Rwanda BIG PRIMATES: GORILLAS AND CHIMPANZEE TREKKING Tour - 5 Days

  A stunning glimpse into the natural world  - A simply stunning experience from start to finish. What started as a spur of the moment idea to visit the mountain gorillas turned into an extraordinary and continually delightful tour... read more in a truly beautiful country, guided by the most genuine, and inimitable tour guide - Richard Toko. Although seemingly more common than expected ( having bumped into many self-driving couples / friends ), we had reservations around arranging transport and managing the logistics ourselves, so we opted to book the visit through a tour company which turned out to be a wise decision. Following a brief google search it was clear a fleeting visit to see the Gorillas was not going to be enough as Uganda has so much to offer. We settled on a 10 day trip, regretfully omitting the northern sector featuring Murchison falls, but including the popular spots of Kibale, Queen Elizabeth Park, Bwindi impenetrable forest and Lake Bunyoni. We contacted several companies to obtain quotations for the trip and eventually got connected with Ivan from Gorillas & Wildlife Safaris. At the outset Ivan was friendly, clearly knowledgeable & experienced in providing Ugandan wide tours; offering off the shelf packages, but was also very accommodating, providing a fully customised trip giving logical reasons as to why our suggestions may or may not work. This was great for us as we wanted to work in a couple of days without travel during the trip, something that other agencies were reluctant to discuss giving the impression that inflating their sale price with activities was more of a priority. After several conversations with Ivan we settled on an agenda, and he was continually communicative. He was also flexible with the payment options, again, an area where other agencies were not as accommodating. Our trip consisted of 5 different lodges and ahead of time we were given the option to pick from budget, mid range or luxury accommodation. Apart from the higher end “Birdsnest Resort” in Lake Bunyoni we opted for budget accommodation which were anything but. All the lodges were excellently well kept, all in stunning locations, featuring comfy beds ( with mosquito nets where needed ), a well-stocked bar, very decent 3 course menus and always friendly staff. It was hard to find fault, all lodges having their own charms. Gorillas & Wildlife Safaris were exemplary in every aspect, the highlight being Richard Toko who was purely a joy to be around and who demonstrated incredible knowledge of Ugandan wildlife and conversation in general. It was truly a privilege to be shown this beautiful country by a seasoned and inspiring gentleman.
Sam & Luana

  Amazing experience and Richard is the best  - I did a 3 day gorilla tracking safari with Richard and I had the time of my life. The gorilla tracking was amazing, and the whole 3 days were just... read more an amazing experience, all thanks to Richard. Richard is a friendly, knowledgeable and awesome guy who just made the whole experience fantastic. He even gave me a little gift after our 3 day tour, which was very kind and heartwarming.

I highly recommend going with Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris!!

  My sister organized an itinerary through Gorillas and Wildlife Safari. We love that it was Uganda-owned. She worked with Ivan to put together a fabulous itinerary through Rwanda and Uganda... read more for a short eight night trip to trek to the gorillas, chimps, and golden monkeys and with a short safari break at Queen Elizabeth National Park. It was a tight schedule (and we knew that — our schedules didn’t allow for longer trip), but my 65 year old mom and godmother kept up! We still had a few afternoons for relaxing built in. It was perfect! We saw everything we came to see and so much more. Our guide Eric was an incredible driver (most of that driving was not easy!!) and was super knowledge about the history, culture, nature, and especially the animals. For the trekking, we had separate guides (as required), but Eric guided us on our game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park, and he has an eagle eye for spotting animals and made sure we saw everything. We heded his advice and started our days very early because that’s when animals are most activity. We are so glad we did! All the hotels we stayed at were top notch (we did luxury package). Everything ran really smoothy! I will say that you do spend a lot of time in a really nice SUV but keep that in mind if you are prone to car sickness. The drives were so scenic and we saw and learned so much along the way to the different stops.

  Amazing experience with Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris - We did a 7 night, 8 day gorilla and Safari tour. It was fantastic - we had such a great time. Ivan was quick to respond to all... read more of our questions and Eric, our guide, was excellent. He’s a fantastic driver and incredibly knowledgable about Uganda and the surrounding wildlife. Eric also made sure we got to see everything we wanted to see - in our case a leopard. We couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Thank you to both Ivan and Eric.

  My wonderful 13-day trip across Uganda - I just returned from my wonderful 13-day trip across Uganda with Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris. My interactions with Ivan as well as my guide, Huzaima, were fantastic. Ivan was very... read more responsive throughout entire preparation period answering all my questions and addressing all my concerns. All payments for the permits and tours went very smoothly. With Huzaima, my guide, we developed a friendship. Huza is a very kind and thoughtful person with great sense a humor. With him I felt very safe in completely unknown country. The tour per se was fantastic: within 13 days we circled entire country. The pearl of the tour was habituation experience with gorillas. I opted not to do habituation with chimpanzees and now regret it. I strongly recommend this company to work with if you want to visit Uganda.

  Amazing experience from the start! - We cannot recommend Gorilla and Wildlife Safaris enough! From the very beginning in planning the trip, Ivan was extremely responsive to all our questions and very helpful in creating the... read more perfect itinerary that we hoped for. Our guide, Eric, was just as exceptional. Eric was knowledgeable not just about the country, but all the animals we would see, and everything in between. We appreciated all the information he gave us and his efforts to make our trip memorable (which it was)! Our experiences in the national parks and seeing the gorillas, chimps, tree climbing lions, etc. were everything we hoped for and more. Uganda is a beautiful country and we felt safe every step of the way. GWS coordinated excellent lodges for us to stay at and the meals did not disappoint. Do not hesitate to book with this company! If we return to the area, we would absolutely book with them again and hope to have Eric again as our guide.