Mountain gorillas in Bwindi’s ancient rainforest, chimpanzees in Kibale, tree-climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth, the Nile forcing through Murchison Falls and the remote valleys of Kidepo, with the permit rules, minimum ages and distances you need to plan.
The questions travellers ask first, answered directly. Each links to more detail further down or in our guides.
At least 15. The Uganda Wildlife Authority’s published gorilla tracking rules set a minimum age of 15, a maximum of eight visitors per gorilla group and one hour with the gorillas. The rule is the same in its July 2024 – June 2026 tariff and in the revised tariff that takes effect on 1 January 2027 (both checked 20 October 2026).
The Uganda Wildlife Authority has published two figures: 12 in the chimpanzee tracking rules in its tariffs, and 16 on its Kibale National Park page. Travellers aged 16 or over meet both. For anyone aged 12 to 15, ask us to confirm eligibility with UWA before a permit is booked (checked 20 October 2026).
Through a licensed tour operator: UWA says gorilla and chimpanzee permits for foreign non-residents and visitors from the rest of Africa can be booked only that way, and permits are limited, so book well ahead. UWA’s notice of 26 February 2026 introduced discounted low-season permits for April, May and November that cannot be rescheduled. Its published tariff period ended in June 2026 and the revised tariff starts on 1 January 2027, so the rate for your dates must be confirmed with UWA: we do not quote permit prices here.
Reasonably fit. Bwindi’s forest covers steep ridges and deep valleys, Mgahinga lies between about 2,227 and 4,127 metres on volcano slopes, and UWA says chimpanzee treks in Kibale typically last between two and five hours, with one hour in the chimpanzees’ presence. Tell us about any health or mobility concerns before you book.
Any month you can travel. The Uganda Wildlife Authority publishes no trekking season for Bwindi or Mgahinga; it discounts permits in its low-season months of April, May and November. Bwindi is a rainforest, so plan for wet, steep trails whenever you go. For the savannah parks, UWA describes a season only for Kidepo, whose Narus Valley is at its best in the dry months.
Visitors who are not exempt apply online for a Ugandan visa, with a passport valid for at least six months. Yellow fever is three separate questions. To enter Uganda, a certificate is no longer mandatory (Uganda immigration notice of 2 October 2026, reflected in the UK’s travel advice on 8 October 2026). As medical advice, the US CDC still recommends the vaccine for travellers to Uganda; its entry table, last updated in April 2025, still lists a certificate. And if you travel on to Kenya or Tanzania, both ask for proof from travellers arriving from countries WHO lists as a yellow fever risk, which include Uganda. Whether you should be vaccinated is for a travel-health professional to advise.
Choose Uganda first for primates: mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in the forest, with savannah parks and the Nile alongside. Kenya and Tanzania are the countries for the great migration and the largest open plains. Many travellers combine a primate journey with a savannah safari.
Uganda is a place to meet mountain gorillas. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park protects about 459 of them — almost half of those left in the world, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority — in a rainforest more than 25,000 years old. Its forests are rich in other primates too: Kibale National Park, renowned for its 13 primate species, is home to more than 1,500 wild chimpanzees.
Its savannah parks are just as distinctive. Queen Elizabeth National Park straddles the equator, with the Kazinga Channel between two lakes and lions that rest in fig trees in Ishasha. At Murchison Falls the Victoria Nile squeezes through an eight-metre gorge, and Kidepo’s golden valleys make up Uganda’s most remote park.
Uganda’s safari country runs from the rainforests and volcanoes of the south-west, through Kibale’s primate forest and the savannah of Queen Elizabeth, to the Nile at Murchison Falls and the remote north. Our journey titles often describe an experience rather than a place, so some places here are not named in any title: those profiles say so.
Route Entebbe International Airport → Kampala → the parks by road or by air
Uganda journeys usually begin at Entebbe International Airport, on the shore of Lake Victoria. The Uganda Wildlife Authority describes daily scheduled flights from Entebbe to Kisoro and Kihihi airstrips, which serve Bwindi’s gorilla sectors, and charter or scheduled flights to airstrips near Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls, which can replace a long drive for travellers with limited time.
