Gorilla Trek With Great Lakes Safaris

by Dan Zimmerman

I too wanted a custom gorilla trek and was able to get very good service from Great Lakes Safaris of Uganda. My contact person was Ms. Mukasa Jaynefer.

Dan's Safari Details: Safari company used: Great Lakes Safaris (make an enquiry) Parks visited: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda Date of safari: August 2007 More Uganda safari reviews »

Ms. Jaynefer was very patient with many emails back & forth to customize and finalize the trip. I secured two gorilla permits for the Nkuringo group on consecutive days.

The trekking was not long but very strenuous - be in shape!

I did 2 treks because "they" say sometimes you don't get a great viewing if the group is going to be shy that day so I wasn't going to miss out after going 1/2 way around the world.

We stayed two nights in the historic Travelers Rest Hotel in Kisoro. This hotel was a good value with great ambiance.

The third night we stay at Mount Gahinga Lodge. This is a newer property run by Volcanoes Safaris. This lodge did NOT have running water or flush toilets and was expensive at $270 per person per night. It was nice with food and beverages included but I thought just a bit pricey.

The 10 hour drive from Kampala was rough! There is an air strip near Kisoro and our driver/ guide, Noah, told us they do fly clients there that have limited time. I have no idea what the additional cost would be but it might be worth it to save the 10 hour drive.