24-Day Uganda Safari: Gorillas, Chimps, Wildlife & Culture Tour

This 24-day Uganda Safari begins in Entebbe/Kampala, then moves through Lake Mburo for game drives and boat cruises, Lake Bunyonyi for canoeing, and Bwindi for gorilla trekking and Batwa cultural walks. The route continues to Queen Elizabeth National Park (Ishasha lions, Kazinga Channel), Kibale for chimp tracking, Semuliki’s hot springs, Murchison Falls, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, remote Kidepo Valley, Pian Upe, Sipi Falls, and Jinja’s Nile source before returning to Entebbe. Each day combines wildlife viewing, primate tracking, cultural encounters, and scenic stops. The page is part of a tour operator site (founded 2019) offering various gorilla trekking packages across Uganda and Rwanda.

Day 1 – Touchdown in Entebbe. Your Safari begins the moment you land at Entebbe International Airport, where a company representative will meet you, walk you through the trip details and give you a quick country orientation, and help you exchange money for local currency. From there you’ll settle into your hotel in either Entebbe or Kampala, with room to slot in extra activities if your flight arrives early enough in the day.

Day 2 – Kampala Sightseeing or Ngamba Island Today offers a fork in the road: explore Kampala’s landmarks, including the UNESCO-listed Kasubi Royal Tombs and Namugongo Martyrs’ Shrine, the Baha’i Temple, the Old Kampala Mosque, the royal palace, and the bustling Owino Market — or take a 45-minute boat crossing to Ngamba Island, home to a chimpanzee sanctuary where you can spend unhurried time observing rescued chimps.

Day 3 – Onward to Lake Mburo National Park: Following breakfast, settle in for a roughly five-hour drive to Lake Mburo National Park. Along the way you’ll pause at the Equator to try out the hemisphere water-displacement demonstration, shop for handicrafts, and grab a snack. Once you check into your lodge, lunch awaits, followed by a nature or village walk as evening falls.

Day 4 – Game Drive and Cruise on the Lake Rise early for a game drive with a chance to spot leopards, spotted hyenas, bush pigs, giraffes, buffalo, eland, topi, impala, bushbuck, and warthogs, along with birds like the grey crowned crane, bateleur and tawny eagles, vultures, and bee-eaters. After lunch, board a boat on Lake Mburo to get near hippos, crocodiles, and waterbirds — African fish eagles, darters, and pied and malachite kingfishers — capping the day with sunset views from Kazuma Lookout.

Day 5 – On Foot, Then to Lake Bunyonyi. Accompanied by an armed ranger, set out on a walking safari that lets you notice details a vehicle would miss — insects, wildflowers, smaller plant life — while still encountering larger wildlife along the way. Afterwards, travel onward to Lake Bunyonyi, arriving by afternoon for an unhurried evening beside the water.

Day 6 – Paddling Lake Bunyonyi: Spend about three hours canoeing to the lake’s scattered islands, picking up bits of local history as you go — no canoeing experience required on these calm waters. Back at the lodge for lunch, your evening is open for a hike to a scenic viewpoint, a village stroll, or a swim before dinner.

Day 7 – Into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. A late-morning drive carries you through the rolling terrain of the Kigezi highlands, past hillside terraces and farmland, to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a World Heritage Site. After lunch, join a community walk centred on the Batwa people — the forest’s original inhabitants — alongside stops at a coffee facility and a visit with a traditional healer.

Day 8 – Tracking Gorillas in Bwindi: After an early breakfast, head to the park office for a briefing and to learn which gorilla family you’ll be visiting. Uganda Wildlife Authority guides, escorted by armed rangers, lead small groups of no more than eight trekkers into the forest. The hike itself can run long or short, but reaching a wild mountain gorilla family makes it worthwhile. You’ll receive a certificate afterwards before heading back to unwind at the lodge.

Day 9 – On to Ishasha in Queen Elizabeth National Park. Leave Bwindi behind for Ishasha, the southern stretch of Queen Elizabeth National Park known for lions that climb trees, plus sizeable herds of buffalo and elephants, along with Uganda kob, topi, leopards, and hyenas. After lunch, an afternoon game drive lets you take in the scenery, followed by dinner and an overnight stay at the lodge.

Day 10 – Dawn Drive and the Kazinga Channel: An early-morning drive is well-timed for catching hyenas heading back to their dens or lions in the middle of a hunt or feeding. Come afternoon, cruise the Kazinga Channel for close encounters with elephants and buffalo at the water’s edge, plus enormous hippo pods, Nile crocodiles, monitor lizards, and abundant birdlife.

