The 4 days Mgahinga mountain Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey habituation tour is a highly thrilling Uganda primate encounter safari that will give you a chance to meet eye to eye with the endangered mountain gorillas and take part in the processes of making Golden monkeys get used to the presence of human beings around them in their natural habitat. This primate experience can only be conducted nowhere else in the world except in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park found in the southwestern Uganda. Mountain gorilla trekking and golden monkey habituation are some of the greatest wildlife experiences to leave you with memories of a lifetime in Africa.

Highlights of the 4 days Mgahinga Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey habituation tour

Day 1: Pick up from Entebbe airport / Kampala city – Drive to Mgahinga gorilla national park with stopover at Equator landmark and other places for photos.

Day 2: Mountain Gorilla Trekking tour – Explore Lake Mutanda

Day 3: Golden Monkey habituation tour

Day 4: Return to your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe international airport

Detailed itinerary 

Day 1: Pick up from your hotel / residence in Kampala or Entebbe airport – Start your journey to Mgahinga gorilla national park (the mountain gorillas and goldens’ home)

Day 1 of the 4 days Mgahinga Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey habituation tour, the allocated tour guide will meet with you at your hotel/residence in Kampala/Entebbe at (0630hrs) or pick you from Entebbe international airport on your arrival however, this should be with an early morning plane latest (0900hrs) for meet and greet, briefing on your 4 days Mgahinga Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey habituation tour, have all your bags packed in the vehicle and then start your mountain gorilla trekking and golden monkey habituation safari to Mgahinga gorilla national park. The Mgahinga gorilla national park is located some 550kms from Kampala the capital of Uganda, a distance which takes approximately +9hrs to cover by road. Mgahinga gorilla national park is situated in the southwestern Uganda along Uganda – Rwanda border and Uganda – DR Congo and part of the Virunga massif which includes two other national parks namely; Volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Virunga national park in DR Congo. On the way to Mgahinga gorilla national park, there are several local communities that you will go through such as the Ankole cattle keepers who are  popular for their long horned cows that will make you admire and prompted to take a memorial photo. You will have a stopover at the Kayabwe Equator line taken as one beautiful scenery in Africa where the planet is divided in to northern part and southern park to see the water experiment which is done on each side of the planet to how forces move different on each side of the planet, spend some time to take memorial photographs. Later, proceed with your journey to Igongo cultural center to have refreshments and lunch, visit the well-equipped museum with an ancient information about the Ankole people and other ethnic groups found in western Uganda. Afterwards, drive straight to Mgahinga gorilla national park where you will arrive late evening to check in at your booked lodge, freshen yourself, and have dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation options; Lake Mutanda Resort (Luxury), Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge (Mid-range), Lake Chahafi Lodge (Standard)

Meal plan: Lunch / Dinner

Day 2:  Mgahinga Gorilla national park – Mountain gorilla trekking – Explore Lake Mutanda

Day 2 of the 4 days Mgahinga Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey habituation tour, wake up early morning (0600am) to prepare yourself, dress up in a recommend style for mountain gorilla trekking safari such as long sleeved shirt/blouse, long water proof trouser, rain jacket, round hat and strong hiking boots, get your camera plus extra battery, binocular, sun glass, insect repellants, and heavy duty gloves well pack in a small bag that you will be able to conveniently carry during mountain gorilla trekking safari, leave your room to the restaurant to have breakfast, get your packed snacks, you’re your safari guide and drive to the park information office for a briefing about the mountain gorilla trekking expectations, rules and regulations to follow during mountain gorilla trekking and how to behave in the presence of mountain gorillas, get allocated a park guide and later start your forest walk in search of the mountain gorillas. The forest walk while searching for the magical mountain gorillas will take you through the thick undergrowth of the forest where the paths are just made for the day and when you finally get closer to your allocated mountain gorilla family, you will sense their presence by the dung smell, previous night’s nests and broken tree branches.

The time spent in search for the mountain gorillas is not known but may last for between 45mins to 6 hours depending on the location of your allocated gorilla family and your forest hiking spend. Sometimes the forest walk in search for the mountain gorillas, maybe tough but when you catch a glimpse of the magnificent silverback and his family, all the discomforts and fatigue will be quickly forgotten and then wear a big smile allover your face and your body may develop Goosebumps due to excitements of seeing forest giants. You will an hour with the magical mountain gorillas, you will be free to take as many photos and to record videos as you would want, ask questions about them and any other that you would need to know about. Sitting around a mountain gorilla family for a whole hour while gazing into their big round eyes is the greatest wildlife experience in Africa. After spending an hour with the endangered mountain gorillas, return to the park information center to receive your mountain gorilla trekking certificate, have refreshments and meet your safari guide to drive back to your lodge to have full lunch and spend your afternoon relaxing.

