About this blog: Traveling in Uganda for 10 days, I can tell you the primate tracking adventure is a (albeit a profound) part of the whole experience. What if I tell you there is a land in east Africa where African Savanna meets the mystic Rainforest, where the swirl of Lake Victoria, the Inland sea of Africa, paves way to river Nile. In Uganda, you can see the African Big 5, the elusive shoe-bill Stork and the white rhino, along with the Mountain Gorilla in their natural habitat. In this Travel blog, I will give you an itinerary and some of the must known tips to make this trip successful!
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Uganda seats on Albertine rift, one of the most bio diverse region of East Africa
I wanted to visit Uganda since 2019! It was one of the few countries with easy visa rules for a solo female traveler from India.
Then came the dreadful pandemic. I put a hold on the Uganda trip until I sort things out.
This year, when I started with the global map and annual vacation plan, I started with Namibia Botswana. However harsh December sun of the South eventually veered me towards East Africa.
I scoured my Instagram, found a blogger I trust who had visited Uganda in recent time. She is a Brit. She gave me couple of contacts. I booked with one of the guides.
People alerted me saying they have an election upcoming in January. They have yellow fever. Even my Reddit ads said don’t travel to Countries with higher Travel Advisory list.
But when did I listen to people?
I had to see Uganda. This would be my 32nd country. Of course the primates were the main attraction but the fact River Nile burst out of a 7 meter wide (only) George was what inspired me the most!
So there we were! For 10 days, we started from Bwindi National Park, headed North, and ended up at Kampala, traveling through the vast expanse of the country, exploring different terrain and being elated at every turn of the road, or African massage, whatever you call it!
Why visit Uganda
I never thought I would agree with Churchill but what he said about Uganda, that it is the Pearl of Africa, has all the merit.
I say this after visiting East Africa extensively, from Ethiopia to Rwanda.
Rolling hills, verdant valleys kissed by the myst of rainforest, elusive wildlife, birds painted by a riot of colour, life unfolds beautifully with everyday mundane.
But wildlife is not exclusive to Uganda. Neighboring Serengeti and Masaimara have a more attractive image with relatively stable government. Uganda borders with Congo who has not had a restful time in recent history that lasted for 5 years straight.
But Uganda had Mountain gorillas. And shoe bill stork. That alone should be the reason for you to visit Uganda.
Uganda is a relatively cheaper destination with decent connection between the main travel destinations. You can find better value for safari compared to other parks of the region.
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Why Uganda is your Best Choice for Primate Tracking?
If you thought about skipping the whole hiking rainforest and mountain part and visit a Mountain Gorilla at a zoo (or a conservatory) I have news for you.
The Mountain Gorillas of Virunga range do not survive confinement. Many attemps have been made to move them to the zoo of western world.They did not survive more than a few flimsy months.
If you have read the book Gorillas in the mist by Diana Fossey, you would know the oplight of the Mountain gorillas, the increasimng wildlife and human conflict in the region, and heartbreaking stories of poaching.
You can see Gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo DRC. These countries share the rainforest and mountains where gorillas have reigned and lived for thousands of years.
In Rwanda, the 90s genocide took a heavy oll on the lives of animals. Most perished but their govt did a commendable job to revive the gorilla populace. they safeguard them and sell them as the main tourist product.
Rwanda also has an easier trail to walk to reach near the gorillas, in Volacnic national aprk. Rwanda has a comparatively sfaer reputation in East AFrican countries. Often touted as the Singapore of Africa, Kigali does stand out as a very clean city with everything in Order.
I spent too less time in Rwanda to form an opinion of the city. But it does occurred in my mind the way they have improved the infrastructure at least in the capital city in the short time they had post genocide.
However rwanda is struggling to revive the wildlife population in its national parks. That is where Uganda wins the race to track Gorillas.
Congo DRC is a country with incredible natural beauty. With nature’s bounty comes great suffering in Congo often influenced or fueled by European countries (hello France).
