8 Days Experience Gorillas, Chimps And Big 5 Game Drives

Depart Entebbe or Kampala early and drive northwest to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda's largest protected area. En route, stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for optional rhino tracking (additional fee). Arrive at the park in the afternoon and check in at your lodge. Enjoy an evening game drive across the northern bank of the Nile. Overnight at your Murchison Falls lodge.

A full day in Murchison Falls. Morning game drive on the northern bank, lion, elephant, giraffe, buffalo, and a remarkable diversity of antelope. In the afternoon, embark on a boat cruise along the Nile to the base of Murchison Falls, where the entire Nile forces itself through a 7-metre gap in the rocks and plunges 43 metres. Hippos, Nile crocodiles, shoebill stork, and dozens of waterbird species line the banks. Overnight at your lodge.

Drive south from Murchison Falls through Fort Portal to Kibale Forest National Park. Kibale is home to 13 primate species, more than any other habitat in East Africa, including the world's highest concentration of chimpanzees. Check in at your Kibale lodge and enjoy the forest atmosphere in the afternoon. Optional evening nature walks through the forest edges.

Rise early for chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest. Walk with expert guides through dense tropical forest in search of habituated chimp communities. The experience is intimate and extraordinary, chimps in Kibale are among the most reliably seen in Africa. After the trek, drive south to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Afternoon arrival and check in. Overnight at Queen Elizabeth.

Morning game drive on the Kasenyi plains, searching for lion, leopard, elephant, and the park's famous tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector. The afternoon brings the Kazinga Channel boat cruise, 40km of waterway between Lake George and Lake Edward teeming with hippos, crocodiles, and waterbirds. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Drive south through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, home to the famous tree-climbing lions often spotted resting in fig trees. Continue to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, one of Africa's most ancient and biodiverse forests, covering 321 square kilometres in southwestern Uganda. Check in at your Bwindi lodge. Briefing from the rangers on what to expect during tomorrow's gorilla trek. Overnight at Bwindi.

The highlight of the safari. After an early breakfast and ranger briefing, set off into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to track one of the habituated mountain gorilla families. The trek can take 2–6 hours depending on where the gorillas have moved overnight. Once found, you spend one full hour with the family, observing, photographing, and experiencing one of the most moving wildlife encounters on earth. Mountain gorillas are found only in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC. After the trek, transfer to the beautiful Lake Bunyonyi, a crater lake studded with 29 small islands. Overnight at Lake Bunyonyi.

After breakfast, enjoy the morning at Lake Bunyonyi before departing for Entebbe. The drive takes approximately 5–6 hours. Stop in Mbarara for lunch before continuing north. Arrive Entebbe in the evening in time for your international flight home. Transfer to Entebbe International Airport to mark the end of this 8-day Uganda gorilla and safari circuit.