Primates & Big Game Safari
The complete Uganda short safari: chimpanzees in Kibale, big game and a Kazinga cruise in Queen Elizabeth, tree-climbing lions at Ishasha, and mountain gorillas in Bwindi. Three ecosystems on one westward loop.
- Duration
- 7 Days / 6 Nights
- Group size
- 2-6 people
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Best time
- Jun-Sep & Dec-Feb (dry season)
- Ideal for
- First-time visitors wanting the highlights
- Destination
- Kibale · Queen Elizabeth · Bwindi
Your Journey, Day by Day
- 1Day 1 of 7
Kampala to Kibale
West out of Kampala through Mubende, roughly five hours to Fort Portal, where the road narrows between tea estates and the Rwenzori wall fills the western horizon on a clear afternoon. You reach the forest edge in good time to settle in among the Ndali-Kasenda crater lakes, and the evening is deliberately unhurried; the days that follow start early and ask a lot, and this is the last one that does not.
Tea-country driveRwenzori range on the horizonCrater-lakes arrivalMeals:Lunch, DinnerOvernight:Kibale area lodge - 2Day 2 of 7
Chimp Tracking at Kanyanchu & Bigodi
Briefing at the Kanyanchu trailhead, then into a forest holding thirteen primate species, the richest such concentration in East Africa. Chimpanzees are found by ear before they are found by eye, and once the group settles you have your permitted hour with them, often close enough to hear them chewing. The afternoon belongs to Bigodi, the community-run wetland sanctuary next to the park: boardwalks over the Magombe swamp, eight primate species along the margins, great blue turacos crashing between the trees, and guiding fees that go straight back into local schools.
Kanyanchu briefingOne hour with the chimpsBigodi wetland boardwalksGreat blue turacoMeals:Breakfast, Lunch, DinnerOvernight:Kibale area lodge - 3Day 3 of 7
Kibale to Queen Elizabeth & Kazinga Cruise
A short two-hour transfer south, dropping out of the crater-lake hills into the flat savannah of Queen Elizabeth. After settling in, the afternoon launch cruise on the Kazinga Channel, the 32km strait joining Lake George to Lake Edward, and the single best two hours of game viewing in the park. The boat runs close to a shoreline stacked with hippo, elephants walking down to drink, buffalo standing in the shallows, and pelicans, skimmers and storks packed along the bank.
Crater-lakes driveKazinga Channel cruiseHippo pods & elephantsWaterbirds at close rangeMeals:Breakfast, Lunch, DinnerOvernight:Queen Elizabeth (Mweya / Kasenyi) lodge - 4Day 4 of 7
Kasenyi Game Drive & Crater Drive
Out at first light onto the Kasenyi plains, where Uganda kob hold their traditional breeding grounds and the park’s lions do most of their hunting; the two facts are not unrelated, and your guide will read the one to find the other. Ranger-led lion tracking can be added, following a collared pride with the team that monitors them. The afternoon takes the Katwe-Kikorongo crater road, a chain of steep volcanic bowls above the plain, ending at Lake Katwe where salt has been cut from the pans by hand for centuries and still is today.
Dawn Kasenyi game driveKob breeding grounds & lionsOptional lion trackingKatwe salt pansMeals:Breakfast, Lunch, DinnerOvernight:Queen Elizabeth (Mweya / Kasenyi) lodge - 5Day 5 of 7
Ishasha to Bwindi
South into the remote Ishasha sector for a morning game drive, checking the big fig trees along the river where the lions lie out along the limbs, a local habit, not a species-wide one, and one of very few places on the continent you can reliably look for it. Topi are common on the open ground here. From Ishasha the road climbs 3-4 hours into the Kigezi highlands to Bwindi, arriving at Rushaga (the sector with the most habituated families and the widest permit availability) in time for the evening trek briefing.
Tree-climbing lions of IshashaTopi on the open plainsClimb into the Kigezi highlandsEvening briefing at RushagaMeals:Breakfast, Lunch, DinnerOvernight:Bwindi (Rushaga) lodge - 6Day 6 of 7
Gorilla Trekking, Rushaga Sector
Briefing and porter selection at the trailhead. Take the porter, for the ground and for the village economy both, then into the forest behind the trackers. Bwindi is steep, wet and thick, and the walk in runs anywhere from half an hour to most of a day depending on where the family fed last night. Groups are capped at eight, the distance rule is seven metres, and the permitted hour starts the moment the gorillas are found. You come out muddy, with a tracking certificate. The afternoon is free for the optional Batwa Forest Experience.
Gorilla trekkingOne hour with the gorillasTracking certificateOptional Batwa Forest ExperienceMeals:Breakfast, Lunch, DinnerOvernight:Bwindi (Rushaga) lodge - 7Day 7 of 7
Bwindi to Entebbe
Down out of the highlands and back through Mbarara, with lunch breaking the drive and a stop at the Kayabwe Equator for the craft stalls and the water-swirling demonstration. It is a long day on the road, but it retraces a week in reverse (tea country, savannah, cattle country), and delivers you to Entebbe in time for evening flights.
Equator stop at KayabweLunch en routeAirport drop-offMeals:Breakfast, LunchOvernight:Departure
What's Included
- Gorilla & chimpanzee tracking permits
- 4x4 safari vehicle with driver-guide
- Lodge accommodation (6 nights)
- Game drives & Kazinga launch cruise
- Park entrance fees & government taxes
- Meals as specified & bottled water
Not Included
- International flights
- Uganda visa
- Lion tracking (optional)
- Travel insurance
- Drinks, tips & personal expenses
