14 Days Uganda Gorilla Trekking safari

Detailed Itinerary

DAY 01: Pick up from Entebbe Airport/Kampala and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Our driver guide will either pick you from Entebbe international Airport or from your Hotel in Entebbe or Kampala and drive south to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National park, with a stopover at the Kayabwe equator and Lunch break. Thereafter, drive to Bwindi and arrive late evening at your Lodge for check-in, dinner and overnight

Drive period: 8-10 hours drive

Lodge: Nshongi Lodge (Budget), Rushaga Gorilla Lodge (moderate), Buhoma Lodge (Luxury)

DAY 02: Mountain Gorilla Trekking experience and Batwa Community walk

After your breakfast at the lodge, you will drive to the park headquarters for briefing from the Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger guides who will after allocate you a gorilla group that you will trek that day. Once you have your 8 group members confirmed, the two assigned ranger guides will lead you to the thick impenetrable forest to start your search for the endangered rare species of the mountain Gorillas. The mountain Gorilla search always continues from the place where they were last seen the previous day, after having been trailed by the advance team. Upon reaching the area where these Gorillas are, you’re then allowed to interact with them for only one hour while taking photos, observing their behaviour, feeding and plays while grooming.

The gorilla tracking activity can sometimes be strenuous depending on the trek that day which is normally determined by weather and the movement of the Gorillas in the forest but given the fact that it is a well-organized activity with a 99% chances of seeing the mountain Gorillas on your trek. The trek is guided by the advanced trackers who monitors the mountain Gorilla movements all day in the forest with this, they will know where they rested for the last night and that marks the beginning for the search.

The two ranger guides will lead you all through the trek while clearing the trails, create new trails and sharing with you information about the mountain gorillas life and the Bwindi impenetrable forest park. After the trek, you will return back to the starting point to be receive your certificates as a sign of having successfully tracked the mountain Gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable Forest National Park

Lodge: Nshongi Lodge (Budget), Rushaga Gorilla Lodge (moderate), Buhoma Lodge (Luxury)

DAY 03: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park for an evening game drive

After breakfast in the morning, checkout of your lodge and drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park arriving in the afternoon. While along the way, you will have Enroute stopover for sightseeing. On arrival at the Hotel, you will be warmly welcomed and checked-in to relax, later, you will go for an evening game drive to search for the grazers and afterwards return to the lodge for an overnight

Queen Elizabeth National Park is the most popular and diverse conservation area with a variety of habitats ranging  from grassland, acacia woodland, forest, wetlands and open water bodies which thus sustain a wide range of mammals with the major ones being the big 4 animals and a remarkable scope of birdlife boosting to over 604 bird species

Drive time: 4-5 hours

Lodge: Enshama game lodge/Bush lodge (Budget), Elephant Hab (moderate) or Elephant plains Lodge (Luxury)

DAY 04: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise on Kazinga channel

After your breakfast, you will drive to the Kasenyi plains for a morning game drive to search for the early morning grazer, birdlife. Where some animals you will see include elephants, large herds of buffaloes, Leopards, Lions, Bushbucks, antelopes, waterbucks and many more

The morning game drive will take you approximately 3-4 hours and then after you will drive to Mweya peninsula for hot lunch, relax and go for afternoon boat cruise safari on the Kazinga channel. This boat ride is something worth it and is considered as the highlight of your safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will have a chance to see various wildlife as they enjoy the shores of the Kazinga channel, including hippos enjoying the swim, elephants and various bird species. After the boat ride, return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Lodge: Enshama game lodge/Bush lodge (Budget), Elephant Hab (moderate) or Elephant plains Lodge (Luxury)

DAY 05: Morning game/visit to Katwe salt and transfer to Kibale National Park

Have morning breakfast, checkout of your lodge and embark on morning game drive through the Mweya peninsula, explore the salt lake and then after this 3 hour experience of the game drive, you will continue with the journey to Kibale National Park via the Kikorongo equator monument crossing and Enroute stopover lunch in Kasese town or arrive at your lodge for hot lunch.

Upon arriving and after relaxing, have a nature walk through the Bigodi wetland to enjoy an awesome sightseeing of the resident monkeys and a lot of birdlife.

