Go To Africa Safaris
This 4 day trip pairs Uganda’s most famous trek with one of its most peaceful landscapes. You trek mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, then spend a full day unwinding on the shores of Lake Bunyonyi, Africa’s deepest lake. It is a short trip, but it balances real adventure with real rest.
Go to Africa Safaris built this route for travelers who want the gorilla trek without a long circuit safari around it. You get one focused trekking day, followed by a day with nothing on the schedule but the lake.
This trip runs four days and three nights, starting and ending in Kampala or Entebbe.
The trek comes early in the trip, so you are not carrying tired legs into a long drive the next day. Instead, the day after your trek is entirely free, giving your body time to recover by the water before the journey home.
Included in this package: one gorilla trekking permit.
Your guide collects you from your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe in the morning, and you set off southwest toward Bwindi, a drive of roughly eight to nine hours from Kampala, with a lunch stop along the way through Uganda’s rolling hill country.
You arrive near Bwindi in the late afternoon. Check in to your lodge, rest, and enjoy dinner while your guide briefs you on tomorrow’s gorilla trek and helps you get your daypack ready for the morning.
Lodge options near park headquarters range from budget to luxury, so there is something for most travel styles.
This is the centerpiece of the trip. After an early breakfast, you drive to park headquarters for registration and briefing by 7:00 AM, where you are assigned to a gorilla family that matches your fitness level.
The hike into the forest can take anywhere from thirty minutes to four hours. Once you find the gorillas, you get a full hour in their company, watching them feed, play, groom, and rest while the silverback keeps a calm eye on the group.
Afterward, you hike back to the trailhead and return to your lodge to rest. You will receive a certificate marking the trek. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.
After breakfast, a short drive of about two hours brings you to Lake Bunyonyi, the deepest lake in Africa and one that is safe for swimming, with no hippos or crocodiles. You check into your lakeside lodge, and the rest of the day is completely free.
You can swim, paddle a dugout canoe, or simply relax on the dock and take in the terraced hillsides and scattered islands. After yesterday’s trek, this is your chance to slow down.
Dinner is at the lodge, with a sunset over the lake to close out the day.
After a relaxed breakfast by the lake, your guide drives you back to Kampala or Entebbe, a journey of about seven to eight hours. You arrive in the late afternoon or early evening and are dropped at your hotel or the airport for your departure flight.
If time allows, you can stop at the Equator for photos on the way back. Your guide is happy to accommodate other reasonable requests along the route.
What is not included: international flights, visa fees, travel insurance, tips for guides and porters, alcoholic drinks, laundry, and personal items.
We recommend arranging comprehensive travel insurance before you travel.
Pricing depends on your choice of accommodation and group size. Solo travelers pay a higher per person rate, while groups of two to six benefit from lower per person pricing. Get in touch for a custom quote tailored to your dates and preferences.
Your gorilla permit is included in the price, billed at the official permit rate with no markup added.
To book, we will need your full name as it appears on your passport, your passport number, your nationality, and your preferred travel dates. A deposit is required to secure your permit, since availability is limited and booked well in advance.
This itinerary suits travelers who want the gorilla trek without a long circuit safari built around it, and who value a real rest day as much as the adventure itself. One trek, one lake, and enough time to properly enjoy both.
Go to Africa Safaris is a Uganda based operator with experienced local guides in Bwindi. We manage the logistics and permits so you can focus on the gorillas and the lake.
One unforgettable hour with mountain gorillas, followed by a full day to simply relax by the water.
