15 Days Uganda Safari Tour
The 15 Days Uganda Safari Tour is the most complete circuit available in this collection, a comprehensive two-week journey through Uganda’s finest parks and landscapes. Starting and ending in Kampala or Entebbe, the itinerary links rhino tracking at Ziwa, big-game viewing and a Nile boat cruise in Murchison Falls National Park, chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest, game drives and a Kazinga Channel cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park, gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, volcano hiking or golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, a relaxed stay on Lake Bunyonyi, an Ankole cultural experience near Mbarara, and a final game drive in Lake Mburo National Park.
It’s built for travelers with the time to see Uganda properly, without compressing the country’s primates, savanna wildlife, mountains and culture into a rushed itinerary.
Trip Snapshot
| Duration | 15 days / 14 nights |
| Starts / Ends | Kampala/Entebbe |
| Main destinations | Murchison Falls NP, Kibale Forest NP, Queen Elizabeth NP, Bwindi Impenetrable NP, Mgahinga NP, Lake Bunyonyi, Lake Mburo NP |
| Key activities | Rhino tracking, gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking, volcano hiking, golden monkey trekking, cultural tours |
| Physical level | Moderate to challenging |
| 2026 permit pricing | Gorilla trekking permit approx. USD 800 pp; chimpanzee trekking permit approx. USD 250 pp |
Safari Highlights
- Rhino tracking on foot at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
- Game drives and a Nile boat cruise in Murchison Falls National Park
- Chimpanzee trekking and a Bigodi Swamp community tour in Kibale Forest
- Kazinga Channel boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- Volcano hiking or golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
- Island-hopping boat trip on Lake Bunyonyi
- Ankole cultural tour near Mbarara
- Game drive in Lake Mburo National Park
Summary Itinerary
| Day | Overview |
| Day 1 | Arrival, hotel in Kampala/Entebbe |
| Day 2 | Rhino tracking, transfer to Murchison Falls National Park, top of the falls |
| Day 3 | Morning game drive, boat cruise, evening game drive |
| Day 4 | Drive to Kibale National Park |
| Day 5 | Chimpanzee trekking, Bigodi Swamp walk and community tour |
| Day 6 | Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kazinga Channel boat cruise |
| Day 7 | Kasenyi morning game drive |
| Day 8 | Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park |
| Day 9 | Gorilla trekking experience |
| Day 10 | Transfer to Kisoro, Mgahinga National Park |
| Day 11 | Volcano climb or golden monkey trekking, Mgahinga National Park |
| Day 12 | Full day at Lake Bunyonyi |
| Day 13 | Transfer to Mbarara, Ankole cultural tour |
| Day 14 | Morning game viewing at Lake Mburo National Park |
| Day 15 | Departure |
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival, Hotel in Kampala/Entebbe
On arrival at Entebbe Airport, you will meet your driver-guide, who will be waiting to receive you and transfer you to either Entebbe or Kampala, depending on your arrival time. Check in at your hotel to rest after your flight. Dinner and an overnight stay on a half-board basis.
Accommodation: Forest Cottages or Papyrus Guesthouse (Budget); Fairway Hotel or Best Western Garden Hotel (Mid-range); Sheraton Hotel or Protea Hotel (Luxury)
Meal Plan: Half Board
Day 2: Rhino Tracking, Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park, Top of the Falls
After breakfast, check out of your hotel for the roughly 3-hour drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. On arrival, join a briefing from the park rangers about Uganda’s rhinos and the rules to follow while tracking them. From the starting point, walk for around 2 to 3 hours in search of the rhinos, depending on their location. Once found, you’ll spend an hour observing them before returning to meet your vehicle. Enjoy an en-route lunch in Kabalega before continuing to Murchison Falls National Park.
On arrival in the park during the afternoon, take in the top of Murchison Falls along the Baker’s Trail, one of the best vantage points over the falls. Afterward, continue to your lodge for relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Twiga Safari Lodge or Pakuba Safari Lodge (Mid-range); Hornbill Bush Lodge (Budget)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Morning Game Drive, Boat Cruise and Evening Game Drive
After breakfast at your lodge, head out early for a morning game drive in the northern part of the park toward the delta, watching for elephant, giraffe, lion, hyena, buffalo, leopard (on a lucky day), and antelope species including Uganda kob, Jackson’s hartebeest, oribi and waterbuck. Return to the lodge to refresh and have lunch.
