5 days Gorillas & Wildlife in Uganda

Your driver will pick you up from your accommodation in Kampala and drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Travel through Fort Portal and past Uganda's lush green countryside. Check into your accommodation upon arrival.

Your game drive starts early in the morning. See a variety of wildlife found in the national park, including elephants, buffalos, lions, waterbucks, leopards and warthogs among others. Return to your lodge for lunch.

Next, enjoy a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel. See hippos as well as a variety of other animals that come to the channel to drink or bathe. The park has a prolific birdlife and boasts over 600 bird species. Drive back to your lodge after the boat safari is over.

Head for southwestern Uganda, enjoying beautiful views of terraced hillsides and lush green countryside. Drive past Kabale, also known as the “Switzerland of Africa,” before the road winds down to reach Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Prepare yourself for an encounter with one of Bwindi’s gentle giants, the rare mountain gorilla. For most people this is the absolute highlight of their Uganda tour. Bwindi's forests boast both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. In fact, this is the only national park in Africa to claim this title.

Additionally, this national park also hosts five other primate species, 113 mammal species, over 200 species of butterflies and 360 species of birds. You will be assigned one of the nine gorilla family groups that can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day. The trek itself is an exciting journey through deep forests entwined with vines, bushes and bamboo.

En route, your guide will point out signs of previous gorilla activities, including dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots. Once the gorillas have been located, your group will be allowed a maximum of one hour to observe them from up close.

Depending on the gorilla family assigned to you, it will be as little as two hours or more than eight hours before you return to your accommodation today.

Your driver will transfer you back to Kampala with a stopover at the Mpigi Royal Drum Makers, where you can see ceremonial drums being crafted using methods passed down through generations. Your next stop en route is at the Uganda equator. Reach Kampala early in the evening.