Uganda
Five cities I explored, three routes that actually work, and the practical page. I wish someone had handed me that the first time.
Updated September 2026
What nobody tells you before you land
Uganda is greener and closer than you think: you fly into Entebbe, sleep by Lake Victoria, and the whole trip is really about one thing — the hour you spend a few metres from a mountain gorilla in Bwindi. Everyone builds the route around that permit, and so should you, because it's the single thing you can't wing at the last minute.
The other truth is distance. The gorillas, the chimps and the tree-climbing lions all live in the far southwest, and the roads there are long and slow. So the routes below are built around driving days, not a checklist — I did the gorilla trek and the chimp trek myself, and the days I'd add back are the ones that keep you from spending the whole trip in a car.
Fact sheet
Everything practical, on one page
Itineraries
Three routes that actually work
Seven days is the minimum for the gorillas without living in the car. Fourteen is the whole southwest plus the source of the Nile.
Land at Entebbe, one day to settle, then the long drive southwest to Bwindi for the gorilla trek — the whole trip's reason to exist — with Queen Elizabeth's savanna on the way back.
The extra days add Kibale's chimpanzee trek to the gorillas — the two great apes in one loop through the southwest, with the tree-climbing lions of Ishasha in between.
The one I'd take. Start east at the source of the Nile in Jinja, then the full southwestern arc — gorillas at Bwindi, a boat on the Kazinga Channel and the Ishasha lions, and chimps at Kibale — with the driving days spread out so it never feels like a race.
City guides
Five cities, walked one street at a time
Kampala
The busy capital by Lake Victoria — markets, boda-bodas and where every trip begins.
1 day · Coming soonJinja
Where the Nile leaves Lake Victoria — rafting, calm river cruises and the source itself.
2 days · Coming soonBwindi
The impenetrable forest and the mountain gorillas — the trek that defines the trip.
3 days · Coming soonKibale
The best place in East Africa to track wild chimpanzees on foot.
2 days · Coming soonQueen Elizabeth NP
Savanna, the Kazinga Channel boat and the famous tree-climbing lions of Ishasha.
2 days · Coming soonAsked every week
Questions I get about Uganda
How many days do I need?+
Seven is the minimum to trek the gorillas without living in the car. Ten adds the chimpanzees at Kibale; fourteen adds the source of the Nile in Jinja and enough time in Queen Elizabeth to slow the driving days down.
How much is a gorilla permit and when should I book?+
US$800 per person, set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority — the price is the same through every operator. Only a fixed number are issued per day, so book months ahead, especially for the dry seasons; your whole route is built around the date you get.
Chimps or gorillas — which one?+
If you can only do one, the gorillas in Bwindi are the once-in-a-lifetime hour. But I did both and would again: the chimps at Kibale are noisier, faster and higher in the canopy — a completely different day, and cheaper. With ten days you fit them both.
Is it safe, and what about malaria and yellow fever?+
The tourist routes are safe with normal caution. A yellow-fever certificate is mandatory just to enter the country, so carry it. Malaria is present countrywide — take prophylaxis, cover up at dusk and sleep under a net. Bring long sleeves and good boots for the forest treks.
The podcast
I walked this before I wrote it
Every guide starts as an episode. Listen to the Uganda introduction — the context, the history and the honest bits — then come back for the routes.