Kibale National Park is home to 13 species primate species and over 335 bird species making it a popular destination for birds and a primate capital of the world.

Drive time: 2-3 hours

Lodge: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge/Kibale Forest Camp (Budget), Turaco treetops/Chimpnest Safari Lodge (Moderate) or Papaya Lake Lodge (Luxury)

DAY 06: Chimpanzee Tracking experience and Bigodi wetland walk

After breakfast at your lodge, you will drive to Kibale National Park Headquarters to meet your guides for the day briefing and begin the chimpanzee tracking experience. The exercise will involve experienced ranger guides, researchers and trackers who will accompany you on the early morning trek into the forest to view the chimpanzees as well as the several other species of primates in their natural habitat.

 You will have an opportunity to be within meters of these amusing and very social apes for one hour, sharing in their daily lives and experiencing their day-to-day activities. The guides will take you through the whole tracking process and this may take 4hours duration including returning back or even more in case the chimpanzees are located far from the starting point.

Chimpanzees being our closet cousins, are extremely endangered with only an estimated number of about 5,000 remaining in Uganda natural habitats. Please note that the chimpanzee tracking process may be fairly strenuous as the chimpanzees are highly mobile as they search for food through the forest. Also chimpanzees are wild animals and, as such, sightings cannot be guaranteed though be assured of 80-99% of seeing them.

Lodge: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge (Budget), Turaco treetops/Chimpnest Safari Lodge (Moderate) or Papaya Lake Lodge (Luxury)

DAY 07: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park via evening visit to Top of the falls and an en-route game drive to your lodge

You will have an Enroute visit to the Top of Falls and an evening game drive as you drive to your Lodge, search for the late grazers and proceed to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Murchison Falls National Park is the largest National Park and conservation area in Uganda with an area of 3840 km². The river Nile flowing north divides the Park into the North and South sectors and form the Falls where it flows over the western rift valley escarpment.

Here, the river is forced through a 6-meter gap in the rocks and cascades into a boiling pot 40m below. A boat cruise up stream to the fall provides an unforgettable experience. Visitors are able watch a variety of animals which include antelopes, elephants, Buffaloes, Hippos, crocodiles, several antelope species and many of the Bird species along the Nile as the boat travels along

Drive time: 6-7Hours

Lodge: Fort Murchison (budget), Pakuba Safari Lodge (moderate) or Paraa Safari Lodge (luxury)

DAY 08: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise to the bottom of the Water Falls

After breakfast, you go for your morning game drive that will introduce you to a variety game viewing including giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, hippos, and if lucky encounter cats such as Lions, Leopards. Return to the lodge for lunch break before proceeding to the pier for your two hour boat cruise to the bottom of the falls to witness how the River Nile squeezes itself in a narrow gorge before exploding out producing an experience of a lifetime, during your cruise, you will as well encounter various wild animals like elephants, hippos as they enjoy the river banks, reptiles and several bird species like Malachite Kingfishers, egrets among so many.

Lodge: Fort Murchison (budget), Pakuba Safari Lodge (moderate) or Paraa Safari Lodge (luxury)

DAY 09: Morning Delta cruise and afternoon game drive

This morning embark on a boat cruise downstream with the breakfast onboard, Calm month water. Home to a wide variety of wetland  and papyrus endemic bird species, including the elusive shoebill stock, this three to five cruise offers a unique opportunity to spot rarely found birds and animals such as hippos, elephants and large crocodiles. Traveling through the center of Murchison national park, quests can experience the constantly changing scenery of the Nile River as it winds its way to Lake Albert

For the Afternoon game drive, depending on your need or simply retiring, you can head out for one more evening game drive to try and spot any species that you missed the first time around

Lodge: Fort Murchison (budget), Pakuba Safari Lodge (moderate) or Paraa Safari Lodge (luxury)

 DAY 10: Transfer to Kidepo National Park for an evening game drive

Today you will connect to the largest National Park in Uganda-Kidepo Valley National Park. You may find some seasonal springs and rivers often crossed by bridges and you might also start seeing the Karamojong people arriving in Kidepo in the evening and relax at your lodge or proceed for short evening game drive

