Chimps, Savanna Wildlife and Gorillas Across Uganda
This 7-day private safari starts in Kigali and heads into western Uganda for its best-known wildlife. You’ll spend three nights in and around Queen Elizabeth National Park, with game drives, a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel and a chimpanzee trek in Kalinzu Forest Reserve. Then you’ll continue south to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for a mountain gorilla trek.
On the way back, you’ll cross into Rwanda for a golden monkey trek in Volcanoes National Park before returning to Kigali. Compared with our 4-day Uganda double gorilla safari, which focuses on two gorilla treks, this tour swaps the second trek for Uganda’s savanna wildlife and chimpanzees.
Why You’ll Love This Safari
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Trip Details
Trip Details
Price
Price on request. Tell us your dates and group size, and we’ll send you a quote.
Meeting point
Kigali
Availability
Year-round, 7 days a week
Duration
7 days
Group size
Min. 1 person
Included
- Park fees (for non-residents)
- Uganda gorilla permit (one per person, non-resident)
- Chimpanzee trekking permit for Kalinzu Forest Reserve (one per person, non-resident)
- Golden monkey permit for Volcanoes National Park (one per person, non-resident)
- Game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Kazinga Channel boat cruise
- All activities (unless labeled as optional)
- All accommodations (unless listed as upgrade)
- A professional driver/guide
- Private safari vehicle: a 4×4 Land Cruiser, Toyota Prado or safari van, depending on group size
- All transportation (unless labeled as optional)
- All taxes/VAT
- Roundtrip airport transfer
- Meals (as specified in the day-by-day section)
- Drinking water (on all days)
Not included
- International flights (from/to home)
- Additional accommodations before and at the end of the tour
- Tips
- Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
- Porter fees
- Optional activities (such as the Kigali city tour on Day 1)
What to bring
- Waterproof jacket
- Warm jacket (early mornings can be cold)
- Neutral-colored clothing (avoid bright colors)
- Long-sleeved shirt
- Long pants
- Good hiking shoes
- Gaiters (for mud and nettles)
- Hat
- Gloves
- Light backpack
- Sunscreen
- Snacks
- Light face mask
- Binoculars
- Insect repellent
- Passport (you’ll cross into Uganda and back)
Participation requirements
Min. age of 15 years old required to participate in this tour. A reasonable level of fitness is recommended for the chimpanzee, gorilla and golden monkey treks.
About your guide
Your safari will be led by an experienced local guide who will share facts about the wildlife, landscapes, and culture. Your guide is dedicated to ensuring your safari is safe, informative, and tailored to your interests.
What You’ll See & Do
Day 1: Arrival in Kigali
Your guide will meet you at Kigali International Airport and take you to your hotel in the city. Depending on when you land, you can rest after your flight or add an optional Kigali city tour, with stops such as the Kigali Genocide Memorial, a craft market or one of the city’s cafés.
Kigali has a reputation for clean, safe streets and green hillsides, which makes it an easy place to start. The evening is free. You’ll have dinner at your hotel and an early night, as tomorrow starts with breakfast and a full day on the road into Uganda.
Meals Included: Dinner
Overnight: Park Inn by Radisson Kigali
Day 2: Kigali to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After an early breakfast, you’ll leave Kigali and drive north through Rwanda’s hills to the Uganda border. Once across, the road continues through farmland, tea plantations and small villages to Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of Uganda’s most popular parks, known for its crater lakes and wide range of wildlife.
It’s a full day on the road, with stops along the way to stretch your legs and take photos. You’ll check in at your lodge on the edge of the park in time to relax, enjoy the view and have dinner.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Aardvark Safari Lodge
Day 3: Chimpanzee Trekking in Kalinzu and Afternoon Game Drive
After breakfast, you’ll drive to Kalinzu Forest Reserve for chimpanzee trekking. Following a briefing from the rangers, you’ll walk into the rainforest to find a habituated chimp community, watching for other primates and brightly colored birds along the way.
