19 Days Best Safari in Uganda

Arrival at Entebbe International Airport

Arrive at Entebbe International Airport where your driver/guide will meet you at the arrivals lounge holding an Evajo Tours & Travel sign. Transfer to your guesthouse in Entebbe — approximately 10 minutes from the airport. Check in, freshen up, and relax after your journey. Your guide will brief you on the 19-day adventure ahead. Entebbe is a charming lakeside town on the shores of Lake Victoria — the world's second-largest freshwater lake — and the surrounding botanical gardens are worth an evening stroll. Dinner and overnight at Entebbe guesthouse.

Warm welcome to the Pearl of Africa — shores of Lake Victoria

Entebbe to Lake Mburo National Park via the Equator · Lake Mburo National Park

After a Ugandan breakfast, begin the drive south-west to Lake Mburo National Park with a stopover at the Uganda Equator monument at Kayabwe — one of the two points where the tarmac Kampala–Mbarara road crosses the equator. Enjoy the famous water-flow experiment and take photos straddling the line between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Continue to Lake Mburo National Park — Uganda's smallest savannah park and the only park in the country where zebras are found. Arrive in the late afternoon for an evening game drive, spotting zebras, buffaloes, impalas, warthogs, and waterbucks at close range. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Equator experience + zebras at Lake Mburo National Park

Lake Mburo Nature Walk & Lake Bunyonyi — Relaxation & Island Exploration · Lake Bunyonyi

Morning guided walking safari in Lake Mburo — the best way to get close to zebras, Defassa waterbuck, eland, topi, and Cape buffalo on foot with an armed ranger guide. The lakeside trail also passes through acacia woodland rich in birds. After the walk, drive south through the scenic Kigezi Highlands to Lake Bunyonyi — one of the most beautiful lakes in Africa, sitting at 1,962 m above sea level, bilharzia-free, and ringed by steeply terraced hills. Spend the next two days relaxing at the resort, exploring the lake's 29 islands by canoe or motorboat, visiting Punishment Island (where unmarried mothers were once exiled), shopping at local markets, kayaking, and enjoying the cool highland air. Dinners and overnights at lodge on Lake Bunyonyi.

Walking safari at Lake Mburo + 2 leisure days on Lake Bunyonyi

Golden Monkey Tracking at Mgahinga & Transfer to Bwindi · Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After breakfast, drive to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park for golden monkey tracking — a briefing at the park headquarters is followed by a guided trek into the bamboo forests in search of the habituated golden monkey family (Cercopithecus kandti). Golden monkeys live at lower altitudes so the trek rarely exceeds 3 hours, and you are rewarded with 1 hour in the company of these vivid, lively primates as they leap through bamboo stems and groom each other in family groups. Minimum age 12 years. After tracking, drive north through the Kigezi Highlands to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Dinner and overnight near Bwindi.

Golden monkey tracking in the bamboo forests of Mgahinga

Mountain Gorilla Trekking — Bwindi Impenetrable Forest · Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Receive an early morning briefing by Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers at park headquarters — covering gorilla behaviour, forest rules, and health precautions. Transfer to the trekking start point and enter the ancient Bwindi forest. The search for the habituated gorilla family can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on where they have moved; the trek involves scrambling through dense undergrowth, over mossy roots, and up steep ridges. When you hear the first crash of vegetation and the jungle parts to reveal silverbacks, juveniles at play, and nursing mothers — the effort instantly becomes worthwhile. Spend one unforgettable hour with the gorillas before trekking back. Dinner and overnight near Bwindi.

Mountain gorilla trekking permit (USD 700 per person) included

Bwindi to Queen Elizabeth NP via Ishasha — Tree-Climbing Lions · Queen Elizabeth National Park

After breakfast, drive north through the Kigezi Highlands to Queen Elizabeth National Park, entering through the remote Ishasha sector in the south — the only place in Africa (outside the Congo) where lions regularly climb and rest in large fig trees. Spend the afternoon on a game drive through the Ishasha circuit, scanning the broad branches of towering fig trees for lions at rest, and the grassland below for Uganda Kob, topi, buffalo, elephant, and sitatunga in the marshes. The sector's remoteness and low visitor numbers make for an exclusive and atmospheric safari experience. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Tree-climbing lions at Ishasha — unique to this corner of Africa

Sunrise Game Drive & Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise — Queen Elizabeth NP · Queen Elizabeth National Park

An early morning game drive across Queen Elizabeth's grassy plains, tropical forests, volcanic craters, and river valleys — scanning for nocturnal animals still active at dawn: lions, leopards, hyenas, giant forest hogs, and Cape buffalo. Return for lunch, then in the afternoon board a boat on the famous Kazinga Channel — the natural waterway linking Lake George to Lake Edward — for a 2-hour cruise alongside one of the highest hippo concentrations in Africa. Nile crocodiles line the banks, African fish eagles call overhead, and enormous herds of buffalo and elephant come down to drink as the boat drifts past. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Kazinga Channel boat cruise — hippos, crocs & elephants

Morning Game Drive & Transfer to Kibale — Bigodi Swamp Walk · Kibale Forest National Park

Early morning game drive before checking out — a final sweep through the park for elephants, lions, and the vivid Uganda Kob. Then drive north through the scenic Fort Portal area to Kibale Forest National Park — home to the highest density of primates in Africa. In the afternoon, join a guided community walk through Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary bordering the park: a community-managed papyrus swamp home to 8 primate species (including red colobus, grey-cheeked mangabeys, and black-and-white colobus), over 200 bird species, monitor lizards, and butterflies. Dinner and overnight near Kibale.

Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary — 8 primate species in a papyrus swamp

Chimpanzee Trekking & Crater Lakes Hike — Kibale Forest · Kibale Forest National Park

Morning briefing at Kibale National Park headquarters before entering the forest for chimpanzee trekking (permit USD 200 per person). Track habituated chimpanzee communities with experienced ranger guides through the world's most diverse primate forest — spending one hour observing chimps as they groom, play, feed, and swing through the canopy at close range. The forest is also home to L'Hoest's monkeys, blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, and forest elephants. In the afternoon, hike to the highest vantage point above the park for panoramic views of the stunning Fort Portal crater lakes — dozens of deep volcanic lakes set among rolling hills and tea plantations. Dinner and overnight near Kibale.

Chimpanzee trekking + Fort Portal crater lakes viewpoint hike

Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park · Murchison Falls National Park

After breakfast, begin the long but scenic drive north to Murchison Falls National Park — a journey of approximately 5 to 7 hours through Ugandan countryside, passing tea estates, tropical forest fringes, small market towns, and the rolling Albertine Rift landscape. Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda's largest national park, bisected by the River Nile where it squeezes through a 7-metre cleft and drops 40 metres in a thunderous cascade. Arrive in time for dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Sunrise Game Drive & Victoria Nile Boat Cruise — Murchison Falls · Murchison Falls National Park

Pre-dawn breakfast for a sunrise game drive across the northern savannah — Murchison Falls is famous for its population of Rothschild's giraffes, one of the world's most endangered giraffe subspecies, alongside massive elephant herds, Cape buffalo, Uganda Kob, oribi, waterbuck, lions, and leopards. Return for lunch, then in the afternoon board a boat for a 3-hour safari upstream on the Victoria Nile to the base of Murchison Falls — passing Nile crocodiles, hippos, shoebill storks (in the papyrus channels), herons, pelicans, and African skimmers. Optional: after the boat, hike to the top of the falls for a dramatic viewpoint of the Nile forcing through the 7-metre cleft. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Rothschild's giraffes + Victoria Nile boat safari to Murchison Falls

Transfer to Kidepo Valley National Park via Gulu & Kitgum · Kidepo Valley National Park

After breakfast, set off on the long drive north-east to Kidepo Valley National Park — Uganda's most remote national park and one of Africa's finest wildernesses. The route passes through Gulu City and Kitgum District, cutting through the vast semi-arid landscapes of Karamoja with traditional homesteads, acacia woodlands, and dramatic mountain ridges. Stop for lunch en route. Arrive at Kidepo in time for a brief evening game drive or sunset at the lodge. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Guided Walk & Afternoon Game Drive — Kidepo Valley NP · Kidepo Valley National Park

Begin early with a guided walking safari in Kidepo — an armed ranger guide leads you through the Narus Valley on foot, allowing close encounters with ostriches, eland, zebras, and buffalo that are impossible to replicate from a vehicle. The walk also passes through the area of the Kanangorok Hot Springs — a geothermal feature unique to Kidepo and not found in any other Ugandan national park. In the afternoon, head out for a full game drive across the Narus Valley in search of the park's impressive predator population: lions, leopards, cheetahs, and jackals, as well as massive elephant herds, giraffes, and over 475 bird species. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Kanangorok Hot Springs + guided walking safari in Kidepo

Kidepo to Kotido — Nakapelemoru Village & Transfer to Moroto

After an early breakfast, drive south to Kotido District for a cultural visit to Nakapelemoru — reportedly the largest traditional village in East Africa and home to the Jie people, a sub-group of the Karamojong tribe. Meet the community leaders, observe daily life in the kraals, learn about the Karamojong's cattle-centric culture, their colourful blankets and beadwork, and their traditional dances. The Jie people have maintained their nomadic pastoral lifestyle for centuries despite modern pressures. After the cultural visit, continue south to Moroto town for dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Nakapelemoru — the largest traditional village in East Africa

Moroto to Sipi Falls via Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve · Sipi Falls

After breakfast, drive south from Moroto to Sipi Falls through the Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve — Uganda's second-largest game reserve, a semi-arid expanse on the escarpment of Mount Elgon hosting roan antelope, eland, ostriches, and large buffalo herds. The route offers stunning views of the Mount Elgon massif as you descend into the Mbale area. Arrive at Sipi Falls — a series of three dramatic waterfalls on the slopes of Mount Elgon at 1,500 m, with views across the plains of eastern Uganda. Settle in and enjoy the cool highland air. Dinner and overnight near Sipi Falls.

Scenic drive through Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve to Sipi Falls

Sipi Falls Hike, Natural Pool Swim & Coffee Farm Tour · Sipi Falls

A full day to explore Sipi Falls and the surrounding Sebei cultural landscape. Begin with a guided hike to the top of the main falls — the largest of the three cascades drops 100 metres into a misty gorge with a natural pool below ideal for a refreshing swim. The trail continues to two more waterfalls through banana plantations and Sebei villages. In the afternoon, visit a local Arabica coffee farmer to learn the full coffee production process — from cherry picking and pulping on the farm to wet fermentation, sun drying on raised beds, hulling, and finally roasting and tasting a cup of single-origin Mount Elgon Arabica. Dinner and overnight near Sipi Falls.

Sipi Falls hike, natural pool swim & Arabica coffee farm tour

Sipi Falls to Entebbe — Final Drive & Departure

After breakfast, begin the drive back west to Entebbe — a journey of approximately 5 to 6 hours through Iganga, Jinja, and Kampala. Stop for lunch en route and take time for any final souvenir shopping in Kampala or Jinja. Arrive at Entebbe International Airport at least 2 hours before your scheduled international flight. Your driver/guide will assist with luggage and check-in formalities. We hope you carry home extraordinary memories and a deep love for the Pearl of Africa.

Farewell to Uganda — the Pearl of Africa