1-Day Uganda Gorilla Trek at Bwindi National Park

Bamboo Ecotours

5.0/5 – 90 Reviews

$968 pp (USD)

2 travelers on Start date

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Edison (Director) visiting the Nile in Jinja.

Bamboo Ecotours

5.0/5
(90 Reviews)

Office In:: Uganda
Size:: 5-10 employees (Founded in 2012)
Member Of:: Association of Uganda Tour Operators
Tour Types:: Customizable private tours and fixed group tours
Destinations:: RW

UG

Edison (Director) visiting the Nile in Jinja.

Bamboo Ecotours is a Ugandan social enterprise that was founded to promote tourism as a means to transform communities out of poverty. We link travelers to authentic wildlife, cultural and local experiences that directly benefit the traveler and the local communities.

Reviews90

Tom Dibdin-Hughes and Karen Dibdin-Hughes –

Reviewed: Oct 29, 2023

First Class, professional communication, incredible tour and amazing guide.

5/5

The whole process from enquiry to the tour with Bamboo Ecotours has been incredible. Edison kept us informed throughout our booking of the 8 day Gorillas, Murchison Falls and Kibale Chimp Trek.

The tour was unforgettable & we can’t fault our guide Amanya; nothing was too much trouble, he is such a great guide to spend time with teaching us so much about the country during our time together.

Uganda now holds a special place in our hearts & it’s all thanks to Bamboo Ecotours. Thank you for making our honeymoon a once in a lifetime experience we’ll never forget.

Xxx

Ashley –

Reviewed: Oct 8, 2023

Tour operator was efficient, communicative, and well priced.

5/5

I did a 3 day gorilla trekking tour organized by this company. First day I was picked up by my guide, Herbert and talked to a lodge, second day I did the trek and finally third day returned back to Kabale. Overall, it was a great experience and I would not hesitate to book with this company for a second trip. Everyone I interacted with was very kind and helpful and wanted me to have the best time, which I did!

Belinda –

Reviewed: Sep 8, 2023

From enquiry, booking, right through until the end- it was perfect!!!

5/5

I have had the time of my life and it’s all thanks to Bamboo. Edison assisted me fabulously with all of my enquires and booking (Thanks Edison!) and my guide Jackson has been absolutely AMAZING. His positive attitude, endless knowledge about the locations, culture and history and cheery disposition made him an absolute joy to travel with. Nothing was too much trouble and as a single female traveler he made me feel so safe and comfortable. I did the 3 day Bwindi gorilla trek and it really was a life changing by experience! Even though I’ve got one more half day to go (off on the golden monkey tour) I just couldn’t wait to write a review and share this amazing view from the lodge that Bamboo booked for me. I’d also highly recommend the coffee tour- it was a great addition to the trip. I’ll be back for a longer trip with bamboo next time! Thankyou!

Amanda –

Reviewed: Sep 6, 2023

We had a great trip with Bamboo Ecoutours! Our driver, Fred, was super! Definitely recommend

5/5

Communications with Edison were really great since the beginning; he is very responsive and helpful. They were also flexible with our requests and even organised separate activities for different group members. Fred our driver was brilliant, always early, very organised and well prepared. It also goes without saying that the visit to see the gorillas was incredible! Without faults.

Lola Thompson –

Reviewed: Sep 3, 2023

Experience of a lifetime

5/5

I was invited to a conference in Kampala, so I thought it would be nice to spend some time doing tourist activities in Uganda while I am in the area (after all, who knows when I will have an opportunity to come back!). I was initially very nervous about traveling alone -- I tried very hard to find a group tour, but there weren't any leaving at times that lined up with my conference. After reading excellent reviews of Bamboo Ecotours on several websites, I decided to inquire about tours with this company. In my mind, one of the main advantages of this tour was that this one started in Kigali, which is closer to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest than Kampala. This means less time riding in a car and more time with wildlife! Also, it gave me an opportunity to visit Kigali, which turned out to be a very cool city.

Edison, the head of Bamboo Ecotours (and the main contact person), helped to assuage all of my fears. He was very responsive to my WhatsApp messages. When I mentioned that I'm a female solo traveler and that my family was worried about me riding alone in a van with an unknown man for 4 days, he set me up with two guides: a seasoned male guide with four years of experience (Charles) and a female trainee guide (Emilly). This way, I felt more comfortable and Emilly got some hands-on experience.

Both Charles and Emilly immediately made me feel very comfortable on the tour. In fact, they became like family over the four days! I was a bit sad to say goodbye to them at the end. They are both from the region of Uganda where the gorilla tours take place, so they are extremely knowledgeable about the area. As we passed various crops/animals/landmarks/etc, they had interesting facts to tell me about each of them. They also helped me with navigating various things in Uganda, like helping me get a Ugandan SIM card after we crossed the border from Rwanda (it turned out that my Rwandan SIM card did not work in Uganda).

The hotels that I stayed at (Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge and Buffalo Safari Lodge) were supposed to be mid-range hotels but honestly they were some of the nicest and most luxurious hotels that I have ever stayed it. From the moment I arrived until the moment that I checked-out, the staff at these places did everything possible to make me comfortable. In both places, I had my own little cabin, with nice interior decor and excellent views of nature. I was able to get delicious vegetarian meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner at both hotels. Buffalo Safari Lodge even had a swimming pool with views of grazing buffalo!

The animal experiences were even better than I had imagined. I saw a whole family of gorillas at Bwindi, and I was able to get very close to them. Charles put me on one of the shorter hikes and I was very grateful for that, as it gave me time to meet the Batwa people in the afternoon. I had read some mixed reviews of the Batwa experiences online, but I think it's very important to meet them. They were removed from the forest so that the gorillas would have protected land, and they still feel the repercussions of that act today. The Ugandan government did not compensate them in any way when taking their land. I really appreciated having a chance to meet with some of the people to talk about their experiences and see how they live with my own eyes. If I can find ways to help them in the future, I will. For others reading this review before booking a trip, I would recommend bringing clothes in your suitcase to donate if you have extra space. I wish that I had done this.

The Queen Elizabeth National Park was also a highlight of my trip. We saw two lionesses and a female leopard in a tree during the safari drive. Then we took a cruise on the Kazinga Channel and we saw so many hippos, buffalo, birds, crocodiles, and even some elephants. There were also plenty of monkeys and elephants that we encountered just by driving around the park. On the last morning, I did a chimpanzee trek in the Kalinzu Forest. Although we only saw two chimpanzees, we saw plenty of colobus monkeys and baboons. At the end of the trip, we had a delicious African buffet lunch and then we stopped by the equator sign for some photos on the way back to Entebbe.

I want to end by saying that I cannot recommend Bamboo Ecotours enough. They will make sure that you see everything that you want to see, and they will do it very safely. Charles was an absolute master at navigating the winding narrow dirt roads near the Bwindi Forest. Emilly sat with me through every meal so that I wouldn't have to eat alone, which was very sweet. They both went above and beyond what I expected from a guide. At the end of the trip, I realised that I had left my swim suit at my last hotel, and Edison contacted another driver from his company and arranged for them to bring my swim suit to Entebbe.

If I ever come back to Uganda, I will absolutely use Bamboo Ecotours again. In the meantime, I will tell all of my friends who are considering booking trips to Uganda to hire this company!