After lunch, you’ll head into Queen Elizabeth National Park for an afternoon game drive. Look for elephants, buffalo, Uganda kob and warthogs, and with luck lions or even a leopard. Then you’ll check in at your lodge inside the park for the next two nights.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Mweya Safari Lodge
Day 4: Morning Game Drive and Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise
You’ll set out early for a morning game drive, when the animals are most active. Search the plains and bush for elephants, buffalo, lions, hyenas and antelope, and keep an eye out for the park’s many birds.
After lunch at the lodge, you’ll board a boat on the Kazinga Channel, the waterway that links Lake George and Lake Edward. The channel is home to one of the largest hippo populations in Africa, along with Nile crocodiles and plenty of water birds, all seen at close range from the water. You’ll be back at the lodge in the late afternoon.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Mweya Safari Lodge
Day 5: Queen Elizabeth to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
After breakfast, you’ll leave Queen Elizabeth and drive south into the highlands of southwestern Uganda, past terraced hillsides, patches of forest and farming villages. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and protects nearly half of the world’s mountain gorillas.
You’ll reach your lodge near the Rushaga area of the park with time to settle in and enjoy the quiet of the forest. In the evening, your guide will brief you on the gorilla trek and help you get your gear ready.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge
Day 6: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi and Transfer to Rwanda
After an early breakfast, you’ll report to park headquarters for the briefing, then follow experienced rangers into the dense forest to look for a habituated gorilla family. The trek can take several hours, depending on where the gorillas are feeding. Once you find them, you’ll have one hour to watch them feed, play and interact. When the hour is up, you’ll walk back out of the forest with the rangers.
After lunch, you’ll leave Bwindi, cross back into Rwanda and continue to your lodge near Volcanoes National Park for dinner and the night.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Day 7: Golden Monkey Trekking and Return to Kigali
After breakfast, you’ll head into Volcanoes National Park for a golden monkey trek. These endangered monkeys, with their bright orange-gold coats, live in the bamboo forest at the foot of the volcanoes and move quickly through the stems as they feed. Your guide will also explain the conservation work that protects the Virunga Mountains.
After lunch, you’ll drive back to Kigali through the hills, with time for souvenir shopping if your flight allows, before your transfer to Kigali International Airport.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Frequently Asked Questions
The 4-day Uganda tours focus on primates in the mountains, with gorilla trekking in Uganda and golden monkeys in Rwanda. This 7-day safari adds three nights around Queen Elizabeth National Park, with game drives, a Kazinga Channel boat cruise and chimpanzee trekking in Kalinzu Forest. You still trek gorillas in Bwindi and golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park, so you see savanna wildlife as well as primates.
The gorilla trek in Bwindi is a moderate to challenging hike on steep, often muddy trails and can take several hours, depending on where the family is. The chimpanzee trek in Kalinzu follows rainforest paths, and the golden monkey trek stays in bamboo forest at the foot of the volcanoes. A reasonable level of fitness is recommended. Porters can carry your bag, but porter fees are not included.
Your price includes one Uganda gorilla permit, one chimpanzee permit for Kalinzu and one golden monkey permit per person, along with the Kazinga Channel boat cruise, game drives and park fees for non-residents. Uganda’s gorilla permit is $800, or $600 in April, May and November, when permits cannot be rescheduled. Tips, porter fees, visas and travel insurance are not included.
For how gorilla permits are priced and booked, see our gorilla trekking permit cost guide and our guide to the full cost of a gorilla trek.
Yes. You’ll need visas for both Uganda and Rwanda on this trip. The East Africa Tourist Visa covers Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya together, which makes it a good fit for a tour that crosses between Rwanda and Uganda twice. Keep your passport with you on Day 2 and Day 6 for the border crossings.
Book as early as you can, since only a limited number of gorilla permits are issued each day, and about six months ahead for July and August, the busiest months. A 50% deposit confirms your booking. Because this is a private tour, we can also adjust it, for example by adding a night in Kigali or a second gorilla trek in Rwanda.
Our guide to the best time for gorilla trekking compares the dry and rainy months.
