12 Days Rwenzori Mountain Mt. Stanley Summit and Gorilla Trekking Safari

Upon arrival in either Kampala or Kigali, you will meet our driver guide who will brief you about your scheduled 12 days gorilla trekking, wildlife and Rwenzori trekking Experience trip. After here, you will be driven to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – home to half the remaining Mountain gorilla in the world for gorilla trekking.

You will head for briefing at the park headquarters before leaving for the gorilla search in the forest. The ranger guides will lead you through the forest to track the gorillas, which may take from 30 minutes to 6 hours including an hour getting up-close with gorillas. You will then return to the headquarters to receive your gorilla trekking certificate, after which you will be driven back to your hotel/lodge.

In case you have a free afternoon, you will head for cultural performances from the women at Ride for a woman organization or visit the Batwa, otherwise, you will depart for Queen Elizabeth national Park-famous for the tree-climbing lions at Isasha, and if lucky enough, you will encounter the tree-climbing Lions, as you head to the Northern side where you will check in your hotel/lodge. Have dinner and overnight.

Day 3 Game Drive and afternoon Boat Cruise

Have breakfast and embark on your morning game drive along Kasenyi track in search of animals such as Lions, Lions, Cape Buffalos, Elephants, Warthogs, Waterbucks, Spotted hyenas, Mangoose, Kobs and if you are lucky enough, you may spot leopards, not forgetting various bird species. Return for lunch at your lodge, after which you will go for yet another exciting moment of boat riding along the kazinga channel, where you will watch wild animals and various bird species at a much closer distance. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 4 Travel to Nyakalengija

At sunrise, you will go for a morning game drive to explore the creator lakes, salt lakes and other wild animals. With a lunch en-route, you will head to Kasese Town and proceed to your lodge/hotel/camp in Nyakalengijja for Dinner and overnight.

Have breakfast and embark on your morning game drive along Kasenyi track in search of animals such as Lions, Lions, Cape Buffalos, Elephants, Warthogs, Waterbucks, Spotted hyenas, Mangoose, Kobs and if you are lucky enough, you may spot leopards, not forgetting various bird species.

Return for lunch at your lodge, after which you will go for yet another exciting moment of boat riding along the kazinga channel, where you will watch wild animals and various bird species at a much closer distance. You later travel to Nyakalengija in the evening and check in Ruboni Community Camp for rest and dinner as you prepare for the next day’s trek.

The hike will Start the hike from Nyakalengija (RMS park headquarters) through the Bakonzo settlements to mount Rwenzori national park gate where you will be registered before entering the park. You will start the central circuit trail trek through the thick tropical with high elephant grass and dense bushes.

This forest is a home to various animal species like forest elephant, chimpanzee, hyrax, black-and-white colobus, L’Hoest’s monkeys, duiker, and three horned chameleon among many more. Some of the bird species include; Handsome Francolin, Rwenzori Turaco, Long-eared Owl, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater, Strange Weaver, Archers’ Robin-chat, Rwenzori Batis among many others as well as various tree and plant species. You will expect to see some of them.

It’s about 8km from Nyakalengija to Nyabitaba hut. Dinner and overnight at Nyabitaba hut.

Have breakfast at the hut, you will move through thick shrubs and forest for about 30 minutes to the Kurt Shafer bridge which is at the confluence of the Mubuku and Bujuku rivers. You will then move though the bamboo mixed with montane forests and slippery moss covered rocks for a couple of hours. You will continue to move up to Nyamulejju rock shelter where the first hikers used to at times camp and also spend the night, you will have a stopover here for lunch.

At this point you will have a view of mount Stanley and mount Speke if the weather is clear. Through the alpine forest, you will reach john matte camp. The hut is near river Bujuku and most hikers take a bath there, the water is so cold but so refreshing as well.

You will also have a view of the Margherita glacier which is on mount Stanley between Alexandra and Margherita peaks. Nyabitaba to John Matte is about 11km.

After breakfast at the hut, you will cross river Bujuku and through forest to the lower bigo bog. This is a swampy area in a valley and is a home to the giant lobelias. This area used to be hardest part of the Rwenzori since the area is so boggy, jumping from one tussock to another was not so easy for most hikers more so females.

Currently, there is a walk board up to the end of the boggy area which makes the walk much easier for trekkers. As you move you will expect to see giant lobelias, everlasting flowers and groundsels.

