Go To Africa Safaris
Go to Africa Safaris built this 8-day itinerary for travelers who want to see the very best of Uganda in one trip. You trek gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. You track chimpanzees through the rainforest of Kibale National Park. You search for lions, elephants, and giraffes across the plains of Murchison Falls National Park, then cruise the Nile to the base of Africa’s most powerful waterfall.
This route moves through forest, savanna, and wetland habitat, putting primates, big cats, elephants, giraffes, hippos, and crocodiles all within reach over eight days. Few itineraries in Uganda cover this much ground.
For official travel information about Uganda, visit the Uganda Tourism Board website.
This safari runs eight days and seven nights, starting and ending in Kampala.
The route links Uganda’s northern, western, and southwestern circuits, taking in the country’s most famous parks and landmarks. The pace builds in rest days so you’re not trekking or driving every single day.
Included in this package: one gorilla trekking permit, one chimpanzee trekking permit, two game drives, and one boat cruise.
For more on this park, see our Murchison Falls destination guide.
Your guide collects you from your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe in the morning, and you head northwest toward Murchison Falls National Park roughly a five-hour drive. En-route, you’ll stop at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for an on-foot rhino tracking experience, the only place in Uganda where you can see rhinos in the wild.
You arrive near the park by late afternoon. Check in, settle in, and enjoy dinner while your guide walks you through tomorrow’s plan.
Read more about Murchison Falls National Park before you go.
An early start takes you on a morning game drive along the northern bank of the Nile prime habitat for lions, elephants, giraffes, and buffalo, with a sunrise over the savanna that’s worth the wake-up call. You return to the lodge for breakfast and a rest.
In the early afternoon, a boat cruise carries you to the base of Murchison Falls, where the Nile narrows from hundreds of meters wide to a gap of just seven meters before forcing its way through the gorge. Along the banks you’ll see hundreds of hippos, Nile crocodiles, and elephants, with birdlife to match.
After the cruise, you drive up to the top of the falls, where the spray and roar of the water make the force of the river impossible to miss. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.
After breakfast you drive south to Kibale National Park, about six hours through scenic countryside and small towns, with a lunch stop along the way.
You arrive near Kibale in the late afternoon. Check in, rest, and enjoy dinner, with a briefing on tomorrow’s chimpanzee trek. The surrounding landscape of crater lakes and tea plantations is worth taking a slow look at before the sun sets.
Today is your primate day. After breakfast, you drive to Kibale park headquarters for briefing, then on to the trailhead — trackers will already be in the forest, having gone in before dawn to locate the chimpanzees.
The trek winds through lush rainforest. Chimpanzees are smaller, quicker, and more restless than gorillas, moving constantly through the canopy, so your guide tracks them by call and movement rather than a fixed location.
Once you catch up with them, you get a full hour to watch them feed on fruit and leaves, watch juveniles wrestle in the branches, and listen to their pant-hoot calls. Chimpanzees share around 98 percent of their DNA with humans, and it shows.
Afterward, you hike back to the trailhead and your driver returns you to the lodge for rest and dinner.
After breakfast, you drive southwest toward Bwindi around six hours through rolling hills, tea plantations, and small villages, with a lunch stop-en route.
You arrive near Bwindi in the late afternoon. Check in, rest, and enjoy dinner, with a full briefing on tomorrow’s gorilla trek. Lodge options near park headquarters range from luxury to mid-range to budget.
This is the centerpiece of the trip. After an early breakfast, you drive to park headquarters for registration and briefing by 7:00 AM, where you’re assigned to a gorilla family that matches your fitness level.
The hike into the forest can take anywhere from thirty minutes to four hours. Once you find the gorillas, you get a full hour in their company watching them feed, play, groom, and rest, with the silverback keeping a calm eye on the group.
Afterward, you trek back to the trailhead and your driver returns you to the lodge. You’ll receive a certificate marking the trek.
See our packing guide to prepare for the trek.
After breakfast, a two-hour drive brings you to Lake Bunyonyi Africa’s deepest lake, and one that’s safe for swimming, with no hippos or crocodiles. You check into your lakeside lodge with the rest of the day free.
Swim, paddle a dugout canoe, or simply relax on the dock and take in the terraced hillsides and scattered islands. After days of trekking and long drives, this is your chance to slow down.
Dinner is at the lodge, with a sunset over the lake to close out the day and reflect on the week.
On your final morning, breakfast is at the lodge before your guide drives you back to Kampala or Entebbe, a journey of about seven hours. You’ll arrive in the late afternoon and be dropped at your hotel or the airport for your departure flight.
If time allows, you can stop at the Equator for photos on the way back your guide is happy to accommodate reasonable requests.
Planning to extend your stay independently, or need a vehicle for the days before or after your safari? Our partners at Trip Car Rental Uganda offer self-drive and chauffeur-driven car hire across Kampala, Entebbe, and beyond.
We recommend arranging comprehensive travel insurance before you travel.
Pricing depends on your choice of accommodation and group size. Solo travelers pay a higher per-person rate, while groups of two to six benefit from lower per-person pricing. Get in touch for a custom quote tailored to your dates and preferences.
Your gorilla and chimpanzee permits are included in the price, billed at the official permit rates with no markup added.
To book, we’ll need your full name as it appears on your passport, your passport number, your nationality, and your preferred travel dates. A deposit secures your permits.
This itinerary is built for travelers who want to see it all gorillas, chimpanzees, lions, elephants, giraffes, hippos, and the raw power of Murchison Falls — across Uganda’s most varied parks in one well-organized trip.
Go to Africa Safaris is a Uganda-based operator with experienced local guides. We manage the logistics so you can stay focused on the wildlife in front of you.
Need a vehicle for independent travel around Uganda? Our partner Trip Car Rental Uganda offers reliable self-drive and chauffeured car hire.
Gorillas in the forest, chimpanzees in the trees, lions on the savanna, hippos in the water and the Nile exploding through a gorge.