By road, the parks are a long way from the capital. UWA’s Kibale page puts the forest about six hours’ drive from Kampala, and its Queen Elizabeth page puts the direct drive there at seven to eight hours or more. With distances like these, it makes sense to link the parks in a sequence, with a night or more in each, rather than return to the capital between them.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: gorillas and getting there (opens in a new tab), Queen Elizabeth National Park (opens in a new tab), Murchison Falls National Park (opens in a new tab), Kibale National Park: chimpanzee tracking (opens in a new tab))
Uganda’s arrival point. Entebbe International Airport, on the shore of Lake Victoria, is where flights to the parks’ airstrips begin, and Kampala, the capital, is the starting point for the road routes west and north.
Route Kampala → Lake Mburo → Bwindi (Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga or Nkuringo) → Mgahinga
South-western Uganda is gorilla country. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park shelters almost half of the world’s mountain gorillas, and its sectors, including Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo, are reached by different roads, so the sector named on your permit shapes where you stay. Next door, Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, the country’s smallest, has one habituated gorilla group and endangered golden monkeys on the slopes of the Virunga volcanoes.
On the long drive from Kampala, Lake Mburo National Park makes a natural first stop: a small savannah park with Uganda’s only impala, good zebra viewing and walking safaris, which UWA puts about three and a half hours from the capital. Together the three parks show how varied a single region of Uganda can be, from open savannah to forest on extinct volcanoes.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (opens in a new tab), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: gorillas and getting there (opens in a new tab), Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (opens in a new tab), Lake Mburo National Park (opens in a new tab))
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is an ancient, mist-covered rainforest, more than 25,000 years old, that protects about 459 mountain gorillas: almost half of those left in the world, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Uganda’s smallest national park, 33.7 square kilometres high on three extinct volcanoes of the Virunga range, where Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo meet.
Uganda’s smallest savannah park, 370 square kilometres between Kampala and Mbarara, home, the Uganda Wildlife Authority says, to the country’s only population of impala.
Route Fort Portal → Kibale → Queen Elizabeth (Kazinga Channel and Ishasha) → Bwindi
Kibale National Park, reached along the Kampala–Fort Portal highway, holds one of Uganda’s largest wild chimpanzee populations, UWA says, and 13 primate species in all. Chimpanzee tracking groups are limited to six people and advance booking is mandatory, so Kibale is a place to plan early rather than add at the last minute; for anyone aged 12 to 15, the minimum age also needs confirming with UWA before you book, because its tariff rules say 12 and its Kibale page says 16.
South of Kibale, Queen Elizabeth National Park straddles the equator beneath the Rwenzori Mountains. Boat trips on the 40-kilometre Kazinga Channel pass hippos, buffalo and elephants, the Ishasha sector is known for lions that rest in fig trees, and a route through Ishasha leads south to Bwindi, which makes the three parks a natural sequence on a Uganda journey.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Kibale National Park: chimpanzee tracking (opens in a new tab), Kibale National Park (opens in a new tab), Queen Elizabeth National Park (opens in a new tab))
Uganda’s primate forest: the Uganda Wildlife Authority estimates more than 1,500 wild chimpanzees here, in at least 12 communities, among 13 primate species.
Uganda’s most popular and most biodiverse savannah park, straddling the equator beneath the Rwenzori Mountains, with more than 95 mammal species and over 600 kinds of birds.
Route Kampala → Murchison Falls → Gulu → Kidepo Valley
Murchison Falls is Uganda’s oldest and largest conservation area. The Victoria Nile squeezes through a gorge eight metres wide and plunges into the Devil’s Cauldron, then calms into a broad river where elephants, giraffes and buffalo come to the banks and hippos and crocodiles are ever present. Downstream, the Albert Delta is one of the places where the shoebill is commonly seen.
Far to the north-east, Kidepo Valley is the country’s most remote park, golden savannah in the valleys of Karamoja with mountains on every horizon. Its wildlife is recovering strongly, and the Uganda Wildlife Authority recommends flying in from Entebbe; by road, the journey through Gulu can be broken with overnight stops.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Murchison Falls National Park (opens in a new tab), Kidepo Valley National Park (opens in a new tab))
Murchison Falls National Park is Uganda’s oldest and largest conservation area, where the Victoria Nile forces through a gorge eight metres wide and drops 45 metres into the Devil’s Cauldron.
Kidepo Valley National Park is Uganda’s most remote park: golden savannah in the semi-arid valleys of Karamoja, bordering South Sudan, with Kenya just to the east.
Wildlife moves freely, and sightings depend on season and conditions. They are never guaranteed.
In Bwindi, where trekking with habituated families began in 1993.
