7 Day Uganda Wildlife and Gorilla Safari

Meet your professional driver-guide at Entebbe International Airport, your Entebbe hotel or an agreed Kampala location, then travel west through central Uganda’s towns, farms and roadside markets. Stop for lunch en route before continuing through Fort Portal’s tea estates, crater lakes and green hills toward Kibale.

Arrive at your lodge near Kibale Forest National Park in the late afternoon or evening. A crater-lake viewpoint or short nature walk may be possible with an early departure; after check-in, receive a briefing for tomorrow’s chimpanzee trek.

After breakfast, transfer to Kanyanchu Visitor Centre or the assigned starting point for registration and a Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger briefing. Enter the forest with rangers and trackers to search for a habituated chimpanzee community; the trek usually takes two to five hours and includes up to one hour with the chimpanzees once found.

Return to the lodge for lunch and relaxation, then visit Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for a guided walk through wetland, forest edge, farmland and village landscapes. Look out for colobus and red-tailed monkeys, birds and butterflies while learning about community conservation projects.

After breakfast, leave Kibale through the crater-lake region toward Queen Elizabeth National Park. Enjoy views of tea plantations, cultivated hills and the Rwenzori foothills, with a scenic viewpoint stop where timing permits. Check into your lodge and have lunch before transferring to Mweya Jetty.

Take an afternoon cruise on the Kazinga Channel between Lake George and Lake Edward. The shoreline often attracts hippos, Nile crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks and prolific waterbirds; return to the lodge for dinner, with a short evening game drive possible if time allows.

Set out early for a game drive on the Kasenyi Plains or another productive track, searching for lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks and warthogs. After breakfast or according to your lodge programme, travel south through the Ishasha Sector.

Search the large fig trees for Ishasha’s tree-climbing lions, whose sightings are possible but never guaranteed. Continue through the changing savannah, cultivated hills and forested landscapes to your lodge near Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where your guide prepares you for tomorrow’s gorilla trek.

Carry your packed lunch, water, passport, rain protection and camera to the relevant Uganda Wildlife Authority briefing centre. After ranger guidance on conservation, health precautions and forest safety, trek with trackers toward an allocated habituated mountain gorilla family.

The trek can take two to seven hours over steep, muddy and uneven terrain. Spend up to one hour observing the gorillas when they are located, then receive your trekking certificate and transfer through the scenic Kigezi Highlands to Lake Bunyonyi for a restful evening beside the lake.

Enjoy a relaxed breakfast overlooking Lake Bunyonyi, then take a guided boat or canoe experience among its islands and terraced hills. Depending on the confirmed programme, enjoy birdwatching, an island visit, local stories, community interaction and scenic photography.

After check-out, travel through Kabale, Ntungamo and Mbarara toward Lake Mburo National Park, stopping for lunch en route. Enter the park and take an afternoon or evening game drive en route to your lodge, looking for zebras, impalas, giraffes, elands, topis and buffaloes.

Meet an armed ranger for an early guided walking safari in Lake Mburo. Exploring on foot offers a closer view of tracks, plants, birds and wildlife behaviour, with possible sightings of zebras, impalas, giraffes, elands, waterbucks, topis and buffaloes; follow all ranger instructions and maintain a safe distance from wildlife.

Return for breakfast, then begin the drive to Kampala or Entebbe. Stop at the Uganda Equator at Kayabwe for photographs and an optional water demonstration, have lunch en route, and continue to your hotel, Entebbe International Airport or another agreed drop-off point. Choose a late-evening flight when departing today.