This Gorilla trekking and chimpanzee for 10 Days Uganda safari delivers a complete adventure across Uganda’s wilderness. Traveling across varied landscapes, you will track endangered white rhinos on foot at Ziwa Sanctuary and explore the expansive savannas of Murchison Falls National Park. You’ll meet habituated chimpanzees in Kibale’s rainforests, journey past the Equator to Queen Elizabeth National Park, and navigate the Kazinga Channel. The route leads through the Ishasha sector before entering the misty hills of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to trek mountain gorillas. Combining game drives, boat cruises, and community visits, this circuit showcases East Africa’s remarkable biodiversity.
Day 1: Arrival & Transfer
Your trip begins at Entebbe International Airport, situated along the shores of Lake Victoria. Upon clearing customs, meet your driver guide at the arrivals terminal. The drive to your hotel in Entebbe takes about 15 to 30 minutes, while transferring to central Kampala covers 45 kilometers and takes roughly 1 to 2 hours depending on city traffic. Spend the afternoon resting from your flight, adjusting to the local time, and preparing for the upcoming journey. You can opt to visit the Entebbe Botanical Gardens, home to black-and-white colobus monkeys and diverse bird species, or simply relax at your hotel before an early morning start tomorrow.
Day 2: Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary to Murchison Falls
Depart your hotel early for a 170-kilometer drive north along the Kampala-Gulu highway to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, taking about 3.5 hours. Join a trained UWA ranger for a 1.5 to 2-hour trek on foot to locate some of the 30+ southern white rhinos residing in the 7,000-hectare reserve. Rangers guide you to within 10 to 15 meters of the rhinos while sharing insights on their conservation. After lunch at the sanctuary, drive another 3 hours north toward Murchison Falls National Park. You will stop at the top of Murchison Falls to feel the ground vibrate as the Nile squeezes through a narrow 7-meter rock canyon before dropping 43 meters below. Check into your lodge by evening.
Day 3: Game Drives & Boat Cruise
Set out at 6:30 AM for a 3 to 4-hour morning game drive through the Buligi game tracks on the northern bank of the Nile. Look for Rothschild giraffes, Jackson’s hartebeests, elephants, lions, and leopards as the sun rises. Return to your lodge for lunch and rest. At 2:00 PM, board a 3-hour launch cruise heading upstream along the Victoria Nile toward the base of Murchison Falls. The boat ride offers close views of podding hippos, Nile crocodiles basking along the banks, and herds of elephants drinking at the water’s edge. Birdwatchers can spot red-throated bee-eaters nesting in the cliffs along with fish eagles before you return to the jetty at dusk.
Day 4: Travel to Kibale National Park
After breakfast, leave Murchison Falls for a 290-kilometer drive south to Fort Portal, the gateway to Kibale National Park. The 7 to 8-hour drive winds through rural villages, agricultural lands, and terraced hillsides. Stop in Fort Portal town for lunch with views of the Rwenzori Mountains in the background. Continue another 45 minutes past tea estates to reach the edge of Kibale Forest, home to 1,500 chimpanzees and 12 other primate species. Check into your lodge nestled in the rainforest or near crater lakes, spend the late afternoon stretching your legs, and enjoy an early dinner ahead of tomorrow’s forest trekking.
Day 5: Chimpanzee Tracking & Bigodi Wetland
Report to the Kanyanchu Visitors Center by 7:30 AM for a safety briefing from UWA rangers. Head into the forest on a 2 to 4-hour trek to find one of the habituated chimpanzee communities. Once located, spend 1 hour watching them groom, feed, call to one another, and move through the high canopy. Return to the lodge for lunch and a short rest. At 3:00 PM, take a 3-hour guided walk through the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a 4.5-kilometer trail running along boardwalks. Managed by a local community development association, the swamp is home to 8 primate species, including red colobus monkeys, as well as 200 bird species like the Great Blue Turaco.
