8 Day Wildlife and Gorilla Safari

On arrival at Entebbe International Airport, meet your Adventure in the Wild Safaris representative and professional driver-guide after immigration and luggage collection. Receive a short safari briefing before your transfer to selected accommodation in Entebbe.

Relax after your flight and enjoy dinner at the hotel or a nearby restaurant. Early arrivals may arrange an optional Entebbe activity, such as the botanical gardens, a Lake Victoria sunset cruise or a Mabamba shoebill excursion, subject to time and availability.

After an early breakfast, begin the journey north through Kampala, rural communities and roadside markets. Stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a ranger-led walk to observe southern white rhinos safely on foot and learn about Uganda’s rhino-restoration programme.

After lunch near the sanctuary or Masindi, continue to Murchison Falls National Park. Visit the Top of the Falls, where the Nile squeezes through a narrow gorge before plunging downstream, then continue to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Set out early for a game drive on Murchison Falls’ northern bank, following the Buligi tracks through open savannah and woodland. Look for lions, elephants, buffaloes, Rothschild’s giraffes, hartebeests, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs and, with luck, leopards.

After lunch and a short rest, board a Victoria Nile boat cruise from Paraa Jetty toward the base of the falls. Watch for hippos, Nile crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes and waterbirds before returning to the lodge for dinner.

After breakfast, travel southwest through changing countryside, rural communities and trading centres toward Hoima and Fort Portal. Stop for lunch en route and enjoy the greener scenery of tea estates, crater lakes and forested hills as you approach the Kibale region.

Continue to a lodge near Kibale Forest National Park, Uganda’s leading chimpanzee-trekking destination. Settle in for dinner while your guide briefs you on the next morning’s forest trek; a short crater-lake walk may be possible if time allows.

After an early breakfast, transfer to Kanyanchu for registration and a ranger briefing before entering Kibale Forest with trackers. The trek normally takes two to five hours; after locating a habituated community, spend the permitted viewing time watching chimpanzees feed, groom and move through the forest.

After lunch, continue to Queen Elizabeth National Park, passing the Fort Portal region and the Rwenzori foothills. Depending on arrival time and lodge location, enjoy a short evening game drive or relax at the lodge.

Explore the Kasenyi Plains on an early morning game drive in search of lions, elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs, hyenas and birds. Continue to the jetty for a Kazinga Channel boat cruise, where hippos, crocodiles and wildlife gathering at the water’s edge are often seen.

After lunch, travel through the Kigezi Highlands to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The route may pass through Ishasha, where tree-climbing lions are sometimes seen, before arriving at your lodge to prepare for the next day’s gorilla trekking in Uganda.

After breakfast, take your packed lunch, water, rain jacket, passport and camera to the Uganda Wildlife Authority briefing point. Meet your rangers and trackers, receive conservation and safety guidance, and begin your trek to a habituated mountain gorilla family.

The trek can take two to seven hours over steep, muddy forest terrain, depending on the family’s movements. Once found, spend up to one hour observing the gorillas, then return for your trekking certificate and relax at the lodge; an optional Batwa cultural experience or community walk may be arranged at extra cost.

Enjoy an early breakfast, check out and begin the return journey through the Kigezi Highlands, passing terraced farms and rural communities toward Mbarara. Stop for lunch along the way before continuing to the Uganda Equator at Kayabwe for photographs, souvenirs and an optional water demonstration.

Continue to Kampala, an Entebbe hotel or Entebbe International Airport, marking the end of your safari. Travellers flying out today should book a late-evening flight; an extra Entebbe night can be arranged for earlier departures.