Destination
Uganda
Forest rather than plain. Uganda is where you walk in to find gorillas and chimpanzees, and where the Nile leaves Lake Victoria over a waterfall you can stand beside.
Where to go
Six places worth the drive
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Half the world's remaining mountain gorillas live in this forest. Four trekking sectors, each with its own habituated families and its own trailheads — which sector you sleep near decides your morning.
Best: Jun – Sep, Dec – Feb
Kibale Forest
The best chimpanzee tracking in East Africa, with thirteen primate species in the same forest and a habituation experience that keeps you with a group all day.
Best: Year-round
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Savannah between two lakes, with a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel and the tree-climbing lions of the Ishasha sector in the south.
Best: Jun – Sep
Murchison Falls
The Nile compressed into a seven-metre gap and thrown ninety metres down. Game drives on the northern bank, and a boat to the base of the falls in the afternoon.
Best: Dec – Feb, Jun – Sep
Lake Mburo and Lake Bunyonyi
Useful stops on the long road south-west. Mburo allows walking safaris and zebra on foot; Bunyonyi is a quiet place to recover after a trek.
Best: Year-round
Jinja and the Nile
Grade five rapids, and calmer things beside them. A two-day add-on for travellers who want something other than another game drive.
Best: Year-round
When to travel
There is no bad month, only trade-offs
The dry season concentrates animals at water and fills the camps. The green season empties the parks of vehicles, drops prices by a third, and asks you to accept afternoon rain.
If a month does not suit what you want to see, we will tell you before you book rather than after.
Dec – Feb
Short dry season
Firm forest trails and comfortable trekking. The most reliable window for Bwindi, and the busiest for permits.
Mar – May
Long rains
Heavy afternoon rain, slippery trails, lush forest. Permits are easier to find and lodges discount sharply.
Jun – Sep
Long dry season
Peak trekking months. Book gorilla permits six to nine months ahead; there are only a few dozen a day in total.
Oct – Nov
Short rains
Showers rather than storms, and good value. Birding is at its best as the migrants arrive.
Uganda itineraries
All toursPractical
Before you fly
Getting there
Entebbe is forty minutes from Kampala and the base for both road transfers and light aircraft to the south-west.
Permits
Gorilla permits are $800 and non-transferable, chimpanzee tracking $250. We hold permits in your name before you pay a balance.
Health
A yellow fever certificate is mandatory for entry. Malaria prophylaxis is required for the whole country.
Roads and flying
Entebbe to Bwindi is nine hours by road or ninety minutes by air. Most guests fly one leg and drive the other.
What to pack
Waterproof jacket, gaiters, gardening gloves for the nettles, and boots you have already broken in.
Trek fitness
Gorilla treks run from forty minutes to six hours at 2,300m. Porters cost $20 and are worth every dollar.