Gorilla trekking offers an adventurous and exciting experience in Uganda, attracting many visitors. It involves moving into the tropical rainforest to find habituated mountain gorilla families, and once you locate them, you spend an hour with them in their natural environment. Uganda conducts gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which shelters half of the world’s mountain gorilla population, and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. After your gorilla trekking safari in either Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, you can connect to other destinations including Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Semuliki National Park, Kibale Forest National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, and Kidepo Valley National Park, among others. There, you can engage in various interesting activities, which include:
Chimpanzee Trekking
Chimpanzee trekking is one of the most exciting activities in Uganda that you can engage in after your gorilla trekking safari. You can do chimpanzee trekking in Uganda in different areas, including Kibale Forest National Park, Kalinzu Forest, Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Toro Semuliki Wildlife Reserve, and Budongo Forest in Murchison Falls National Park. In all destinations, chimpanzee trekking starts very early in the morning with a briefing about the rules and regulations to follow. Afterward, you will begin trekking in the forest with experienced park guides.
During chimpanzee trekking, which takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours, you will view other primate species, birds, mammals, and plant species, among others. Once you find the chimpanzees, you will spend one hour with them in their habitat, which gives you a chance to learn about their lifestyle and behaviors, and watch them feed, breastfeed, hunt, fight, play, rest, take photos, and record videos.
Nature Walks/Hiking
This offers another interesting activity in Uganda that you can engage in after your gorilla trekking safari. Nature walks/hiking provide an opportunity to explore the national park on foot with the company of armed park rangers and experienced park guides. During the guided nature walk, you will get up close and personal with different wildlife species, listen to the sweet sounds of bird species singing in trees, view colorful butterflies, take beautiful photos, relax your mind, and enjoy the cool breeze, among other benefits.
Golden Monkey Trekking
After your gorilla trekking safari, you can engage in an incredible Golden Monkey Trekking activity. You will move into the forest in search of the unique golden monkeys, and once you find them, you will spend one hour with them in their natural habitat. Golden monkey trekking is only done in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, and just like gorilla trekking, it starts early in the morning with a briefing at the park headquarters. Trekking for golden monkeys takes about 1 hour to 3 hours, depending on their location, and during trekking, you will enjoy views of different wildlife species. Once you find the golden monkeys, you will spend one hour with them in their environment, which helps you watch them feed, jump up in tree branches, take photos, and record the breathtaking moments.
Cultural Tours
After your gorilla trekking safari, you can engage in a cultural tour. You will interact with the Bakiga and Batwa (pygmies) who used to live in Mgahinga and Bwindi forest before their gazetting as national parks. During the cultural tour, you will learn about their culture, lifestyle, and way of living, visit their homesteads and farmlands, learn how they make beer from bananas, taste their local food, and enjoy their traditional entertainment, among other activities.
Birding
Birding is one of the activities you can engage in after your gorilla trekking safari. Uganda is home to over 1,085 recorded bird species, including Albertine Rift endemic species, forest birds, endemic birds, water birds, savannah birds, and migratory birds, which make Uganda a top birding destination. You can go birding in Uganda in different areas, including Queen Elizabeth National Park, which harbors the highest number of bird species; Murchison Falls National Park; Kidepo Valley National Park; Mabamba Swamp; Bwindi Impenetrable National Park; Lake Mburo National Park; Mgahinga Gorilla National Park; and Semuliki National Park, among others. During birding, an experienced bird guide will accompany you and help you spot different bird species, including the prehistoric shoebill stork, handsome francolin, swamp flycatcher, African green broadbill, and martial eagle, among others.
Game Drives
After your gorilla trekking safari, you can engage in an interesting game drive. You will explore the Savannah National Parks in a comfortable pop-up safari vehicle with a professional driver guide. You can undertake game drives in Uganda in Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, and Lake Mburo National Park. During the game drives, which you can do early in the morning or the afternoon, you will spot different animals like buffaloes, elephants, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, giraffes, zebras, oribi, topi, elands, warthogs, giant forest hogs, and predators like lions, leopards, hyenas, and cheetahs, among others.
Boat Cruise
After your gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, you can also engage in a fascinating boat cruise. You can take boat cruises in different areas, including Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Victoria, Lake Bunyonyi (which is the deepest lake in Uganda), the Source of the Nile, Lake Mburo National Park, and Murchison Falls National Park. During the boat cruise, you will enjoy stunning views of the beautiful scenery, view hippos and Nile crocodiles in the water, and see elephants, warthogs, buffaloes, and waterbucks, among others, drinking water along the shores. You will also see water birds and fishermen preparing their fishing nets for night fishing.
Uganda offers many other interesting activities you can engage in after your gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. For more information, do not hesitate to contact Anthill Safaris or visit our website for various safari packages.
