Our most complete Uganda journey: rhinos, the Nile at Murchison Falls, chimpanzees, savannah wildlife, mountain gorillas and a final rest at Lake Bunyonyi, all at an unhurried pace.
If you want to see the very best of Uganda in one trip, this ten-day safari is the one we recommend. It travels from Ziwa’s rhinos and the thundering Murchison Falls in the north, through Kibale’s chimpanzee forest and the savannah and lakes of Queen Elizabeth, to Bwindi’s mountain gorillas and finally the peaceful islands of Lake Bunyonyi.
With two nights in most parks and a relaxing last night by the lake, the pace is comfortable. You have time for morning and afternoon activities, a free afternoon in Queen Elizabeth, and space to absorb the gorilla encounter before travelling home.
Leave early and drive north on the Gulu highway to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, about three hours from Kampala. After registration and a briefing, you track southern white rhinos on foot with a ranger, approaching to a safe distance as they graze or rest under the trees. Ziwa’s rhinos are part of Uganda’s effort to bring rhinos back after they were wiped out in the 1980s.
After lunch, continue north-west through Masindi to Murchison Falls National Park, arriving at your lodge near the Nile in the late afternoon.
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, take the three-hour launch trip from Paraa up the Victoria Nile to the foot of Murchison Falls. You pass pods of hippos, large crocodiles, elephants and buffalo on the banks and countless birds, before the boat stops below the thundering falls.
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.
Continue south via Hoima and Fort Portal to Kibale Forest, arriving in the evening.
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.
After breakfast, drive south past the crater lakes and tea estates and down the Rift Valley escarpment into Queen Elizabeth National Park, crossing the equator near Kikorongo. Check in at your lodge in time for lunch.
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.
The afternoon is free to rest, or to add a Kyambura Gorge chimp walk, lion tracking with researchers, or a visit to the Katwe salt pans.
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 Kigezi highlands, a landscape of steep hills cultivated in neat terraces, to Lake Bunyonyi, arriving in time for lunch with views over the islands.
In the afternoon, take a boat or dugout canoe trip around the lake. Your guide tells the stories of Punishment Island and Bwama Island, and you can stop for a swim, since the lake has no crocodiles or hippos. Watch for kingfishers, weavers and crowned cranes as the light softens, and enjoy a quiet evening by the fire.
After an early-morning view of mist lifting from the lake, drive east through Kabale, Mbarara and Masaka, stopping at the equator for a final photograph. You arrive in Kampala or Entebbe in the evening, in time for a hotel night or a late international flight. Alternatively, fly from Kisoro to Entebbe in about 1.5 hours.
Lodges shown match the quoted price. Ask us about mid-range and luxury upgrades.
It covers every major highlight on Uganda’s main circuit: rhinos, Murchison Falls, chimpanzees, Queen Elizabeth, gorillas and Lake Bunyonyi, with two nights in most places.
The distances are long, but they are broken by stops and game viewing, and the pace includes two lighter days. Flights can replace the longest drives.
Yes. Add a night in Bwindi and a second permit.
Yes, with lodge upgrades. See also our 7-day Uganda honeymoon safari.
Six to twelve months ahead for June to September, to secure gorilla permits and lodges.
Yes, with adjustments. Children under 15 cannot trek gorillas and under 12 cannot track chimps, but they can join every other activity, and we can plan child-friendly lodges and shorter drives.
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.