In the afternoon, take a boat cruise to see the falls along the Nile. Cruising toward the base of the falls brings you close to the park’s dense hippo population and long stretches of crocodile-lined sandbanks, along with a wide variety of birds and other species gathering to drink and bathe. Return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Twiga Safari Lodge or Pakuba Safari Lodge (Mid-range); Hornbill Bush Lodge (Budget)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4: Drive to Kibale National Park (7-8 Hours)
After breakfast, transfer to Kibale National Park, with an en-route lunch and a stop to view the crater lakes before checking in at your lodge to relax for the rest of the day.
Accommodation: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge (Budget); Primates Lodge (Mid-range); Chimpundu Safari Lodge (Luxury)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5: Chimpanzee Trekking, Bigodi Swamp Walk and Community Tour
After breakfast, drive to the Kibale Forest park headquarters for a briefing on chimpanzee trekking. Enter the forest to track chimpanzees in their natural habitat, a search that typically takes 2 to 5 hours. Once found, you are permitted one hour in their presence, watching them swing through the canopy high above the forest floor, and taking photos and videos before leaving the forest.
Afterward, take a nature walk through the Bigodi Swamp, a reserve rich in butterflies, plants and animals, particularly birds and primates. Birders will find the great blue turaco and rare papyrus gonolek of special interest, and the swamp is also home to more elusive species such as red colobus monkeys and sitatunga antelope. You’ll also have the chance to visit local community projects funded by tourism and interact with residents. Drive back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Same as previous night
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise
After breakfast, transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, a roughly 3-hour drive arriving in good time for lunch at the lodge.
In the afternoon, join a 2-hour launch cruise along the Kazinga Channel into Lake Edward. The cruise passes through one of the highest concentrations of hippo anywhere in Africa, and you’ll likely see many other animals drinking at the water’s edge. It’s also an excellent platform for photography and birdwatching. Dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Pumba Safari Cottages (Budget); Elephant Hab Lodge (Mid-range); Elephant Plains Lodge (Luxury)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 7: Kasenyi Morning Game Drive
After breakfast, set off for an early morning game drive in the Kasenyi area, where you’ll encounter buffalo, elephant, waterbuck, Uganda kob and other antelope species. On a lucky day, you may spot leopard, lion and hyena.
Return for lunch at the lodge and spend the afternoon at leisure, relaxing at the lodge or taking an optional crater lakes tour around the park. Dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Same as previous night
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 8: Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (4-5 Hours)
After breakfast, meet your driver-guide for the drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, with your route depending on your assigned trekking sector. On arrival, check in at your lodge and spend the afternoon and evening at leisure ahead of the next day’s trek. Dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Buhoma Community Rest Camp (Budget); Buhoma Haven Lodge (Mid-range); Mahogany Springs Lodge (Luxury)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 9: Gorilla Trekking Experience
After breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing on mountain gorilla trekking from a local ranger-guide. The trek typically takes between two and eight hours, depending on the gorillas’ movement. Meeting the gorillas unexpectedly in the forest is one of the most captivating experiences of a lifetime, offering close-range photography and the chance to watch adults feeding and grooming one another.
After an hour with the gorillas, your guide and rangers will lead you back to the starting point, where your driver will be waiting to transfer you to the lodge. Depending on your return time, you may add an optional community tour. Dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Same as previous night
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 10: Transfer to Kisoro, Mgahinga National Park
After breakfast, join a Batwa community tour before continuing to Kisoro, taking in scenic views of the Kigezi hills along the way. Check in at your lodge for lunch, then spend the afternoon relaxing. Dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Mucha Lodges (Budget); Lake Mulehe Safari Lodge (Mid-range); Lake Mutanda Safari Lodge (Luxury)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 11: Volcano Climbing or Golden Monkey Trekking, Mgahinga National Park
Wake early and drive to Mgahinga National Park for a briefing from your ranger-guides ahead of the day’s hike. The park sits on Mount Gahinga, one of the eight Virunga volcanoes and, at around 3,474 meters, the lowest of the range. The climb takes 6 to 8 hours depending on fitness, passing through bamboo cover where, with luck, you may spot golden monkeys or even gorillas. Reaching the summit is genuinely rewarding, with cool mountain air and views over the giant lobelia in the crater swamp. Return to the starting point to meet your driver and head back to the lodge to rest.
Alternatively, golden monkey trekking on the same mountain offers a shorter, less demanding activity, taking 2 to 6 hours depending on the monkeys’ location. Once found, you’ll spend an hour with them before returning to meet your driver for the transfer back to the lodge.
