Uganda Safari | Gorilla Trekking & Chimp Trekking | 6 Nights

Three nights at Kyambura Gorge Lodge

Our light-aircraft flight into Queen Elizabeth National Park gave us a wonderful overview of where we’d be spending the first half of our luxury safari in Uganda. The view that accompanied our arrival lunch gave us the opportunity to take stock of our new surroundings. In a nod to the history of Kyambura Gorge Lodge (which used to be a coffee store), we dropped in on a local cooperative directly after. All we can say is that coffee somehow always tastes better when you drink it where it’s grown. The welcome we received from the local people was as warm as the coffee, and they enjoyed telling us about the legendary tree-climbing lion of the ‘Queen’. Before diving into chimp trekking, we decided to take a breath and go cruising on the Kazinga Channel the next day. Despite the skill of our captain, it’s a wonder we made any progress at all – this ribbon of water linking two lakes was absolutely thronged with hippo. Our guide joked that there wasn’t even space for islands, and that many of the birds had to use the hippo themselves as landing pads. Between the birds, the pods of ‘river horses’ and the many animals coming down to the banks to drink, it was hard to know where to look! The next morning revealed the highlight of our time at Kyambura Gorge Lodge, when we went chimp trekking into Kyambura Gorge itself – known locally as the ‘Valley of Apes’. After descending around 100m down thickly-wooded slopes, we were faced with a high-energy primate encounter; chimpanzee seemingly live life in a high gear. After an hour spent watching feeding, play-fighting and grooming, we dragged ourselves back out the gorge, and spent the rest of the day in quiet contemplation about the experience.

Our light-aircraft flight into Queen Elizabeth National Park gave us a wonderful overview of where we’d be spending the first half of our luxury safari in Uganda.

The view that accompanied our arrival lunch gave us the opportunity to take stock of our new surroundings. In a nod to the history of Kyambura Gorge Lodge (which used to be a coffee store), we dropped in on a local cooperative directly after. All we can say is that coffee somehow always tastes better when you drink it where it’s grown. The welcome we received from the local people was as warm as the coffee, and they enjoyed telling us about the legendary tree-climbing lion of the ‘Queen’.

Before diving into chimp trekking, we decided to take a breath and go cruising on the Kazinga Channel the next day. Despite the skill of our captain, it’s a wonder we made any progress at all – this ribbon of water linking two lakes was absolutely thronged with hippo. Our guide joked that there wasn’t even space for islands, and that many of the birds had to use the hippo themselves as landing pads. Between the birds, the pods of ‘river horses’ and the many animals coming down to the banks to drink, it was hard to know where to look!

The next morning revealed the highlight of our time at Kyambura Gorge Lodge, when we went chimp trekking into Kyambura Gorge itself – known locally as the ‘Valley of Apes’. After descending around 100m down thickly-wooded slopes, we were faced with a high-energy primate encounter; chimpanzee seemingly live life in a high gear. After an hour spent watching feeding, play-fighting and grooming, we dragged ourselves back out the gorge, and spent the rest of the day in quiet contemplation about the experience.

Three nights at nights at Bwindi Lodge

The next morning we took a vehicle transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, which was essentially an extended game drive. We were rewarded with sightings of herd of kob – a new species for us. As soon as we arrived at Bwindi Lodge, we could tell that we’d entered a different world. The towering trees marched right up to the lodge, and were themselves dwarfed by the mountains. Looking through the windows of our delightful banda, we could more sense them than see them – and we also spent a moment imagining how the local mountain gorilla were spending their afternoon. As we would be gorilla trekking in the morning, we spent a relaxing afternoon in the lodge, indulging in treatments at the spa and watching forest birds – all of them new to us – coming and going. Pennants of mist fluttered around us as we entered Bwindi the next morning. While the forest wasn’t quite as formidable as its ‘impenetrable’ moniker suggested, it was still quite a climb. We soon got the hang of stepping over roots and were able to appreciate this magical realm of giant plants and lichen-robed trees. Once the guides had found the gorilla, we lost all track of time – we were completely absorbed in watching their every move. At one point a youngster tumbled down a slope and came to rest within arm’s length of where I was sitting. Our eyes met and we communicated silently and unforgettably. Observing mountain gorilla wasn’t our only meaningful encounter at Bwindi. Our visit to the local community hospital the next day was eye-opening, but not for the stereotyped reasons. The doctors and nurses exuded both quiet professionalism and a real sense of purpose, and their presence here was clearly making a difference. One of the junior doctors accompanied us on a tea-tasting trip to the nearest plantation, and then introduced us to the Bwindi Bar, where we had the best latte of our lives! The doctor had grown up nearby but had yet to see a gorilla. We told him all about our experiences: a trailhead revisited.