You will then take a steep hike along a ridge which will lead you to the start of the upper bigo bog. There is also a board walk up to Lake Bujuku. After the board walk you will try to move through the remaining small boggy area with no walk boards to Bujuku hut. At this point, you will have a view of Lake Bujuku, Mount Speke, Mount Baker and Mount Stanley.

At this point you are able to ascend Mount Speke and Mount Stanley. Distance from John matte to Bujuku is about 5 km. dinner and overnight at Bujuku.

After early morning breakfast, you will traverse through the groundsel vegetation along the 4km path, climbing up 4,372m  which is about a 5-7 hours hike.  You will ascend through the sides of the Upper Bigo bogo and hike through the steep slopes of Lake Bujuku to the West as you ascend to the 4372m Scott-Elliot pass, and later proceed through several swamps and the remarkable ground gully.

You will then walk through the steep section above the gully by using a metal ladder reaching a junction with two divided trails, with the right trail leading to the Elena Hut rising through a steep trail above the large boulders to Mount Stanley while the left trailheads to the Scott-Eliiot pass descending to Kitandara hut.

The trail is then divided into two. The two trails, the left trail leads to Scott-Elliot pass descending to Kitandara Lakes while the right trail heads to the Elena Hut and on a steep trail above large boulders to Mt Stanley.

Situated at the rocky part of Mount Stanley, Elena hut is located in a cold region, although it offers beautiful views of Mount Baker and Mount Speke, which is sometimes hard to see due to fog. Dinner and overnight at the Elena hut.

This day you will have to wake up as early as 2am, Have breakfast at Elena hut, be ready in your warmest gear, put on your harness, warm hand gloves and headstock, have your headlamps and helmets and make sure you have sunglasses in the day pack on. Hike to the top of mount Stanley, Magherita peak, through the Stanley plateau. On steep rocky areas, you will use the ropes to help you move. The guide will teach you how to use the equipment while on the ice. On the glacial parts you will be required to use you, crampons, and ice axe.

After moving for a couple of hours after the Stanley plateau glacier, you will reach the bottom of the Margherita glacier. This is the most challenging part of the entire hiking Rwenzori experience. You will hike through this glacier uo to the top of mount Stanley, Margherita peak (5,109m). At the top you will have a view of Ireen Lake, mount Speke and the surrounding environment.

Then descend to Elena Hut for Lunch and later proceed to descend to Kitandara through the Scott Elliot pass to Kitandara, it is the most beautiful point of the Rwenzori. Have dinner at Kitandara then spend the night. If the group is big, you might spend another night at Elena hut and continue the following day.

After an early morning breakfast, spend your entire 6-8 hours’ trekking along the base of mount baker which is quite slippery. Ascend steeply up the headwall, that spreads from the base of Mount Baker, as you proceed towards the southern side of Mountain Rwenzori to the Fresh field pass.

After here, you will continue with the long stretch of the muddy trail, trekking through the Kabamba, Akhendahi and rock shelters of Bujongolo-the base camp for the historic expeditions by Duke of Abruzzi in 1906. Proceed with your trek along the Kabamba trail and later arrive at Guy Yeoman, which is established at the banks of river mubuku. Dinner and overnight at the hut.

On this last day of your 7 days Rwenzori trek of the central circuit, you will descend to Nyabitaba hut, after your early morning breakfast passing through the Bamboo forest.  You enjoy great sightings of beautiful flowers and plants, bamboo forests and Kinchuchu and Mubuku Rivers, not forgetting the Kabamba falls. Arrive at Nyabitabba hut after a 4 hours’ trek, after which you will briefly spend 40 minutes visiting Lake mahoma. Return to the hut after Lake Mahoma exploration and embark on your trek to Nyakalengijja where you will meet your guide to transfer you back to your hotel

On this day, you will drive to Kibale forest national park headquarters after breakfast from the Mountain Base in Kasese, you will be briefed about chimpanzee trekking and the park in general. Most tourists visit the park to trek chimpanzees. Apart from the chimps, the forest is a home to other primates like monkeys, mangabey, baboons, wild pigs, various fish species among others.

Your chimpanzee trekking shall be done in the mid-morning starting at 11am. You will then start the trek through the forest to look for the chimps. Unlike gorillas, chimpanzees keep moving around the forest and jump from one tree to another as they go about their daily life.

So do not expect to find them in one place. As you trek the chimps, you will expect to see other primates that live in the forest as well as various bird species like the great blue turaco. You will then return to the lodge refresh and have lunch. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

After an early morning breakfast, you will start the journey to drive back to Kampala. You shall arrive in Kampala in afternoon hour ready to catch your flight back home.