Rwenzori Climbing & Gorilla Trekking Itinerary- Self Drive Tour in Uganda

 

Day 1 of 7th June: From Entebbe Airport
Upon your arrival at the airport, your guide will pick you up and drive you to the
hotel of your booking or start off the drive to the park according to your arrival
time.
Overnight at Santa Maria lodge
Day 2 of 8th June: Transfer to Murchison falls
Have your breakfast at the lodge and meet your guide for the transfer to Murchison
falls national park. On our way, have an enroute lunch and then head to visit the
Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for 2 hours tracking and then processed to Murchison Falls.
Overnight at Pakuba lodge (Midrange)
Day 3 of 9th June: Game drive, boat cruise and top of the falls hike
With your packed breakfast, go for an early morning game drive in the open
savannahs of the beautiful national park where you will spot numerous animals like
lions, elephants, leopards, topis, waterbucks, buffalos and others. After, drive
back to the lodge for lunch and later go for an afternoon boat ride on Victoria Nile
up to the bottom of the falls. The boat is the perfect platform to see and
photograph many different bird species, and after the boat cruise tgo for 30
minutes to an hour walk to the top of the falls where you will see a 7m gorge
where water squeezes itself to make powerful waterfalls.
Day 4 of 10th June: Long drive to Kibale forest national park
After breakfast, meet your driver guide for the transfer to Kibale national park –
the home of primates. The drive exposes you to roadside features like plantations,Ankole cows, valleys, different craters and caves. Arrive at the lodge in the
evening and check in for an overnight. spend a day in the beautiful town of Fort
Portal.
Overnight at Chimpanzee forest lodge (midrange)
Day 5 of 11th June: Chimpanzee tracking, bigodi walk and transfer to Rwenzori
mountains national park.
Have your breakfast very early and later transfer to the park head office for a
briefing about the endangered chimpanzees and later enter the forest with the
guidance of a park ranger along with your tracking gears, packed water and snacks.
This experience takes about 2-5 hours in search of the chimpanzees and once
found, you will spend 1 hour viewing them while studying their behavior and taking
pictures. After tracking, return to the lodge for lunch and refresh.
In the afternoon after lunch, connect for a nature walk in Bigodi wetland sanctuary
where you will get to enjoy walking through a wetland with a variety of bird
species. After the walk, return to the lodge for refreshment and checkout for your
transfer to Rwenzori mountains national park. Overnight at Snow height lodge
Day 6 of 12th June: NYAKALENGIJA – NYABITABA CAMP (2651m.)
The central circuit starts at the Rwenzori Mountaineering Services offices at
Nyakalengijja. You need to arrive in the morning to allow ample time to rent
equipment and meet your guides and porters. The trail begins by passing through
farmland to the park boundary beyond which it follows a thick forest along the
Mubuku River, crossing its Mahoma River tributary before starting a long, steep
climb
up onto a massive ridge to reach Nyabitaba hut. During this part of the trip you
may
hear chimpanzee and see black and white colobus, blue monkey and the brilliantly colored Rwenzori turaco.
The hike takes an average of 6 -7 hours and the hiking distance is 6.5 kilometers
Day 7 of 13th June: NYABITABA – JOHN MATTE CAMP (3505m.)
From Nyabitaba follow the trail that drops down through the forest to the Kurt
Shafer
Bridge, just below the confluence of the Mubuku and Bujuku rivers. Passing
through
the bamboo forest, traverse through a long and exhausting stretch of slippery
moss-
covered rock. From the Nyamuleju rock shelter, Mount Stanley and Mount Speke
can
be seen before passing into the zone of the giant heather, lobelia and groundsel.
Finally reach John Matte Hut after passing through the tiring bog, for dinner and
overnight at the hut.
The Distance is 7.5km
The hike takes an average of 7 – 8 hours and the
Day 8 of 14th June: JOHN MATTE – BUJUKU CAMP (3962m.)
From John Matte Hut the trail drops down to cross the Bujuku River and enters
Lower
Bigo Bog, the home of giant lobelias. Jumping from tussock to tussock, the bog is
finally crossed but rarely without the feet sampling some of the freezing ooze
below.
The upper Bigo bog gives way to Bujuku Lake, with views of Mt Baker to the South
and Mt Stanley to the West. Bujuku Hut, well located in the shadow of Mount Baker
and Mount Speke, is set in a narrow valley below Stuhlmann Pass. This camp is good for acclimatization for clients attempting the summits of peaks Mount Stanley
and Mount Speke. Dinner and overnight at Bujuku hu
The hike takes an average of 4 – 5 hours.
Day 9 of 15th June: BUJUKU – ELENA CAMP (4541m)
Leaving Bujuku, the trail takes you through more bog, while climbing the steep
slopes west of the lake and through the magical and forest of Groundsel Gully.
Later, you have some rest at Elena Camp where you will have your dinner and
overnight stays.
Dinner and overnight at the coolly and Icy Elena Hut.