The next morning we took a vehicle transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, which was essentially an extended game drive. We were rewarded with sightings of herd of kob – a new species for us.

As soon as we arrived at Bwindi Lodge, we could tell that we’d entered a different world. The towering trees marched right up to the lodge, and were themselves dwarfed by the mountains. Looking through the windows of our delightful banda, we could more sense them than see them – and we also spent a moment imagining how the local mountain gorilla were spending their afternoon. As we would be gorilla trekking in the morning, we spent a relaxing afternoon in the lodge, indulging in treatments at the spa and watching forest birds – all of them new to us – coming and going.

Pennants of mist fluttered around us as we entered Bwindi the next morning. While the forest wasn’t quite as formidable as its ‘impenetrable’ moniker suggested, it was still quite a climb. We soon got the hang of stepping over roots and were able to appreciate this magical realm of giant plants and lichen-robed trees. Once the guides had found the gorilla, we lost all track of time – we were completely absorbed in watching their every move. At one point a youngster tumbled down a slope and came to rest within arm’s length of where I was sitting. Our eyes met and we communicated silently and unforgettably.

Observing mountain gorilla wasn’t our only meaningful encounter at Bwindi. Our visit to the local community hospital the next day was eye-opening, but not for the stereotyped reasons. The doctors and nurses exuded both quiet professionalism and a real sense of purpose, and their presence here was clearly making a difference. One of the junior doctors accompanied us on a tea-tasting trip to the nearest plantation, and then introduced us to the Bwindi Bar, where we had the best latte of our lives! The doctor had grown up nearby but had yet to see a gorilla. We told him all about our experiences: a trailhead revisited.

What sets it apart

While it’s certainly possible to go chimp trekking and gorilla trekking in other countries, we chose Uganda as it offered the chance to combine both of these bucket-list wildlife activities in a relatively short luxury safari itinerary. Without needing to pull out our passports, we could also enjoy savannah experiences in Queen Elizabeth National Park. In other words, it had all the ingredients of our ideal African vacation – and all washed down with a cup or two of locally grown coffee. Spending time with both mountain gorilla and chimpanzee just days apart meant that we gained a better understanding of how these two species differ from each other. We also gained insights into human behaviour – not least our capacity for wonder as we gazed awestruck at a silverback sitting just metres away. While we’ve never been tempted to make fun of any species (the more ridiculous humans aside), it was impossible not to be amused by the frantic antics of some of the younger chimpanzee. Their aim of course was only to entertain themselves, but they gave us the unique experience of returning from a wildlife encounter with our ribs aching. Silent laughter, of course – we certainly didn’t want to alarm or disturb the chimpanzee who were so completely unfazed by our presence. Laughter became something of a theme of this trip – our visits to the village closest to Bwindi were punctuated by shy smiles from local children, which soon burbled up into laughter as we gained their confidence.

Spending time with both mountain gorilla and chimpanzee just days apart meant that we gained a better understanding of how these two species differ from each other. We also gained insights into human behaviour – not least our capacity for wonder as we gazed awestruck at a silverback sitting just metres away.

While we’ve never been tempted to make fun of any species (the more ridiculous humans aside), it was impossible not to be amused by the frantic antics of some of the younger chimpanzee. Their aim of course was only to entertain themselves, but they gave us the unique experience of returning from a wildlife encounter with our ribs aching. Silent laughter, of course – we certainly didn’t want to alarm or disturb the chimpanzee who were so completely unfazed by our presence.

Laughter became something of a theme of this trip – our visits to the village closest to Bwindi were punctuated by shy smiles from local children, which soon burbled up into laughter as we gained their confidence.