This popular 7-Day gorilla and chimpanzee safari in Uganda combines gorilla trekking at Bwindi Lodge with chimpanzees and wildlife at Kyambura Gorge Lodge.
This unique safari will give you a unique insight into the endangered great apes, their habitats and the communities living nearby. Combine wonderful wildlife sightings with opportunities to participate in conservation and community projects, run by Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust.
Enjoy a fireside chat the evening before your gorilla trek with staff from one of our conservation partners, Gorilla Doctors and Conservation Through Public Health, and learn about their conservation work in the park. Explore the Kyambura Gorge Ecotourism Project which aims to protect the 'Lost Chimpanzees of Kyambura' in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute.
Learn about lion conservation with the Kyambura Lion Monitoring Team and take part in an annual carnivore survey during your game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
2026 Rates from $9,280 per person in low season for this all-inclusive 7-night safari to Bwindi and Kyambura, including a free chimpanzee permit at Kyambura worth $100 and a complimentary night at Bwindi Lodge worth up to $1,655.
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Trekking mountain gorillas in dense African forests is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Groups of eight visit per day, maintaining a 10m distance to protect the gorillas. Treks last 3-8 hours, requiring some fitness, but all levels are accommodated for this unforgettable adventure.
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Experience the thrill of chimpanzee trekking in the natural high canopies and across river bridges. Starting from Kyambura Gorge Lodge, the 2-3 hour trek involves navigating steep gorges and log bridges, demanding agility and fitness. Nearby Kalinzu Forest also offers a glimpse into the lives of 40 habituated chimpanzees.
The Kyambura Wetland Walk offers a 2-hour guided experience through a 45-acre wetland area, which has been regenerating after years of being used as an illegal brick works. Now home to over 200 species of birds, mammals, and primates, this project showcases conservation and community efforts.
The Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation, located near Kibale and Kyambura Gorge Lodge, features a gallery and bronze foundry showcasing world-class sculptures inspired by Uganda’s clan totems. In 2024, VSPT partnered with the Foundation to support local artists. Guests can view sculptures at Kibale Lodge and visit the Foundation.
The Kazinga Channel is a 32-kilometer long channel, rich in wildlife, that links Lakes Edward and George. Boat trips down the channel depart from Mweya Safari Lodge (about an hour’s drive through the park from Kyambura Gorge Lodge) and last 3-4 hours. The boat cruise provides a wonderful opportunity to photograph the many animals that come to cool off at the waters’ edge, including lion, buffalo, hippo, elephant, and leopard.
Since 2021, VSPT and the Jane Goodall Institute Uganda have collaborated to support chimpanzee conservation at Kyambura Gorge and, in 2024, expanded efforts to Kibale Lodge. Initiatives include empowering women leaders and supporting schools in the Roots and Shoots Program, fostering environmental awareness and action among students. Guests can visit participating schools.
Join a veterinarian from Gorilla Doctors for an enlightening briefing on gorilla health and conservation strategies. Learn about their unique One Health approach and life-saving veterinary practices dedicated solely to the conservation of endangered mountain and eastern lowland gorillas.
Explore the Gorilla Health and Community Conservation Center in Buhoma, Bwindi. This behind-the-scenes tour offers insights into gorilla conservation efforts and the CTPH’s initiatives, including health monitoring, community health, and livelihood programs.
In 2015, VSPT opened Bwindi Bar near Bwindi Lodge to train disadvantaged youths in hospitality, providing practical skills and internships to boost employment opportunities in the Bwindi area. The bar serves delicious local dishes like the Ugandan ‘Rolex’ wrap and the signature ‘Gorillini’ cocktail.
The Kyambura Women’s Coffee Cooperative offers vocational training and a sustainable income source for twenty local women, many facing significant challenges. They cultivate over 2,500 coffee plants organically, which are processed locally and served at Volcanoes Safaris lodges. This initiative not only supports these women but also serves as a wildlife buffer, mitigating human-wildlife conflicts. Contributions help expand the project and sustain the community.
Since 2009, the VSPT has developed a 3km buffer along Kyambura Gorge, showcased through a guided walk that offers views over the Gorge, Park, and local homesteads. Plans for 2024 include expanding this buffer by twenty acres to further protect wildlife and support local communities. Contributions towards this effort are crucial for continued conservation success.
Launched in August 2023 by the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust, the Kyambura Lion Monitoring Project, led by Dr. Alexander Braczkowski, collects data on Uganda’s carnivores like lions, leopards, and hyenas in Queen Elizabeth Conservation Area, enhancing local livelihoods and supporting long-term conservation goals.
At Kyambura Gorge Lodge, guests can explore the changing landscapes of Kyambura Gorge and Queen Elizabeth National Park on a private walking trail which directly connects to the Kyambura Gorge to trek the chimpanzees.
