ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
7-Day Bwindi & Queen Elizabeth Primate Safari

Uganda - Fly-in safari

7-Day Bwindi & Queen Elizabeth Primate Safari

Duration
7 days
Countries
Uganda
Suited to
2-8 guests
Pricing
From USD 12,080

The journey

Uganda is the one country where you can be with mountain gorillas on a Tuesday morning and watching lions asleep in fig trees on Thursday afternoon. This programme uses light aircraft at each end to make that fit inside a week without long Ugandan road days. Three nights at Bwindi Lodge on the Buhoma forest edge give you a permit day and a spare, which matters, because a gorilla trek is weather, terrain and luck as much as it is planning. From Bwindi the road runs north into Queen Elizabeth National Park. The Ishasha sector is thinly visited and holds the lions that lie along horizontal branches through the middle of the day. Further north the Kazinga Channel joins Lake George to Lake Edward, and a private launch puts you at water level with hippo, buffalo and elephant on the shore. The week closes at Kyambura Gorge Lodge, a converted coffee store on the rim of a hundred-metre gorge that holds a small, isolated chimpanzee community. June to September and December to February are the dry months, when the forest trails are firmest and the trek is shortest. A Uganda gorilla permit costs USD 800 for foreign non-residents.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Flight into the Forest

You land at Entebbe and connect onto the light aircraft to Kihihi, an hour and a half over Lake Victoria and the crater fields of the western rift. From the airstrip it is roughly an hour by road to Buhoma, where Bwindi Lodge stands on the forest edge above the Munyanga River. Ten hand-built bandas face the canopy. Lunch on the deck, then the lodge's private footpath into the trees.

Stay 2

One Hour with Gorillas

Briefing at the Buhoma park headquarters at half past seven, then into the forest behind the trackers. Trekking takes anywhere from two to eight hours over ridges and stream beds, and you are given exactly one hour with the family once they are found. Eight trekkers per group, no more. A porter carries your pack. Back at the lodge for the Humula spa and a fire.

Stay 3

Buhoma at Its Own Pace

A second permit if you want it, since two treks in Bwindi are rarely the same encounter. Otherwise the Munyanga River Trail runs to a waterfall inside the forest, and the Batwa share the songs and hunting methods of people who lived here before it became a park. The afternoon goes to the Bwindi Bar, a training project that puts young people from Buhoma into hospitality work.

Stay 4

Down to Ishasha

North out of the forest and down into open country, about three hours by road to the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Ishasha Wilderness Camp sits under trees along the Ntungwe River, tents spaced far enough apart that what you hear at night is hippo rather than neighbours. The afternoon drive works the fig trees, where the lions of this sector lie along horizontal branches.

Stay 5

The Kazinga Channel

Out early for the fig trees again, then north through the Kasenyi plains where Uganda kob gather on their lekking grounds. The Kazinga Channel is a 32-kilometre natural strip of water joining Lake George to Lake Edward, and your private launch runs the shoreline past buffalo, elephant and one of the densest hippo populations anywhere. Kyambura Gorge Lodge, converted from an old coffee store, takes you for two nights.

Stay 6

Into the Gorge

You drop into Kyambura Gorge on the Fig Tree Trail, a hundred metres down into underground forest to reach a community of fewer than thirty chimpanzees, cut off from Kalinzu and Maramagambo by the savannah around them. Three hours of walking, with contact running near sixty percent. The afternoon goes out with the Kyambura lion monitoring team, or planting in the wildlife buffer zone.

Stay 7

Mweya and Home

Breakfast on the terrace with the Rwenzori Mountains showing to the north if the cloud lifts, then the road transfer to Mweya airstrip on its peninsula above the channel. The flight to Entebbe takes about two hours with one stop, landing in time for evening international departures. You leave with a gorilla trekking certificate and, with luck, a chimpanzee one beside it.

