Uganda Tours & Safaris

Gorilla permits are strictly limited each day to protect the animals and their habitat. Only eight visitors can see each gorilla family, so during peak seasons, from June to September and December to February, permits sell out very quickly.

Each permit covers one person on one date, and in Bwindi it is tied to a specific sector.

Plan to book several months ahead, and book the permit before flights and lodges, since everything else has to fit around the date. We can arrange it for you once you have chosen your dates.

Gorilla trekking is the highlight of a trip to Uganda, taking place mainly in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Trackers go ahead to find the family, and your walk can take anywhere from one to four hours each way. The ground is steep, muddy and thick with forest, so you go slowly and rest often.

Porters are available to carry your bag and give you a hand on the climbs, and most people hire one. Once you find the gorillas, you get one hour with them.

The minimum age of traveler is 15.

Uganda asks arriving travelers for proof of yellow fever vaccination, so bring your yellow card.

The vaccine takes effect 10 days after the shot, so get it well before you fly. Doctors usually also recommend malaria prevention, and some travelers add hepatitis A and typhoid.

Rules and health advice change, so check the current requirements with your doctor or a travel clinic a couple of months before departure.

Quite a lot.

At Murchison Falls National Park the Nile squeezes through a narrow gap, and you can take a boat to the base of the falls and drive past giraffes, elephants and buffalo.

Queen Elizabeth National Park adds a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel, where hippos and elephants crowd the banks, and tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector.

Add a walk in the Rwenzori Mountains or around a crater lake, and the trip becomes much more than one day with the gorillas.

While Kenya and Tanzania focus heavily on open-savanna game drives and the Great Migration, Uganda stands out for its diverse landscapes and world-class primate encounters.

Known as the "Pearl of Africa," Uganda is exceptionally green and crisscrossed by lakes and rivers.

Beyond classic Big Five game drives, you can hike through rainforests to track gorillas and chimpanzees, cruise the Nile to witness Murchison Falls, and experience a much more varied set of ecosystems.