8 Days Uganda Gorilla Tour
Overview
The 8 Days Uganda Gorilla Tour is a comprehensive safari that combines Uganda’s most iconic wildlife experiences with unforgettable encounters with endangered mountain gorillas and chimpanzees. This journey takes you through some of the country’s most spectacular destinations, including Kibale Forest National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, and Lake Bunyonyi.
Track chimpanzees in the primate capital of East Africa, enjoy game drives and a boat safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park, search for the famous tree climbing lions of Ishasha, trek mountain gorillas in Bwindi, and unwind along the scenic shores of Lake Bunyonyi before returning to Entebbe.
Safari Highlights
- Chimpanzee trekking
- Nature walks
- Game drive
- Boat cruise
- Cultural encounter
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
After breakfast, depart Entebbe or Kampala and drive to Kibale Forest National Park. Enjoy beautiful views of tea plantations, rolling hills, traditional villages, and the lush countryside of western Uganda.
Arrive in the afternoon and check into your lodge for relaxation.
Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge / Turaco Treetops / Kibale Forest Camp / Isunga Lodge
Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner
Day 2: Chimpanzee Tracking and Bigodi Wetland Walk
After breakfast, transfer to Kibale Forest headquarters for a briefing before beginning your chimpanzee tracking adventure.
Track habituated chimpanzees through the rainforest and observe them as they feed, communicate, and move through the forest canopy.
In the afternoon, enjoy a guided walk through Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, known for its diverse birdlife and primate species.
Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge / Turaco Treetops / Kibale Forest Camp / Isunga Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Evening Game Drive
After breakfast, depart for Queen Elizabeth National Park. Drive through scenic crater lake regions and enjoy views of the Rwenzori Mountains.
Arrive at the park in time for lunch before heading out for an evening game drive in the Kasenyi Plains.
Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge / Twin Lakes Safari Lodge / Elephant Hab Lodge / Enganzi Game Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4: Morning Game Drive and Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise
Begin the day with an early morning game drive in search of lions, elephants, buffaloes, leopards, hyenas, Uganda kobs, and other wildlife.
After lunch, enjoy a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel where large numbers of hippos, crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes, and water birds gather along the shores.
Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge / Twin Lakes Safari Lodge / Elephant Hab Lodge / Enganzi Game Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi via Ishasha Sector
After breakfast, drive through the Ishasha Sector, famous for its tree climbing lions.
Enjoy a game drive while searching for these unique predators before continuing to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Arrive at your lodge in the evening and prepare for gorilla trekking the following day.
Accommodation: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge / Bakiga Lodge / Buhoma Community Haven Lodge / Gorilla Mist Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 6: Gorilla Trekking and Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
After an early breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters for a gorilla trekking briefing.
Begin your trek through the rainforest in search of a habituated mountain gorilla family. Once located, spend one unforgettable hour observing these remarkable primates in their natural habitat.
After the trek, transfer to Lake Bunyonyi, one of Africa’s most beautiful lakes, surrounded by terraced hills and dotted with numerous islands.
Accommodation: Arcadia Cottages Bunyonyi / BirdNest Resort Bunyonyi / Lake Bunyonyi Eco Resort / Bunyonyi Overland Resort
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 7: Relaxation and Exploration at Lake Bunyonyi
Enjoy a relaxed day exploring Lake Bunyonyi.
Take a canoe ride, visit some of the islands, enjoy birdwatching, swim in the bilharzia-free waters, or simply relax while taking in the stunning scenery.
Accommodation: Arcadia Cottages Bunyonyi / BirdNest Resort Bunyonyi / Lake Bunyonyi Eco Resort / Bunyonyi Overland Resort
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 8: Return to Entebbe or Kampala
After breakfast, begin the journey back to Entebbe or Kampala.
Stop at the Equator for photographs, lunch, and souvenir shopping before continuing to your hotel or Entebbe International Airport for your onward flight.
Accommodation: No Overnight Accommodation
Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch
Optional Activities
Kibale Forest National Park
- Chimpanzee Habituation Experience
- Crater Lakes Tour
- Coffee Experience Tour
- Community Cultural Visit
- Bird Watching Safari
Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Lion Tracking Experience
- Chimpanzee Tracking in Kyambura Gorge
- Maramagambo Forest Walk
- Katwe Salt Lake Tour
- Sundowner Experience
- Bird Watching Safari
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- Batwa Cultural Experience
- Gorilla Habituation Experience
- Waterfall Trail Walk
- Community Village Visit
- Coffee Experience Tour
- Bird Watching Excursion
Lake Bunyonyi
- Canoeing Experience
- Ziplining
- Island Hopping Tour
- Community Cultural Visit
- Nature Walks
- Bird Watching
- Sport Fishing
Tour Includes
- Travel in a 4×4 car
- Professional guide
- Park fees
- Accommodation
- Meals
- All Activities In Itinerary
Tour Excludes
- Alcoholic drinks
- Laundry
- Tips
- Shopping
- Insurance
- Anything not included per itinerary
An In-Depth Uganda Circuit
At eight days, this itinerary moves beyond a focused introduction into genuinely in-depth territory, typically covering Bwindi gorilla trekking, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kibale Forest chimpanzee tracking, and often an additional stop such as Lake Mburo or Murchison Falls depending on the specific route.