Day 6: Queen Elizabeth National Park
Depart Kibale Forest for a 3-hour drive south covering roughly 120 kilometers to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The route crosses the Equator at Kayabwe/Kikorongo, where you can stop for photos and witness a short water-coriolis demonstration. As you enter the park, enjoy views of crater lakes and the open savanna stretching toward the DRC border. Check into your lodge for lunch. In the late afternoon, set off on a 2.5-hour game drive through the Kasenyi plains, known for its kob mating grounds, lion prides, buffalos, and giant forest hogs. Return to your lodge as the sun sets over the rift valley floor.
Day 7: Kazinga Channel & Game Drives
Start the day with a 3-hour morning game drive across the Kasenyi tracks to search for hyenas, lions, and nocturnal animals returning to their dens. Head back to the lodge for breakfast and rest during the hottest part of the day. At 2:00 PM, embark on a 2-hour boat cruise along the 32-kilometer Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake George and Lake Edward. The channel features one of the highest concentrations of hippos in Africa, along with buffalo herds, waterbucks, and bird species like yellow-billed storks and African skimmers lining the shores. Follow the boat ride with an evening game drive through the park before returning to camp.
Day 8: Transfer to Bwindi
Check out after breakfast and drive south through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Spend 2 hours scanning the branches of large fig trees for tree-climbing lions resting out of the heat. Continue the journey toward Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, ascending from open savannas into dense, mist-covered mountain rainforests. The total drive takes 5 to 7 hours depending on the sector of Bwindi you are staying in (Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, or Nkuringo). Arrive in the late afternoon, check into your forest lodge, listen to the evening sounds of the jungle, and get your boots packed for gorilla trekking tomorrow morning.
Day 9: Gorilla Trekking Experience
Gather at the park headquarters at 7:30 AM for a briefing on gorilla etiquette and allocation to a habituated family. Guided by UWA rangers and trackers, trek through steep slopes, dense thickets, and muddy trails. The trek lasts between 1 and 7 hours depending on where the family moved overnight. Upon locating the group, spend 1 hour observing the silverback, females, and playing juveniles from a distance of 7 meters. Return to the base to receive your tracking certificate. In the afternoon, take an optional 2-hour cultural visit with the local Batwa pygmies to learn about their ancestral forest survival techniques, bush medicine, and traditional dances.
Day 10: Departure
Enjoy a early breakfast overlooking the misty forest before beginning your return journey. Drive 8 to 9 hours back across Uganda, traveling through the rolling hills of Mbarara and stopping for lunch at the Equator crossing in Kayabwe. Alternatively, take a 1.5-hour scheduled domestic flight from Kihihi or Kisoro airstrip directly to Entebbe. Arrive in Entebbe or Kampala by late afternoon to catch your evening international flight home or connect to your next destination, concluding your 10-day Uganda wilderness circuit.
How does your Entebbe arrival transition into your safari?
Arriving at Entebbe International Airport puts you right on the shores of Lake Victoria. After clearing customs, your guide meets you for a 15-to-30-minute transfer to an Entebbe lodge, or a 45-kilometer drive (about 1.5 to 2 hours) into Kampala via the Entebbe-Kampala Expressway. Spending your first night locally allows you to rest, adjust to East Africa Time (
), and prepare for early morning travel.
How do you track rhinos on your Murchison drive?
Driving 170 kilometers north from Kampala along the Gulu highway takes roughly 3.5 hours to reach Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola. Joined by an expert ranger, you embark on a 1.5-to-2-hour foot trek across 7,000 hectares of savanna to track southern white rhinos. Walking within 10 meters of these animals offers a unique conservation perspective before you continue another 3 hours north toward Murchison Falls National Park.
What wildlife highlights await on Murchison’s game drives?
