Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari

You land at Entebbe International Airport on the shores of Lake Victoria and transfer to your hotel in Entebbe, a quiet colonial-era town of botanical gardens and lake beaches. If you arrive early enough, you can walk through the Entebbe Botanical Gardens or visit the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre. In the evening there's a welcome dinner and a briefing on the ten days ahead, which is a good time to ask about the gorilla and chimp days. Tonight is at your hotel in Entebbe, with dinner included.

After breakfast you drive north to Murchison Falls, Uganda's largest national park. The road runs through green countryside and past the Budongo Forest, which is home to chimpanzees. You reach your safari lodge overlooking the Nile in the afternoon, with time to settle in. Murchison is where the Nile forces itself through a narrow gap in the rocks before dropping into the gorge below, and you'll see it up close tomorrow. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included. This is the first of two nights at the lodge.

The morning game drive covers the north bank of the Nile, savanna where giraffe, elephant, Uganda kob and sometimes lions are found. In the afternoon you board a boat for a cruise of about three hours upstream to the base of Murchison Falls. Expect hippo pods, large Nile crocodiles and plenty of birdlife, with a chance of the rare shoebill. If you want a closer look at the falls, there's an optional hike to the top. You spend a second night at the lodge above the Nile, with all meals included.

Today is a long drive south to Kibale Forest National Park, often called the primate capital of the world. The road crosses the Albertine Rift and passes through Fort Portal, a town surrounded by tea estates and crater lakes, and the scenery helps the hours pass. You arrive in the evening at your forest lodge near Kibale. It's a travel day rather than a wildlife day, so settle in and rest for the chimp tracking tomorrow. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included.

You set out early with experienced guides into Kibale's tropical rainforest. They follow calls and signs through the forest until you find a chimpanzee community, often grooming, feeding or moving noisily through the trees. Kibale holds a large chimpanzee population, which gives you a good chance of an encounter. In the afternoon you walk through Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, where there are more primates and good birding in the wetland. You return to your forest lodge near Kibale for a second night. All meals are included.

You drive south to Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of Uganda's most visited parks, which straddles the equator. On the way you stop at the equator crossing for photos. You arrive in time for an afternoon game drive on the Kasenyi Plains, an area known for lion sightings. The park mixes savanna, wetlands and crater lakes, and its birdlife is a big part of the appeal, so keep the binoculars handy. Tonight is in Queen Elizabeth National Park, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

The morning is on the water. A boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel, which links Lake Edward and Lake George, takes you past schools of hippos, elephants coming down to bathe and big Nile crocodiles on the banks. After lunch you drive south to the Ishasha sector, which is known for its tree-climbing lions. They often rest in the branches of large fig trees, though you can't count on finding them on any one drive. You spend the night in the Ishasha area, with all meals included.

From Ishasha you drive through the Kigezi Highlands, sometimes called the Switzerland of Africa, to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to roughly half the world's remaining mountain gorillas. The mountain road winds a lot, so it's a slow drive with wide views most of the way. You arrive at your forest lodge in time to prepare your boots, rain jacket and daypack for tomorrow's trek. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are included, and this is the first of two nights here.

This is the day the trip is built around. After an early briefing you walk into Bwindi's dense, often misty forest with rangers to find a habituated gorilla family. The trek can take anywhere from two to eight hours through steep, tangled vegetation, depending on where the family is. It's hard going in places. When you reach them, you have one hour with the gorillas, often including a silverback with his family around him. You return to your forest lodge for the second night, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

After breakfast you leave Bwindi and drive to Lake Bunyonyi, one of Africa's deepest lakes, dotted with islands and ringed by terraced hillsides. You stop for a short canoe ride on the lake before continuing the long drive back to Entebbe via Kabale and the main highway. Lunch is included on the way. You reach Entebbe in the evening, in time for a late departure flight or an overnight stay. If you'd rather not fly the same evening, ask us to add a night in Entebbe.