Later in the evening, go to explore Lake Mutanda one of the most beautiful Lakes in all of Africa and stunningly amazing made of several small islands which you can visit using a traditional dugout Canoe boat are and each Island has its unique interesting story behind it that will be narrated to you by your local canoe guide. Lake Mutanda a magical paradise that is beyond anyone’s imagination that will give you a relaxed mind after the adventurous mountain gorillas. Then, late in the evening return to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation options; Lake Mutanda Resort (Luxury), Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge (Mid-range), Lake Chahafi Lodge (Standard)

Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch / Dinner

Day 3: Mgahinga gorilla national park – Golden Monkey habituation experience – Spend your evening relaxing

Day 3 of the 4 days Mgahinga Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey habituation tour, will be another day for utmost primates’ encounter in their natural habitats, this time will be for engaging in the golden monkey habituation experience where the wild golden monkeys are prepared to get used to the presence humans while tracking them. Therefore, you will wake up very early in the morning at (0600am) to dress up in a recommend style for primate habituation and tracking experience such as long water proof trouser, long sleeved shirt/blouse, round hat, rain jacket and strong hiking boots, pack your camera plus extra battery, sun glass, binocular, insect repellants, and heavy duty gloves well pack in a small bag that will be convenient for you to carry during forest hiking in search for wild golden monkeys, have breakfast, meet your safari guide and transfer to the Mgahinga gorilla national park information office to be briefed on the dos and dots to follow during golden monkey habituation, expectation of golden monkey habituation and how to behave in the presence of golden monkeys once you have met them.  Later start the forest hike in search for these beautiful primates only found in Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda, Volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Virunga national park in DR Congo.

Golden Monkeys are one of the most unknown primate, but certainly enjoyable and worth visits. Golden monkeys are small curious primates with a golden in color and they love to scamper around trees. Golden monkeys were named after their beautiful golden-orange fur. Similar to mountain gorillas, golden monkeys are considered as endangered species with an estimated number of between 3000-4000 individuals therefore, efforts to conserve them were set to protect them from getting extinct especially due to poaching. Golden monkeys are primarily found in the bamboo forest zones on the lower slopes of the volcanoes and they are more active in the bamboo canopy.  The time spent while forest hiking in search for these beautiful golden monkeys is not known but it may take between 45mins and 4hrs accompanied the researchers through areas of the park and once you encounter them, you will spend 4 hours with a family of semi-habituated family of golden monkeys while enjoying the thrilling moments of seeing them as they respond to simulation of researchers in the process of making golden monkeys get used to the presence of humans, the research will educated you on their feeding habits, how they make different kinds of noise to communications, how they detect any kind of invasion of their space by a stranger, how they do to protect themselves from danger, what they eat, how the mothers care and gloom their youngsters, and how the members of the family keep together. You will also learn much about the forests and others wildlife species found there.

You will have an opportunity to take perfect photo shots and filming of the habituation exercise of the golden monkeys. After you have spent four hours with a semi habituated golden monkey family and having taken enough photos, retire from the forest back to the starting point to meet your safari guide and drive back to your lodge to spend your lodge to freshen up and spend your evening while relaxing, have dinner and an overnight

Accommodation options; Lake Mutanda Resort (Luxury), Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge (Mid-range), Lake Chahafi Lodge (Standard)

Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch / Dinner

Day 4: Mgahinga gorilla national park – Drive back to Kampala or Entebbe international airport

This is the last day of the 4 days Mgahinga Mountain Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey habituation tour. So in the morning, you will have a relaxed breakfast, get all your belongings packed in the vehicle, check out of the lodge and set off on a return journey to your hotel or residence in Kampala or Entebbe international airport to prepare for your return flight. On your journey back to Kampala, you will have a stopover at the Equator to have lunch, visit the gift shops to buy some souvenirs and later continue with your journey to Kampala or Entebbe international airport where you will arrive early evening to either be transferred to the airport for your departure flight or to the hotel / residence in Kampala or Entebbe for dinner and overnight. This will be the end of 4 days Mgahinga Mountain Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey habituation tour

Inclusions of 4 days Mgahinga Mountain Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey habituation tour;

Return transfers (Pick up and drop off)

Private transport using a well-modified safari Land-cruiser/van which is 4×4 and air-conditioned)

Professional English speaking safari guide for 4 days

Fuel for 4 days

Private Luxury/Mid-range/standard accommodation on full board (Breakfast/Lunch /Dinner) for 3 nights

Bottled mineral water and en-route meals

A visit to Igongo cultural center

A stopover to do water experiment at Kayabwe equator land mark

1 mountain gorilla trekking permit per person

Boat canoeing safari to explore Lake Mutanda

1 golden monkey habituation experience permit per person

Explore Lake Mutanda

Full day Mount Sabinyo hiking permit

Exclusions of 4 days Mgahinga Mountain Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey habituation tour;

Domestic and international flights

Country entry visa

Personal travel insurance

Souvenirs and gifts

Tips to lodge staffs, safari guide and porter

Porter fee

Alcoholic and soft drinks (Wines, beers, sodas, juice and other beverages)

Telephone and laundry services

All other expenses of personal nature such as cigar, emails, airtime and many more.