5-Day Queen Elizabeth, Gorilla and Batwa Safari 

Overview

This five-day safari packs Uganda’s greatest wildlife contrasts into one journey. You’ll game drive across the Kasenyi Plains in Queen Elizabeth National Park, cruise the Kazinga Channel past hippo pods and crocodiles, search for the famous tree-climbing lions of Ishasha, then trek through Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for an hour with a habituated mountain gorilla family. The Batwa cultural experience adds a human dimension that most safaris miss.

Duration: 5 days / 4 nights
Route: Kampala/Entebbe → Queen Elizabeth National Park → Ishasha → Bwindi Impenetrable National Park → Kampala/Entebbe
Travel Style: Budget, Midrange, or Luxury

 

 

Brief Itinerary

• Day 1: Kampala/Entebbe then Queen Elizabeth National Park
• Day 2: Morning Game Drive and Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise
• Day 3: Ishasha Tree-Climbing Lions then Transfer to Bwindi
• Day 4: Gorilla Trekking and Batwa Cultural Experience
• Day 5: Bwindi then Return to Kampala/Entebbe

Day 1: Kampala/Entebbe then Queen Elizabeth National Park

Driving Distance: Approximately 375 km, 6–7 hours

Your safari begins with an early morning pickup from Kampala or Entebbe. Travel southwest through Uganda’s countryside and stop at the Uganda Equator in Kayabwe for photographs, refreshments, and optional souvenir shopping. The Equator crossing at Kayabwe sits about 72 kilometers from Kampala on the Kampala–Masaka highway, marked by two circular monuments on either side of the road . You can stand with one foot in each hemisphere and watch the water demonstration, though guides often describe it as more of a fun trick than true science .

Continue through the Ankole cattle-farming region, stopping for lunch along the way. Arrive at Queen Elizabeth National Park in the late afternoon or evening. Check in at your lodge and relax while enjoying views of the surrounding savannah.

Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s most popular savannah park, covering nearly 2,000 square kilometers. The park holds 606 confirmed bird species, one of the highest counts of any national park in Africa . Its combination of savannah, forest, wetland, and crater lakes creates extraordinary habitat diversity.

Meals: Lunch and dinner included.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Tembo Safari Lodge
• Midrange: Acacia Wilderness Lodge Mweya
• Luxury: Buffalo Safari Lodge

Day 2: Morning Game Drive and Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise

This is the day you experience Queen Elizabeth’s classic savannah wildlife.

After an early breakfast, enjoy a game drive across the Kasenyi Plains. The Kasenyi area is known as the main mating ground for Uganda kobs, and this concentration of antelope attracts predators. Morning drives between 6:30 AM and 10:30 AM offer the best chance to see lions returning from nighttime hunts or actively prowling . Search for lions, elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs, and with some luck, leopards or hyenas.

The dry season months from June to September and December to February offer the best visibility because grass is shorter and animals concentrate around water sources . If you’re traveling during January or February, you may benefit from the Uganda kob calving season, which draws predators into more predictable areas .

After lunch, take a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, which connects Lake George and Lake Edward. The channel is about 40 kilometers long and averages just one meter deep, creating ideal conditions for wildlife viewing . The boat ride lasts approximately two hours, with departures scheduled at 9 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM, and 5 PM from the jetty below Mweya Safari Lodge .

The channel attracts large numbers of hippos, Nile crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes, and colorful waterbirds. One recent visitor described it simply: “If you’re looking for hippos, this is the spot in Uganda. They’re everywhere. Like, literally everywhere. Super close too” . You may also see African fish eagles, kingfishers, and if you’re very lucky, a leopard coming down to drink .

Return to your lodge after the cruise for dinner and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Tembo Safari Lodge
• Midrange: Acacia Wilderness Lodge Mweya
• Luxury: Buffalo Safari Lodge

Day 3: Ishasha Tree-Climbing Lions then Transfer to Bwindi

Driving Distance: Approximately 150 km, 4–5 hours including game drive

After breakfast, travel through the Ishasha Sector in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park. This is one of only two places in Africa where lions routinely climb trees  the other being Lake Manyara in Tanzania . The behavior has been documented in Ishasha for decades, making it a genuinely singular wildlife experience.

Nobody has settled the scientific explanation for why these lions climb. The leading theories include escaping ground heat and biting tsetse flies, catching a breeze, and gaining a better vantage point to spot Uganda kob and buffalo . The lions favor large fig and acacia trees along the Ishasha river circuits .

Timing matters more than you might expect for tree-climbing lion sightings. The behavior is heat-driven, so the best time to look for lions in trees is often the middle of the day, when temperatures peak  counterintuitive for travelers used to dawn and dusk game drives . Guides working Ishasha know which fig trees the resident pride favors, and a midday scan of these specific trees is often more productive than a broader dawn drive .

Sightings are never guaranteed. Roughly 50–60% chance across two game drives is a reasonable expectation, better if you dedicate a full day and go early . But the sector is beautiful and less crowded than the northern Kasenyi area, and you may also encounter elephants, buffaloes, topis, and Uganda kobs.

After lunch, continue through the beautiful hills of southwestern Uganda toward Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Arrive at your lodge in the evening, check in, and prepare for the following day’s gorilla trek.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Nshongi Camp
• Midrange: Buhoma Haven Lodge
• Luxury: Gorilla Leisure Lodge

Day 4: Gorilla Trekking and Batwa Cultural Experience

This is the anchor day of the safari.

After an early breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters for registration and a briefing from the Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers. You’ll be assigned to a gorilla family, with a maximum of eight visitors per family.

Enter Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with your ranger and trackers in search of a habituated mountain gorilla family. The trek may take several hours depending on the gorillas’ location and movement. The terrain can be steep, muddy, and densely vegetated, but the encounter makes every step worthwhile.

Once the gorillas are located, you will spend one unforgettable hour observing them. Watch the silverback protect his family, mothers nurse and care for infants, and playful juveniles tumble through the vegetation. You must maintain a minimum distance of seven meters and wear a face mask during the encounter to protect the gorillas from human illnesses.

After the trek, return to the park headquarters and receive your gorilla trekking certificate.

Depending on your return time from the forest, visit the Batwa community for a cultural experience. The Batwa are the indigenous forest people who lived in Bwindi for thousands of years before the national park was created in 1991. Led by Batwa guides, this experience introduces you to their traditional forest lifestyle through storytelling, medicinal plants, hunting techniques, music, and dance. You’ll learn about their displacement and how cultural tourism now helps preserve their heritage while generating community income.

Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, packed lunch, and dinner included.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Nshongi Camp
• Midrange: Buhoma Haven Lodge
• Luxury: Gorilla Leisure Lodge

Day 5: Bwindi then Return to Kampala/Entebbe

Driving Distance: Approximately 460–500 km, 8–10 hours

After breakfast, check out and begin the journey back to Kampala or Entebbe. Travel through the terraced hills and farming communities of southwestern Uganda, stopping for lunch along the way.

Later, stop at the Uganda Equator for photographs or souvenir shopping before continuing to your agreed drop-off point. Arrive in Kampala or Entebbe in the evening, marking the end of your five-day wildlife, gorilla, and cultural safari.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch included.

Safari Price Guide

Cost in USD per Person, based on accommodation category and group size: