8 days · Uganda · Mid-range
Eight days on a loop through south-western Uganda: zebra and eland at Lake Mburo, two nights in Bwindi for a gorilla trek, Queen Elizabeth National Park and chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest.
Safari snapshot
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Safari highlights
Day by day
The plan is a guide: timings may change with road and park conditions and your group's interests. Wildlife sightings can never be guaranteed.
Day 1
Entebbe or Kampala → Lake Mburo
Leave Entebbe or Kampala and drive south-west, stopping at the equator line for photographs. Arrive at Lake Mburo National Park in the afternoon for a game drive. This compact park of acacia woodland and lakes is the best place in Uganda to see zebra and eland, along with impala, topi, buffalo and the occasional leopard.
Day 2
Lake Mburo → Bwindi
Begin with a morning boat trip on Lake Mburo, where hippos, crocodiles and waterbirds such as the African finfoot may be seen along the reed-lined shore. Then drive through Mbarara and the terraced hills of Kigezi to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, climbing steadily as the landscape becomes greener and steeper. Arrive in the late afternoon at your lodge on the forest edge, ready for the trek.
Day 3
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
After the ranger briefing, trek into Bwindi's steep, dense forest with guides and trackers in search of a habituated mountain gorilla family. The walk can take from under an hour to most of the day. When the family is found, spend up to one hour watching them feed, rest and play before returning to the lodge.
Day 4
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
A second day at Bwindi allows time to recover and explore further. Choose a guided forest walk to waterfalls, look for the forest's many birds, including species found only in the Albertine Rift, or join a community visit to meet the people living around the park. Your planner can also advise on a second gorilla permit, subject to availability. It is a gentler day after the trek.
Day 5
Bwindi → Queen Elizabeth
Drive north into the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, where lions are known to climb fig trees, taking a game drive on the way and scanning the branches for resting cats. Topi and Uganda kob graze the open plains here. Continue to the northern part of the park and your lodge overlooking the savannah, arriving in time for dinner after a day of changing landscapes.
Day 6
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Head out early to the Kasenyi plains, where Uganda kob, buffalo, elephant and lion may be encountered, and the morning light over the grassland is at its best. In the afternoon, take a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel between Lakes George and Edward, where hippos, buffalo and elephants often gather on the banks and waterbirds are plentiful. Two contrasting outings show the park at its most varied.
Day 7
Queen Elizabeth → Kibale
After breakfast, drive north past crater lakes and rolling farmland to Kibale Forest National Park, with the Rwenzori Mountains visible on clear days. In the afternoon, take a guided walk through the community-run Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a good place for birds and monkeys, led by local guides. Settle into your lodge near the forest for the night, ready for an early start with the chimpanzees.
Day 8
Kibale → Entebbe or Kampala
Join an early chimpanzee tracking walk in Kibale Forest, which also shelters red colobus and L'Hoest's monkeys; the chimpanzees move quickly, so sightings vary, but the forest itself is a rich experience. Afterwards, drive back east through Fort Portal and Mubende to Entebbe or Kampala, arriving in the evening for a drop-off at your hotel or the airport, after eight days across south-western Uganda.
Recommended accommodation
Named properties are the ones used for this package. Nights listed by category are confirmed with your quotation, subject to availability.
Accommodation category
Mid-range · Lake Mburo · 1 night
Accommodation category
Mid-range · Bwindi · 3 nights
Accommodation category
Mid-range · Queen Elizabeth · 2 nights
Accommodation category
Mid-range · Kibale · 1 night
What’s included
What’s not included
Your written quotation confirms the exact inclusions for your dates.
Flexible pricing
The final price depends on when and how you travel: season, group size, accommodation level and private or shared transport.
Pricing
Price subject upon request
We quote this journey individually because travel dates, group size and accommodation availability change it significantly.
Made around you
Where operationally possible, a local planner can help adapt the journey without losing the route’s natural rhythm.
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Read our reviews on TripadvisorBefore you travel
The 8 Days Uganda Gorillas & Wildlife Safari is quoted individually (price subject upon request), because travel dates, group size and accommodation availability change the cost. Share your dates and a planner will send an exact quotation.
It starts and finishes in Entebbe or Kampala. Your planner can advise on arrival and departure arrangements.
Nights are listed as “overnight at the lodge”: the specific property is confirmed with your quotation, subject to availability.
Not yet. The plan shown is a suggested outline for this route; the final day-by-day itinerary, activities and timings are confirmed with your quotation.
The Uganda Wildlife Authority sets a minimum age of 15 for gorilla trekking; your planner confirms the rules in force when you book. Younger travellers can take part in other activities while the group treks.
No. Trekking groups set out to find habituated gorilla families, but wildlife is never guaranteed. Treks can take from under an hour to most of a day, depending on where the family has moved.
Gorilla trekking permits are issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, are limited in number and must be secured in advance. Whether a permit is included, and its current cost, is confirmed in your quotation.
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