A Journey Woman Exclusive gorilla trekking with the amazing Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka (pictured above): Photo Credit: Esther Ruth Mbabazi
Nov 1 – Nov 9, 2026
Duration: 9 nights/10 days
Group size: Minimum 6 and maximum 12
Highlights
- Luxury Safari in three diverse wildlife areas
- Fly across Uganda
- Trek for the Mountain gorilla with Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda’s first wildlife vet
- And founder of Conservation Through Public Health
- See ‘only found in Uganda’ wildlife
- Stay in unique wildlife lodges, one by the Nile
- Sail the Nile to the most powerful waterfall in the world
- Be awed by the Mountains of the Moon
- Toast to Africa every evening
- Indulge in mouth-watering international and Uganda’s cuisine
Your days will be filled with watching Africa’s spectacular wildlife in diverse parks with iconic backdrops like the Mountains of the Moon and ending each day with a toast to the wild in the glow of the ‘golden light’.
You will trek with the Dr Gladys and the gorilla guardians who will amaze you with the success story of Uganda’s Mountain gorillas and the local people living there.
->Want to see Mountain gorillas, then you got to safari in Uganda!
Here’s what’s so special about it!
PS: Since then in 2015, Mountain gorillas numbers are up: 1,063 from 800
Meet your Safari Guide
Lilian Kamusiime, pictured above, is Uganda’s pioneer female safari guide and driver. In her many ‘firsts’, she is the founding member of Uganda Women Birders and an advocate for women’s empowerment in the tourist industry. She trains tourist guides, is the past vice-chair of Uganda Safari Guides Association and member of Nature Uganda and the Rotary Club of Kabale. As a former school teacher, she strongly believes in mentoring youth and hence her engagement with the Wildlife Clubs of Uganda.
Know your Safari Planner, Rupi Mangat
Rupi is founder of Moonlion Safaris and a travel writer with a particular concentration on wildlife conservation and sustainability. She is 3rd generation Kenyan who has been on safari countless times since she started writing professionally in 1998. She works with the Wildlife Clubs of Kenya as the editor of Komba, the magazine to promote wildlife conservation amongst schoolchildren. With her strong connections with conservation organizations like the East African Wild Life Society and the Conservation Through Public Health which are not-for-profits doing amazing wildlife conservation work in today’s challenging world.
Day 1 – Sunday Nov 1
Fly into Entebbe the lakeshore city of Uganda. You will be met at the airport by your driver-guide to the Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa.
The Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort is one of Entebbe’s finest hotels on the shores of Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile, the world’s longest river.
The day is at leisure. The hotel is a few minutes’ drive to the central business district. Entebbe works at a leisurely pace. The core of the city boasts early colonial architecture and the Entebbe zoo. Or you may just want to enjoy a sundowner on the lake, a round of golf on the PGA-rated 18-hole course or treat yourself at the spa before the safari (at own cost).
6 p.m: Meet at the Marina Restaurant overlooking the lake for sundowners and dinner (at own cost).
It’s a grand way to end the day.
Hotel: Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort& Spa.
Day 2 – Monday Nov 2
Today the adventure begins.
After a hearty breakfast we will fly to Murchison Falls National Park 350 kms northwest of Entebbe, home of the world’s most powerful waterfall, Murchison Falls.
9.00 – Depart hotel for Entebbe airport.
12.05 – Flight to Murchison Falls.
Enjoy the flight over Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake and the world’s second largest freshwater lake that the world knew nothing about till the British explorer John Hanning Speke saw it and correctly identified it as the source of the Nile on 30 July 1858 – and so solving the greatest mystery that even perplexed the pharaohs.
13.05 – You will be collected from the Pakuba airstrip and enjoy a short game drive en route to Paraa Safari Lodge looking over the Nile.
The 3,840-square-kilometer park spans the savanna between Lake Albert and Karuma Fall. The park is spectacular for its wildlife and tapestry of grassland, and swamps along the Nile, which at 6,000 kilometres is the world’s longest waterway.
Murchison was named after the Scottish geologist in 1864 by the 19th century explorer Samuel Baker who trekked the continent accompanied by his wife Florence. Baker was also the first to document Lake Albert straddling the Uganda-Congo border in the Great Rift Valley.
2 p.m. – Enjoy a late lunch by the Nile where you might see buffaloes or crocodiles lounging on the banks.
4 p.m. – You will leave for an afternoon game drive in search of big game like Uganda’s unique Uganda Kob and Nubian giraffe with lions and elephants for a good measure. The park also boasts rich birdlife. We will return to the lodge at sunset.
