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6-Day Uganda Gorilla Trekking & Safari Tours

4.4/5  –  396 Uganda Reviews

Uganda isn’t your stereotypical safari destination. Most of Africa’s top safari countries support a cover of dusty, dry savannah and associated plains wildlife. But Uganda is fertile, well-watered and best known for its lush jungles and wealth of forest-dwelling birds and primates. Tracking mountain gorillas is the headline attraction, followed closely by the opportunity to hang out with some of Africa’s most habituated chimp communities. Yet, despite this, Uganda’s moist savannah also scores highly when it comes to seeing more conventional safari icons such as lion, elephant and hippo. A 6-day safari allows you to explore more than one ecological aspect of this compact and biodiverse equatorial country.

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1-20 of 90 Uganda 6-day gorilla & safari trips, holidays, vacations and packages

6 Questions About 6-Day Uganda Safaris

 
 

6 Questions About 6-Day Uganda Safaris

Answered by Philip Briggs

Is 6 days enough time for a trip in Uganda?

“A 6-day Uganda safari gives you time to enjoy several of the country’s key highlights. You can easily slot gorilla trekking and chimp trekking into a 6-day itinerary, and it also allows you time to visit at least one savannah reserve and see some of the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino). That said, 6 days is not enough to see all of Uganda’s highlights, and we would recommend avoiding an itinerary that tries to do too much in that time, or things will become very rushed.”

1

Where should I go on a 6-day safari in Uganda?

“That depends on whether you want to include gorilla trekking. Assuming that you do, then your itinerary will concentrate on the southwest, which is where you’ll find both of the national parks in which gorillas can be seen. The more popular of the two gorilla trekking destinations is Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where well over 100 trekking permits are available daily. The alternative is Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, which has a more scenic location on the slopes of the Virunga Mountains, but is home to just one habituated gorilla group and can issue only eight permits daily. Most 6-day itineraries to the southwest pair Bwindi or Mgahinga with Queen Elizabeth National Park, which protects a lush mosaic of forest, savannah and wetlands. Highlights of Queen Elizabeth include the tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha sector, the prolific wildlife along the Kazinga Channel and the distant views of the snowcapped Rwenzori peaks. Many 6-day safaris to the southwest include a chimp trekking excursion in Kalinzu Forest Reserve, Kyambura Gorge or Kibale National Park. Another popular stop is Lake Mburo National Park, which lies roughly halfway to Bwindi or Mgahinga coming from Entebbe International Airport. If gorillas are not on your Uganda wish list, then our top recommendation for a 6-day Uganda safari would combine Murchison Falls National Park and Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch with chimp trekking in Budongo Forest. A more remote alternative is Kidepo Valley National Park, which can also be combined with Ziwa.”

2

Which animals am I likely to see?

“Exactly which animals you see on a 6-day safari in Uganda will depend greatly on which parks and forests you visit. On a southwestern safari, assuming that you opt to track gorillas and chimps, you can be almost certain of seeing gorillas, while the odds of encountering chimps stand above 80%. Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and Kidepo Valley are all home to four of the Big Five, the exception being rhinos. If your itinerary includes any of these three parks, you can be reasonably confident of spotting elephants, buffalo and lions, but you are less likely to see a leopard. Boat trips in Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls are great for hippos, crocodiles and waterbirds. Giraffes are common in Murchison Falls, Kidepo Valley and Lake Mburo. Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Ranch protects Uganda’s only white rhinos. They can be tracked on foot and are almost always seen, even on a short day visit. The country’s most characteristic antelope is the endemic Uganda kob. Uganda is renowned for its diversity of monkeys. Among the more commonly seen species are olive baboon, Uganda mangabey, Uganda red colobus, Rwenzori colobus, vervet monkey, patas monkey, red-tailed monkey and L’Hoest’s monkey. Uganda is also home to 1,080 bird species, with aquatic and forest specialists being particularly well represented.”

3

What are the options to extend my 6-day Uganda safari?

