A slow, deep journey through Uganda: two nights in every major park, from the Nile at Murchison Falls to the gorillas of Bwindi, with crater lakes, Lake Bunyonyi and Lake Mburo along the way.
This twelve-day journey is for travellers who want to experience Uganda in depth. You spend two nights in each major park, allowing morning and afternoon activities and time to rest, and finish with two of Uganda’s most relaxing places: Lake Bunyonyi and Lake Mburo.
The route covers rhinos at Ziwa, the Nile and Murchison Falls, Kibale’s chimpanzees and crater lakes, Queen Elizabeth’s savannah and Kazinga Channel, Bwindi’s gorillas and the walking safaris of Lake Mburo. It is the safari that shows why Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa.
Leave Entebbe or Kampala early and drive north to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, about three hours away. After a briefing, track southern white rhinos on foot with experienced rangers, learning how Uganda brought rhinos back after they disappeared in the early 1980s.
After lunch, continue through Masindi to Murchison Falls National Park, arriving at your lodge near the Nile in the late afternoon in time for a sundowner.
Cross the Nile at Paraa early for a morning game drive on the Buligi tracks north of the river. This is the best area in the park for lions, Rothschild’s giraffe, elephants, buffalo, Uganda kob and Jackson’s hartebeest, with the Albert Nile and the Congo hills as a backdrop.
In the afternoon, choose between the launch trip to the foot of the falls and a cruise downstream to the papyrus delta of Lake Albert, one of Uganda’s classic shoebill sites, especially from December to March.
Drive to the top of Murchison Falls, where the entire Nile forces itself through a gorge just seven metres wide and plunges 43 metres with a roar you feel underfoot. Walk the short trail to the viewpoints for the full force of the water.
Then drive south via Hoima to Fort Portal and the crater lakes near Kibale.
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.
Begin with a gentle morning walk around the Ndali-Kasenda crater lakes, through villages and tea gardens with views of the Rwenzori Mountains on clear days. Then drive south into Queen Elizabeth National Park.
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.
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, rest at camp or add an optional walk into Kyambura Gorge, a forested valley sunk into the savannah with a small community of chimpanzees.
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.
Leave Bwindi after breakfast and drive through the terraced Kigezi highlands to Lake Bunyonyi, arriving for lunch. In the afternoon, take a boat or dugout canoe trip among the islands, hearing the stories of Punishment Island and Bwama Island, with time to swim from the jetty. Evenings at almost 2,000 m are cool, so enjoy the fireplace.
After breakfast, drive east through Kabale and Mbarara to Lake Mburo National Park, arriving for lunch. In the late afternoon, take a game drive among zebra, impala, eland, topi and giraffe, ending with sunset over the park. After dinner, an optional night drive with a ranger searches for leopards, hyenas and bushbabies.
Start the day with a ranger-guided walking safari, approaching zebra and eland on foot. After a relaxed lunch, take a boat trip on Lake Mburo for hippos, crocodiles and the African finfoot. Riders can swap the walk for a horseback safari.
Enjoy a final early game drive or a cup of coffee on the rocks before driving back to Kampala or Entebbe. On the way, stop at the equator at Kayabwe for a last photograph and a visit to the craft shops. You arrive in the early afternoon, in good time for an evening flight or a final night in Entebbe by Lake Victoria.
Lodges shown match the quoted price. Ask us about mid-range and luxury upgrades.
Travellers who want to see Uganda properly, without rushing, and who enjoy variety: rivers, forests, savannah, mountains and lakes.
Not at all. Uganda has more variety than most countries, and two nights per park means you are never rushed.
Yes, by flying from Entebbe or Murchison to Kidepo for two or three nights.
Yes. With time in forest, savannah, wetland and lake habitats, birders can see over 300 species. See also our birding safaris.
It depends on season, group size and lodge level. Send us your dates for a detailed quote.
Yes. Add a night in Bwindi for a second trek, or switch to the Rushaga sector for the gorilla habituation experience, which gives up to four hours with a family.
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.
