5 days uganda gorillas and wildlife safari

Overview

This Uganda gorillas and wildlife holiday will take you on a wonderful journey to experience the classic wildlife of the African savannah as well as the incredible gorillas of the rainforest.

You will go to Queen Elizabeth National Park and see wildlife such as elephants, lions, leopards, buffalos, hippos, and much more on game drives and boat cruises. In Bwindi, you will trek through the dense forest and steep slopes for your face-to-face encounter with the endangered mountain gorillas.

As a relatively short holiday, this safari manages to show you the absolute highlights of African wildlife. Beyond the wildlife, you will also get to experience the culture of the local Ugandans and learn about their ways and customs.

This is a perfect safari for people whose schedule only allows a few days.

Take a look at the detailed day-by-day itinerary to get a better idea of how it would work out for you. Keep in mind that our trips are fully customizable and we can tailor them to your specific needs.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Your driver/guide will pick you up in the morning from your accommodation in Kampala or Entebbe. You will then head west and drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park via Fort Portal.

The journey will take around 8 hours as you go through the Ugandan countryside with many small towns, villages, roadside markets, and lush greenery.

You will have a stopover in Fort Portal town for lunch before continuing to Queen Elizabeth N.P. This last drive will follow the epic backdrop of the mystical Rwenzori Mountain ranges.

You will reach Queen Elizabeth in time for an evening game drive where you will spot some animals such as elephants, hippos, and buffalos among others. You will then check in at the lodge and wind down from the day’s excitement.

Accommodation: Bush Lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 2: Wildlife Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park

After breakfast, you will go for an early morning wildlife safari game drive in this park. Queen Elizabeth National Park’s diverse ecosystem of grassy plains, tropical forests, rivers, swamps, lakes, and volcanic craters is home to an incredible abundance of wildlife.

With the massive Rwenzori Mountains as a backdrop, you will have excellent opportunities to see lions, leopards, giant forest hogs, cape buffalos, elephants, defassa waterbuck, Uganda Kobs, Topi, and bushbuck.

After lunch, you will go for a 2–3-hour boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel and into Lake Edward. This will take you through possibly the highest concentration of hippos. Many animals may be seen drinking at the water’s edge.

This launch cruise offers great opportunities for photography, bird watching, and game viewing. The prolific bird life is colorful and stupendous, with more than 600 different species.

Accommodation: Bush Lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 3: Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After your breakfast, you will be driven from Queen Elizabeth to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. This is a 6-hour journey passing through the Kigezi Highlands, an area known as the “Switzerland of Africa."

The journey takes you through terraced hills and winding roads to the Bwindi Forest. You will have a stopover in Kabale for lunch.

Accommodation: Rushaga Gorilla Lodge / Buhoma Community Rest Camp

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Today is the big day! Prepare yourself for an encounter with the gentle giants; the rare mountain gorillas.

For most people, this is the absolute highlight of their trip. You will go into the forest in groups of not more than 8 in search of mountain gorillas. En route, your guide will point out previous signs of gorilla activity such as dung, nests, and chewed bamboo shoots.

Your trek will be an exciting journey along forested slopes, entwined vines, bushes, and bamboo. Upon finding the gorillas, you will spend a maximum of 1 hour with them, after which you will be led back to the starting point.

Accommodation:  Rushaga Gorilla Lodge / Buhoma Community Rest Camp

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 5: Drive back to Kampala

After an early breakfast, your driver/guide will drive you from Bwindi to Kampala. This is a long drive of approximately 9 hours that will take you from the cooler mountainous altitude of the Kigezi Highlands to the lower undulating landscape of Ankole and Buganda, with large farms and plantations dotted with villages and small towns.

You will have several stopovers along the way including the equator crossing in Kayabwe for some pictures. Depending on the schedule of your next flight, a few more stopovers can be added by your guide.

You should reach Kampala in the early evening hours with enough time to freshen up before your flight out of Uganda.

Accommodation: None (Last day)

Meal plan: Breakfast & Lunch