This classic 13-Day Uganda Safari from Kigali takes you through Uganda’s best parks and reserves, ending with a gorilla trek.
It’s easy to picture Kenya or the Serengeti in Tanzania, but what comes to mind when someone mentions Uganda? This route through the country’s highlights will give you a clear answer. This Uganda safari tour includes one free gorilla permit, worth $800.
13-Day Uganda Safari and Primate Trekking Tour Highlights
- Day 1: Kigali city to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
- Day 2: Golden monkey trekking and evening Batwa cultural tour
- Day 3: Mgahinga Gorilla National Park to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi
- Day 5: Bwindi to Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Day 6: Game drive and boat cruise
- Day 7: Drive to Kibale Forest National Park
- Day 8: Kibale Forest National Park: chimpanzee trek and Bigodi wetland walk
- Day 9: Transfer to Hoima town, Bunyoro Cultural Trail
- Day 10: Drive to Murchison Falls National Park
- Day 11: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
- Day 12: Ziwa Rhino tracking and overnight stay in Kampala
- Day 13: Departure
Detailed 13-Day Uganda Safari and Primate Trekking Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Kigali City to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
On arrival, depending on your flight time, take an optional city tour of Kigali. Kigali was originally established by German colonial administrators, and many of its buildings date back over half a century.
Kigali is known for its busy business district, historical monuments, craft markets, genocide memorials, and welcoming people. Leave Kigali and transfer to the Ugandan border in the country’s Northern Province, crossing via the Cyanika border to your lodge near Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Day 2: Golden Monkey Trekking and Evening Batwa Cultural Tour
Golden monkey trekking begins early, with breakfast at 7:00 am and a briefing at 7:30 am. The trek itself starts at 8:00 am from the park headquarters at Ntebeko.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is the only place in Uganda to trek golden monkeys, a native subspecies of the sykes monkey, also called the blue monkey, found only in the Afro-montane forests of the Virunga region along the Rwanda, Uganda, and DRC border.
The park holds two habituated golden monkey families, each with 80 to 100 members, living at the base of Mount Gahinga or Mount Muhabura.
As with gorilla treks, golden monkey treks run 1 to 8 hours in groups of no more than 8 people. These naturally shy primates are playful and spend much of their time moving through the bamboo. Your hour with them gives insight into their daily habits, diet, and behavior.
After the trek, return to the starting point and transfer to the lodge for lunch and rest. In the evening, visit the nearby Batwa community, the original inhabitants of the Virunga forests, to learn about their history, traditional songs, and culture. Return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 3: Mgahinga Gorilla National Park to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
After breakfast, depart Mgahinga for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via Lake Bunyonyi. Take a 3-hour boat trip on the lake, passing its 29 islands and the communities living along its shores.
Have lunch at a resort on the lake, then continue to your lodge in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 4: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi
Have breakfast at 7:00 am and a briefing at 7:30 am from park officials, then set off on the gorilla trek. Ranger guides lead you into the forest to search for your assigned gorilla family, over terrain that can take some navigating before you find them.
Trekking time runs 2 to 7 hours, since the gorillas’ movements can’t be predicted in advance. Along the way, expect to see birds, reptiles, plant life, and other primates such as monkeys and baboons.
Once you find the gorillas, spend your hour with them taking photos, asking your guide questions, and observing their daily routine, including feeding and family behavior. After the hour, trek back to the lodge to rest for the night.
Day 5: Bwindi to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast, drive north to Queen Elizabeth National Park via the Ishasha sector. Take a 3-hour game drive through Ishasha in search of tree-climbing lions, along with other bird and mammal species, including elephants, antelope such as the topi, and hippos.
Have a picnic lunch en route, then continue to your pre-booked lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 6: Game Drive and Boat Cruise
Start the day with coffee before a morning game drive, a good time to spot early risers and nocturnal animals heading back to cover.
As the sun rises, elephants and buffalo graze across the plains, alongside antelope, warthogs, waterbucks, and big cats such as leopards and lions.
The game drive typically lasts 3 to 4 hours. Return to the lodge for breakfast and lunch.
Later, drive to Mweya jetty for a boat trip along the Kazinga Channel, lasting about 2 to 3 hours. The channel brings you close to elephants, crocodiles, hippos, monitor lizards, and a wide range of birds coming to the water’s edge. Kazinga Channel ranks among the richest wildlife areas in Africa.
