The Pearl of Africa
Safaris in Uganda
Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, is primate country without equal: mountain gorillas in Bwindi's ancient forest, chimpanzees in Kibale, and golden monkeys on the Virunga slopes. Yet it is also a savannah destination in its own right, with tree-climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth's Ishasha sector and the thunder of Murchison Falls on the Nile.
Best time to go
Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Dec · Jan · Feb
Climate
Equatorial and mild: 20-28°C year-round, cooler in the gorilla highlands. Driest (best for trekking) June to August and December to February; rains peak March to May and September to November.
Currency
UGX
Languages
English, Swahili
The country
About Uganda
Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, is primate country without equal: mountain gorillas in Bwindi's ancient forest, chimpanzees in Kibale, and golden monkeys on the Virunga slopes. Yet it is also a savannah destination in its own right, with tree-climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth's Ishasha sector and the thunder of Murchison Falls on the Nile. Add white-water rafting at the source of the Nile in Jinja, the crater lakes of the west and the remote perfection of Kidepo Valley, and Uganda rewards travellers who want their wildlife with fewer vehicles and warmer welcomes.
Visas & entry
Most visitors need a Uganda eVisa (USD 50), applied for online before travel. The East Africa Tourist Visa (USD 100) covers Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya in one. Yellow fever vaccination proof is required. Confirm requirements before travel.
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Start planningThe primate capital of Africa
Uganda is the only country where you can trek mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in the same week, and still see the Big Five: four of them at Murchison Falls, and lion, elephant and buffalo in Queen Elizabeth. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest alone holds close to half the world's remaining mountain gorillas.
It is a green, hilly, road-heavy country. Distances look short and take longer than you expect, so a Uganda itinerary is built around a loop rather than a hub. Ten days is comfortable for gorillas plus one savannah park; a week means choosing.
Where to go in Uganda
The classic route runs anti-clockwise from Entebbe: Murchison in the north, then Kibale and Queen Elizabeth, ending with the gorillas in the south-west.
Bwindi & the gorillas
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site holding roughly half of all surviving mountain gorillas. Permits are strictly limited and each habituated family is visited by one small group per day for exactly one hour. Treks range from an easy two hours to a hard full day depending on where the family has moved. You are assigned a sector on the morning, so fitness matters.
- Best for
- Mountain gorillas
- Permits
- Limited: book early
- Season
- Jun to Aug, Dec to Feb
Kibale & Queen Elizabeth
Kibale holds the highest concentration of primates in East Africa and is the best place on the continent for wild chimpanzee tracking, thirteen primate species in one forest. Neighbouring Queen Elizabeth is Uganda's most visited park: the Kazinga Channel boat cruise for hippo and elephant, Kyambura Gorge for a second chimp population, and the Ishasha sector for its tree-climbing lions.
- Best for
- Chimpanzees, boat safari
- Season
- Jun to Sep, Dec to Feb
- Also
- Kazinga Channel, Ishasha
Murchison Falls & the Nile
Uganda's largest park, split by the Nile as it forces itself through a seven-metre gap and drops into the Albert Nile. The boat trip to the base of the falls is one of the great river experiences in Africa, and the northern bank delivers the country's best classic game viewing: elephant, giraffe, buffalo, lion. Rhino are seen en route at Ziwa, the only place in Uganda they survive.
- Best for
- Big game, the Nile
- Season
- Dec to Feb, Jun to Sep
- Access
- Drive or fly from Entebbe
Kidepo & the far north
Kidepo Valley sits in the remote north-east against the South Sudan border and is regularly called one of Africa's finest wildernesses. Enormous buffalo herds, cheetah, and almost no other vehicles. It needs a flight and it needs extra days, which is exactly why so few people go, and why those who do rate it above everything else they saw.
- Best for
- Wilderness, solitude
- Season
- Sep to Mar
- Access
- Charter flight
Worth adding
Jinja & the source of the Nile
Where the Nile leaves Lake Victoria. Grade-five white water, quad biking and bungee, or simply a sundowner cruise, the usual first or last stop of a Uganda trip.
JinjaLake Mburo
The closest park to Kampala and the only one with zebra and impala. Small enough for walking safaris and night drives, and a natural overnight stop on the drive south-west.
Lake MburoSipi Falls
Three waterfalls on the slopes of Mount Elgon, with Arabica coffee farms and hiking. The quiet alternative to Jinja on the eastern side of the country.
Sipi FallsEntebbe
Your arrival and departure point, on a peninsula in Lake Victoria. The botanical gardens and the chimpanzee sanctuary on Ngamba Island fill a spare afternoon well.
EntebbeQuestions
Uganda questions
Permits are capped per family per day and peak months sell out well in advance, six to nine months ahead is sensible for June to September and December to February. We hold permits as part of the booking; a Uganda gorilla trek cannot be arranged at short notice in high season.
It ranges from about one hour to a full day of steep, muddy forest walking at altitude, and you do not know which until the morning briefing assigns your family. Reasonable fitness and proper boots are essential. Porters are available and hiring one is both genuinely useful and a direct contribution to the local community.
Uganda's permits cost substantially less and Bwindi holds more gorillas, but the drive from Entebbe is long. Rwanda's Volcanoes park is two to three hours from Kigali airport, which suits a short trip, at a much higher permit price. If gorillas are the only reason you are travelling and you have three days, Rwanda; if you want a full safari around them, Uganda.
June to August and December to February are the drier months and the best for trekking, forest trails become genuinely hard work in the rains. Game viewing in the savannah parks is good year-round. March to May is the wettest period and the cheapest.
Yes, applied for online in advance. If you are combining Uganda with Kenya and Rwanda, the East Africa Tourist Visa covers all three on one application and is much better value. Tell us at enquiry stage and we will advise which applies.
The tourist circuit (Entebbe, the western parks, Bwindi, Murchison) is well established and routinely travelled. Normal city precautions apply in Kampala. Your guide stays with you throughout, and we monitor advisories for the border regions and route around them.
Find your bearings
Uganda on the map
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Where to go
Destinations in Uganda
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