6 Days Uganda Gorilla, Chimpanzee and Wildlife Safari

Your Friendly Gorillas Safaris guide meets you at your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe after breakfast. After a short briefing, you begin the drive to Kibale Forest National Park in western Uganda.
The route takes you through towns, rural trading centers, farms, tea plantations, and green countryside. As you approach Fort Portal, the scenery becomes more attractive, with crater lake landscapes and views of the Rwenzori region on clear days.
You stop for lunch along the way, then continue toward Kibale. This area is known for chimpanzees, monkeys, birds, butterflies, and thick rainforest. The atmosphere feels calm and different from Uganda’s savannah parks.
Arrive at your lodge in the late afternoon or evening. Check in, relax, have dinner, and prepare for chimpanzee tracking the next day.
Depending on your interest, opt for an evening Bigodi wetland walking safari for the possibility of encountering the Forest’s birds, colobus monkeys, blue turaco, antelopes and more that you may be luck to spot.

Accommodation options in Kibale:

After an early breakfast, your guide transfers you to the Kibale park offices for registration and briefing. The ranger guides explain the chimpanzee tracking rules, forest safety, and what to expect during the activity and also how to stay calm and reman safe.

You then enter Kibale Forest with your ranger guide. The forest is full of sound and movement. You may hear chimpanzee calls before you see them. You may also spot other monkeys, birds, and forest plants along the trail.

Once you find the chimpanzees, you spend time watching them feed, climb, groom, move, and communicate. Chimpanzees are active and expressive, which makes this experience different from gorilla trekking. They may stay in trees or move along the forest floor depending on their behavior that day.

After tracking, return to the lodge for lunch or continue with lunch along the route, depending on timing. You then transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

The drive gives you beautiful views of crater lakes, villages, farmlands, and the wider western Uganda landscape. On clear days, you may see the Rwenzori Mountains in the distance.

Arrive at your lodge near Queen Elizabeth National Park, check in, and relax before dinner.

Accommodation options in Queen Elizabeth National Park:

Wake up early for a memorable morning game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park. The early hours are usually better for wildlife activity, cooler temperatures, and softer light for photography.

Your guide drives through selected game tracks while looking for elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, warthogs, waterbucks, and other savannah wildlife. Depending on the area visited and wildlife movement, you may also look out for lions and other predators.

Queen Elizabeth National Park has varied landscapes, including open plains, crater areas, wetlands, and views toward the Rwenzori Mountains. This makes the game drive scenic even when wildlife is spread out.

If you want to, return to the lodge for lunch and some rest before leaving in the afternoon for a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel. This channel connects Lake George and Lake Edward and is one of Uganda’s best places for water-based wildlife viewing.

During the boat cruise, you may see large numbers of hippos, crocodiles, buffaloes, elephants, waterbirds, and other animals along the shore. The boat cruise also gives you better photography chances because animals often come close to the water.

After the cruise, return to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Accommodation options in Queen Elizabeth National Park:

After breakfast, you leave Queen Elizabeth National Park and drive toward Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Depending on the route, you may pass through the Ishasha sector, known for its tree-climbing lions, although sightings depend on timing and luck. If road conditions and your schedule allow, your guide may include a short search in this area before continuing to Bwindi.

The landscape changes as you leave the savannah and enter southwestern Uganda’s highlands. You pass villages, farms, terraced hills, tea or banana gardens in some areas, and scenic rural roads.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of Uganda’s most important conservation areas and home to mountain gorillas. The park has different gorilla trekking sectors, including Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga, and Nkuringo. Your lodge location depends on the confirmed permit sector.

Arrive in the evening, check in, have dinner, and rest before the gorilla trek.

Accommodation options in Bwindi:

Wake up early, have breakfast, and transfer to the park headquarters for your gorilla trekking briefing. This is the most anticipated day of the safari.

The gorilla trekking ranger guides explain the trekking rules, forest safety, gorilla behavior, and how to conduct yourself once you reach the gorilla family. After briefing, you join your assigned trekking group and enter the forest with ranger guides and trackers.

The trek can take a shorter or longer time depending on where the gorillas moved overnight. The forest trails may be steep, muddy, and uneven, so you should move at a steady pace and listen carefully to your guides.

When you find the gorilla family, you spend up to one hour with them. You may watch the silverback resting, mothers feeding, young gorillas playing, or the group moving through the forest. This hour is often the most emotional moment of the safari.

After the experience, you return to the starting point and receive your gorilla trekking certificate. Your guide then transfers you back to the lodge for lunch and rest.

If you still have energy, you may add a Batwa cultural experience or community visit near Bwindi. This gives you a deeper connection to the people and history around the forest.

Optionally, you may proceed to Lake Bunyonyi (at no extra cost) for an evening of relaxation after the tiring gorilla trek. Let us know in advance and we can make this come to past.

Accommodation options in Bwindi:

After breakfast, you begin the return journey to Kampala or Entebbe. This is a long travel day, so we recommend starting early.

The drive takes you through southwestern Uganda’s hills, rural towns, farms, and roadside markets before continuing toward Mbarara and central Uganda. You stop for lunch along the way and may also stop at the Equator if timing and routing allow.

Your guide drops you at your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe. If you have an evening flight, we recommend planning carefully to allow enough time for the drive, possible traffic, and airport check-in.

This marks the end of your 6 Days Uganda Gorilla, Chimpanzee and Wildlife Safari with Friendly Gorillas Safaris.