What to Expect on a Uganda Wildlife Safari
While Uganda is known for its gorillas and chimpanzees, you’ll find plenty of other animals on a WT Uganda wildlife safari, which includes visits to savannas, rainforests, rivers, and breathtaking destinations like Murchison Falls.
From trekking through Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in search of mountain gorillas to scanning the treetops for playful chimpanzees in Kibale to cruising along the Kazinga Channel near a herd of elephant or a bloat of hippo, you’ll experience incredible animal sightings on a Uganda wildlife safari.
Uganda is one of Africa’s best safari destinations, and The Ultimate Uganda Safari by Wilderness Travel is designed to bring you to the best places on one adventure. On this safari, expect to encounter iconic African species like lions, leopards, giraffes, and hippos, alongside fantastic birding opportunities to search for the prehistoric-looking shoebill stork and the adorable squacco heron.
Wilderness Travel’s Ultimate Uganda Safari Itinerary
Here is a glimpse of my safari experience in Uganda in June 2025.
This safari was 12 days long and very ably led by our Trip Leader, Robert Sunday. After one night in Uganda’s capital of Entebbe, we began the first of several long drives, this one to Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda’s northwest. Fortunately, the drive was broken up by an hour at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
There, we had the privilege of tracking white rhinos on foot. The high point was a standoff between one male and several females. Positions were defended, and several mock charges occurred. These raised some dust but led to no contact or harm.
One of the beauties of Murchison Falls is the variety of activities it offers. We enjoyed two Nile cruises, one to the base of the falls, the other to the Victoria Nile Delta in search of shoebills, large storks prized by birders. For balance, we drove to the top of the falls, where we surrendered our barrels and marveled at the volume of water being forced through the tiny opening in the rock.
We went on several game drives, during which we managed to tear our eyes off the giraffes for long enough to enjoy the many other lovely animals and birds.
At the end of this exciting introduction to Uganda, we made the long drive south to the Kibale Forest National Park. This park is one of the few in East Africa featuring rainforest rather than savanna.
And this diverse rainforest shelters a large population of chimpanzees and other forest primates. Over the years, many of the chimps have been habituated to humans, making it possible to visit and view them at close range. My highlight of our time in Kibale was the two hours that we spent alternately crashing through the undergrowth and quietly hanging out with a troop of chimps that seemed to ignore us completely. Other forest primates are much more difficult to view since they are shy and spend most of their time high in the canopy.
We were lucky to spot a few individuals or groups alongside the road. Out of the forest completely, we enjoyed a walking tour of Bigodi village which included visits to a coffee farm, a banana-beer brewer, and a native-plants herbalist. Fortified by the coffee, beer, and herbs, we hit the road again for the relatively short drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, perhaps Uganda’s best known savanna park.
We sought grassland animals on our own and along with researchers tracking radio-collared lions and leopards. And we came back to the theme of cruises, as we enjoyed a small-boat ride on the Kazinga Channel, linking Lakes Edward and George.
Along with the Nile cruises at Murchison Falls, this is among the best places to see water-adapted wildlife in Africa. The hippos were impressive, and a hyena made a surprise appearance, but it was the multitude of lovely birds that stole the show.
Finally, it was time for our last stop, at the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, near Uganda’s southwestern corner. Like all visitors to Bwindi, we were there for up-close-and-personal views of mountain gorillas—Uganda gorilla trekking is a must-do when you’re visiting the country. But we were not in a zoo and gorilla treks in an “impenetrable” forest are not sure things. Fortunately, Wilderness Travel anticipated this issue and increased our odds by scheduling two gorilla treks on separate days. The first of these was difficult and culminated in limited views; the distances and slopes were not excessive, but a critical part of the hike took us over vegetation which had been trampled and become very slippery.
Fortunately, our second trek was short and sweet, providing incredible views at very close range. It is simply amazing how moving it is to see such majestic animals so completely at ease and just a few feet away. This experience by itself would have been worth the trip.
