5 Day Uganda Gorilla and Chimpanzee Safari

Included

The listing's inclusion list covers private transportation, an air-conditioned vehicle, WiFi on board, breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the gorilla and chimpanzee permits. In a market where the Uganda gorilla permit alone costs $800 for foreign non-residents, that inclusion is the core of the offer. The tour is private, with hotel pickup in Kampala included in the option name.

One line of the listing states a restroom on board under exclusions, which conflicts with the air-conditioned vehicle description that suggests a full service vehicle. Confirm the actual vehicle standard with the operator on the booking page before you book, and ask how many hours of driving fall on each day.

• Private transportation and air-conditioned vehicle
• WiFi on board
• Breakfast, lunch and dinner
• Gorilla and chimpanzee permits
• Hotel pickup in Kampala

Not Included and Paid on Top

The listing excludes a restroom on board and gratuities. Tips amounts are not printed anywhere official, so budget for them separately and ask the operator what is customary. The listing does not state porter availability or a porter fee, drinks beyond meals, accommodation names, or park entrance fees beyond the permits, so ask the operator what else is covered before booking.

UWA sets park entrance for Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth at $40 per adult for foreign non-residents in its tariff, and it is worth checking whether that fee is inside the bundle.

Visa and Entry

Uganda requires a visa for most travelers, applied online, with no visas on arrival. The single entry tourist visa lists at $50, and the passport must be valid at least 6 months after arrival. Uganda Immigration asks for a tour plan, itinerary, photograph and hotel booking with the application.

If you plan to add Rwanda, the East African Tourist Visa costs $100, covers Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda, is valid 90 days and is issued by the first country of entry.

Health

The CDC says the yellow fever vaccine is required for all travelers arriving in Uganda aged 1 year or older, so carry the certificate. It also recommends prescription malaria medicine, with risk throughout the country.

Permits, Age and Fitness

Both permits are inside the tour price here, so no separate booking is needed, but remember UWA requires operators to pay permits in full at booking and no refund flows back if you cancel. The trek minimum age is 15 in Uganda under UWA rules, and 15 in Rwanda under RDB rules, so the listing's age bands for bookings do not change the trail rule. The listing asks for moderate fitness and advises against the trip for travelers with poor cardiovascular health.

What to Bring

Bwindi trails are steep and muddy in any month. Pack hiking boots or sturdy shoes, waterproof clothing, long sleeves and gloves, which the gorilla guidance recommends for the forest. Porters are available in the gorilla parks to carry backpacks and help on the route, though no fee is printed on the official pages, and this listing does not state whether a porter is arranged.

Gratuities are excluded from the price, so carry cash for tips in an amount you are comfortable with.

The Route Day by Day

The tour starts in Kampala with hotel pickup, then drives southwest to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for the gorilla trek. It continues to Queen Elizabeth National Park for wildlife viewing, the 45km Kazinga Channel between Lake George and Lake Edward, the Ishasha sector with its tree-climbing lions, and the Katwe explosion crater. Chimpanzee tracking runs in Kyambura gorge or Kalinzu Forest Reserve. The trip ends back in Kampala.

No departure time, return time or meeting point is stated on the listing, and no drive times between the stops are printed either. UWA puts Kampala to Kabale at about 414 km and roughly 6 hours, then about 120 km of murram road to Buhoma at roughly 5 more hours, which gives a sense of the first leg. Never build a clock time from those figures, ask the operator for the daily schedule.

Bwindi and Its Rules

UWA credits Bwindi with roughly half of the world's mountain gorilla population, about 459 animals, across a park of 321 km2 at altitudes of 1,160 m to 2,607 m. The 2018 Bwindi-Sarambwe survey counted 459 gorillas, up from 400 at the previous count. The park has four trekking sectors, Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo. The listing does not state which sector this tour uses, so ask.

Uganda's rules set the trek shape: minimum age 15, a maximum of eight visitors per group, a 10 m distance from the gorillas, one hour of observation, and no flash photography. Treks last between 2 and 7 hours with 60 minutes of observation. Anyone sick with a contagious illness should stay away, and masking and distancing remain part of the gorilla friendly guidance.

The Uganda gorilla permit costs $800 for foreign non-residents in the current tariff, and UWA says foreign non-resident permits can only be booked through licensed tour operators, paid in full at booking since the 7 day unpaid window ended. On this tour the permit is already inside the $2,863 price, which removes that errand.