Hippos, buffalo and elephants along the 40 km channel in Queen Elizabeth.
In the Ishasha sector, lions rest in fig trees.
Boat cruises below the falls and the shoebill on the Albert Delta.
The Narus Valley in the dry months, and Karamojong and Ik communities.
Gorilla trekking means hiking into the forest with rangers to find a habituated gorilla family, then spending one hour in its company. In Bwindi, the Mubare group became the first habituated for tourism in Uganda in April 1993; Mgahinga adds one habituated group on the slopes of the Virungas. Nine of our 18 Uganda journeys include gorilla trekking, so ask which park and sector each one uses: our titles do not always say.
The forest sets the pace. Bwindi’s trails cross steep ridges and deep valleys, often wet underfoot, and a trek can be short or long depending on where the family has moved overnight. The Uganda Wildlife Authority’s rules exist to protect the gorillas, which can catch human colds and infections; UWA’s permit rate includes its guide fee, and the rules apply to every visitor.
| Until 31 December 2026 | From 1 January 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Published tariff | UWA’s website still carries its July 2024 – June 2026 tariff, whose stated period has ended; it does not say which rates apply until the revised tariff starts | The revised tariff, published in October 2026 and running to June 2028 |
| Trekking rules | As listed above (the same in both tariffs) | Unchanged |
| Booking | Foreign non-residents and rest-of-Africa visitors book only through licensed tour operators | Unchanged |
| Low-season permits | Discounted in April, May and November under UWA’s notice of 26 February 2026; not reschedulable | Listed in the revised tariff for the same months |
| Prices | Confirm the rate with UWA, through us, for your dates | Not quoted here |
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (opens in a new tab), Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (opens in a new tab), Conservation tariff July 2024 – June 2026, with park, gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (re-published on UWA’s website on 12 October 2026) (opens in a new tab), Revised conservation tariff, taking effect 1 January 2027 and running to June 2028, with gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (published October 2026) (opens in a new tab), Notice to stakeholders, 26 February 2026: low-season gorilla and chimpanzee permit rates and revised tariff (opens in a new tab))
Kibale National Park is Uganda’s primate forest. The Uganda Wildlife Authority estimates more than 1,500 wild chimpanzees there, in at least 12 communities, and 13 primate species, including red colobus and grey-cheeked mangabey. A tracking visit allows one hour with a habituated community, and groups are limited to six people; chimpanzee tracking is also offered in Kyambura Gorge, in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
For more time, Kibale offers a chimpanzee habituation experience: following a community that is still being accustomed to people through more of its day, with up to four hours in the chimpanzees’ presence under UWA’s tariff. Ask us which park a primate journey visits and whether tracking or habituation is included, because the answer shapes the whole route.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Kibale National Park: chimpanzee tracking (opens in a new tab), Kibale National Park (opens in a new tab), Conservation tariff July 2024 – June 2026, with park, gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (re-published on UWA’s website on 12 October 2026) (opens in a new tab), Revised conservation tariff, taking effect 1 January 2027 and running to June 2028, with gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (published October 2026) (opens in a new tab))
The two experiences differ in more than the animal. A gorilla visit is an hour with one habituated family group, while chimpanzees live in larger communities spread through the forest, which is why a chimpanzee trek can range more widely. The minimum ages, group sizes and booking rules differ too, and many travellers choose to do both on one journey, usually with Queen Elizabeth in between.
| Gorilla trekking | Chimpanzee tracking | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Bwindi and Mgahinga | Kibale, and Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth |
| Minimum age | 15 | 12 in UWA’s tariff rules, 16 on its Kibale page: confirm with UWA for anyone under 16 |
| Group size | At most eight visitors per gorilla group | Six per tracking group in Kibale |
| Time with the animals | One hour | One hour; up to four hours on a habituation experience |
| Distance to keep | 10 metres | 10 metres |
| Photography | No flash | No flash |
| Booking | Through a licensed tour operator; book well ahead | Through a licensed tour operator; advance booking is mandatory in Kibale |
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Conservation tariff July 2024 – June 2026, with park, gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (re-published on UWA’s website on 12 October 2026) (opens in a new tab), Revised conservation tariff, taking effect 1 January 2027 and running to June 2028, with gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (published October 2026) (opens in a new tab), Kibale National Park: chimpanzee tracking (opens in a new tab), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (opens in a new tab), Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (opens in a new tab))
Uganda’s parks are far apart, and the roads to the forest parks end in winding murram, where the Uganda Wildlife Authority highly recommends four-wheel drive. UWA publishes two sets of figures: road distances from Kampala in its tariff, and distances with approximate driving times on some park pages. Where they differ, both are shown; actual times depend on the route, the season and the stops you make.
