Gorillas, chimpanzees, and wildlife are the major attractions in Uganda. This 20-day Uganda gorilla, chimpanzee, and wildlife adventure is one of the best trip suggestions and routes. Though it seems to be one of the more common routes, this trip suggests incredible adventures. Expectations on this trip include gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, golden monkey tracking, Virunga volcanic hiking, Batwa community visits, Lake Buyonyi, tree-climbing lions, experiential lion tracking, game drives and boat cruises, horseback riding, and Crater Lake hikes, among others. The trip starts from Kampala to Lake Mburo in southwestern Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga Gorilla NP, Queen Elizabeth NP, Kibale National Park, and then back to Kampala.
Each day starts with a breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the meal course. This trip suggestion is a mid-luxury trip and an all-inclusive trip, as mentioned in all the details of the trip below.
Day 1: Arrival in Uganda via Entebbe International Airport
Upon reaching Entebbe airport, your car rental will be ready for pickup, and we will transfer you to your hotel in Kampala. Take a rest until the next day to start your journey. Your driver will also guide you through how the trip will look and will let you rest. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.
Accommodation (midrange): Golf Course Hotel
Day 2: Transfer to Lake Mburo National Park
This day, following your breakfast, the driver guide is ready to transfer you to your first destination on the trip. Then we will embark on the drive to Lake Mburo National Park in western Uganda; it’s about 3 to 4 hours to reach the park. Reaching the park will take an afternoon game drive to the golden savannahs that inhabit a great deal of wildlife. The game drive exposes you to watching zebras, buffalos, lions, large herds of antelope, and many other animals.
With lunch refreshment, you have to rest for a day, and at night, you will take a night game drive. One of the rare cases in national parks of very rewarding unique encounters is finding predators actively hunting at night. The night game drive is done on torch with the guide of the armed park ranger, then return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation (midrange): Arcadia Lodge
Day 3: L. Mburo Wild Horse Riding and Boat Ride
This day will take you on an incredible wild horse ride adventure organized at the luxurious Mihingo Lodge. The horse ride takes you into the adventure hub to fetch wild encounters in close range. In the absence of elephants in the parks, it is very easy to do a horse ride with guaranteed safety. A horse ride takes several trials, and the number of hours spent in the wilderness depends on the guest’s selection.
Then, following the horse ride, we will take an afternoon boat ride on Lake Mburo, the largest lake in the park. The boat ride thrills come with scenes of cliffs, hills, and various vegetation harboring various wildlife species, including crocodiles and hippos, among others. Then we will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation (midrange): Arcadia Lodge
Day 4: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Today, take your relaxed breakfast and embark on a long-day drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. With lunch in-route, you will reach the park in the evening hours, enter the park using Rushaga Gate at the extreme end of the park southwards, and check-in to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation (midrange): Four Gorillas Safari Lodge
Day 5: Mountain Gorilla Trekking (Rushaga)
This day, hurry to the Rushaga tracking starting point. You have to rush to the Ruhija trekking starting point, reaching before 7:30am for the briefing. Be grouped into 8 individuals per group, get assigned to an armed, well-packed tracking pack, and enter the forest to start a hunt for the giants. Gorilla trekking may take 30 minutes to 6 hours of walking and searching for the endangered giants. Gorillas are followed considering where they had their previous night, and after meeting them, trekkers have an hour before them. Watching gorillas is one of the few mesmerizing moments in the wild. Looking face-to-face with the silverback, you realize these are really the closest human relatives. After seeing the gorillas, you will return to the starting point and enjoy your relaxed lunch.
After, you will have to refresh and take your drive to Kisoro for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation (midrange): Mt. Gahinga Safari Lodge
Day 6: Golden Monkey Tracking and Batwa
This day, you will hurry to go and track the endangered golden monkeys. The golden monkeys are only endemic to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. The golden monkey tracking starts as early as 8 a.m., so you have to be at the center in Mgahinga by 7:30 a.m. for the morning session. The beautiful and nice-looking golden monkeys live in communities of over 30 individuals and more. These monkeys are habituated, meaning the tracker can have that close-up moment. The track in the volcanic forests of Mgahinga can last for about 30 minutes to 3 hours, and when you find the brownish monkeys, you have an hour in their presence.