 

The distance is 2.5
The hike takes an average of 5 – 6 hours.
Day 10 of 16th June: ELENA HUT – MARGHERITA PEAK (5109m)- KITANDARA
Very early in the morning, you attempt climbing the highest peak, Margherita of
Mount Stanley. To reach the summit of Margherita, the climb takes about 4 -5
hours
depending on the weather conditions and the pace of climbing this mountain. This
tough walk takes you over three glaciers, slippery rock, ice and very exposed areas
which are open on many sides. Climbing on to the glaciers, cross the Stanley
Plateau
and proceed with the ascent. Acclimatized to fog, altitude sickness and coolly
weather, scramble up to the summit of Margherita the highest peak of the
Rwenzori.
Later after the explore of the peak, the descend from Margherita peak back to
Elena
Hut where you will have your delicious lunch and later proceed to Kitandara Camp
for an overnight.

 

The distance is 4kms
This is the challenging part on the Rwenzori mountain Summit.
The descend takes an average of 3 – 4 hours.
Day 11 of 17th June: KITANDARA – GUY YEOMAN (3261m.
In the morning after breakfast, you will descend from Kitandara to Guy Yeoman
Camp and the descend will take you on the trail that ascends steeply up the
headwall, spreading out from the base of Mount Baker and continuing along the
south side of the mountain to Fresh field Pass 4282m. At this point you can view
into the Congo to the west and Mount Stanley to the north. From the pass, take on
the long high alpine mossy. Thereafter start the descend through steep rocky trails
and the rock shelter at Bujongolo, the base camp for the historic expedition by the
Duke of Abruzzi in 1906 and then an overnight at Guy yeoman camp.

 

Kitandara to Guy yeoman is 6kms
The hike takes an average of 6 – 7 hours.
Day 12 of 18th June: GUY YEOMAN – NYABITABA – NYAKALENGIJA (1615m.)
Below Guy Yeoman, the route descends the cliffs of Kichuchu. Beyond Kichuchu
the
muddy path crosses the Mubuku River twice through a bamboo forest before
climbing
downwards to Nyabitaba to complete the circuit. Continue descending Nyabitaba
Camp and complete your trek by the evening at Nyakalengijja, the base camp.
The Guy yeoman to Nyabitaba camp is 6.5km and Nyabitaba camp to Nyakalengijja
Camp is 6.5 km.
Accommodation at Snow height
Day 13 of 19th June: Drive from Rwenzori to Queen Elizabeth

Have your breakfast and transfer to the Queen Elizabeth national park, the second
largest national park of Uganda. Check in at the park with a game drive that will
expose you to numerous animals like; lions, elephants, many hippos, crocodiles,
buffaloes and sometimes leopards.
Overnight at Queen Elizabeth safari lodge
Day 14 of 20th June: Game drive and boat cruise
Begin your day with a delicious breakfast before getting on with the game drive on
different trails in the park including the along the Kasenyi trail. Along the Kasenyi
trail there is a great opportunity of seeing various animals like water bucks,
Uganda Kobs, elephants, buffaloes, lions, warthogs as well as various birds. After
the drive, drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Later during the afternoon, you will take pleasure in cruising on a 2 hours boat
safari along Kazinga channel that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. During
the adventure, fancy your eyes with a good number of animals like Hippos,
crocodiles, buffaloes, warthogs, elephants, kobs among others and also a
collection of birds like the malachite kingfishers, pink backed pelicans, on the
banks and in trees. Drive back to the lodge for refreshment, dinner and overnight.

Day 15 of 21st June: Proceed to Bwindi Impenetrable national park via Isasha
sector
Enjoy your tasty breakfast at the lodge and drive to Bwindi Impenetrable, the
home to almost half of the world’s mountain gorillas. On your way, you will have
an enroute game drive in Isasha sector where you will spot a number of animals
including the rare tree climbing lions. Arrive in the late afternoon and check in at
the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Overnight at Gorilla mist lodge (midrange)
Day 16 of 22nd June: Gorilla trekking

After your breakfast, drive to the park headquarters for briefing about gorilla
trekking experience. After, walk through the park rainforests insearh of the
endangered apes and once found, you will spend one full hour with one of the
groups as you take flashless pictures. The whole activity takes about half a day
depending on how near we find them.
Day 17 of 23rd June: Drive back to Entebbe
Have your breakfast and meet your guide for your transfer back to Kampala for an
overnight or Entebbe for your departure flight.
Note: The total cost of the trip is USD 5764 per person