Best of Uganda
White rhinos on foot at Ziwa, the launch to the foot of Murchison Falls, chimpanzees in Kibale, the Kazinga Channel and gorillas in Bwindi, on one road through Uganda.
A starting point, not a packageevery stop can be lengthened, shortened or dropped
fromUSD 3,950per personfrom, per person, two sharing, both permits included
The parks are two to six hours apart by road.
Ten days is where it stops being a series of drives.
A gorilla trip can be three days. This one adds the rest of the country: white rhinos on foot at Ziwa, the launch up the Victoria Nile to the foot of Murchison Falls, chimpanzees in Kibale, and the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
The distances are real and the roads take the time they take. Ten days is where the country stops feeling like a series of drives and starts feeling like one trip. Fourteen adds Kidepo in the far north-east, which the Uganda Wildlife Authority calls the only Ugandan refuge for a number of species, cheetah among them.
What we will not do is compress it. A twelve-day route run in eight is eight days of looking at the back of a seat. If your time is shorter, we would rather cut a park than cut the hours in it.
Highlights
The itinerary
Entebbe, then north to the rhinos
We collect you at Entebbe and drive north out of the lake basin, about three and three-quarter hours, to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. It holds about 53 of Uganda's 61 rhinos, and it is the one place in Uganda where visitors can track them today. You walk with a ranger through the grass toward southern white rhinos.
Doing it on foot rather than from a vehicle changes it completely. The sanctuary puts a trek at one and a half to two and a half hours, depending on where the rhinos are.
About 210 km, about 3 hours 45
LuxuryLodge inside the sanctuary
PremiumGuesthouse at the sanctuary gate
Murchison: game drives and the launch to the falls
Into Murchison Falls National Park, about three and a half hours from Ziwa, and across to the northern bank. The Uganda Wildlife Authority calls the Buligi Peninsula the park's prime game-viewing area: expect elephant, buffalo, antelopes and giraffe, and keep your fingers crossed for lion and leopard.
In the afternoon the launch runs about two hours, upriver from Paraa to the foot of the falls, where the Nile bursts through the cliffs at the head of Fajao Gorge.
About 3 hours 30 from Ziwa, then a launch of about 2 hours
LuxuryRiverside lodge inside the park
PremiumLodge on the northern bank
South to the crater lakes and Kibale
A long drive south, about six hours, with the Rwenzori coming up on your right in the afternoon if the cloud lifts. In the Uganda Wildlife Authority's words, the country east of the Rwenzori is dotted with volcanic crater lakes and carpeted with tea plantations.
There is time in the late afternoon for a walk between the crater lakes before dark.
About 340 km, about 6 hours
LuxuryLodge on a crater rim
PremiumLodge in the tea country
Chimpanzees in Kibale
Tracking starts at 8:00, from Kanyanchu. Kibale holds 13 primate species and, by the Uganda Wildlife Authority's estimate, about 1,450 chimpanzees.
An hour with them once they are found. The afternoon is yours: the Bigodi wetland walk, 5 km south of Kanyanchu, is a community-run boardwalk with eight primate species and more than 200 bird species, or you can do nothing, which after the drives so far is a reasonable choice.
On foot, two to five hours in all
LuxuryLodge on a crater rim
PremiumLodge in the tea country
Queen Elizabeth: the Kazinga Channel, then south through Ishasha
Down into Queen Elizabeth National Park, about two and a quarter hours. The afternoon launch follows the Kazinga Channel for about two hours, past hippos, crocodiles and waterbirds. On a game drive the Uganda Wildlife Authority points to the Kasenyi plains for lions.
On the last morning the route runs south through the Ishasha sector, famous for lions that rest in fig trees. The Uganda Wildlife Authority said in September 2026 that only three known adult lions remain there, so nobody can promise them and we will not.
About 2 hours 15 from Kibale, then a launch of about 2 hours
LuxuryLodge above the rift escarpment
PremiumSafari lodge inside the park
Bwindi: the gorilla trek
A briefing, then tracking starts at 8:00, with no more than eight visitors to each gorilla family. Nobody can tell you in advance how far the gorillas have moved overnight, so the walk can take under an hour or most of the day.
When you reach them, the hour starts, at least ten metres away, as the Uganda Wildlife Authority asks.