“A popular extension to a 6-day Uganda safari is white-water rafting on the Nile River downstream of the city of Jinja, where it exits Lake Victoria. If you have a day or two spare in Entebbe (the site of the country’s only international airport), you could take a boat trip across Lake Victoria to Ngamba Island Chimp Sanctuary. A more low-key option out of Entebbe is an excursion by dugout canoe into Mabamba Swamp to look for the shoebill. This prehistoric-looking swamp-dweller is regarded by many as the most alluring of Ugandan birds. If you want to combine a 6-day Uganda gorilla trekking tour with travel elsewhere in East Africa, a recommended option would be a Big Five safari in Tanzania or Kenya. Both are a short hop from Entebbe by plane. Another popular option is the magical Indian Ocean ‘spice island’ of Zanzibar, just offshore mainland Tanzania. The island is a stronghold of traditional Swahili coastal culture and has some of East Africa’s finest beaches.”

4

What is the best time of the year for a trip in Uganda?

“Gorilla and chimp trekking run 365 days a year and national parks are open year-round, but the best time to travel is in the relatively rain-free months of June to August or December to February. This is when trekking conditions tend to be easiest and when wildlife is most visible in the savannah reserves. Weather-wise, the least favorable time to be in Uganda is during the peak rainy season, which runs from March to May.”

5

How much will this safari cost?

“A 6-day Uganda safari that includes gorilla and chimp trekking will typically cost around US$2,000 to US$3,500, depending largely on the quality of accommodations. This price should be inclusive of gorilla and chimp trekking permits, other park and activity fees, and accommodations, meals and transport. Tours that do not include gorilla trekking are generally much cheaper than this. Conversely, if the safari uses luxury accommodations and/or incorporates domestic flights, it will probably be a lot more expensive.”

6

Uganda Reviews

4.4/5 396 Reviews
Expert
Mark Eveleigh  –  
United Kingdom UK

Mark is a travel writer who grew up in Africa and has written over 700 titles for Condé Nast Traveller, Travel Africa, BBC Wildlife and others.

Fantastic Wildlife and Some of the Friendliest People in Africa Make Uganda Unbeatable
5/5

I spent a month travelling around Uganda with a self-drive, expedition-prepared Landcruiser and visited almost every national park in the country. Uganda was a revelation! I had not expected such a richness of wildlife nor such great...

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Expert
Stuart Butler  –  
United Kingdom UK

Stuart is a travel writer and author of numerous Lonely Planet guidebooks, including 'Kenya', 'Rwanda' and 'Tanzania'.

The Beautiful Heart of Africa
4/5

It’s been said by better people than me (Sir Winston Churchill for one, who famously described Uganda as the “Pearl of Africa”), that Uganda is one of the most beautiful countries in Africa. In fact, as far as I am concerned, it’s...

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Markus Janser  –  
Switzerland CH
Reviewed: Nov 20, 2024
What a nice surprise
5/5

We (Father with two teenagers) headed of to a nine day private Safari in Uganda to see the Gorillas. And we did not get disappointed, we spent an hour with them, an amazing experience. However, we where surprised and charmed by the...

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Jorge Camacho  –  
Spain ES
Reviewed: Nov 5, 2024
Awesome experience
5/5

Our recent trip to Uganda could not have met our expectations more. The country has well deserved the title of ‘pearl of Africa’, the country is impressive, the landscapes are spectacular and having an endangered wonder like the gorilla...

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Leah  –  
Canada CA
Reviewed: Oct 23, 2024
A beautiful country with exceptional service industry and private wildlife encounters
5/5

We travelled through Uganda and Tanzania over three weeks. The time we spent in Uganda was incredible. The country is a lot quieter to travel through, which makes the game drives feel intimate when you have the wildlife all to yourself...

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Val  –  
Australia AU
Reviewed: Oct 12, 2024
A new adventure every day
5/5

We toured Uganda for 17 days mid range accommodation. We took many game drives, launch trip on Kazinga Channel, gorillas and Chimpanzee trekking, plus visted Lake Bunyonyi and local villages. We had the most amazing holiday with many...

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