5-Day Chimp & Gorilla Trek

The classic primate double: chimpanzees in the Kibale forest, then south through Queen Elizabeth’s Ishasha plains to the mountain gorillas of Bwindi.

Two very different forests, two very different hours — and a stretch of savannah in between to break the drive.

00°30′N 30°23′EKibale Forest → Bwindi

Day by day

Entebbe → Kibale
Drive 5–6 hrs via the Mpanga forest
Leave the city for the tea country around Fort Portal and the edge of Kibale, the best chimpanzee forest in East Africa.
Chimp trek & Bigodi
Trek 2–4 hrs · afternoon wetland walk
Track a habituated chimp community at close range, then walk the community-run Bigodi swamp for red colobus, great blue turaco and swamp birds.
Kibale → Bwindi via Ishasha
Drive 6–7 hrs through Queen Elizabeth NP
Cross the equator and the Kazinga flats, then take the Ishasha track through Queen Elizabeth’s southern sector, scanning the fig trees for lions.
Gorilla trek
Briefing 07:30 · trek 3–7 hrs · one hour with the family
Your Bwindi trek day — ranger, trackers, porters, and one hour with a habituated gorilla group.
Bwindi → Kigali / Entebbe
Drive 4 hrs to Kigali, or fly from Kisoro
The short way out is the Cyanika border to Kigali; the long way is back across Uganda to Entebbe, best split with a night.

Included

Not included

Chimp tracking is often shorter than a gorilla trek but faster underfoot — the group moves and you move with it.

Price by group size

Per person sharing, land only. The final figure depends on lodge tier and season — your quote confirms it. Get a dated quote →

Other routes

Keep looking

The direct route: forest-edge lodge, one dawn trek, out again. For tight windows done right.

The quieter park. One gorilla family, plus a troop of golden monkeys in the bamboo.

Four hours with a semi-habituated group and the research team. Limited permits, USD 1,500.