Arrive Entebbe International Airport on the shores of Lake Victoria.

Transfer to hotel in Entebbe or Kampala (40 minutes).

Afternoon: Entebbe Botanical Gardens – where Tarzan (1984 film) was partially shot. Home to grey-cheeked mangabey and olive baboons.

Uganda Wildlife Education Centre – see orphaned chimpanzees, lion, rhino, and shoebill stork.

Evening: Dinner in Entebbe with Lake Victoria views.

Overnight: Entebbe/Kampala | Meals: D

Kampala city tour: Kasubi Tombs (UNESCO World Heritage – burial site of Buganda kings), Uganda Museum, Gaddafi National Mosque (tallest mosque in East Africa).

Visit the bustling Owino Market – Uganda’s largest.

Afternoon: Craft shopping at Crafts Village. Uganda has exceptional craft traditions.

Drive to Jinja or Murchison Falls for onward safari.

Overnight: Kampala or en route | Meals: B, L, D

Drive or fly to Murchison Falls National Park. Uganda’s largest park, bisected by the Victoria Nile.

Afternoon: Boat cruise on the Nile to the base of Murchison Falls – where the Nile squeezes through a 7-metre rock gap creating a thundering curtain of water.

The river banks teem with hippos, enormous crocodile, elephants, buffaloes, and 450 bird species.

Overnight: Murchison Falls lodge | Meals: B, L, D

Morning game drive on the north bank: lion, elephant, giraffe (Rothschild – Uganda’s giraffe), buffalo, oribi, hartebeest.

Afternoon: Hike to the top of Murchison Falls – an extraordinary viewpoint of the Nile below.

Afternoon: Hike to the top of Murchison Falls – an extraordinary viewpoint of the Nile below.

Overnight: Murchison Falls | Meals: B, L, D

Drive south to Kibale Forest National Park.

Chimpanzee tracking: Kibale has the highest density of primates in Africa and the best chimpanzee habituation in East Africa.

Also: red colobus, black and white colobus, L’Hoest’s monkey, red-tailed monkey – up to 13 primate species in one location.

Afternoon: Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary community walk for birds and primates.

Overnight: Kibale lodge | Meals: B, L, D

Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Enter via Kasese.

Game drive in Kasenyi area: elephant, buffalo, Uganda kob, warthog, hippo, and the famous tree-climbing lions.

Kazinga Channel boat cruise: the world’s highest density of hippos on a waterway, giant Nile crocodiles, and 600 bird species.

Overnight: Queen Elizabeth NP lodge | Meals: B, L, D

Drive to Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth NP. Famous for its lions that lounge in giant fig trees.

Game drive specifically targeting the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha – a rare wildlife behaviour found only here and in Lake Manyara, Tanzania.

Afternoon: Drive south to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (approximately 2 hours).

Overnight: Bwindi Impenetrable NP | Meals: B, L, D

6am briefing at Uganda Wildlife Authority office. Begin the gorilla trek (duration: 30 minutes to 8 hours depending on gorilla group movement – most 2–4 hours).

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is home to over half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas (about 500 individuals in Bwindi).

Spend one magical hour with a fully habituated gorilla family – silverbacks, mothers nursing infants, playful juveniles.

Return to lodge. Afternoon rest. Gorilla permit holders receive a certificate.

Overnight: Bwindi | Meals: B, L, D

Morning drive from Bwindi to Lake Bunyonyi (approximately 2 hours).

Lake Bunyonyi: a stunning terraced crater lake dotted with 29 small islands. One of the deepest lakes in Africa.

Canoe or boat trip around the islands. Visit Punishment Island – a poignant historical site.

Afternoon: Birdwatching and swimming in the bilharzia-free waters.

Overnight: Lake Bunyonyi eco-lodge | Meals: B, L, D

Fly from Entebbe to Kidepo Valley National Park in Uganda’s remote northeast (45 minutes).

Kidepo is consistently rated among Africa’s top 5 parks. 77 mammal species and 475 bird species.

Species unique to Kidepo in Uganda: cheetah, caracal, bat-eared fox, aardwolf, Karamajong ostrich.

Visit Napore Hills and Narus Valley lookouts.

Overnight: Kidepo valley lodge | Meals: B, L, D