8 Days Experience Gorillas, Chimps And Big 5 Game Drives

Uganda's complete safari — gorillas in Bwindi, chimps in Kibale, and Big Five across two national parks.

Uganda is one of the best destinations in East Africa for conventional game viewing. Its savanna reserves have gradually recovered from heavy poaching during the 1970s and 1980s civil war and political unrest. Today, Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls national parks offer as good a chance of encountering lion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe, and leopard as many more celebrated game reserves — with the added advantage of a circuit that also delivers some of the finest forest primate viewing in Africa. For travelers who want to see it all, this 8-day itinerary combines the savanna spectacle of Murchison Falls (with its Nile boat safari), the primate-rich Kibale Forest, the vast wetlands and tree-climbing lions of Queen Elizabeth, and the ancient montane jungle of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park — home to more than half the world's remaining mountain gorillas. The circuit ends at Lake Bunyonyi, one of Uganda's most beautiful highland lakes. On the advantage side, Uganda's relatively low visitor numbers make this a uniquely uncrowded and intimate safari experience. Gorilla trekking and primate viewing are unlike anything offered by any other safari circuit in the world.

Safari Highlights

• Murchison Falls National Park — game drives and a Nile boat safari to the base of the falls
• Kibale Forest National Park — the highest concentration of primates in the world
• Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale — Uganda's best chimp experience
• Queen Elizabeth National Park — tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector
• Kazinga Channel boat cruise — hippos, crocodiles, and waterbirds
• Bwindi Impenetrable National Park — mountain gorilla trekking permit included
• Lake Bunyonyi — one of Uganda's most scenic highland lakes
• Drivers' allowances, lunches on the road, and drinking water throughout