• Minimum age 15, matching both UWA and RDB rules
• 8 visitors per gorilla group, 1 hour with the gorillas
• 10 m distance in Uganda, 7 m in Rwanda
• Bwindi treks run 2 to 7 hours depending on the family

The Same Trip Across the Border

Rwanda sells the same gorilla hour at Volcanoes National Park with a $1,500 permit from the Rwanda Development Board, and the park sits about three hours by road from Kigali on the official itinerary, a far shorter transfer than Kampala to Bwindi. Groups are eight visitors with one hour, distance is 7 m, treks run 30 minutes to four or more hours at 2,500 m to 4,000 m, and briefing is at Kinigi at 7:00 am. Rwanda also sells visas on arrival at $50, while Uganda requires an online visa.

Rwanda fits travelers starting from Kigali who want to cut the drive and pay more for the permit. One-day tours run from $260 plus the permit with Vista Safaris Gorilla Day Trip from Kigali, or $2,650 with the permit included through Shalom Safaris 1-Day Trek, Permit Included. If you want Uganda gorillas without the five day commitment, look at the Dav Safaris 3-Day Uganda Gorilla Safari or the 4-Day Rwanda and Uganda Gorilla Tour, which pairs both parks. This Prime Safaris trip is the pick when chimpanzees and Queen Elizabeth game viewing matter as much as the gorillas. See the full Rwanda vs Uganda gorilla trekking comparison for the permit and drive trade-off.

• Rwanda: $1,500 permit, 3 hours from Kigali, visa on arrival $50
• Uganda: $800 permit, long drives from Kampala, online visa only
• Both: age 15, groups of 8, one hour with the gorillas

What the Chimpanzee Day Adds

Chimpanzee tracking on this tour runs in Kyambura gorge or Kalinzu Forest Reserve, both near Queen Elizabeth National Park. Neither site carries the Kibale price tags or the Kanyanchu briefing ritual, and the listing does not state start times, group sizes or trek lengths for either forest. Ask the operator which forest is assigned and what time the briefing starts before you book.

What Fits

Five days covers gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking and at least one boat safari or game drive, provided the route is realistic. This tour uses its days on Bwindi, Queen Elizabeth National Park, the Kazinga Channel, Ishasha and the chimps in Kyambura gorge or Kalinzu, with both permits included in the $2,863 price. That is a full but coherent loop from Kampala.

• Gorilla trek in Bwindi, 2 to 7 hours on the trail
• Chimp tracking near Queen Elizabeth
• Wildlife viewing and the Kazinga Channel

The Drive-time Reality

UWA puts Kampala to Kabale at about 414 km and 6 hours, then 120 km of murram to Buhoma at about 5 more hours, so the first and last days are largely driving. If two long road days feel like too much, a three day Uganda trip that drops the chimps is leaner, and the Dav Safaris 3-Day Uganda Gorilla Safari is one such option at $2,600 with the permit included. Five days buys the second primate trek and the big-game park, nothing else.

How Chimp Days Usually Run

Where itineraries spell the day out, it follows a set shape: a morning briefing at the park visitor centre, then the trek, then often a wetland walk. The Kibale version briefs at the Kanyanchu Visitor Centre and follows with the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary boardwalks. This listing does not state a briefing point or time for Kyambura gorge or Kalinzu, so ask the operator which forest you get and when to report.

The Kibale chimpanzee permit costs $250 for foreign non-residents in the current UWA tariff, rising to $300 from 1 January 2027, which gives a sense of what the chimp permit inside this bundle is worth. Kyambura and Kalinzu permits are priced separately and the listing does not state which rate applies. Chimpanzees move fast and are heard before they are seen, so the hour looks different from the gorilla hour.

Fitness and Clothing

The listing asks for a moderate level of physical fitness and warns against booking for travelers with poor cardiovascular health. Gorges and forest trails are steep and muddy in any month. Pack the same kit as for gorillas: hiking boots, waterproof clothing and long sleeves.

The Published Figures

UWA puts Kampala to Kabale at about 414 km of tarmac, roughly 6 hours, then about 120 km of murram road to Buhoma, roughly 5 more hours, and recommends a 4WD. Kampala to Kisoro runs about 524 km, about 9 hours. Entebbe sits 40 km southwest of Kampala on a 42 km all-weather road.

For the parks this tour visits, UWA gives no single Kampala to Bwindi or park-to-park drive time, and five-day itineraries elsewhere quote legs such as Entebbe to Kibale at roughly 6-7 hours and Kibale to Bwindi at 6-8 hours. Treat all of these as day-shaped, not clock-shaped, and ask the operator for the daily schedule.

How to Shorten the Road Time

UWA notes daily flights from Entebbe to the Kisoro and Kihihi airstrips, with the Kisoro flight at about 1 hour 10 minutes. This listing includes only road transport, so if flying appeals, ask the operator about flying one way. Starting from Kigali instead cuts the drive sharply, which is the whole argument behind the Bugoli 1-Day Bwindi Gorilla Trek from Kigali and the Antique Safari 3-Day Bwindi Trek from Kigali.