This length suits travelers who want to see Uganda properly rather than sampling a handful of highlights, with enough time built in for genuine rest days and slower-paced exploration between the trip’s more active trekking and game-drive days.
Balancing Primates, Wildlife and Landscape
Eight days gives this itinerary room to include Uganda’s full range: dense montane forest for gorilla and chimpanzee trekking, open savannah for classic game drives, and, depending on the specific route, either the Nile’s dramatic scenery at Murchison Falls or Lake Mburo’s zebra-dotted acacia woodland.
Because this itinerary covers more ground than our shorter trips, we build in deliberate pacing, alternating higher-intensity trekking days with lower-key game drives and travel days, so the trip doesn’t feel exhausting despite its length.
Practical Notes
A Uganda e-visa or East Africa Tourist Visa, arranged before travel, is required for most nationalities, along with a yellow fever vaccination certificate if arriving from a country with risk of transmission. Travel insurance covering trekking or wildlife activities and medical evacuation is strongly recommended, and malaria prevention is worth discussing with a travel health clinic ahead of your trip.
US dollars printed after 2009 are widely accepted for park fees, permits and lodge bills, while Ugandan shillings are more practical for tips and smaller day-to-day purchases. Mobile network coverage is generally reliable at lodges and along main routes but becomes patchy inside the parks themselves.
Because permits and lodge availability are limited, particularly during the June to September and December to February peak seasons, we recommend booking at least four to six months in advance for longer itineraries like this one, given the number of permits and lodges that need to align across the full trip.
Tipping is customary though not compulsory. Rangers and trackers typically receive a tip at the end of any trekking activity, scaled to group size, while your driver-guide, who accompanies you throughout the trip, is usually tipped separately at the end. We’re glad to advise on typical tipping ranges when you book.
A private 4×4 safari vehicle with a pop-up roof and an experienced English-speaking driver-guide accompany you for the entire trip, suited to both park game-viewing tracks and the longer road transfers this itinerary involves.
Ready to Plan Your Trip
Every detail on this itinerary, lodge category, exact route, and pacing, can be adjusted to fit your specific travel dates and interests. Whether this is your first Uganda safari or you’re combining it with a longer regional trip through Rwanda or Kenya, get in touch with our team and we’ll put together an itinerary that works for you.
We coordinate permits, accommodation and transport directly, keeping you updated at each stage of planning rather than leaving the logistics to sort themselves out closer to your travel dates.
Physical Preparation for Gorilla Trekking
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi is graded as moderate to strenuous depending on where the assigned family is ranging that day. Trails climb steep, muddy ridges through tangled vegetation, and altitude in the park ranges from roughly 1,160 to 2,607 metres, so a reasonable level of fitness helps considerably. Porters are available at the trailhead for a small fee and are worth hiring — they carry daypacks, offer a steadying hand on slick sections, and their fee directly supports the local community bordering the park. Waterproof hiking boots with good ankle support, a long-sleeved shirt and trousers to guard against nettles and safari ants, gardening gloves, and a rain jacket are the essentials most trekkers wish they had packed. Because Bwindi sits in a genuine rainforest, showers are possible in any month, so dressing in breathable layers rather than heavy clothing keeps the trek comfortable.
Tree-Climbing Lions of Ishasha
The Ishasha sector in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park is famous for a rare behavioural trait: lions here regularly climb into the branches of the sector’s large fig trees, reportedly to escape biting insects and the heat of the savannah floor, and to get a better vantage point for spotting prey. Spotting a pride draped over the low branches of a fig tree is one of the more memorable sightings on a Uganda safari, though it requires patience since the behaviour is not guaranteed on any single game drive. Ishasha is quieter than the park’s main Kasenyi plains, seeing far fewer vehicles, which makes for a more private and unhurried game-viewing experience.
Top of the Falls and Boat Cruise
Murchison Falls, where the entire Victoria Nile forces itself through a gap in the rock only a few metres wide before plunging some 43 metres into the Devil’s Cauldron below, can be experienced from two very different vantage points. A launch cruise along the Nile from the base of the falls brings you close to pods of hippos, basking crocodiles and elephants drinking at the water’s edge, with the roar of the falls building as the boat approaches. A short hike to the top of the falls, meanwhile, puts you directly beside the point where the river is compressed into that narrow gorge, and the raw power of the water at close range is something photographs rarely capture accurately. Most itineraries through Murchison Falls National Park combine both perspectives.
Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest
Kibale Forest National Park protects one of the highest densities of primates in Africa, and its main draw is tracking habituated chimpanzee communities through the forest understory. Treks typically last one to three hours and reward visitors with close views of chimps feeding, grooming and moving through the canopy, along with their loud, distinctive pant-hoot calls echoing through the trees. Beyond chimpanzees, Kibale is home to eleven other primate species, including L’Hoest’s and red colobus monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys and the elusive nocturnal potto, making it a rewarding stop even beyond the headline chimp trek. For visitors wanting a deeper experience, a full-day chimpanzee habituation permit allows several hours with a community from dawn, following researchers as they carry out their morning routine.
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