On foot, from under an hour to most of the day
LuxuryForest-edge lodge with a fireplace in each room
PremiumComfortable lodge near the trailhead
Lake Bunyonyi, and the road home
Two nights on Bunyonyi, about two and a quarter hours from Buhoma, in northern Bwindi. It is terraced to the waterline and full of islands, and it is a place to sit still, from a canoe or a deck. We stay out of the water: the snails that carry bilharzia were recorded in the lake in 2023 and 2024.
Then either the drive back to Entebbe, about six hours, or a scheduled flight from Kisoro, about an hour and a quarter. We will price both and let you choose.
About 2 hours 15 from Buhoma; home about 6 hours by road, or 1 hour 15 flying from Kisoro
LuxuryIsland or lakeshore lodge
PremiumLakeshore lodge with a terrace
Permits are released per day, and the best months go first.
Give us an approximate date and we check availability against it. No payment, no obligation.
What your trip includes
Gorilla permit, USD 800 per person
Chimpanzee permit, USD 250 per person (USD 300 from 1 January 2027)
Rhino tracking on foot at Ziwa
Full board throughout
Private 4x4 and driver-guide, the same one all trip
All park fees and government taxes
Launch trip at Murchison and the Kazinga Channel cruise
Airport collection and return, Entebbe
What it does not cover
International flights
Uganda visa, USD 50
Porters on the treks
Light aircraft flights, priced separately if you want them
Tips for your guide
Alcohol and personal items
Single room supplement, USD 45 per night
Not quite the trip you had in mind? Every departure is private, so the length and the lodges are yours to change. Tell us what you want.
Uganda
Private safaris in Uganda, built around Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which holds 459 of the world’s 1,063 mountain gorillas by the Uganda Wildlife Authority’s latest count. Uganda’s gorilla permit is USD 800, against USD 1,500 in Rwanda, and the same trip can take in chimpanzees in Kibale, the Kazinga Channel and Murchison Falls.
Drives, permits, lions and rhinos: what to know before you book
What to bring
- Binoculars, one pair per person
- Waterproof jacket and thick gloves for the treks
- Ankle boots with real grip
- A dust-proof bag for camera bodies
- Light long sleeves for the evenings
- Sun hat and high factor sunscreen
- Insect repellent
- Cash for porters and tips
Before you ask
Is ten days too long for Uganda?
No. The parks are far apart and the roads take the time they take. Ten days is where the country stops feeling like a series of drives and starts feeling like one trip. If you have less, we would rather cut a park than cut the hours inside it.
Can we fly between the parks instead of driving?
Yes, on some legs. The longest is the way home: scheduled flights from Kisoro, near Bwindi and Lake Bunyonyi, reach Entebbe in about an hour and a quarter, against about six hours by road. We price both so you can see what the time costs.
What happens if I need to cancel?
Nothing is paid when you enquire. Once you confirm, we buy your gorilla and chimpanzee permits from the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) in your name, and UWA takes the full price of both when we book them. If you cancel, whether any of the permit price comes back is UWA's decision under its own rules, not ours. If your dates change instead, UWA's tracking rules let a standard (full-price) permit move up to two times, to a new date within 12 months, as long as the request reaches UWA at least 14 days before the trek (we make it for you, so tell us before then) and permits are still available on the new date. UWA charges nothing for the first move and 25% of the permit price for the second, and UWA does not refund a permit once it has been moved. Under UWA's rules, the discounted low-season permits (USD 600 in November 2026) cannot be moved. What happens to the rest of your payment is set out in your booking confirmation, and we give you your deposit amount and balance date in writing before you pay anything.
Will we see the tree-climbing lions at Ishasha?
Probably not. The Uganda Wildlife Authority said in September 2026 that only three known adult lions remain in Ishasha, so nobody can promise them. Ishasha is on the road to Bwindi, so looking costs you nothing but the hours, and the Kasenyi plains earlier on the route are a better place for lions.
Is this suitable for children?
Partly. Gorilla trekking has a minimum age of 15 and chimpanzee tracking 12, both set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Everything else on this route can work for younger children. We confirm Ziwa's age rule when we book, and we build a version around the rhinos, the boats and the game drives.
How soon will you reply?
Within one working day, with a route, a price that has nothing hidden in it, and an honest view on whether the days you have suit the route you want.
Tell us roughly when
hello@wildroutetours.com
A trip designer replies within one working day.