East Africa · Uganda
Where the safari began for us. Gorilla tracking in Bwindi, chimpanzee trekking in Kibale, Queen Elizabeth for tree-climbing lions, and Murchison Falls for the river that started everything.
Kenya Safari Centre began at a gorilla permit office in Kampala in 1994, before there was a Kenya Safari Centre to put a name on. We have been running Uganda safaris longer than we have been running Kenya ones.
What Uganda lacks in plain-grande spectacle it makes up for in primates, forest and bird life. Half the world's mountain gorillas live in Bwindi. The other primate-rich parks — Kibale, Budongo, Kyambura — are within a day's drive of each other. Combine it with a Kenya safari week and the two halves sit naturally together.
The permits, the parks and the practicalities for each.
Gorilla tracking
Twelve habituated gorilla families across four sectors. Permit is strict (eight visitors per group per day), the trek is hard up and down 1,500-metre ridges, and an hour with a silverback is the closest thing to wildlife on another planet.
Chimpanzee trekking
The highest chimpanzee density anywhere. Three trekking options including a half-day habituation experience with a researcher, plus the Bigodi wetland walk for monkeys and birding on the way back.
Classic safari
The most varied park in Uganda — tree-climbing lions in Ishasha, the Kazinga Channel boat ride for hippo and pelican, and crater-lake drives for forest and grassland birds.
The Nile
The Nile forced through a six-metre cleft. Combine a launch trip upriver with game drives on the north bank for giraffe, lion and buffalo in open savanna.
Water & birding
A quiet finish line. Twenty-nine islands, dugout canoe crossings, no hippos and no bilharzia, and a near-constant view of terraced hills from the lodge deck.
Combination
Three nights gorilla tracking followed by a Mara safari week, or the reverse. Nairobi is the natural hub for both — same office, same crew, one itinerary thread.
Gorilla and chimpanzee permits are bought directly from Uganda Wildlife Authority and sell out, particularly from June to September and over Christmas. Send us dates more than three months ahead and we will not lose you a permit; closer in, we will tell you honestly what is left.
Uganda is cheaper than Rwanda (the alternative for gorilla tracking) and the treks are, by most accounts, harder and more rewarding. We plan both, and we will tell you when one is the better choice.
Tell us when, how long and what you most want from Uganda. We will lay it out in English or German.
