4-Day Uganda Gorilla and Chimpanzee Trekking Safari

You'll leave Entebbe early for the long drive west to Kibale National Park, roughly six to seven hours on tarmac and murram roads that climb steadily toward the Rwenzori foothills. Your guide will break the journey at Fort Portal, passing crater lakes and tea estates as the landscape shifts from lakeside lowland to the cooler, forested hills around 1,500 metres. Expect a stop for lunch en route, with the afternoon light softening over the plantations as you near the park boundary.

You'll arrive at Rweteera Safari Park Camp in the late afternoon, with time to settle in before dinner. The camp sits on the edge of Kibale's forest, and you may hear chimpanzee calls or hornbills as evening sets in, a preview of the tracking ahead the following morning.

After an early breakfast you'll head into Kibale Forest for chimpanzee tracking, following rangers along narrow trails beneath a dense canopy of figs and mahoganies. Kibale holds one of Uganda's largest habituated chimp communities, and you'll spend up to an hour observing them once found, watching their social behaviour and listening to the calls that carry through the forest. Red colobus and other forest monkeys are often seen along the way.

By midday you'll set off on the long drive south to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, roughly six to eight hours through rolling farmland and terraced hillsides, with the terrain growing steeper as you approach the Rushaga sector. You'll reach Rushaga Gorilla Lodge in the evening, perched above the forest with views over Bwindi's tangled ridgelines, ready for gorilla trekking the next day.

Your gorilla trek begins early with a briefing at the Rushaga ranger post, where guides assign groups based on the location of habituated families. The walk into Bwindi's dense, tangled forest can take anywhere from one to several hours over steep, muddy terrain, but the reward is up to an hour spent close to a mountain gorilla family, watching silverbacks, mothers and juveniles move through the undergrowth. Porters are available if you'd like extra help on the climb.

After returning to the lodge for a late lunch, you'll drive roughly two hours south to Lake Bunyonyi, a striking body of water ringed by terraced hills and scattered islands. A short boat transfer brings you to Itambira Island Resort, where you can relax on the shore, take a dugout canoe out onto the calm water, or simply enjoy the change of pace after two days of trekking.

You'll wake to views over Lake Bunyonyi's terraced hills, with time for a final canoe paddle or a walk along the island shoreline before checking out. A short boat ride returns you to the mainland, where your vehicle will be waiting for the long drive back to Entebbe, around eight to nine hours depending on road conditions and stops.

Your guide will break the journey with a lunch stop, often near Mbarara or Lake Mburo's outskirts, before continuing through the Kampala corridor toward the airport. You'll arrive in Entebbe in the evening, in time to connect with an onward or international flight, closing a trip that combined chimpanzee tracking, gorilla trekking and a night on Uganda's most scenic lake.