| Park | UWA park page | UWA tariff | Airstrips UWA names |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Mburo | About 228 km; about three and a half hours | About 253 km | None in the park; charters to Mbarara |
| Murchison Falls | — | About 305 km | Pakuba |
| Kibale | About 326 km on tarmac; about six hours (about an hour from Fort Portal) | About 358 km | No direct flights; Kasese is nearest |
| Queen Elizabeth | About 410 km; at least seven to eight hours direct | About 389 km | Kasese, Mweya and Kihihi |
| Mgahinga | — | About 482 km | Kisoro |
| Bwindi | — | About 512 km | Kihihi and Kisoro |
| Kidepo Valley | — | About 571 km | Flights usually arranged from Entebbe |
Checked 20 October 2026. A dash means the park page we read gives no figure.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Revised conservation tariff, taking effect 1 January 2027 and running to June 2028, with gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (published October 2026) (opens in a new tab), Lake Mburo National Park (opens in a new tab), Murchison Falls National Park (opens in a new tab), Kibale National Park: chimpanzee tracking (opens in a new tab), Queen Elizabeth National Park (opens in a new tab), Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (opens in a new tab), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: gorillas and getting there (opens in a new tab), Kidepo Valley National Park (opens in a new tab), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (opens in a new tab))
Uganda’s parks sit among communities with their own histories, and several offer visits arranged with local people. Around Buhoma and Nkuringo, the Batwa, Bwindi’s original forest inhabitants, share their hunter-gatherer heritage through performances, workshops and village walks, alongside the Bakiga. In Mgahinga a Batwa guide leads the Batwa trail, and near Queen Elizabeth there are cultural tours with Bakonzo, Basongora and Banyabindi communities.
In the far north, the Karamojong pastoralists and the Ik of the mountains live near Kidepo Valley. As anywhere, a visit is someone’s home: ask before photographing people, follow your guide’s lead, and confirm in advance what a visit includes and whether a fee is involved, because practices differ from one community to another.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (opens in a new tab), Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (opens in a new tab), Queen Elizabeth National Park (opens in a new tab), Kidepo Valley National Park (opens in a new tab))
Uganda packs a remarkable range of birds into a small country, from forest specialists of the Albertine Rift to the waterbirds of the Nile and the lakes. The counts below are each park’s own figures from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and the shoebill, one of Africa’s most sought-after birds, is commonly seen on the Albert Delta at Murchison Falls.
| Park | Species recorded | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Queen Elizabeth | Over 600 | African fish eagle, shoebill, flamingos and papyrus gonolek |
| Murchison Falls | 556 | The shoebill on the Albert Delta |
| Kidepo Valley | Over 476 | Species found in no other Ugandan park |
| Bwindi | More than 350 | 23 Albertine Rift endemics, such as the African green broadbill |
| Lake Mburo | Over 315 | Wetland and savannah birds |
| Mgahinga | Over 180 | 14 Albertine Rift endemics |
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Queen Elizabeth National Park (opens in a new tab), Murchison Falls National Park (opens in a new tab), Kidepo Valley National Park (opens in a new tab), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (opens in a new tab), Lake Mburo National Park (opens in a new tab), Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (opens in a new tab))
Our Uganda journeys are often named by experience rather than place. Each pattern lists only real journeys from our catalogue; ask which parks and permits a journey includes before you book.
Includes Bwindi
Three days built around a gorilla trek, by road or by air.
Includes Gorilla trekking · Chimpanzee tracking · Wildlife
Both great apes on one journey, from five to seven days.
Includes Gorilla trekking · Chimpanzee tracking · Big Five
Longer journeys pairing primates with savannah parks.
Includes Queen Elizabeth · Murchison Falls
Short safaris in one savannah park.
Includes Primates · Savannah · Kidepo
Two weeks or more across the country, including Kidepo on one journey.
All 18 journeys in our Uganda collection. Big Time picks first.
Big Time pick
Uganda
A 5-day midrange Uganda safari for gorillas, chimpanzees and wildlife.
Big Time pick
Uganda
An 8-day luxury safari combining gorillas, chimpanzees and the Big Five.
