8 Day Uganda: Kibale Chimpanzees, Queen Elizabeth and Bwindi
8 daysStarts EntebbeEnds EntebbePrivate Super Luxury Safaris package
Eight days is the western loop we will actually sell: Kibale for chimpanzees, Queen Elizabeth for the channel and Ishasha, Bwindi for one gorilla morning and a community day. Each forest permit is its own UWA paper. We do not stitch this from leftover nights, and we do not skip the long Entebbe roads by pretending they are game drives.Choose camping, mid-range, luxury or high-end — we name the lodges when both permit dates are real. The Arusha office remains your contact. Chimpanzee tracking is not a gorilla trek, and…
Lodge Safaris
Route map
Your safari map
Starts in Entebbe and ends in Entebbe.
Start: EntebbeEnd: Entebbe
Tracing safari roads…
Uganda 🇺🇬
Start Entebbe (Day 1)
Kibale (Day 1-3)Land Cruiser
Queen Elizabeth National Park (Day 3-4)Land Cruiser
Kazinga Channel (Day 4)Land Cruiser
Queen Elizabeth National Park (Day 4)Land Cruiser
Ishasha (Day 5)Land Cruiser
Bwindi (Day 5-8)Land Cruiser
End Entebbe (Day 8)Land Cruiser
Day by day
Day 1
Entebbe to Kibale
The road from Entebbe to Kibale runs through Fort Portal country — tea, crater lakes, a cooler highland than the channel. Five to six hours is typical. You do not track chimpanzees on arrival day. You sleep near the park so the morning briefing is not a pre-dawn marathon from Kampala.
Super Luxury remains your Arusha contact. The lodge is named on the quote. This night is for rest and a forest edge, not a trek.
Overnight: near Kibale Forest, in the lodge class named on your quote
Day 2
Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale
Kibale holds one of East Africa’s better-habituated chimpanzee communities. Briefing, then a forest walk to the group on your permit. Time with chimpanzees is limited; the walk can be short or several humid hours. This is not a gorilla trek, and the permit is a different UWA paper.
The chimpanzee permit is its own line on the quote. We do not confirm the departure until UWA has issued it for your date. A Bigodi wetland walk in the afternoon is birds and monkeys, not a second chimp habituation unless you added that extra.
Overnight: near Kibale Forest, in the lodge class named on your quote
Day 3
Kibale to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Leave the forest for the rift. Kibale to Queen Elizabeth is a few hours, not a wasted day: crater-lake country, then the channel park and a first game drive if you arrive with light. You sleep in Queen Elizabeth so Kazinga can be a morning, not a dash.
Park fees for Queen Elizabeth start when you enter. The chimpanzee morning is done; this is savanna from here to Ishasha.
Overnight: in Queen Elizabeth National Park, in the lodge class named on your quote
Day 4
Queen Elizabeth — Kazinga Channel
Morning on land, water in the middle of the day, or the other way around if the launch timetable is better. Kazinga is a boat, not a river cruise brochure. Hippo pods, buffalo on the bank, elephant if they came down to drink. The rest of the day is a peninsula drive.
We do not promise tree lions today — that is Ishasha, tomorrow, and even there it is a look, not a guarantee. Park rules and the boat slot sit on the quote.
Overnight: in Queen Elizabeth National Park, in the lodge class named on your quote
Day 5
Ishasha to Bwindi
You drive south through Queen Elizabeth to Ishasha. The famous picture is a lion in a fig. The honest briefing is that you may see that, or you may see kob, elephant and empty branches. We stay with the morning, then we leave for Bwindi.
Gorilla tracking is tomorrow, not a late-afternoon add-on. The briefing gate needs to be close, which is why we sleep on the forest edge.
Overnight: near Bwindi, on the forest edge
Day 6
Gorilla tracking in Bwindi
You track on the date written on the Uganda Wildlife Authority permit, in the sector written on that same paper. The walk is work: mud, nettles, a slope that does not care about your camera strap. The hour with the family is the point, and it is strictly timed.
The permit sits as its own line on the quote. If UWA moves your family or your sector, we move the lodge to match. We do not invent a second trek to fill a quiet afternoon.
Overnight: near Bwindi, on the forest edge
Day 7
Bwindi community and forest edge
After the gorilla morning you still have a forest to walk. A Batwa or community trail, birds at the edge, a slower day than tracking. We do not sell this as a second gorilla trek. A second permit is an extra, and only if UWA still has a family and a date.