Accommodation: Same as previous night
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 12: Full Day at Lake Bunyonyi
After breakfast, set off for Lake Bunyonyi, a roughly 2-hour drive arriving in the late morning. The lake lies between Kisoro and Kabale in southwestern Uganda, close to the border with Rwanda, and is often described locally as Africa’s second-deepest lake, with depths reportedly reaching 900 meters, though scientific surveys put its measured maximum depth closer to 40 meters. It is roughly 7 to 25 kilometers wide, depending on where it’s measured.
Take a boat trip to some of the lake’s most fascinating islands, including Kyahugye Island, home to wildlife such as zebra, waterbuck, impala and kob; Akampene Island, known locally as ‘Punishment Island’ for its grim history as a place where pregnant unmarried girls were once abandoned; and Bwama and Njuyeera Islands, where the missionary Dr. Leonard Sharp founded a leper colony in the early twentieth century. Return in the evening to relax at the lodge. Dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Arcadia Cottages Lake Bunyonyi (Luxury); Bunyonyi BirdNest Lodge (Mid-range); Bunyonyi Eco-lodge (Budget)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 13: Transfer to Mbarara, Ankole Cultural Tour
After breakfast, meet your driver for the transfer to Mbarara, roughly a 4 to 5-hour drive. On arrival, check in at your hotel for lunch.
After relaxing in the afternoon, join an evening cultural experience centered on Ankole traditions, including participating in cattle grazing and milking, and learning about the wider Ankole culture in Uganda. Dinner and the rest of the evening at leisure.
Accommodation: Emburara Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 14: Morning Game Viewing in Lake Mburo National Park
After breakfast, transfer to Lake Mburo National Park for a morning game drive, watching for zebra, eland, impala, topi, buffalo, lion and giraffe. Enjoy an en-route lunch.
After lunch, continue the journey back to Kampala or Entebbe, a roughly 4-hour drive with a stop at the Uganda Equator. On arrival, check in at your hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Forest Cottages or Papyrus Guesthouse (Budget); Fairway Hotel or Best Western Garden Hotel (Mid-range); Sheraton Hotel or Protea Hotel (Luxury)
Meal Plan: Half Board
Day 15: Departure
After breakfast, and depending on your departure flight time, relax at the lodge and spend the day at leisure until it’s time to head to Entebbe Airport for your flight home.
Meal Plan: Breakfast
Safari Price Includes
- Pick-up and drop-off in Kampala/Entebbe
- Gorilla trekking permit (approx. USD 800)
- Chimpanzee trekking permit (approx. USD 250)
- Park entry fees and boat cruise
- Hiking fees
- Batwa tour and community tours
- All accommodation and meals as specified in the itinerary
- 4×4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof and fuel
- Full-time English-speaking driver-guide
- All meals as indicated, including en-route lunches during transfers
- Bottled mineral water while on safari
Safari Price Excludes
- Tips
- Visa fees and flights
- Optional activities
- Payment transfer fees
- Personal expenses such as laundry, phone calls and alcoholic drinks
- Anything not listed in the itinerary
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 15 days enough to see all of Uganda’s highlights?
This itinerary covers nearly all of Uganda’s headline experiences, rhino tracking, both gorilla and chimpanzee trekking, savanna game drives, volcano hiking and cultural tours, making it one of the most complete circuits available without needing to add Kidepo Valley in the far northeast.
How much do gorilla and chimpanzee permits cost?
As of 2026, gorilla trekking permits cost approximately USD 800 per person and chimpanzee trekking permits approximately USD 250 per person, both included in this itinerary’s price.
What is the difference between volcano climbing and golden monkey trekking at Mgahinga?
Volcano climbing is a demanding 6 to 8-hour hike to the summit of Mount Gahinga, while golden monkey trekking is a shorter, less strenuous activity, typically 2 to 6 hours, tracking a troop of golden monkeys in the bamboo forest. Both are offered as alternatives on Day 11.
Is Lake Bunyonyi really the second-deepest lake in Africa?
This is a widely repeated local and tourism claim based on estimates of up to 900 meters. Scientific surveys generally measure the lake’s maximum depth at closer to 40 meters, so the claim is best treated as local folklore rather than a verified fact.
Book Your 15 Days Uganda Safari Tour
For travelers who want to see Uganda in full, its rhinos, gorillas, chimpanzees, volcanoes, lakes and culture, without rushing between them, the 15 Days Uganda Safari Tour is the most complete itinerary in our collection.
Get in touch to check permit availability and start planning your 15 Days Uganda Safari Tour.