10 Days Safari in Uganda – Gorilla Trekking & Wildlife Safari

10-day Uganda safari combining Bwindi gorilla trekking, routes from Entebbe → Bwindi (3 nights) → Queen Elizabeth National Park (2 nights, with activity days bookending the transfers) → Kibale Forest (2 nights, same pattern) → back to Entebbe. That structure gives you three real activity days in each park without over-packing the driving.

Day 1 — Arrival in Entebbe Your flight lands at Entebbe International Airport, where your driver-guide will be waiting. You’ll overnight near Lake Victoria — a gentle first night meant purely for recovering from the flight before the longer journey south begins.

Day 2 — Journey to Bwindi (Buhoma Sector). You have two options: an 8–9-hour overland drive (many people break this up with a stop at Lake Mburo National Park along the way) or a roughly 90-minute scheduled flight into the Kihihi or Kayonza airstrip. Either way, you’ll arrive at your lodge with enough daylight left to settle in before dinner.

Day 3 — Gorilla Trekking Day. This is the day the whole trip is built around. You’ll gather at 7:30 am for a briefing at the Buhoma Ranger Station, then set off into the forest with your guides and trackers. The hike itself can run anywhere from 2 to 6 hours depending on where the gorilla family has moved to that day — but once you find them, you’re rewarded with a full hour observing a habituated mountain gorilla family up close.

Day 4 — Second Activity Day in Bwindi. With one gorilla trek behind you, today is flexible. Popular choices include a Batwa cultural trail, which introduces you to the traditions of Uganda’s indigenous forest people; a hike to one of the local waterfalls; a birding walk (Bwindi holds 23 Albertine Rift endemic species); or, for those who want to go back into the forest, a second gorilla trekking permit.

Day 5 — Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park via Ishasha. A scenic 4–5-hour drive takes you north, routed through the Ishasha sector — famous for lions that climb into fig trees. This effectively turns your travel day into a built-in game drive. You’ll arrive at your Queen Elizabeth lodge in the afternoon.

Day 6 — Game Drive and Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise. The morning is spent on a game drive across the Kasenyi plains, where lion, elephant, buffalo, and Uganda kob are commonly seen. In the afternoon, you’ll board a 2-hour boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel — regarded as one of Africa’s best wildlife-viewing waterways, with hippos, crocodiles, elephants, and dense concentrations of birdlife along the banks.

Day 7 — Optional Kyambura Gorge Chimp Trek, Transfer to Kibale. Before leaving, you have the option of a morning chimp trek in Kyambura Gorge, nicknamed the “Valley of Apes,” home to a smaller habituated chimp community. Afterwards, it’s a scenic 2-hour drive to Kibale Forest, passing through Fort Portal.

Day 8 — Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest. Kibale is often called Africa’s primate capital, home to 13 primate species. Your day starts with an 8 am briefing at Kanyanchu, followed by a 2–4-hour trek through the forest in search of one of the park’s habituated chimpanzee communities.

Day 9 — Chimp Habituation Experience or Bigodi Wetland Walk. Two options here. Option A is the full chimp habituation experience — up to 4 hours with the chimps and considerably less crowded than the standard tracking permit. Option B is a more relaxed 2.5-hour guided walk through the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, known for monkeys and birdlife. Afterwards, you’ll begin heading back toward Entebbe.

Day 10 — Return to Entebbe and Departure. You’ll either fly out of Kasese or take the roughly 6-hour drive back to Entebbe, leaving time for last-minute souvenir shopping before your international flight departs.

Where to Stay

Bwindi Impenetrable NP (3 nights)

Queen Elizabeth NP (2 nights)

Kibale Forest (2 nights)

Practical notes:

• Gorilla permits and chimp permits should be booked 4–6 months ahead, especially for July–August and December–February high season.
• The Bwindi–QENP–Kibale roads are rough and winding — a 4×4 with an experienced driver-guide is provided, or budget for internal flights to save time.
• Pack waterproof hiking boots, gardening gloves, and a rain jacket — Bwindi Gorilla trekking can be muddy and steep year-round.