Overnight: near Bwindi, on the forest edge
Day 8
Bwindi to Entebbe
You leave the forest for Entebbe on the same long western road you already know. Carry patience, not a tight connection. Drop-off ends the safari. The Super Luxury Safaris Team remains the Arusha contact if your flight moves.
When to travel
Season and routing
Kibale chimpanzee permits and Bwindi gorilla permits are each issued for a named date. Dry months are easier walking in both forests. Queen Elizabeth is a year-round savanna park; Kazinga runs in all seasons. Ishasha lions in trees are more often seen in the drier months, and still never guaranteed.
Where you sleep
Choose your stay style
Four ways to travel the same parks. Pick one style for the whole safari, or mix nights — we quote what you actually want. Names below are properties we often confirm. The lodge or camp on your quote is the booking; nothing here is reserved until you approve it.
Camping Safari tents, a cook, the night sounds of the park. The honest, close-to-the-ground way to safari.
Mid-range En-suite lodges and tented camps we use most — a proper bed, a shower, and the game still at the door.
Luxury Pools, full-service dining, the better rooms in the same parks.
High-end Suite camps and private houses when the trip is built around silence and space.
Kibale Forest / Fort Portal
Camping
A community campsite near the forest — basic, and close enough for the morning briefing.
Mid-range
Chimpanzee Forest Guesthouse, Turaco Treetops, or a similar Fort Portal / Kibale lodge.
Luxury
Primate Lodge Kibale, Crater Safari Lodge — forest or crater-lake rooms after the chimp walk.
High-end
Ndali Lodge, Kyaninga Lodge — crater-lake houses when the quote is built around Kibale.
Queen Elizabeth National Park
Camping
A park or nearby community campsite — simple, close to a dawn drive on the peninsula.
Mid-range
Bush Lodge, Enganzi Lodge, or a similar Mweya-side lodge named on the quote.
Luxury
Mweya Safari Lodge, Elephant Plains, or a similar channel-view lodge.
High-end
Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Ishasha Wilderness Camp when we sleep in the south — suite tents, quieter nights.
Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Camping
A community campsite on the forest edge — basic, honest, and close to the briefing gate.
Mid-range
A Buhoma or Rushaga mid-range lodge, named once the permit sector is known.
Luxury
Mahogany Springs, Buhoma Lodge, or a similar forest-view lodge with a hot shower after the trek.
High-end
Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp — suite rooms for the night before your allocated family.
Before you book
Practical notes
Day 1 is Entebbe to Kibale, typically five to six hours. You do not track chimpanzees on arrival day.
Chimpanzee tracking is a UWA permit of its own, usually for guests aged 12 and over. Gorilla tracking is a different permit, for guests aged 15 and over.
A chimpanzee habituation experience is a longer UWA product. It is not this itinerary unless you ask and we add it.
Ishasha tree lions are a look, not a promise. Day 7 is a Batwa or community forest walk, not a second gorilla trek.
The trip is not confirmed until UWA has issued both the chimpanzee permit and the gorilla permit for your dates.
Do not book an international departure from Entebbe before 21:00 on day 8.
The package
What is included — and what is not
Two separate lists, so you can see what the itinerary price covers before you request a quote.
Covered
Included in this itinerary
In the package price, for the dates and lodge or camp class on your quote.
Road transfers Entebbe–Kibale–Queen Elizabeth–Bwindi–Entebbe as written in the day plan.
Kibale and Queen Elizabeth park fees for the days named in the plan.
The Kazinga Channel launch named on the quote.
The Bigodi wetland walk named on the chimpanzee day, unless your quote swaps it for rest.
Lodge nights in Kibale, Queen Elizabeth and Bwindi as confirmed on your quote.
English-speaking Super Luxury-arranged guide, game drives and the forest briefings.
One Uganda Wildlife Authority chimpanzee-tracking permit, paid as its own line on the quote.
One Uganda Wildlife Authority gorilla-tracking permit, paid as its own line on the quote. We do not confirm the departure until UWA has issued both permits for your dates.
The Batwa or community walk named on day 7.
All meals (full board) at the lodges, camps or hotels named on your itinerary.
An evening of live music and traditional dance performances at select camps, arranged for your dates.
You arrange these
Not included
Budget separately, or ask us to add them to your proposal.
International flights
A second gorilla trek and its permit
Forest porter (optional, paid at the park)
Airport taxes and Uganda visa fees
Alcoholic drinks and any specialty dining not named on your quote
Tips and gratuities
Items of a personal nature
Travel insurance
A chimpanzee habituation experience (longer UWA product — ask if you want it)
Golden-monkey tracking in Mgahinga
Destinations:
Bwindi, Kibale, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda
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