The 3 days Gorilla Habituation Experience tour is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that leads travellers to the southern sectors of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, south-western Uganda. The Trip involves 2 nights in one of the best accommodation facilities and four hours in the presence of mountain gorillas still undergoing training (habituation) to become accustomed to human presence.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of the renowned homes to the endangered Mountain gorillas with almost half the World’s population of these Giant Apes calling the Impenetrable Forest home. Surprisingly, it is the only place in the whole World where the Habituation Experience is offered and permits are issued by Uganda Wildlife Authority at $1500 per person. For our 3 days Gorilla Habituation Experience, the trip starts and ends in Kampala.

Detailed Itinerary of the 3 days Gorilla Habituation Experience Tour

Day 1: Road trip from Entebbe or Kampala to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for the Habituation Experience

The 3 days Gorilla Habituation Experience Tour starts with pick-up by our expert safari driver for the 8-9 hours’ road trip to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Remember to be up early for breakfast and preparation for the journey given that fact that it starts early in the morning, with stopovers at the Equator crossing for photography, snacks and leg stretching as well as Mbarara Town for Lunch. Continue with the journey to the southern sector of the Park, where your Gorilla Habituation Trip will be based. The journey is filled with scenic views of the terraced hills, long-horned cattle along the way and vast tea or banana plantations. Be at the reserved accommodation facility in the evening for dinner and slumber.

Day 2: The Bwindi Gorilla Habituation Experience

Make sure to be up earlier than usual for a sumptuous breakfast and proceed to the Park Headquarters to join other trekkers for briefing on the guidelines of trekking and spending time with the endangered mountain gorillas that are still undergoing habituation. After the short briefing session, embark on the search for the allotted gorilla group in the company of an armed ranger, guides and researchers. Keep your eyes and ears wide open as you might come across other residents of the Forest especially birds, primates (chimpanzees, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys and vervet monkeys among others), forest elephants, duikers, leopards, bushbucks, forest buffaloes and even butterflies. Once contacts are made with the semi-habituated gorillas, spend a maximum of four hour observing and photographing before returning to the Lodge for relaxation, dinner and slumber. During the four hours with gorillas, keenly listen to the researchers and watch the entire training process that include naming individuals, making calls and observing their behavior.

Day 3: Journey back to Kampala or Entebbe

This is the day to say goodbye to the Impenetrable Forest and starts with breakfast at the same place of stay then meet up with your safari driver. The Journey back to Kampala/Entebbe comes with stopovers along the way for lunch and last minute shopping for souvenirs before connecting to the Airport or Hotel. This marks the end of our 3 days Gorilla Habituation Experience Tour.