How many days is the 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari?

The 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari is 12 days and 11 nights, operating year-round from Uganda.

How much does the 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari cost?

The 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari is priced on request depending on your group size, dates, and accommodation preferences. Contact Orika Africa Tours for a free tailor-made quote: hi@orikaafrica.com or +256 707 916 185.

What is included in the 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari?

The 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari in Uganda includes all accommodation, meals, park fees, private safari vehicle with an experienced guide-driver, and 24/7 support from Orika Africa Tours. Uganda's UTB-licensed Tour Operator & DMC. We welcome solo travellers, couples, families, and larger groups.

Is the 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari suitable for first-time safari visitors?

Yes. Orika Africa Tours designs every itinerary from scratch around your group's fitness, interests, and budget. The 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari is available as a private safari, no shared vehicles, no fixed groups, ever.

What is the best time to go on the 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari in Uganda?

The 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari in Uganda runs year-round. The dry seasons (June to August and December to February) offer the best conditions for game drives and trekking. Contact Orika Africa Tours for month-by-month advice.

12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari

12 days is enough to see the very best of Uganda's astonishing wildlife on a single overland journey, without rushing. The route opens in the north at Murchison Falls, where the Nile is forced through a narrow gorge before fanning out across plains grazed by elephant, giraffe and lion, with on-foot rhino tracking at Ziwa on the drive up. From there it turns south through the forests: chimpanzee tracking in Kibale, Big Five game drives and a Kazinga Channel cruise in Queen Elizabeth, and the trip's centrepiece, an unhurried hour with a mountain gorilla family in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

The closing days slow the pace right down, with a restful interlude on the island-dotted waters of Lake Bunyonyi and a final walking safari in Lake Mburo, the one Ugandan park where you can stroll among zebra and impala on foot. For the timing that suits you best, see our guide to gorilla trekking, and for the parks in more depth, browse the Uganda destination guide.

Travelling on into Rwanda as well? The 16 Days Remarkable Uganda & Rwanda safari extends a similar route across the border to the Virunga volcanoes, while the 13 Days Uganda & Rwanda Safari pairs gorilla trekking on both sides of the frontier.

Trip Highlights

Mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest
On-foot white rhino tracking at Ziwa
Murchison Falls game drive and Nile boat safari
Queen Elizabeth game drives and the Kazinga Channel cruise
Tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha sector
Walking safari in Lake Mburo National Park

Day-by-Day Itinerary

On arrival at Entebbe International Airport you are met by our concierge team and assisted through immigration before being introduced to your private driver-guide. A short transfer brings you to your handpicked hotel on the shores of Lake Victoria, where the evening is yours to settle in and rest ahead of the journey to come.

After breakfast you head north towards Murchison Falls, Uganda's largest national park. The drive breaks at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a guided rhino tracking experience on foot, the only place in the country to see white rhino in the wild. Continuing into the park, you pause at the Top of the Falls, where the entire Nile is squeezed through a narrow cleft in the rock, before arriving at your lodge in the late afternoon.

An early morning game drive across the northern plains brings encounters with elephant, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo, lion and herds of Uganda kob. In the afternoon a relaxed boat safari cruises upstream to the foot of the falls, passing hippo pods, basking crocodiles and a procession of waterbirds along the riverbanks.

A scenic drive south takes you through rolling tea country and the town of Fort Portal to Kibale Forest, the primate capital of East Africa. You arrive at your forest-edge lodge in time to unwind, with the calls of the rainforest as your soundtrack for the evening.

After a briefing, you set off into Kibale's ancient forest to track a habituated chimpanzee community, watching them feed, groom and move through the canopy overhead. A walk through the community-run Bigodi Wetland adds birds and monkeys before you transfer south to Queen Elizabeth National Park for the evening.

A morning game drive across the Kasenyi plains seeks out lion, elephant and the park's vast kob herds. In the afternoon you board a boat on the Kazinga Channel, a natural waterway linking Lakes Edward and George that draws extraordinary concentrations of hippo, buffalo, elephant and birdlife to its shores.

Travelling south, you game-drive through the remote Ishasha sector in search of its famous tree-climbing lions, often found draped in the branches of fig trees above the plains. The landscape then rises into the mist-cloaked highlands of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, where you settle into your lodge on the edge of the ancient forest.

Today is the heart of the journey. After a briefing at the park headquarters, you follow expert trackers into the dense forest in search of a habituated gorilla family. The hour spent in their presence, watching a silverback hold court while juveniles tumble nearby, is among the most profound wildlife encounters anywhere on earth. The rest of the day is yours to rest and reflect.

A gentle drive brings you to Lake Bunyonyi, a serene expanse of emerald water folded between terraced hills and scattered with islands. The day is given over to leisure, whether that means a quiet canoe, a lakeside walk, or simply taking in one of the most beautiful views in the region from your retreat.

You transfer to Lake Mburo, a compact and uncrowded park of open acacia savannah. As the day cools, a sunset game drive reveals zebra, impala, eland and topi grazing in golden light, a gentle contrast to the forests and falls of the days before.

A guided walking safari at Lake Mburo lets you experience the bush on foot alongside a ranger, reading tracks and approaching plains game quietly. Afterwards you begin the drive back towards Entebbe, pausing at the Equator for photographs, and gather in the evening for a farewell dinner.

After a leisurely breakfast you are transferred to the airport for your onward flight, carrying home the memory of gorillas in the mist, chimpanzees in the canopy and the great river of the north.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the gorilla trekking permit included in this safari?

Yes. The 12 Days Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari includes the Bwindi gorilla permit and the Kibale chimpanzee permit, along with all park fees, so there are no surprise costs on the ground.

How fit do I need to be for the gorilla trek?

A moderate level of fitness is enough. The Bwindi trek can last from one to several hours over steep, forested terrain, and porters are available to carry your daypack and help on the climb.

What will I see beyond the gorillas?

The route adds chimpanzees in Kibale, Big Five game drives and a Kazinga Channel cruise in Queen Elizabeth, the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha, rhino tracking at Ziwa, and a walking safari in Lake Mburo.

Can this safari be combined with Rwanda?

Yes. The route extends naturally across the border. See our 16 Days Uganda to Rwanda Gorilla Safari, or ask us about a tailor-made combination.