9-Day Uganda Safari with Gorilla and Chimp Trekking

After an early breakfast, you will set off for an 8-9 hour drive to the south-western part of the country. You will have a stopover at the Equator, where you will have an opportunity to stand in two hemispheres at the same time and take some photos.

You will make another stopover for lunch en route, with a final stop at Lake Bunyonyi. This lake is said to be one of the most beautiful places in western Uganda. It is the second-deepest lake in Africa, at 900 meters deep, and also one of the few places in the country where it is considered safe to swim, as it is bilharzia-free.

The landscape around the lake is made up of terraced hills protruding from the water's edge. Bunyonyi means "place of little birds," and as the name suggests, there is plenty of birdlife around the lake. Check in to your room for dinner and an overnight stay.

After an early breakfast, you will set out for a boat ride on Lake Bunyonyi, which takes about 2 hours. The landscape around the lake is made up of terraced hills protruding from the water's edge. Bunyonyi means "place of little birds," and as the name suggests, there is plenty of birdlife around the lake.

In the afternoon, you will transfer to Bwindi, where you will do a nature walk or enjoy a Batwa cultural experience. You will go through their villages to experience how they go about their daily routine activities and be amazed by the way they skillfully cultivate the hillsides and care for their animals, especially cows, which are a prime source of pride.

Later, return for dinner and an overnight stay.

After an early breakfast, you will head to the park headquarters, where you will be briefed by the guides before you begin the search in the thick Bwindi forest for the giant gorillas. Bwindi National Park is renowned for its impressive mountain gorillas, although it is unpredictable how long you will track before finding them, since it all depends on their movement.

Though the time spent tracking these gorillas is unpredictable, the thrill of spending time observing these gentle giant gorillas is a rare, moving, awesome, and exciting adventure that will leave you with long-lasting memories of a truly unique experience.

After returning for lunch, you will transfer to the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will arrive in the late evening for dinner and an overnight stay.

After breakfast, you will be taken to Ishasha, famous for the tree-climbing lions lounging in the tree branches while keeping a close eye on herds of Uganda kob, their favorite prey. You could have a chance to spot some tree-climbing lions before proceeding to your lodge.

In the afternoon, you will take a launch cruise along the amazing Kazinga Channel to see, at close range, water animals including hippos, buffaloes, crocodiles, and elephants bathing on the channel banks. There is also a variety of bird species on the water banks, especially the famous pelican and jacana.

Dinner and overnight stay at the lodge.

After breakfast, you will go for a brief morning game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park, then head to the scenic Explosion Craters and Explosion Crater Lakes along the Western Ugandan Explosion Crater Lake Trail, one of the pearls in the Pearl of Africa.

Have your lunch en route, then transfer to Kibale National Park and check in at your lodge for some rest. In the evening, go for nature walks at Bigodi Swamp, where you will enjoy birding and spot some bird species. Butterflies are abundant, and you may also encounter some women's cultural group activities, which are also adventurous to attend.

This activity can take 2 to 3 hours, after which you will return to your respective hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.

After breakfast, head to Kibale Forest with your packed lunch to view the primates. The activity takes half a day, and along the way you will see other primates such as grey-cheeked mangabeys, L'Hoest's monkeys, red colobus, blue-tailed monkeys, and red-tailed monkeys swinging in the branches of this thick forest.

Approximately 5,000 chimpanzees live in the wild in Uganda, which makes it a perfect place to spot them. You will spend one hour with them, then return to your lodge for lunch.

After lunch, you will be taken for a Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary walk. This is a guided swamp walk that takes you closer to seeing primates, mostly monkeys, birds, and butterflies. Hopefully, you will spot the elusive sitatunga antelope and the shoebill stork. Dinner and an overnight stay follow.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Murchison Falls National Park, which will take around 7 to 8 hours of driving. Head straight to tour the top and bottom of the majestic falls, where the Nile crashes through a 7-meter gorge and plunges 45 meters.

Numerous scenic viewpoints are a photographer's delight. The most impressive view is of the foaming waters rushing into the gorge with a deafening roar.

You will have dinner and an overnight stay at the lodge.

You will set off at 6:30 am, cross to the northern bank of the River Nile, and head for a sunrise game drive on the Nyamsika Plateau to see Cape buffaloes, Rothschild's giraffes, Uganda kob, hartebeest, waterbucks, and bush pigs, plus large carnivores including lions, leopards, and spotted hyenas.

Crocodiles and hippos will be seen along the banks of the Nile. Some of the more common birds that can be seen include goliath heron, pelican, kingfishers, hornbill, saddle-bill stork, and the rare shoebill stork.

You will return to your lodge for some relaxation before setting off for a boat cruise in the afternoon on the placid Victoria Nile, upstream to the base of the falls. En route, you will see hippos, crocodiles, waterbuck, and a wide variety of birds, including the unusual shoebill stork. The boat stops just tens of meters from the "Devil's Cauldron" for pictures to be taken of the photogenic and majestic Murchison Falls.

You will return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

After an early morning breakfast, depart with great memories of the moments spent at Murchison Falls. You will be driven to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where, after a briefing from the ranger, you will trek the sanctuary for close to two hours.

Afterward, transfer back to Kampala or Entebbe with lunch en route.