Our 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari is built for travellers who want to spend their time with Africa's great apes and monkeys, not just driving between game parks.
In twelve days you track chimpanzees in two very different forests, sit with mountain gorillas in Bwindi, follow golden monkeys through the bamboo of Mgahinga and walk the Batwa Trail with the forest's original people. Along the way you meet white rhinos on foot, search for the shoebill by canoe and look for the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha.
At a glance: this 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari covers 12 days and 11 nights, four primate encounters (Kibale chimpanzees, Kyambura Gorge chimpanzees, mountain gorillas and golden monkeys), rhino tracking at Ziwa, a rest day on a crater rim near Fort Portal, the Kazinga Channel boat cruise and a scheduled flight from Kisoro back to Entebbe. All primate permits are included.
12-Day Uganda Primate Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive in Entebbe and Drive to Jinja and the Victoria Nile
Your 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari begins in Entebbe, where your driver-guide meets you in the arrivals hall at Entebbe International Airport. After lunch on the way, you drive east through Mabira Forest to Jinja for a boat trip to the Source of the Nile, where the world's longest river begins its journey to the Mediterranean.
Continue to your lodge on the river in time for sundowners over the rapids. It is a gentle first day that lets you settle in after your international flight.
Accommodation options:
- Luxury: Wildwaters Lodge, on a private island in the Nile
- Mid-range: Jinja Nile Resort
Meal plan: lunch and dinner
Day 2: Jinja to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for Rhino Tracking on Foot
After breakfast, drive north to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, about 4 hours. Ziwa is home to Uganda's only wild rhinos, a breeding population of southern white rhinos that is slowly returning the species to the country.
In the afternoon, a sanctuary ranger leads you on foot to find the rhinos, often getting you within safe viewing distance of a mother and calf. It is one of the most memorable walks in Uganda.
Accommodation: Amuka Lodge, inside the sanctuary
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 3: Sunrise Shoebill Canoe and Drive to Fort Portal
At dawn, glide by canoe through the Lugogo swamp in search of the shoebill, the prehistoric-looking bird that birders travel across the world to see. Early morning is the best time, when the swamp is calm and the shoebill is hunting.
After breakfast, drive south via Hoima, with lunch on the way, to the crater lakes around Fort Portal. This is one of the longer drives of the safari, about 6 to 7 hours with stops, so your guide takes it at an easy pace.
Accommodation options:
- Luxury: Kyaninga Lodge, on the rim of a crater lake
- Mid-range: Crater Safari Lodge
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 4: A Rest Day on the Crater Rim
This day is free on purpose. After three days on the road from Entebbe, a full day near Fort Portal lets you rest and recharge before the busiest stretch of your 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari: two chimpanzee treks, the lions of Ishasha, the drive to Bwindi, then the gorilla and golden monkey treks.
It also means you meet the Kibale chimpanzees fresh, rather than the morning after a long drive. Spend the day as you like: a gentle guided walk around the crater lake, time by the pool, or simply the views of the Rwenzori Mountains.
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 5: Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale Forest
Start early for the short drive to Kibale Forest National Park, home to around 1,500 chimpanzees and the best place in East Africa to see them. After a briefing from Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers, you follow the calls of a habituated chimpanzee community through the forest.
Once you find them, you spend an hour watching the chimpanzees feed, groom and call through the canopy. Kibale is also home to red colobus, black-and-white colobus and L'Hoest's monkeys, so you see many more primates on the way. Read more in our guide to chimpanzees in Uganda.
After the trek, drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, about 3 hours, arriving in the afternoon.
Accommodation options:
- Luxury: Kyambura Gorge Lodge, overlooking the gorge
- Mid-range: Mweya Safari Lodge
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 6: Kyambura Gorge Chimpanzees and the Kazinga Channel
This morning you descend into Kyambura Gorge, a sunken rainforest cut into the open savanna of Queen Elizabeth National Park. A small community of chimpanzees lives in this "valley of apes", and tracking them along the river at the bottom of the gorge is a completely different experience from Kibale.
Return for lunch, then join the Kazinga Channel boat cruise at 2:00 PM. The channel links Lake George and Lake Edward and draws huge numbers of hippos, buffalo, elephants and water birds to its banks.
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Want to change the pace or the lodges?
Every 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari we run is private and tailor-made, so nothing here is fixed. Tell us your dates and budget, and we will adjust the lodges, add a night or swap an activity for you.
Day 7: Ishasha and the Tree-Climbing Lions
Game drive south through the park to the remote Ishasha sector, arriving for lunch. In the late afternoon, search the large fig trees for the famous tree-climbing lions, which rest in the branches during the heat of the day. Ishasha is also good for topi, Uganda kob and elephants.