Day 11 – Final Game Drive, Then Kibale: Head out for one more morning drive in search of lions, leopards, hyenas, elephants, buffalo, and Uganda kob, along with martial and long-crested eagles overhead. Check out afterwards and travel to Kibale Forest National Park for lunch, then spend the evening on a community or swamp walk that may take in a traditional healer and a local brewery.

Day 12 – Chimp Tracking in Kibale Forest: Gather at the Kanyanchu Visitor Centre for a rundown on chimpanzee tracking and behaviour before a ranger guide leads you into the forest for roughly an hour in the company of the chimps — the exact length depending on how much food is around, though the outing never disappoints. Return for a hot lunch and a relaxed evening, with optional extras available.

Day 13 – Toward Semuliki Valley National Park The route passes through Fort Portal, a tea town sitting below the Rwenzori Mountains, with a stop at the Amabere Caves — steeped in local folklore and marked by scenic waterfalls — plus views of crater lakes on the way to Semuliki Valley National Park.

Day 14 – Sempaya’s Hot Springs: A morning walk along the Sempaya-Ntandi road brings good sightings of monkeys and forest birds. From there, continue to the well-known Sempaya hot springs, where the ‘male’ spring, Bintente, bubbles at around 110°C and the ‘female’ spring runs a touch cooler at roughly 103°C, before heading to Fort Portal for the night.

Day 15 – North to Murchison Falls National Park: Drive north through Kagadi, stopping for a hot lunch in Hoima, then continue past the Butiaba Escarpment, which offers views over Lake Albert on clear days, arriving at Murchison Falls National Park by afternoon. Check in at the lodge for a relaxed evening and dinner.

Day 16 – Game Drive and Nile Boat Trip: An early drive is a good bet for spotting big cats, along with Jackson’s hartebeest, giraffes, oribi, Uganda kob, waterbuck, buffalo, and elephants. After lunch, take an afternoon boat trip to see hippos, Nile crocodiles, fish eagles, bee-eaters, and kingfishers, then hike up to the top of Murchison Falls for a striking view.

Day 17 – Rhinos, Then Gulu Visit Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, founded after rhinos were wiped out in the wild in Uganda by 1984 — today it’s the country’s only spot to see them roaming free. A guided ranger walk gets you close to these endangered animals on foot. After a hot lunch, continue to Gulu for the night.

Day 18 – Into Kidepo Valley National Park. A five-to-six-hour drive through the wide-open plains and scattered villages of the Karamoja region ends with a hot lunch in Kidepo. A late-afternoon game drive turns up giraffes, buffalo, elephants, eland, zebra, reedbuck, lions, leopards, cheetahs, jackals, and caracal, along with a wide variety of birds.

Day 19 – Game Drive and Karamojong Culture: An early drive on the park’s northern edge, crossing the Kidepo River, brings decent odds of spotting ostriches and cheetahs, plus a visit to Kanatarok Hot Springs close to the South Sudan border. After lunch, tour a Karamojong village — a culture with parallels to the Maasai, organised into large settlements of huts known as manyattas.

Day 20 – Long Haul to Pian Upe A scenic but lengthy six-to-seven-hour drive winds past Karamojong communities and cattle herders on the way to Pian Upe Game Reserve, arriving late afternoon or evening. Established in 1958 as the Debasien Animal Sanctuary and reclassified as a game reserve in 1962, Pian Upe spans about 2,788 square kilometers.

Day 21 – A Full Day of Game Drives This remote reserve delivers solid sightings of ostriches, common eland, greater kudu, roan antelope, Cape buffalo, and four-toed hedgehog, with a shot at cheetah or leopard too. Return to camp for lunch between the morning and evening drives.

Day 22 – Sipi Falls Travel to Sipi Falls, a cluster of waterfalls in eastern Uganda bordering Mount Elgon National Park near the Kenyan frontier. After lunch, take to the trails for hikes and nature walks, a cave excursion, and coffee tours, before winding down with dinner at the lodge.

Day 23 – Jinja and the Source of the Nile Jinja, Uganda’s second-largest city, expanded quickly following the Owen Falls Dam’s construction in 1952 and sits where Lake Victoria feeds the Nile. Take a boat out to the river’s source, with options to add white-water rafting through grade-five rapids at Bujagali and Itanda Falls, or a horseback ride.

Day 24 – Homeward Bound via Entebbe. Depending on your departure time, leave Jinja in the morning or afternoon and head to Entebbe International Airport, closing out a full 24-day journey through the Pearl of Africa.