UGANDA · THE PEARL OF AFRICA
Half the world’s mountain gorillas live here.
Gorilla treks in Bwindi, Big Five safaris through Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth, white water at the source of the Nile, and the rush of Kampala. The trips worth taking across the Pearl of Africa.
Only in Uganda
The three reasons people fly to Uganda.
Plenty of countries run a game drive. Almost none can put you in a forest with mountain gorillas, on the trail of wild chimps, and at the gorge where the entire Nile is forced through seven metres of rock.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Sit with a mountain gorilla.
There are only about a thousand mountain gorillas left on earth, and roughly half of them live in this one forest. You trek through the undergrowth until you are a few metres from a family — the silverback, the females, the young — and the guides give you an hour with them. Only Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC can offer it, and Bwindi has the most.
- 1 3 Days gorilla trekking Safari tour in Uganda
- 2 8-Day Murchison Falls, Chimp and Epic Gorilla Trekking Safari
- 3 5-Day Pearl of Africa Chimps and Gorilla Trekking Safari
Kibale Forest
Track wild chimpanzees on foot.
Kibale holds the densest population of primates in Africa — thirteen species, and around 1,500 chimpanzees. Trackers follow the calls through the canopy until you are standing under a troop as it feeds, grooms and crashes overhead. The closest thing there is to gorilla trekking, in a forest built for it.
- 1 8-Day Murchison Falls, Chimp and Epic Gorilla Trekking
- 2 5 Days Uganda Gorilla, Chimpanzee and Wildlife Safari
- 3 5 Day Gorillas, Wildlife and Kalinzu Forest Chimp Trek
Murchison Falls
Watch the Nile lose its temper.
At Murchison the entire River Nile is squeezed through a gap barely seven metres wide and thrown down a 43-metre drop. You feel it before you see it. A boat carries you to the foot of the falls past hippos, crocodiles and elephants on the bank — big game on one side, the most violent stretch of the longest river on earth on the other.
- 1 3 Days Murchison Falls Adventure Wildlife Safari Uganda Tour
- 2 3-Day Safari Murchison Falls Safari
- 3 3-Day Ultimate Big Five Safari – Murchison Falls & Rhinos
Plan your trip
How long have you got?
The one question that shapes a Ugandan trip. The gorillas are the fixed point; what you add to them depends on the days you can spare.
Just the gorillas.
Fly into Entebbe, transfer down to Bwindi, trek at dawn and out. The shortest way to stand a few metres from a mountain gorilla when a long weekend is all you can spare.
Short gorilla trips →Gorillas and a safari.
Pair the trek with Queen Elizabeth or Murchison and you get both halves of Uganda: an hour with the gorillas, then lions, elephants and a boat cruise out on the savanna.
A week in Uganda →The whole Pearl of Africa.
Bwindi for the gorillas, Kibale for the chimps, the savanna parks for the Big Five, Jinja for the Nile. The full loop, at a pace that is not a blur.
The grand circuit →The crowd favourite
If you only book one, make it this.
More travellers book this than any other Uganda trip. A reliable first taste of the country before you head for the forests and the parks.
The favourites
Uganda’s Most Popular Experiences
Gorilla treks, Murchison safaris, Kampala on foot, the Nile at Jinja. The trips travellers book again and again.
By region
Start with a region.
Bwindi for the gorillas. Murchison for the Nile and the Big Five. Queen Elizabeth for the lions and the boat. Kampala to find your feet. Kibale for the chimps. Jinja for the white water.
By kind of trip
Or pick the kind of trip.
Gorilla trek if you came for the primates. Safari if you want the Big Five. Hiking for Sipi Falls and the Rwenzori. Cycling and rafting if you can’t sit still. Walking tours to read a city. Boat cruises for the hippos.
The grand loop
When you’ve got a week to give it.
The multi-day safaris that string the parks together — gorillas, savanna and the Nile on one route. Three we’d build a first trip around.
On foot
For travellers who’d rather climb.
Sipi Falls on the flank of Mount Elgon, the Rwenzori snowline, the crater rims out west. Our three favourite walks for the days between game drives.
The capital
Give Kampala a day before you fly out.
Most trips treat the city as an airport with traffic. If you give it a day, here are the three ways we’d spend it — markets, mosques, boda-bodas and all.
Just added