Kidepo Valley National Park

Kidepo Valley National Park lies in the rugged, semi-arid valleys between Uganda’s borders with Sudan and Kenya. Some 700km away from Kampala city. Gazetted in 1962, it has a profusion of big game and host over 77 mammal species as well as around 475 bird species. Kidepo valley National park is Uganda’s most isolated national park, but the few who make the long journey north through the wild frontier region of Karamoja would agree that it also the most magnificent, and this has made it rank among Africa’s finest wilderness. From Apoka, in the heart of the park, a savannah landscape extends far beyond the gazetted area, towards horizons outlined by distant mountain ranges. During the dry season, the only permanent water sources in the park is found in wetlands and the remnant pools in the broad Narus valley near Apoka. These seasonal oases, combined with the open, savannah terrain, make the Narus Valley the Park’s prime game viewing location.

Lodge: Kidepo savannah Lodge

 DAY 11: Full day Game drives in Kidepo valley National Park

Today you will rise to the game drives in the valleys of the Narus and Kidepo since they have difference in the animals they inhabit. Narus valley is a rolling, grassland plain enclosed by distant mountains. The valley has permanent water, and for much of the year the parks wildlife congregates her. Thus, the area is well provided with game drive tracks, with four loop circuits exploring the valley around Apoka. Many creatures such lions, Jackson’s hartebeest, Buffaloes, Giraffe, Orbis and reedbucks can be seen in this valley. Less commonly seen are cheetahs and leopards.

The Narus dam and the water hole near the tourism center are a perfect observation points for the game, especially during the dry season. At the southern end of the Katurum loop, Katurum Kopje (the site of a derelict lodge) is an attractive destination with superb views north across the valley towards the Morungule mountain range. Kidepo valley for most of the year, a lack of surface water means that little wildlife is found in the Kidepo valley, though it is still worth the drive to visit the dry Kidepo River to stroll along its 50m wide bed of the white sand between banks covered with Borassus palms

Lodge: Kidepo savannah Lodge

DAY 12: Full day Game drives in Kidepo valley National Park

Today is your second full day game drive in Kidepo Valley National Park. You will a chance to search for animals you missed during previous game drives experience.

Lodge: Kidepo savannah Lodge

DAY 13: Karamajong village community experience and transfer to Gulu for overnight stay

After an early morning breakfast, you will drive back to Narus valley to enjoy a morning game drive to try and look out for some animals and maybe have opportunity to meet other species as you continue with the drive. You will proceed to Kidepo River as you pave your way to the Karamojong community.

The valley is surrounded by hills which makes the scenery very stunning. The Karamojong people are very famous and known as cattle keepers who love their cattle. You will visit their homesteads known as Manyatas, where they will dance for you and explain their culture to you and finally sign out for the transfer to Gulu for dinner and overnight

Lodge: Churchill Courts Hotel Gulu

DAY 14: Transfer back to Kampala/Entebbe via Ziwa Rhino sanctuary for a walking Rhino tracking experience and lunch break before proceeding to end the 14 days Uganda Gorillas Trekking safari

Finally, today marks the last day of your 14 Days Uganda Gorilla Trekking safari. You will checkout of your Hotel after morning breakfast, meet your guide and drive back to Kampala/Entebbe via the Rhino Sanctuary for on-foot rhino tracking and hot lunch after you will proceed for drop off to end your safari.

Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

Ziwa rhino Sanctuary is a popular destination and most of the safari travelers travelling from either Kampala/Entebbe or towards Kampala/Entebbe from or to Murchison include stopover at the Rhino sanctuary as part of their destination on their itineraries to accomplish the Big 5 safari experience.

The sanctuary has an enforcement capacity of about 8 game rangers who are armed, conduct patrols around and inside the sanctuary to monitor, guard the Rhinos 24 hours per day. This sanctuary is not home to Rhinos but also to approximately 20 other species of wildlife as well as 300 different bird species highlighting Uganda’s unique biodiversity and emphasizing the importance of conserving it.

The conservation effort is surely proving successful as we see the numbers of wildlife growing within sanctuary rhino population standing at 59 as of 2026.

While here, you will also go in search of the elusive shoebill as one of the Great birds and one not to miss while on a safari in Uganda.