A complete western Uganda loop in a week: chimpanzees, savannah game drives, a boat cruise, tree-climbing lions, mountain gorillas and the zebra of Lake Mburo.
This seven-day loop covers the best of western Uganda in a comfortable rhythm. It begins with chimpanzees in Kibale Forest, continues to Queen Elizabeth National Park for savannah wildlife and the Kazinga Channel, passes Ishasha’s tree-climbing lions on the way to Bwindi’s gorillas, and ends at Lake Mburo, where you can see zebra and impala and take a boat trip before an easy final drive.
Because the loop never retraces its steps, each day brings new scenery: the crater lakes and tea of Fort Portal, the Rift Valley, the forested hills of Kigezi and the acacia country of Ankole.
Your driver-guide collects you from Entebbe or Kampala in the morning and heads west on the Mubende road through farmland, tea estates and small trading towns. Lunch is taken on the way, and by mid-afternoon you reach Fort Portal, set against the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains. A short drive brings you to your lodge on the edge of Kibale Forest, where black-and-white colobus often feed in the trees around the grounds.
Arrive at the Kanyanchu visitor centre for the 8:00am briefing, then set off into the forest in a group of up to eight with a Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger. Kibale’s habituated chimpanzees are usually found within one to three hours, often calling loudly or feeding in fig trees. You spend one hour with them, watching grooming, squabbles and youngsters at play, while red colobus and grey-cheeked mangabeys move through the canopy around you.
In the afternoon, walk the boardwalk and trails of the community-run Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary with a local guide. It is one of the best places in Uganda to see the great blue turaco, and you may also find red colobus, L’Hoest’s monkeys and a wealth of swamp birds. Fees support the local community’s schools and health projects. Then drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, arriving in the early evening.
Set out at dawn for a game drive on the Kasenyi plains, where thousands of Uganda kob gather on their breeding grounds and the lions of Kasenyi hunt in the early light. Look also for buffalo, waterbuck, warthog and elephants, and for leopards along the Channel Track.
In the afternoon, board the two-hour launch cruise on the Kazinga Channel from Mweya. The channel links Lakes George and Edward and its banks hold one of Africa’s highest concentrations of hippos, along with buffalo, elephants coming down to drink, Nile crocodiles and huge numbers of waterbirds such as pelicans, African skimmers and pied kingfishers.
Drive south through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, where lions often rest in the branches of large fig trees. Your guide checks their favourite trees as you look for topi, buffalo and elephants on the open plains, then you continue through the hills to Bwindi.
After an early breakfast you report to the park office for the 7:30–8:00am briefing, where Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers explain the rules and assign each visitor to a gorilla family; no more than eight people visit a family each day.
You then follow your ranger guide into the forest while trackers radio the family’s position. Treks take anywhere from one to six hours over steep, muddy ground. When you reach the gorillas you leave bags and sticks with the porters, put on a face mask and spend one hour watching them feed, groom and play from at least 10 metres away, before walking back out and receiving your trekking certificate.
Drive east through Rukungiri and Mbarara to Lake Mburo National Park, arriving for a late lunch. In the afternoon, take a boat trip on Lake Mburo for hippos, crocodiles and the African finfoot, followed by a sunset game drive among zebra, impala and eland. After dinner, an optional night drive searches for leopards and hyenas.
Start the day with an early game drive or a ranger-guided walking safari among zebra, eland and impala, when the park is at its most beautiful. After breakfast, drive back to Kampala or Entebbe, stopping at the equator at Kayabwe for photographs and craft shopping. You arrive in the afternoon, in good time for an evening flight or a final night by Lake Victoria.
Lodges shown match the quoted price. Ask us about mid-range and luxury upgrades.
It breaks the long drive from Bwindi into two easy days and adds species, such as zebra and impala, that you won’t see elsewhere on the trip.
Yes. Driving days are shorter than on faster itineraries, and the gorilla and chimp treks can be matched to your fitness by the rangers.
Murchison Falls and Ziwa’s rhinos in the north. For those, see our 9-day or 10-day itineraries.
Yes. Add a morning at Mabamba Swamp near Entebbe on the first day.
Two forest treks (chimps and gorillas) and optional walks; the rest is by vehicle or boat.
June to September and December to February are driest and best overall. In April, May and November gorilla permits drop to US$600 and chimp permits to US$200, and the parks are green and quiet.
Wildlife 7 daysTwo of Uganda’s greatest wildernesses in one journey: the thundering Nile at Murchison Falls, then the wide, wild plains of Kidepo Valley in the far north-east.
Short break 4 daysRhinos on foot, chimpanzees in a mahogany forest, the most powerful waterfall on the Nile and the big game of Uganda’s largest park, in four unhurried days from Kampala.
Honeymoon 12 daysAdventure and romance: fly in to trek gorillas in Bwindi, see tree-climbing lions and the Kazinga Channel, then fly to Zanzibar for Stone Town and six nights on the beach.
Change the dates, add a night, upgrade a lodge or combine it with Rwanda or Kenya. Tell us what you have in mind and we’ll send a revised plan and price.
