9-Day Highlights of Uganda: Gorillas, Chimps & Mabamba Shoebills

Nine days that pack in Uganda's essential wildlife experiences at a friendly price: mountain gorillas in Bwindi, wild chimpanzees in Kalinzu Forest, a classic savannah safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park, a walking safari in Lake Mburo, and a final morning searching for the rare shoebill in the Mabamba wetland near Entebbe. It is a private trip with your own 4x4 safari van with pop-up roof and an English-speaking driver-guide throughout.

In Queen Elizabeth you go out on an early morning game drive to look for lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo and antelope, then take a boat safari along the Kazinga Channel past hippos, crocodiles and waterbirds. A ranger leads you through Kalinzu Forest to a habituated chimpanzee community, with other primates, colourful birds and butterflies along the way. In Buhoma you stay with Ride 4 a Woman, a community project that gives local women paid work, and trek into Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to meet a mountain gorilla family; the day is kept free because the trek can take anything from a short walk to most of the day.

The journey winds down at Lake Mburo with a guided walking safari among zebra, eland and giraffe before the drive back to Entebbe. On your last day you glide by boat through Mabamba Swamp looking for the shoebill, then visit the Ewaffe Cultural Centre to try barkcloth making, cook and taste matooke and luwombo, and follow local coffee from bean to cup before your flight. Standard lodges on full board, one gorilla permit, one chimpanzee permit and park fees are included, two trees are planted for every traveller and 2% goes to our social impact partner.