Day 7: Drive to Kibale Forest National Park
Depart Queen Elizabeth National Park after breakfast for Kibale Forest National Park, Africa’s primate capital and home to more than 13 primate species. The drive passes the Rwenzori range, stretching from Kasese toward the DRC.
The route brings you to Fort Portal, Uganda’s tourism hub, set among tea plantations and crater lakes. Have lunch and take a town tour, with stops at nearby crater lakes, local markets, and the Toro Kingdom palace. Continue to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 8: Kibale Forest National Park: Chimpanzee Trek and Bigodi Wetland Walk
Wake up early, have breakfast, and drive to Kanyanchu ranger station for the pre-trek briefing.
Head into the forest with water, a packed lunch, and your trekking gear. The route follows well-maintained trails, where you may encounter grey-cheeked mangabeys, Dent’s mona monkeys, vervet monkeys, Hamlyn’s monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, and other primates.
The trek leads to a habituated chimpanzee troop, where you get one hour to watch them move through the trees and go about their day.
Afterward, return to the starting point for a boxed lunch, then continue to Bigodi Swamp, on the edge of Kibale Forest. The swamp holds over 137 species, including the Great Blue Turaco and Papyrus Gonolek, along with mammals, butterflies, and other primates.
Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 9: Transfer to Hoima Town, Bunyoro Cultural Trail
After breakfast, depart Kibale Forest National Park for the 5-hour drive to Hoima town, through the hills around Fort Portal.
Arrive in Hoima for an early lunch, then take a short tour of the town’s cultural and historical sites, including the King’s Palace, to learn about Bunyoro’s traditions and history.
Visit the royal tombs, where former kings of Bunyoro are buried, including Omukama Kabalega, known for resisting colonial rule and his conflicts with the Buganda Kingdom.
A walk through Hoima town offers further chances to see local monuments, meet residents, and try local food.
Day 10: Drive to Murchison Falls National Park
Leave Hoima at a relaxed pace for the drive to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s largest national park, set along the Nile in the country’s northwest and home to a wide range of wildlife, birds, and scenery.
Along the way, stop for photos of the Rift Valley escarpment, Lake Albert, and tea plantations.
Arrive at your lodge in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 11: Morning Game Drive and Afternoon Boat Cruise
Start the game drive early to look for early risers and nocturnal animals, with good photo opportunities as the sun comes up.
Murchison Falls National Park is one of Uganda’s most visited wildlife destinations, home to four of the five African Big Five species and among the most powerful waterfalls in the world.
Cover the plains of Uganda’s largest park before returning to the lodge for breakfast. The 3,893 square kilometer park holds elephants, giraffes, lions, buffalo, antelope, Jackson’s hartebeest, and many other species.
Bird watchers will find plenty here too, with resident, migratory, and endemic species, including the shoebill stork, secretary bird, and black-chested snake eagle.
In the afternoon, take a boat trip to the base of Murchison Falls. Watch for bird life and animals resting along the Nile’s banks, most commonly hippos, Nile crocodiles, Cape buffalo, and birds such as the African fish eagle, Egyptian goose, malachite kingfisher, yellow-billed stork, and egrets.
The cruise takes you close to the base of the falls, near the spot where Ernest Hemingway’s plane crashed during a 1954 sightseeing flight over Murchison Falls. Stay on the boat back to the jetty, where your driver will meet you for the return to the lodge.
Day 12: Ziwa Rhino Tracking and Overnight Stay in Kampala
Leave Murchison Falls National Park in the morning via the Kachumbanyobo gate and Masindi town. Drive about two hours to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, the only place in Uganda to see endangered black rhinos. Track the rhinos, and watch for other resident wildlife such as Uganda kob, bushbuck, oribi, and leopards.
Ziwa also holds strong bird life, including the shoebill stork, sometimes spotted from a canoe in the Lugogo wetlands. After the rhino tracking, have lunch at Amuka Safari Lodge or another camp near the ranger station, then continue to Kampala or Entebbe for your departure flight.
Day 13: Departure
Have a relaxed breakfast overlooking Lake Victoria, then check out of your lodge and transfer to Entebbe Airport for your onward flight, depending on your flight time.
End of 13-Day Uganda Safari from Kigali.