Big Time pick
Uganda
A 10-day midrange Uganda safari combining gorillas, chimpanzees and the Big Five.
Big Time pick
Uganda
A 12-day midrange Uganda adventure with gorillas, chimpanzees and the Big Five.
Uganda rewards travellers who are ready for early starts and forest trails, but it has gentler sides too. These notes are honest about the rules and about what our catalogue includes.
The 3 Days Bwindi Gorilla Trekking Midrange Safari or the fly-in 3 Days Luxury Fly-In Bwindi Gorilla Safari are the shortest ways to meet the gorillas.
Gorilla trekking has a minimum age of 15. For chimpanzee tracking, UWA’s documents give 12 or 16, so confirm with UWA, through us, before booking for anyone under 16. Savannah parks such as Queen Elizabeth and Lake Mburo, with boat trips and game drives, are the side of Uganda to plan around younger children.
Our catalogue’s one honeymoon journey is the 12 Days Uganda Honeymoon Safari Holiday.
Flash is not allowed with gorillas or chimpanzees, and the forest is often dim, so a fast lens matters more than a long one. Murchison Falls and the Kazinga Channel add water and big skies.
Albertine Rift endemics in Bwindi and Mgahinga, and the shoebill on the Albert Delta at Murchison Falls.
Six of our Uganda journeys are budget, ten midrange and two luxury. Permits are priced separately by UWA, so ask whether they are included.
Forest treks are steep and unpredictable, and the length of a trek depends on where the primates have moved. Tell us about any health or mobility needs before you book, so we can be honest about what is realistic.
Entry, health and park rules change. Each panel names the authority that sets them; these facts were checked on 20 October 2026.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: gorillas and getting there (opens in a new tab), Queen Elizabeth National Park (opens in a new tab), Murchison Falls National Park (opens in a new tab), Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (opens in a new tab), Kibale National Park: chimpanzee tracking (opens in a new tab))
Sources: Uganda Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control (Uganda Tourist Visa: single entry (opens in a new tab), Official notice: Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate no longer mandatory for entry (posted 2 October 2026) (opens in a new tab)); UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (opens in a new tab); US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (opens in a new tab); World Health Organization (opens in a new tab)
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Conservation tariff July 2024 – June 2026, with park, gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (re-published on UWA’s website on 12 October 2026) (opens in a new tab), Revised conservation tariff, taking effect 1 January 2027 and running to June 2028, with gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (published October 2026) (opens in a new tab), Notice to stakeholders, 26 February 2026: low-season gorilla and chimpanzee permit rates and revised tariff (opens in a new tab))
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Conservation tariff July 2024 – June 2026, with park, gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (re-published on UWA’s website on 12 October 2026) (opens in a new tab), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (opens in a new tab))
The Uganda Wildlife Authority puts the number at about 459, almost half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas.
In the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, where lions are known to rest in fig trees. Sightings cannot be guaranteed.
UWA sets strict rules for every visit, at most eight visitors, one hour, 10 metres from the gorillas, no trekking when ill, and its permit rate includes a UWA guide. The trails are the main challenge: steep, slippery and sometimes long. For country-level safety, read your own government’s travel advice before you book, such as the UK FCDO’s Uganda page.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Conservation tariff July 2024 – June 2026, with park, gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (re-published on UWA’s website on 12 October 2026) (opens in a new tab), Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (opens in a new tab)); UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (opens in a new tab)
Yes. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park has one habituated gorilla group, which ranges across the border, as well as endangered golden monkeys. Our journey titles do not name Mgahinga, so ask whether a journey can use it.
A longer visit to primates that are still being accustomed to people. In Kibale, UWA’s chimpanzee habituation experience allows up to four hours with the chimpanzees; UWA also lists a gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Kibale National Park: chimpanzee tracking (opens in a new tab), Revised conservation tariff, taking effect 1 January 2027 and running to June 2028, with gorilla and chimpanzee tracking rules (published October 2026) (opens in a new tab))
The Uganda Wildlife Authority says the shoebill is commonly seen on the Albert Delta at Murchison Falls, where the Nile meets Lake Albert, and lists it among Queen Elizabeth’s birds. No sighting can be guaranteed.
Sources: Uganda Wildlife Authority (Murchison Falls National Park (opens in a new tab), Queen Elizabeth National Park (opens in a new tab))
Lake Mburo National Park has Uganda’s only population of impala, along with zebras and eland.
Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Park rules, fees and conditions change, so always check the latest before you travel.
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