7.30 p.m. – Meet for a cocktail at the bar and then dine on delicious foods as the Nile flows leisurely by. We’ll exchange the day’s highlights and enjoy the night sky before calling it a night.
Hotel: Paraa Safari Lodge
Day 3 – Tuesday Nov 3
6 a.m. – It’s an early start to the day at Wake up calls can be arranged.
6.30 a.m. – Enjoy a cuppa coffee or tea and biscuits before you set out for an early morning game drive. This is the best time to enjoy wildlife as well as late afternoons before the sun goes down. It’s the time when the animals are most active before the sun becomes too hot for them and lethargy sets in. The lionesses would rather hunt when it’s cooler but being opportunistic the hunt is on if the quarry is easy. Lions do not have sweat glands and you’ll hear them panting a lot.
9 a.m. – Return to the lodge for breakfast.
Take time to relax, swim, read a book and enjoy the grounds.
12.30 p.m: After an early lunch, drive to the waterfalls that squeezes through the six-metre-wide gorge to crash down 43 metres and continue its flow to the pharoses’ land.
It’s a slow boat ride looking out for the crocodiles and hippos with sightings of the plains game coming to quench their thirst before the thundering roar of the amazing waterfalls. It’s a sight to behold.
6.30 p.m. – Return to the lodge.
Take some time to refresh with a cold beer at the bar or a cool shower.
7.30 p.m. Meet for another gourmet feast by the Nile and retire after a nightcap by the fire pit.
Hotel: Paraa Safari Lodge
Day 4 – Wednesday Nov 4
Savour breakfast on the banks of the Nile and be ready to checkout.
12 noon – Depart to the airstrip.
1.20 p.m. – Fly to Queen Elizabeth National Park in plain sight of the Ruwenzori Mountains or the Mountains of the Moon as the first century Greek scholar Ptolemy called them and thought of them as the source of the Nile.
2.25 p.m. – Land at Kasese, the town on the foothills of the Ruwenzoris. The drivers will be at the airstrip to drive you to Mweya Lodge, crossing the Equator with an amazing array of landscapes and wildlife.
The park, named after the late British monarch’s 1952 visit, is famous for its tree climbing lions and chimpanzees besides the elephants, Uganda Kob and an impressive list of 600 species of birds.
On arrival enjoy a late lunch and relax at the lodge.
3.30 p.m. Set off on another exciting game drive through the lush plains. Look out for leopard, lions and the Uganda Kob that breeds here before returning to camp at sunset.
Return just in time for cocktails by the campfire before a sumptuous dinner freshly prepared under the Equatorial stars. For star gazers, this is the perfect spot to see the constellations of the two hemispheres.
Enjoy your evening and a good night’s sleep in your luxurious abode.
Day 5 – Thursday Nov 5
6.15 a.m. – Another glorious morning in Africa. Rise and shine for an early morning game drive after a cuppa. The landscape is surreal with the Mountains of the Moon that boast a snow-topped high peak at 16,762 feet, making it Africa’s third highest mountain.
9 a.m. – Return for breakfast by
Optional – extra cost US$ 250 Per person inclusive of transport: Or you may wish to hike into Gorge for another Great Ape before meeting the Mountain Gorillas of Bwindi. These are the chimpanzees of Kyambura, playful and endearing. Spend an hour with them before returning to lodge/picnic lunch. The gorge, 100 meters deep and 16 kilometers long, carved by the Kyambura River is the home of other primates like the red-tailed monkeys plus a myriad of colourful forest birds.
After lunch, prepare for another exciting boat ride along the famous Kazinga Channel, a 32-kilometer- long link between the Albertine Valley’s Lake Edward and Lake George. The channel boasts the world’s largest concentration of hippos, crocodiles, elephant, buffaloes and waterbucks coming for a drink. For birders, it’s time to log in the amazing birdlife that include the Pelicans, Fish Eagles, Kingfishers, Cormorants and the bright coloured Saddle-billed Stork. With Lilian as an acclaimed bird guide, you will be fascinated by the feathered kind.
Return for a starlit dinner followed by a night cap by the campfire and finally to a peaceful slumber in your luxurious room.
Day 6 – Friday Nov 6
A 30-minute flight from Queen Elizabeth National Park and you will land in Kihihi town and be driven to Bwindi on the edge of the Albertine Rift. It’s a mesmeric flight over the Ruwenzoris and the lakes and on to the dense forest that the locals call Place of Darkness. This is the home of more than half of the world’s population of the Mountain Gorillas – only discovered in Bwindi in 1987 from their night nests in the trees.
You will be collected from Kihihi airstrip and driven to Mahogany Springs Lodge, your luxury address for the night overlooking the high forest-clad vales of Bwindi.