Arrive in Uganda at Entebbe Airport where a Volcanoes Safaris representative will assist you to your hotel.
Overnight at Hotel No. 5 (dinner, breakfast).
Transfer from your hotel to Entebbe airport where a representative will assist you with your domestic flight to Kasese airstrip, where you will be welcomed by your expert Volcanoes Safaris guide who will provide knowledge and assistance throughout your safari.
Visit the Rwenzori Sculpture Foundation on the way and learn about the cultural partnership with Volcanoes Safaris to display sculptures relating to the traditional clans of Uganda around the lodge.
Drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park on the way to Kyambura Gorge Lodge. Enjoy pre-dinner cocktails on the veranda overlooking the savannah plains with the magnificent Rwenzori Mountains in the distance.
Flying time between 1 to 1.5 hours, driving time 2 hours.
Overnight at Kyambura Gorge Lodge (lunch, dinner).
Enjoy an early breakfast and set out for a morning game drive. The Kasenyi plains are excellent for sighting lions, leopard, elephant and buffalo. The Mweya peninsula is one of the best places to look for leopards, which live in the dense, scrubby thickets. Take lion identification photos and track your GPS, which will form part of an annual carnivore census as part of the the Lion Monitoring Project.
You can visit and participate in the Kyambura Gorge Eco-tourism Project, run by Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT). Try roasting coffee with the Kyambura Women’s Coffee Cooperative, go birding in the Kyambura reclaimed wetlands, and plant a tree seedling in the wildlife buffer zone.
Overnight at Kyambura Gorge Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
After breakfast walk from the lodge directly down into Kyambura Gorge, to search for the ‘Lost Chimpanzees of Kyambura’. The gorge is an extraordinary natural environment and forms a stark contrast to the surrounding grasslands. Here you can track one of our closest animal relatives: the chimpanzee. This group of isolated chimps are quite mobile and viewing can be unpredictable but the walk itself is exciting and enchanting.
In the afternoon take a cruise on the Kazinga Channel, which flows between Lakes Edward and George. Kazinga is home to one of the greatest concentration of hippo in Africa and herds of elephant, buffalo and other animals come to drink at the waters edge. The channel is a magnet for waterbirds, with great flocks of pelicans and others birds on the shore, and a great spot to see African fish eagle.
After your boat cruise harvest honey with the Kyambura bee-keeping cooperative, see a performance from the Omumushaka Dance Group, and go on a gorge walk to see birds, monkeys and other wildlife around Kyambura Gorge Lodge.
Overnight at Kyambura Gorge Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
After breakfast at the lodge your safari now continues to the primeval Bwindi forest. Driving through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park who can look for the famous tree-climbing lions. The fascinating journey through the rapidly changing landscape takes you up in the highlands to Bwindi Lodge situated on the edge of the impenetrable forest.
Enjoy pre-dinner cocktails and a fireside chat with a vet from the Gorilla Doctors and learn about their daily work looking after the health of the mountain gorillas.
Approximate driving time 5-6 hours.
Overnight at Bwindi Lodge (lunch, dinner).
After enjoying an early breakfast, you set off gorilla tracking. Trekking through the steep, densely forested hills and then finally coming across the gorillas camouflaged in the vegetation is an inspiring and privileged moment. Tracking in the Bwindi forest can be steep and requires stamina as some gorilla families can be more elusive, and tracking can take a full day, especially if it is wet and muddy.
Visit the award-winning Bwindi Bar on the way back to the lodge after your gorilla trek and celebrate with the signature Gorillini cocktail! Bwindi Bar provides hospitality training to young disadvantaged youth from the neighbouring communities.
Approximate driving time up to 2 hours, depending on the location of the gorilla groups.
Overnight at Bwindi Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
Either go for a second gorilla trek (additional permits required, upon payment of supplement and subject to availability), choose from one of the following community and conservation activities:
Take a guided walk in the rainforest to a beautiful waterfall and enjoy a guided birding walk along the Munyanga River Trail. Visit the Bwindi Community Hospital and learn about their gorilla conservation at the Conservation Through Public Health centre. Enjoy a demonstration of our local tea processing cooperation at Bwindi Lodge.
Overnight at Bwindi Lodge (breakfast, lunch, dinner).
Transfer from Bwindi lodge to Kihihi airstrip for your morning or afternoon return flight to Entebbe and connect in time for your international flight.
Approximate Travel Times: Flying 1 to 2 hours; Driving 2 hours.
Please book international flights departing after 8pm.
(Breakfast at the lodge)
To make a booking, please complete this form or click here to chat to one of our sales consultants via our live chat. Alternatively, send us an email on enquiries@volcanoessafaris.com.