Afterwards, we will take a visit to the Batwa community and explore the lifestyle of the Batwa people. The Batwa people are also known as the forest pygmies, who once co-lived with the gorillas in the same forest. These people narrate their emotionally touching stories and offer entertainment moments with songs and dances. They can also decide to buy some of their handcrafted items to support their livelihood.
Accommodation (midrange): Mt. Gahinga Safari Lodge
Day 7: Virunga Volcanic Hiking (Mt. Sabinyo)
Today’s a long day of trekking the amazing Mt. Sabinyo. After taking your energizing breakfast, you will take a trek with an experienced ranger guide who will be leading you. Trekking Mount Sabinyo can last for about 7 hours to and from; it’s the most famous trekked volcano in the Virunga Massif. The trek covers about 8 hours, covering a distance of about 14 km. Upon reaching the peak, you then stand at 3669m above sea level. The trek goes through hikes and slopes via hills and valleys until reaching the peak. Reaching the peak, you realize that you’re standing at the border of three countries: Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.
After the volcanic hike, we will take a relaxed drive to Lake Buyonyi for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation (midrange): Arcadia Lodge
Day 8: Explore Lake Bunyonyi
Today, you will spend the rest of your day exploring and enjoying the beautiful scenery of Lake Bunyonyi. You take a boat ride to some of the islands, and the most interesting island is Punishment Island due to its story related to being an execution island for girls with early pregnancies. Then you will enjoy the sweet melodies of so many small birds swinging around your lodge. Today you will spend another night at Lake Bunyonyi.
Accommodation (Midrange): Acadia Hotel
Day 9: Transfer to Ishasha (Queen Elizabeth NP)
This morning transfer to Ishasha Sector, Queen Elizabeth National Park, will take an afternoon game drive while tracking the possibility of watching some of the big five. The Ishasha sector is famous for hosting the amazing prides who always find it easy to have a warm day spent under tree branches. The tracking is accompanied by a wider view of wildlife. Then, I will drive to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation midrange: Elephant Plain Lodge
Day 10: Kyambura and Lake Katwe Visits
Today I will take a morning drive to Kyambura Gorge. This is a thrilling tropical depression of the Albertine rift valley, which is closed up with the golden savannah that stretches. The gorge is a perfect place for breathtaking nature walks and another famous spot to track chimpanzees. Chimpanzee tracking here is a bit cheaper, and they are habituated to close-up encounters. The next day will take a drive along with lunch en route to Katwe Lake. This is the only salty lake in Uganda where salt crystals are mined and taken for processing to make salt. Learn about the mining activities done at the site. They will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation midrange: Elephant Plain Lodge
Day 11: Kasenyi Game Drive and Kazinga Boat Cruise
Today morning, with your packed breakfast, you will drive to the Kasenyi section of Queen Elizabeth National Park for an incredible game drive. The meaning of driving with a packed breakfast is to enjoy the morning bloody sunrise a bit; it’s very amazing. One of the rewarding game drives features a variety of wildlife species, including elephants, Uganda kobs, bushbucks, buffalos, lions, and warthogs, among many species to watch, accompanied by several bird species.
In the afternoon hours, with lunch en route, we will drive to the Mweya Peninsular for a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel. The wild boat cruise is an opening for watching more animals. Several animals are seen coming to the channel banks to draw water, and aquatic life is seen either socked in water or lousily relaxed at the banks. Then, we will drive back to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation (Midrange): Elephant Plain Lodge
Day 12: Lion Tracking Experiential (Kasenyi)
This adventure is only special for Queen Elizabeth National Park. Lion experiential is done alongside experienced park rangers who track lions with radio trackers (monitors). On this adventure, you have the opportunity to follow various prides of lions and stay with them for long, longer hours. It’s all about lions, not any other animals, though it’s done in the animal-rich Kasenyi section. The lion tracking experience is done while in your 4×4 safari vehicle. After you exhaustively see the lions return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation (Midrange): Elephant Plain Lodge
Say 13: Transfer to Fort Portal (City Tour)
Today, take a drive from Queen Elizabeth National Park via Kasese to Fort Portal. Reaching this amazing city, take a city drive around and explore some of the notable sites, like the gardens, the Toro Palace, and local markets like Mpanga Market. Enjoy some of the fruit sold in the markets, and you can consider interacting with the local people.