Safari highlights

  • Three nights at Bwindi Lodge on the Buhoma forest edge
  • One hour with a habituated mountain gorilla family
  • Tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector's fig trees
  • Private boat safari on the 32-kilometre Kazinga Channel
  • Chimpanzee trek into Kyambura Gorge on the Fig Tree Trail
  • Light aircraft in and out, no long Ugandan road days

What is included

Included

  • 6 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Light aircraft flights Entebbe to Kihihi and Mweya to Entebbe
  • One Uganda gorilla trekking permit for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, USD 800
  • One chimpanzee trekking permit for Kyambura Gorge, and a trekking porter in Bwindi
  • Private 4x4 safari vehicle and driver-guide for all road sectors, Kihihi to Bwindi, Bwindi to Ishasha and on through Queen Elizabeth
  • Private Kazinga Channel boat safari from Mweya
  • Queen Elizabeth National Park entry fees, and Bwindi park entry within the gorilla permit
  • All meals, house and premium drinks, laundry and lodge activities at Bwindi Lodge and Kyambura Gorge Lodge; all meals and game drives at Ishasha Wilderness Camp
  • Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust community and conservation levy of USD 50 per night

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Uganda visa or East Africa tourist visa, and travel insurance
  • French champagne and premium imported spirits
  • Gratuities for guides, rangers, porters and lodge staff
  • A second gorilla permit, the gorilla habituation experience, or a Kibale chimpanzee permit
  • Sedan chair hire for gorilla trekking, arranged locally on the day
  • Items of a personal nature

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 7-day Uganda gorilla and Queen Elizabeth safari cost?

This programme starts at USD 12,080 per person sharing. That covers six nights of accommodation, the USD 800 gorilla permit, a Kyambura Gorge chimpanzee permit, both light aircraft sectors, a private 4x4 and driver-guide for every road sector, Queen Elizabeth park entry fees, a private Kazinga Channel launch, and all meals with house drinks at the two Volcanoes Safaris lodges. Peak-season departures run to about USD 14,080.

How much is a gorilla permit in Uganda in 2026?

USD 800 per person for foreign non-residents in the high season, which is January to March, June to October and December. The Uganda Wildlife Authority also runs a low-season rate of USD 600 in April, May and November, payable in full at booking and not reschedulable. The permit covers park entry, the ranger guide, the community levy and your trekking certificate. Habituation permits are USD 1,500, rising to USD 1,800 on 1 January 2027.

How much does chimpanzee trekking cost in Kyambura Gorge compared with Kibale?

They differ a lot. A Kyambura Gorge permit is USD 100 for foreign non-residents in 2026, rising to USD 200 from 1 January 2027. Kibale Forest is USD 250, rising to USD 300 on the same date, with habituation higher again. Kyambura holds fewer than thirty chimpanzees and contact runs near sixty percent; Kibale has around 1,500 and sightings are close to certain. This programme uses Kyambura.

Are international flights included in this safari price?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded and you book them separately, so you can use miles or fly the carrier you prefer into Entebbe. The price does include both flights inside Uganda: Entebbe to Kihihi airstrip for Bwindi at the start, and Mweya airstrip back to Entebbe at the end, timed to connect with evening departures.

Where can you see tree-climbing lions in Uganda?

The Ishasha sector, in the far south of Queen Elizabeth National Park, along the Ntungwe and Ishasha rivers. The lions there rest along the horizontal limbs of large fig trees through the heat of the day, a habit shared with only a handful of prides elsewhere in Africa. Ishasha Wilderness Camp puts you inside the sector, so you are on the fig-tree circuit at first light rather than driving in.

When is the best time to go gorilla trekking in Uganda?

June to September and December to February. These are the drier months, when the Bwindi trails are firmest underfoot and treks tend to be shorter. March to May and October to November bring heavy rain, thicker mud and steeper going, though the forest is greener and permits drop to USD 600 in April, May and November. Bwindi gets rain in every month, so bring proper boots regardless.

How fit do you need to be to trek gorillas in Bwindi?

Reasonably fit rather than athletic. Treks run from two to eight hours at altitudes between roughly 1,160 and 2,600 metres, on steep, muddy, often trackless ground. Groups are capped at eight trekkers and you get exactly one hour with the gorillas. The minimum age is 15. Porters carry packs and haul you up the worst pitches for a small fee, and a sedan chair can be arranged locally.