Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi Gorilla Trekking & Lake Mburo Safari

After breakfast, you’ll set out for the Bigodi wetlands excursion, an area of exceptional biodiversity, black and white colobus, red-tailed monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey and baboon among its primates, alongside excellent birdwatching, the Great Blue Turaco a particular highlight. From Bigodi, a roughly two-hour transfer brings you to Queen Elizabeth National Park in good time for lunch, rest, and an afternoon game drive, keeping watch for reedbuck, bushbuck, kob, warthog, elephant, lion and buffalo, among others. Alternatively, the park’s dramatic explosion crater drive is available as a substitute activity.

After breakfast, you’ll head out for chimpanzee trekking in Kyambura Gorge, home to a habituated chimpanzee community alongside baboons, monkeys and a good range of birdlife. The early part of the day is spent tracking, before returning to your accommodation for rest and lunch. In the afternoon, a two-hour boat trip on the Kazinga Channel, connecting Lake George and Lake Edward, brings genuinely fascinating sightings of hippo, elephant and crocodile, alongside a strong variety of birdlife along the shores. A brief late afternoon game drive rounds out the day before returning to the lodge.

An early start brings a game drive across the Kasenyi plains, keeping watch for Cape buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard, though the cats can be tricky to spot. After checking out, the route continues to the Ishasha sector in search of its famously tree-climbing lion, with roughly a seventy per cent chance of a sighting, though they’re sometimes hard to spot when resting low in the grass. Should you find them, the sight is genuinely picturesque and memorable. From Ishasha, the journey continues to accommodation at the edge of Bwindi National Park, in the Ruhija sector, arriving in the evening around 6 pm.

After breakfast, you’ll move to the rangers’ post for a briefing on the dos and don’ts of gorilla trekking, before entering Bwindi Forest for the adventure itself. The rainforest’s beauty is genuinely spectacular, a dramatically steep, densely forested landscape crisscrossed by animal trails that make tourist access possible. Time and terrain vary with the gorillas’ movements, but once your group locates a family, you’ll be permitted a full hour in their presence, an unforgettable experience observing these gentle, endangered giants. You’ll return to your accommodation afterwards for a well-earned rest following a strenuous trek. Those interested can opt to visit the local community in the afternoon, at additional cost, or simply continue relaxing.

After breakfast, you’ll set off for Lake Mburo National Park via Mbarara City, arriving at your accommodation in good time to rest before an afternoon-to-evening game drive. Expect sightings of the park’s giant eland antelope, zebra, topi, impala, Uganda kob and Cape buffalo, among others. An optional night game drive is available at additional cost for those interested in encountering the park’s nocturnal wildlife, a genuinely rare sighting compared to daytime game viewing.

An early breakfast precedes a guided bush walk through Lake Mburo, accompanied by an armed Uganda Wildlife Authority ranger, a genuine chance for close-range encounters with zebra, giraffe, eland, topi and other antelope, alongside Cape buffalo. The trail climbs to the top of the hills for a rewarding view over Lake Mburo and beyond, taking in nine of the twelve lakes that surround the park. After checkout, you’ll hit the road for Entebbe Airport, in time for a flight at 6 pm or later.