Accommodation (Midrange): Mountain of the Moon Hotel
Day 14: Visiting and Hiking the Crater Lakes
Excel this day with a relaxed visit and explore the amazing landscapes of Fort Portal. I will take a drive to Amabere Caves; these are enclosed waterfalls with a rich history about the Bachwezi dynasty. On this trip, your driver will transfer you to the private cultural site and enjoy the Nyamwiru King’s daughters, then take a slope and hike to the caves. Afterwards, you will forgo using your comfortable 4×4 safari vehicle and take a hike of about 5km through hills and craters. This is one of the amazing encounters in Fort Portal.
Accommodation (Midrange): Mountain of the Moon Hotel
Day 15: Chimpanzee Habitat
Alongside your energizing morning day break, packed with all your tracking gear, you will hurry to the Kanyachu starting point for the day track. Chimpanzee Habituation is a full-day adventure where travelers head into the forest, search, and follow the chimpanzees. When the chimpanzees are found, trackers have to spend about 4 hours with the apes. So, be well prepared with packed meals, enough drinking water, and tracking gear. The chimpanzee habituation adventure is more than just a track, but a full day spent with the apes. The habituation process is aimed at making the chimpanzees used to human presence; these are known to be shy mammals, which in most cases shy away in cases of uncertainty. After the track, you will return to the starting point, refresh, and make your lunch. Then I will rest at your lodge for the rest of the hours. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.
Accommodation (Midrange): Mountain of the Moon Hotel
Day 16: Bigodi Sanctuary and Bigodi Community Visits
Succeed on this day with a visit to the Bigodi Sanctuary to track various primates. Kibale National Park is known for hosting the highest number of primate species, about 13 primates. This is almost the biggest record in the world for one forest to host about 13 primate species. This makes Kibale Forest the world’s primary capital. Among the primates to track in Kibale Forest are black and white colobus, red-tailed monkeys, mangebay, baboons, bush babies, L’Hoest, vevert monkeys, pattas, and pottos, among others. The primate track is also accompanied by several bird species, amazing tree plantations, and several mammals like bushbucks, among others.
En route to the Bigodi community, where you will enjoy a special organic local dish for your lunch. The visit to Bigodi village makes you understand how the community is involved in the conservation of the protected areas around them. You can also decide to buy some of the souvenirs made from local materials from the wetland. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation (Midrange): Mountain of the Moon Hotel
Day 17: Take a Forest Nature Walk and Rest at Your Lodge
Today we will take a nature walk through Kibale Park. A drive from your lodge might take about 30 minutes to reach the Kanyachu information center. Make a comeback to the forest and take this breathtaking nature walk, which is perfect for birders. Kibale, though, is known to be the primate capital, with over 13 primate species. Over 400 bird species also call the forest their home. So, for birders, there are several experienced rangers to take you on a forest walk through rewarding bird tracks. Then I will return to your lodge and rest for the day.
Accommodation (Midrange): Mountain of the Moon Hotel
Day 18: Transfer back to Kampala (visit the Walumbe Entanda)
This morning, I will take a drive back home. Make it a relaxed morning drive, and I will drive via Mubende Mitayan. Advisably, I will argue with you to take a cultural visit to one of the special traditional sites along the way from Mityana to Walumbe Entanda. This site is known for being the base for the first Muganda Man, Kintu. And here his brother-in-law became a spirit of death, as the culture demands. Then you will continue with your drive back to Kampala, reaching the park. You will check in at your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation (midrange): Golf Course Hotel
Day 19: Kampala City Tours
This second day in Uganda, you will first master the art of excitement within the capital. Kampala capital has a greater number of tourist spots, but I will take a drive to the Uganda Museum, Kasubi tombs, and Old Kampala Mosque for an aerial view of Kampala. Can it be perfect for you to experience the Kampala night hours? This is a guided trip to one of the clubs, casinos, or even a simple nighttime city walk.
Accommodation (midrange): Golf Course Hotel
Day 20: Visit the Uganda Wildlife Education Center in Entebbe and Fly Back
This day, take your relaxed morning break. It’s a day to meditate, prepare all that you still need, and buy what you do not want to remain. You can go to one of the book shops to buy yourself a book about Uganda or buy a souvenir at the cultural village center. Then we will take a drive to UWEC and watch these beautiful animals compare their natural appearances in parks. Then your driver will drop you off at Entebbe International Airport for your flight back home.