Your morning in Murchison Falls starts at 6:30 AM across the Buligi game tracks on the northern bank of the Victoria Nile. Over a 3-to-4-hour game drive, you scan the open grasslands for Rothschild giraffes, lions, Jackson’s hartebeests, and elephants. Later at 2:00 PM, a 3-hour launch cruise takes you upstream past hippos and Nile crocodiles to the base of the roaring 43-meter waterfall.
How long is the drive from Murchison to Kibale?
Leaving Murchison Falls, you travel approximately 290 kilometers south to Fort Portal, a scenic drive lasting 7 to 8 hours. The road winds past tea plantations and rural trading centers with views of the Rwenzori Mountains. Stopping in Fort Portal town for lunch breaks up the trip before you cover the final 45-minute stretch into Kibale Forest National Park, home to over 1,500 wild chimpanzees.
What happens during a Kibale chimpanzee tracking trek?
The morning starts at 7:30 AM with a briefing at Kanyanchu Visitors Center before entering the rainforest. Trekking to locate a habituated chimpanzee troop usually takes 2 to 4 hours, followed by 1 hour of watching them feed and groom in the canopy. In the afternoon at 3:00 PM, you take a guided 3-hour walk along the 4.5-kilometer trail in Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary to spot red colobus monkeys and Great Blue Turacos.
How do you travel from Kibale to Queen Elizabeth?
It takes roughly 3 hours to cover the 120-kilometer drive south from Kibale to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Along the route, you cross the Equator line near Kikorongo for photos and quick science demonstrations. Reaching the Kasenyi plains by late afternoon, you head out on a 2.5-hour game drive looking for Uganda kobs, waterbucks, and prides of lions across the savanna floor.
Why is the Kazinga Channel boat cruise so famous?
The 32-kilometer Kazinga Channel connects Lake George and Lake Edward, hosting one of Africa's highest concentrations of hippos. At 2:00 PM, you join a 2-hour boat cruise along the banks where buffalos, elephants, and Nile crocodiles gather to drink. The waters are also populated by birdlife, including yellow-billed storks and African fish eagles, making it a standout afternoon activity following a morning game drive.
How do you find tree-climbing lions in Ishasha?
Traveling 130 to 160 kilometers south toward Bwindi brings you through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. You spend about 2 hours searching the branches of large fig trees, where resident lions lie to avoid heat and insects. Afterward, the drive continues uphill for 3 to 4 hours into the cooler, terraced highlands surrounding Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
What can you expect during Bwindi gorilla trekking?
After a 7:30 AM park briefing, you set off into Bwindi's dense terrain with rangers and trackers. Depending on where the mountain gorilla family nested, the trek ranges from 1 to 7 hours across steep ridges and thick foliage. Once found, you spend 1 hour quietly observing the group from 7 meters away. Later, an optional 2-hour cultural visit with the local Batwa community shares forest traditions.
How do you return home on your final day?
Your final day involves an 8-to-9-hour drive covering nearly 450 kilometers back to Entebbe, passing through Mbarara and stopping for lunch at the Equator crossing in Kayabwe. Alternatively, you can take a 1.5-hour domestic flight from Kihihi or Kisoro airstrip directly to Entebbe International Airport. Arriving by late afternoon leaves plenty of time to board your evening flight home, completing your safari circuit.
Booking 10 Days Uganda safari with us Roads of Adventure safaris
To book a 10-day Uganda safari with Roads of Adventure Safaris, visit their website or stop by their office on Entebbe Road in Kampala to lock in your dates and tailor your itinerary. This popular circuit takes you through rhino tracking at Ziwa and game drives in Murchison Falls (Days 1–3), chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest (Days 4–5), boat safaris in Queen Elizabeth National Park (Days 6–7), mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi (Days 8–9), and back to Entebbe for your flight home (Day 10). Packages generally start around $3,726 USD per person, and because Uganda Wildlife Authority gorilla permits cost $800 with strict daily caps, reserve your spot 6 to 12 months ahead.