Accommodation options:
- Luxury: Ishasha Wilderness Camp, on the Ntungwe River
- Mid-range: Ishasha Jungle Lodge
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 8: Ishasha to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
After a morning lion search, drive to the Nkuringo sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, about 5.5 to 6 hours with breaks and a packed lunch. The last stretch climbs into the hills, with views across the forest towards the Virunga volcanoes.
Accommodation options:
- Luxury: Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge
- Mid-range: Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 9: Mountain Gorilla Trekking in Nkuringo
Today is the highlight of your 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari. After an early breakfast and a ranger briefing, you set off into the forest with a small group of no more than 8 trekkers to find a habituated gorilla family. Treks in Nkuringo are steep and can take from 2 to 6 hours, so we recommend hiring a porter.
When you reach the family, you spend one hour watching them from at least 7 metres away, as the silverback keeps watch and the young ones play. Your gorilla permit is included. Read our full guide to gorilla trekking permits in Uganda and our gorilla trekking packing list.
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 10: Golden Monkeys and the Batwa Trail in Mgahinga
An early drive of about 1.5 to 2 hours takes you to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, on the slopes of the Virunga volcanoes. Here you track golden monkeys, an endangered species found only in the Albertine Rift, as they leap through the bamboo forest.
Later, walk the Batwa Trail with Batwa guides, the forest's original people, who share how their ancestors lived, hunted and gathered in the forest, ending at the sacred Garama Cave. Return to Nkuringo in the late afternoon, after the last primate encounter of your 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari.
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 11: Fly From Kisoro to Entebbe
After an early breakfast, transfer to Kisoro airstrip for the scheduled flight to Entebbe, which saves you a 9 to 10 hour drive. You land in Entebbe around midday and transfer to your hotel for lunch and a quiet afternoon by Lake Victoria.
Optional: if you missed the shoebill at Ziwa, take an afternoon canoe trip through Mabamba Swamp, about an hour from Entebbe.
Luggage note: domestic flights in Uganda allow about 15 kg per person, in soft bags only, so pack light.
Accommodation options:
- Luxury: Hotel No.5, Entebbe
- Mid-range: 2 Friends Beach Hotel, Entebbe
Meal plan: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 12: Bark Cloth, Kampala Shopping and Departure
Your 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari ends with a taste of Buganda culture. After breakfast, we arrange for you to meet a traditional bark cloth maker on the edge of Kampala, where you can see how this UNESCO-listed Buganda craft is made from the bark of the fig tree. Then enjoy souvenir shopping and lunch in the city before your transfer to Entebbe International Airport for your flight home.
Meal plan: breakfast and lunch
Why Choose This 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari
- Four primate encounters in one trip: Kibale chimpanzees, the Kyambura Gorge chimps, mountain gorillas and golden monkeys, plus many smaller monkeys along the way.
- Two very different chimpanzee treks: a classic rainforest trek in Kibale, and a trek along the river at the bottom of a sunken gorge.
- More than primates: rhinos on foot, the shoebill, the tree-climbing lions, the Kazinga Channel and the Source of the Nile.
- A comfortable pace: a planned rest day on Day 4 and a flight at the end instead of a long drive back to Entebbe.
- Culture as well as wildlife: the Batwa Trail in Mgahinga and a bark cloth experience in Kampala.
Want to understand the primates before you go? Read our primate safari guide, or browse more Uganda safaris.
Best Time for a 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari
You can do this 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari all year. The drier months, from June to September and from December to February, offer easier trails for the gorilla and chimpanzee treks. The wetter months, March to May and October to November, bring lush forests, fewer visitors and, in April, May and November, lower gorilla permit prices. Primates do not migrate, so your chances of seeing them are good in every season.
Extend Your 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari
Add a beach break in Zanzibar, a few days in Kenya's Masai Mara, or a Rwenzori Mountains hike from Fort Portal. You can also add a night at Lake Bunyonyi after Bwindi. Tell us your dates and we will build it around your flights.
More Uganda Safaris You May Like
Short on time, or want more savanna and less forest? These private safaris share the same gorillas and chimps, in a different length or style. Every one can be tailored to your dates.
Not sure which one fits? Send us your dates and how many days you have, and we will suggest the best safari for you. Chat with us on WhatsApp for a quick answer.
Book your 12-Day Uganda Primate Safari
Send us your travel dates and preferred lodges. We will check gorilla and chimpanzee permit availability and send you a free quote within 24 hours.
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