Experience Uganda at a relaxed pace, combining exceptional wildlife with intimate primate encounters and carefully selected accommodation. From the Nile and the open savannah of Murchison Falls to the ancient forests of Kibale and the mountain gorillas of Bwindi, this journey gives you more time in the places that matter, while domestic flights reduce the longest road journeys.
Day 1: Arrive in Uganda
Welcome to Uganda. Meet your private representative at Entebbe International Airport and transfer to your accommodation. Take the evening to rest and settle in after your international journey.
Day 2: Fly to Murchison Falls
After breakfast, transfer for your domestic flight to Murchison Falls. On arrival, meet your private guide and begin your first game drive through the northern savannah in search of elephants, giraffes, buffalo, antelope and, with luck, lions, before continuing to your lodge for your first evening in the wilderness.
Day 3: Murchison Falls & the Nile
Rise early for a morning game drive while the savannah is most active, then return for breakfast and time to relax. Later, take a boat safari along the Nile towards the base of Murchison Falls, watching hippos and crocodiles in the water while elephants and buffalo gather along the banks.
Day 4: Murchison Falls to Kibale
Continue to Kibale Forest, using a domestic flight for part of the journey where schedules permit to reduce road travel. Arrive in western Uganda and settle into your forest accommodation, with a deliberately unhurried afternoon to enjoy the lodge and surrounding forest before tomorrow’s chimpanzee experience.
Day 5: Chimpanzees & Bigodi Wetland
Enter Kibale Forest in search of chimpanzees, walking beneath the canopy and listening for its primate inhabitants. After lunch, explore Bigodi Wetland with a local community guide, with opportunities for birding, primate sightings and an insight into the relationship between forest, wetland and community.
Day 6: A Day to Experience Kibale
An intentionally flexible day. Rather than moving on, enjoy another side of the Kibale region – a forest or nature walk, a crater-lake experience, birding, a community visit or a cultural experience – or simply enjoy a slower day at your lodge surrounded by nature.
Day 7: Kibale to Queen Elizabeth
Travel towards Queen Elizabeth National Park through the landscapes of western Uganda, with views towards the Rwenzori Mountains. In the afternoon, take a Kazinga Channel boat safari, watching hippos, crocodiles, elephants, buffalo and abundant birdlife along the shores.
Day 8: Queen Elizabeth, Ishasha & Bwindi
Start with a morning game drive before continuing to the Ishasha sector, famous for its tree-climbing lions, for a very different wildlife experience. Continue towards Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where the landscape changes dramatically into steep, forested mountains, arriving in Buhoma for two nights.
Day 9: Gorilla Trekking
The defining experience of your journey. After breakfast, head to the Buhoma trailhead for your briefing, then enter Bwindi’s ancient rainforest with experienced rangers and trackers in search of a habituated gorilla family. Once you find them, spend up to one hour observing them, then return to the lodge for a completely unhurried afternoon.
Day 10: Buhoma at Your Pace
A deliberately slow day. Choose an experience based on your interests – a guided forest walk to discover its plants, birds and smaller wildlife; a community visit such as Ride 4 a Woman; or birding with a specialist guide – or simply stay at the lodge and enjoy the forest surroundings.
Day 11: Fly from Bwindi to Entebbe
After breakfast, transfer to the local airstrip for your domestic flight back towards Entebbe, avoiding another long road journey. On arrival, transfer to your Entebbe accommodation and enjoy a relaxed final evening.
Day 12: Departure
Enjoy a relaxed morning before your private transfer to Entebbe International Airport.
Gorilla trekking takes place in mountainous rainforest and can be physically demanding; trekking time varies with the location of the gorilla family. Permits are subject to availability and should be secured well in advance. Porters are available for travellers who would like assistance during the trek.
Gorilla trekking is generally available to travellers aged 15 and above, subject to the regulations in force at the time of travel.
