7-Day Magical Uganda: Gorillas, Queen Elizabeth & Lake Mburo

Seven days, one gorilla permit, and the best of south-western Uganda on a budget that works. This private safari takes you from Entebbe into Queen Elizabeth National Park, up to the forests of Bwindi to meet the mountain gorillas, and back through Lake Mburo, the smallest of Uganda's savannah parks, with your own 4x4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof and an English-speaking driver-guide the whole way.

In Queen Elizabeth you go out on an early morning game drive, when lions, elephants, buffalo and antelope are most active, and spend the afternoon on a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel, where hippos wallow in the shallows, crocodiles bask on the banks and the birdlife is spectacular. From there the road climbs to the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is home to around half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas.

Gorilla trekking day is kept free of other plans, because the trek can take anything from a short walk to most of the day depending on where the family has moved. Your last stop is Lake Mburo, with an afternoon game drive and a guided walking safari the next morning to look for zebra, eland, giraffe and buffalo on foot, before you drive back to Entebbe via the Equator. Stays are in simple, comfortable budget lodges and tented camps, on full board, with park fees, your gorilla permit and AMREF evacuation cover included. Two trees are planted for every traveller, and 2% goes to our social impact partner.