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Permit
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park holds roughly half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas. This is the short version of the trip — three days from Kampala or Entebbe, one trek, and back. It suits travellers who are already in Uganda for work or on a tight schedule, and it can be extended into Queen Elizabeth or Lake Bunyonyi on request.
The drive south-west is long — eight to nine hours on the road — so the first and last days are travel days. The trek itself starts at the park headquarters at 7:00am after a briefing, and lasts anywhere from two to eight hours depending on where the family has moved overnight. Once you find them, you have one hour with the gorillas.
An early start for the drive south-west through Mbarara and the Kigezi highlands. We break the journey at the Equator and for lunch, and reach your lodge near the park in the late afternoon. Dinner and an early night — the briefing is at first light.
Breakfast at 6:00am, then to the park headquarters for the ranger briefing and family allocation. Trekking begins around 8:00am and can take between two and eight hours through steep, wet forest. You spend one hour with the family before returning. Porters are available and strongly recommended. Back at the lodge for the evening.
After breakfast we return north, stopping at Igongo Cultural Centre or the Equator for lunch. Arrival in Kampala or at Entebbe airport in the early evening — allow for traffic if you have an onward flight.
Permit costs are set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and change periodically, and lodge rates move with season. We quote each departure at the rates current on the day you book, with the permit priced separately so you can see exactly what you are paying for.
Fitter than for a normal game drive. The forest is steep, muddy and often slippery, and a trek can run to eight hours. If you can manage a long uphill walk on rough ground, you will be fine. Porters carry your daypack and help on the steep sections — hire one.
Not contractually, but sightings are very close to certain. Trackers follow each habituated family from first light and radio their position back to the trekking groups. Failures are rare and, where they happen, the Uganda Wildlife Authority normally offers a partial refund or a repeat trek.
Three to six months for June-September and December-February. Permits are capped per family per day and peak dates sell out. Outside those months a few weeks is often enough, but we always check live availability first.
Waterproof hiking boots already broken in, long trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, gardening or similar gloves for grabbing vegetation, a rain jacket, insect repellent and a daypack. It rains in Bwindi in every month.
Easily. Queen Elizabeth is on the route back north and adds two days; Lake Bunyonyi adds one relaxed day after the trek. Tell us how long you have and we will build the route around it.
Private departures
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Keil Services Ltd (KeSeL) is a Kampala-based travel management company handling air ticketing, visas, passports, travel insurance, hotels, car hire and East African safaris.
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