7 Days Uganda Gorillas, Wildlife and Chimpanzee Safari

This 7 days Uganda gorillas, wildlife and chimpanzee safari is an amazing safari that will take you to different national parks in Uganda, including Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where you will be able to spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, and Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will be able to view animals like elephants, buffaloes, tree-climbing lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, hippos, and Nile crocodiles, among others, during the game drives and boat cruise on Kazinga Channel.

This safari will also take you to Kibale National Park, where you will be able to engage in chimpanzee trekking, where you will spend time with chimpanzees and the Bigodi swamp walk.

Highlights of the 7 days Uganda gorillas, wildlife and chimpanzee safari

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park via Ishasha sector

Day 4: Morning game drive/ lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise

Day 5: Morning game drive and transfer to Kibale Forest National Park

Day 6: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk

Day 7: Departure to Kampala

Detailed itinerary    

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Depending on your arrival time at Entebbe International Airport, you will be welcomed by our driver guide, who will brief you about the safari and then transfer you to Bwindi National Park.

It’s a whole-day journey and on the way you will have a stopover at the Equator, where you will buy souvenirs and then continue the journey with an en-route lunch. After lunch, you will proceed with great views of the terraced farmlands and beautiful landscapes, among others. Upon arrival you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Gorilla trekking,

After an early breakfast, carry a packed lunch and your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to transfer you to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking.

After the briefing you will be allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is knowledgeable about the gorillas and well conversant with trails in the jungle. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on where the gorillas are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food.

During trekking you will have views of animals, other primates species, and different bird species, among others. Once the gorillas are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their habitat, which gives you an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, breastfeeding, and playing; observe their behaviors; take great photos; and record the breathtaking moments to show people back home.

After the one-hour encounter with the gentle giants, you will trek back to the park headquarters, where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

After breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

On the way you will pass through the Ishasha sector in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will get an opportunity to spot the tree-climbing lions, which will be lying up in fig tree branches.

After the game drive in the Ishasha sector, you will have lunch, after which you will continue the journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park, and upon arrival, you will check in at the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Morning game drive/ lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise

Morning game drive/lion tracking,

You will have breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive or lion tracking experience in Kasenyi plains. During the game drive you will be rewarded with great views of large herds of elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, bushbucks, waterbucks, and warthogs, which will be grazing in the open savannah plains view predators like lions and leopards if you are lucky, and a variety of birspecies,es among others. After the game drive you will drive to the lodge for lunch.

Boat cruise,

After lunch you will go for an exciting boat cruise on Kazinga channel a water body that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. During the boat cruise which takes about 2 hours you will get a chance to view elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs drinking water along the shores, view large concentrations of hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, water birds like martial eagle, papyrus gonolek, pelicans, hornbills, African skimmers, cormorants, African spoonbills, fish eagles, king fisher’s among others and also view fishermen organizing their fishing nets along the water banks.

After the boat ride you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Morning game drive and transfer to Kibale Forest National Park

After breakfast, you will be picked you up from the lodge to go for another game drive in the park where you will be able to view animals that you might have missed during the previous game drive.

After the game drive, you will return to the lodge for lunch where after you will check out of the lodge and start the journey to Kibale Forest National Park. On the way you will enjoy great views of the landscape, crater lakes, tea plantations, and more, and upon arrival you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight

Day 6: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk

After an early breakfast, meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the Kanyachu Visitors Centre for chimpanzee trekking briefing. After the briefing you will be allocated a chimpanzee family to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest.

Trekking of chimpanzees in Kibale Forest National Park takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food.

During trekking you will be able to spot other primates such as grey-cheeked mangabey, black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, some bird species, plants among others.

Once the chimpanzees are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which helps you to learn more about their behaviours, watch them feed, breastfeed, fight, hunt, enjoy the juveniles playing up in the trees, take photos and record the moments.

After the face-to-face encounter with the chimpanzees, you will trek back to the park headquarters, where you will meet up with your driver guide to return to the lodge for lunch.

After lunch you will go for an interesting swamp walk in Bigodi Swamp, where you will be able to view different bird species, primates, and animals and view different plant and tree species among others. After the swamp walk, you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Departure to Kampala

After a relaxed breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey back to Kampala.

On the way you will have a stopover for en-route lunch and then continue the journey to Kampala, arriving in the evening and upon arrival, your driver guide will drop you off at Entebbe International Airport for your departure flight or drop off at any place of your choice.

End of 7 days Uganda gorillas, wildlife and chimpanzee safari

Includes       

• Gorilla trekking permit
• Chimpanzee trekking permit
• Park entrance fees/ game drives
• Lion tracking experience
• Boat cruise fees
• All activities included in the itinerary
• Services of a professional English-speaking driver guide
• Full board accommodation
• Pick up and drop off in Kampala/Entebbe
• Vehicle and fuel
• Bottled drinking water

Excludes                   

• Air flight tickets
• Visas
• Life insurance
• Optional activities not included on the itinerary
• Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, cigarettes, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.