience can be arranged. Community tourism can provide insight into life around Bwindi and the ways local residents participate in tourism and conservation.

You may meet craftspeople, farmers or cultural groups and learn about local traditions. Nature enthusiasts can instead focus on the forest’s birds, butterflies and plant life. The afternoon can be spent relaxing at your lodge.

After breakfast, check out and begin the scenic return journey toward central Uganda. The nine-day format allows you to break the long transfer rather than traveling from Bwindi to Entebbe in one continuous day. Stop for lunch and refreshments along the way.

Enjoy views of rural landscapes and small towns before reaching your selected overnight stop. Arrive in the late afternoon and enjoy dinner.

After breakfast, complete the journey toward Entebbe. If the Equator stop was not made earlier, it can often be included today depending on your flight schedule. Continue to Entebbe International Airport for your onward departure.

Your 9 Day Uganda Gorilla Safari with Lake Mburo concludes after combining mountain gorillas with one of Uganda’s most relaxed and distinctive savannah parks.

Why Combine Lake Mburo and Gorilla Trekking?

Lake Mburo provides an excellent contrast to Bwindi. At Lake Mburo, wildlife is viewed across open grasslands, acacia woodland and wetlands. In Bwindi, you enter dense rainforest on foot and search for one particular gorilla family.

The combination makes the safari much more varied. Lake Mburo’s location also makes it logistically convenient for travelers heading toward or returning from southwestern Uganda.

Wildlife in Lake Mburo National Park

Possible sightings include:

• Plains zebras
• Impalas
• Elands
• Cape buffaloes
• Waterbucks
• Warthogs
• Bushbucks
• Baboons
• Monkeys
• Hippos

The park is also excellent for birding and contains a variety of wetland and woodland species.

Walking Safaris in Lake Mburo

Lake Mburo is one of Uganda’s best-known destinations for guided walking safaris. Walking allows you to experience the environment more slowly and notice details that are easy to miss from a vehicle. All walking activities should be conducted with an authorized ranger and according to current park regulations.