After check-in, relax and enjoy an exquisite lunch.
Enjoy the afternoon. There are many activities such as visiting the Ride4aWoman, a charitable organisation that empowers local widows through skill training, micro-finance and mentoring. The women work at the lodge, making curtains, mosquito nets, clothing, cushions, lampshades and more. A 2 minute walk from Mahogany Springs, clients are able to visit this project. This is a complimentary activity.
READ: Walking with Gorillas by Dr. Gladys’s globally acclaimed NGO, Conservation Through Public Health before returning at sunset to the lodge.
6 p.m.: Take a few minutes to refresh before we meet for cocktails on you first night in Bwindi, that is one the most bio-diverse places on Earth.
Dinner will be served fused with the rich forest air and lots of lively exchanges with the excitement of meeting the gorillas.
Day 7 – Saturday Nov 7
This is your day for an encounter with the greatest ape on Earth – the Mountain gorilla accompanied by Dr Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka.
The distinguished vet and researcher will tell you about the Bwindi gorillas and her journey as Uganda’s first wildlife vet. You will get to know some fascinating insights into what it takes to save the Mountain gorillas – which is all about co-existence between the primate (us) and the non-human primate (gorillas, chimpanzees plus some 500 more species). I’m not telling you more.
6.30 a.m. – Meet for breakfast and then a short drive will bring you to the legendary impenetrable forest for an exciting day of hiking for our close relative with who we share 98.4% of our genes.
The population of Bwindi’s Mountain gorilla is on the rise from 300 in 1999 to 459 and increasing. The Mountain gorilla is the only gorilla species whose population is increasing which has seen it removed from being listed as Critically endangered to Endangered.
The forest is also home to the extremely rare Forest elephant that number 300. If we see one with the Great Blue Turaco, a bird of the rainforests – you will be one of the few to ever witness this!
Depending on the duration of the hike, you will return to the lodge for a late lunch and have the afternoon to yourself in this magical paradise.
7.30 p.m. – Meet for dinner over lively conversation about your day with the Great apes of Bwindi and more.
Day 8 – Sunday Nov 8
After breakfast, depart with a packed picnic lunch for a full day with Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka. Engage with local community members and learn about their partnership with Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH) in promoting both human and wildlife health.
Then visit the Gorilla Health and Community Centre, where vital research is conducted through the analysis of gorilla and livestock samples to detect viruses/diseases that threaten the endangered mountain gorilla populations
Day 9 – Monday Nov 9
Entebbe
6 a.m. – Wake up to the crystal-fresh air of the mountains for a sumptuous breakfast.
7 a.m. – Say goodbye to this enchanting paradise, a special place on the planet and now in your heart.
9.30 a.m – Flight departs from Kihihi airport to Entebbe
11.25 a.m. – Flight lands at the Entebbe International Airport for your return flights. There will be a lot of memories to take back home after your amazing African safari with new friends met.
Day room or overnight: *HOTEL CLOSEST TO AIRPORT
To paraphrase the late gorilla researcher Dian Fossey: ”The more you learn about the dignity of the gorilla … and when you realize the value of all life, you dwell less on what is past and concentrate more on the preservation of the future.”
COST:
Per Person: US$ 9,335
Per Person Sharing: US$ 8,573
THE PACKAGE INCLUDES:
- 1 night accommodation at Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa on bed & breakfast basis and arrival airport transfer
- 2 nights accommodation at Paraa Safari Lodge, Murchison Falls National Park on full board basis
- 2 nights at Mweya Safari Lodge, Queen Elizabeth National Park on full board basis
- 3 nights accommodation at Mahogany Springs Lodge, Bwindi on full board basis
- Murchison Falls: 2 game drives, An excursion to the top of the falls, A boat cruise to the base of the falls
- QE National Park: 2 game drives, A boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel
- Bwindi: 1 gorilla tracking permit per person in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
- Bwindi –visit amazing CPTH Gorilla lab and community projects
- Air tickets Entebbe-Pakuba (Murchison Falls)-Mweya (QE National Park)-Kihihi-Entebbe
- Ground transportation and airstrip transfers
- National park entrance fees
- Flying Doctor emergency evacuation
- All statutory taxes
NOT INCLUDED:
- Beverages, incidentals, gratuities and items of a personal nature
- Additional meals in Entebbe
- Optional porter, should you require a porter during the trek (payable direct)
- Any optional extra activities not indicated above
Would you like to add a safari in Kenya, Tanzania or Madagascar before or after the Uganda Gorilla safari, all you got to do is write to us.
Moonlion Safaris 