15 Days Highlights of Uganda

Tour details

Duration: 15 days

Best for: First-timers to Uganda who want the full sweep in one trip, and anyone who wants the Big Five plus gorillas in a single itinerary

Group size: Private tour, your group and your guide

Travel style: Safari, Big Five, Gorilla trekking, Chimpanzee tracking, Birding

Introduction

This is our longest and most complete Uganda itinerary. Over 14 nights, your private guide drives you through Murchison Falls, Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. You track chimpanzees, cruise for hippo and elephant, and spend an hour face to face with mountain gorillas.

Uganda holds forest where most of the continent holds savanna. That forest shelters some of the last mountain gorillas on Earth, and this itinerary gets you to them. You also cover the Big Five in Queen Elizabeth National Park, including the tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha sector, a behavior found in only two places in Africa.

Your guide plans the gorilla trek and builds the rest of the trip around it.

On this journey, you will explore the following highlights:

Murchison Falls National Park – Uganda’s Largest Safari Park

Kibale Forest National Park – The Primate Capital

Chimpanzee Tracking

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Home of the Mountain Gorillas

Gorilla Tracking - The Ultimate Wildlife Encounter

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Ishasha (Queen Elizabeth National Park)

Boat Trips on the Nile and Kazinga Channel – Wildlife from the Water

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary – Rhino Conservation in Action

Cultural Encounters – Meet Uganda’s Communities

Day to day programme

Day 1: Arrival

You land in Entebbe and overnight at Papyrus Guest House. Bed and breakfast.

Day 2: Entebbe to Murchison Falls National Park

Your driver-guide meets you at the airport. It's a full day's drive north, through rural villages and changing scenery, with a picnic lunch on the road. You settle into your lodge by late afternoon. Stay at Baker's Lodge, Paraa Safari Lodge or Sambiya Lodge. Full board.

Day 3: Murchison Falls National Park

Morning game drive for elephant, buffalo, hippo and giraffe. Afternoon boat cruise up the Nile toward the falls themselves. Stay at Baker's Lodge, Paraa Safari Lodge or Sambiya Lodge. Full board.

Day 4: Murchison Falls National Park

You hike to the top of the falls for the view from above, then head out for an afternoon game drive. Stay at Baker's Lodge, Paraa Safari Lodge or Sambiya Lodge. Full board.

Day 5: Murchison Falls to Kibale Forest

Another full driving day, heading south with picnic lunches. Watch for the Rwenzori Mountains on the horizon, known locally as the Mountains of the Moon. Stay at Primate Lodge, Kyaninga Lodge or Ndali Lodge. Full board.

Day 6: Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest Reserve

Kibale is one of the best places in Africa to see chimpanzees, and you spend the morning tracking them on foot. In the afternoon, visit the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for birdlife and butterflies. Stay at Primate Lodge, Kyaninga Lodge or Ndali Lodge. Full board.

Day 7: Kibale Forest to Queen Elizabeth National Park

A shorter drive today, three to four hours, to Mweya Safari Lodge overlooking the park. You go out on an afternoon game drive on arrival. Stay at Mweya Safari Lodge or Katara Lodge. Full board.

Day 8: Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Morning game drive on the Kasenyi Track, a strong spot for big cats, elephant herds and Ugandan kob. In the afternoon, a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel, where elephants and waterbuck come down to drink and the shoreline is thick with malachite kingfishers, saddle-billed storks and pink-backed pelicans. Stay at Mweya Safari Lodge or Katara Lodge. Full board.

Day 9: Ishasha sector, Queen Elizabeth National Park

You game-drive south into the Ishasha sector, home to the tree-climbing lions and healthy numbers of elephant, buffalo and hippo. One camp serves this entire area, so you're not sharing it with a line of vehicles. Stay at Ishasha Wilderness Camp. Full board.

Day 10: Tree-climbing lion safari in Ishasha

The Ishasha plains mix lantana bush and sycamore fig, and the lions climb into the fig trees to rest. You'll also find buffalo, elephants, Ugandan kob, large herds of topi, and black and white colobus monkeys. Stay at Ishasha Wilderness Camp. Full board.

Day 11: Ishasha to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Four to five hours through the hills of southwestern Uganda to the Buhoma area of Bwindi, your base for the gorilla trek. Stay at Mahogany Springs or Bwindi Lodge. Full board.

Day 12: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

This is the day the whole trip is built around. After a briefing at park headquarters, your ranger-guided trek runs one to three hours to reach a gorilla family. You get one hour with them once found, watching them feed, groom and play, then trek back out to a hot shower and dinner. Stay at Mahogany Springs or Bwindi Lodge. Full board.

Day 13: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

You spend a few hours in Buhoma village learning basket weaving from local women over tea. Weaving is both a social activity and a livelihood here, and it's a direct look at daily life in this part of Uganda. Stay at Mahogany Springs or Bwindi Lodge. Full board.

Day 14: Bwindi to Entebbe

A light aircraft flight takes you from the local airstrip back to Entebbe. Your last night is a relaxed dinner in the gardens at The Boma Guesthouse. Stay at The Boma Guesthouse or Papyrus Guest House. Bed and breakfast.

Day 15: Return flight home

Fly home.

When should you go?

June to August and December to February give you the driest ground and the best wildlife viewing. Bwindi and Kibale are rainforests, so rain is possible on any given day, even in the dry season. Pack for it.

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What's included

Includes

• Accommodation on a full board basis
• Uganda gorilla trekking permit
• Private guide for the full itinerary
• Park entrance fees
• All transfers listed above

Excludes

• Drinks
• Gratuities
• International flights
• Travel insurance
• Visa

Accommodations

During the trip, you will stay at:

Entebbe: Papyrus Guest House, bed and breakfast.

Murchison Falls: Baker's Lodge, Paraa Safari Lodge or Sambiya Lodge, full board.

Kibale Forest: Primate Lodge, Kyaninga Lodge or Ndali Lodge, full board.

Queen Elizabeth National Park: Mweya Safari Lodge or Katara Lodge, full board.

Ishasha sector: Ishasha Wilderness Camp, full board.

Bwindi Forest: Mahogany Springs or Bwindi Lodge, full board.

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