It is the cheapest to track Gorillas in Congo at Virunga. However you may have to pay a hefty price for your life.
I plan to go back to the region some other time when politics is more tolerent and kinder to wildlife of the region.
Uganda on the other hand boasts of some of the most well maintained national parks, and a stunning river basin created by River Nile. It would not be an exaggeration I visited uganda mainly to see Nile bursting out the 7 Meter gap through Murchison Falls.
Uganda is plagued by a bunch of internal and external threats. The one sitting heavy on my heart is Climate crisis diplacing a large mass of people in SOuth SUdan. Rexcent discovery of oil at Murshison falls has triggered the Chinese oil monarchs to flock in. Yet conservation efforts are noticable, fueled by tourism.
Is it safe to visit Uganda?
Uganda has seen a relatively tumultuous political past compared to the rest of East Africa.
It has enjoyed a state of calm in recent times barring a handful of stray incidents, mostly related to people infiltrating beyond the borders. Be it climate crisis threatening the peace in Sudan, or volatile mining induced violence of Zaire (Condo DRC) has not spared the Ugandan border towns.
It is good to be aware of the possibilities before you confirm your trip, or finalize the destinations.
We have spent 10 days in Uganda before the Jan 2026 election. It is much anticipated by the way, not only by the Ugandan locals, but in the surrounding Tanzania and Kenya too.
I felt safe, very safe all the time we were there in the country.
At times, I got to kmnow about situation after I have risked myself in simple ways like taking a walk in the jungle or in Batwa village.
Ignorange is bliss. what can I say?
People speak English, thanks to long British colonial rule. I foun it easy and leasant to converse with locals in Uganda, who actually seapk Luganda, if not swahaili.
I loved Uganda so very much. I am sure I will convince you to visit Uganda with the stunning pictures of Nature my camer acould capture.
Yet, I am tiptoeing around the idea of safety situation in Uganda, because I have seen military cars patrolling the Rwuhaisi range, the Queen Elizabeth National park. I have witnesssed the maddening rush of Kampala city. I have walked with an army entrouge and I have felt uncomfortable with the whole idea.
I wholeheartedly support your urge to go ro Uganda. I would return in a heartbeat.
However, I may want to tag with a local guide, and stick to the tourity areas.
If you have won over the fear (which is mostly unfounded), I would say give Uganda at least 10 days in not 2 whole weeks.
Best time to visit
Best time to visit Uganda for Gorilla tracking is the dry season. It is also a good season to bust the national parks.
Uganda has two dry seasons. One lasts from June to August which also collides with the warmer weather. Water would be scarce. Animals will trudge to the water holes.
The short dry season lasts from December to January. There would still be short bouts of rain but weather is cooler making it easy to walk in the bush.
You can visit Uganda during rainy season. The rainforest is its prettiest during rainy season, with mist and greens painting valleys in bold strokes. Hardly a tourist would be visible.
However it is difficult to trek the hill and venture into the wild in search of the primates. They are annoyed too.
We visited in the middle of December.
While viewing the Gorilla, weather was on our side until it was not. The massive leaves of the ancient trees safeguarded us from the downpour but it could only do so much. Soon after we found everything blurry. I do not know how we made our way back. The porters were super helpful.
In rained a bit early in the morning at Murchison falls NP. However that was a boon, as we saw many animals becoming active essentially after the rains stopped.
It was very pleasant weather in December. We never had to switch on AC while traveling around the Ugandan countryside.
Rough Itinerary for Uganda in 10 days
Day one: Arrive at Rwanda, spend the night there. Enter through Kigali.
Day 2: explore the Genocide memorial of Rwanda. Keep at least couple of hours. Head to the Land border and enter Uganda.
Uganda is a country offering visa on arrival for most nationalities. For a cost of USD 50, you get a sticker visa. You can not cross the border with a drone camera or alcohol license xceeding 2 liter per person.
Day3: go for Gorilal tracking in the morning. Spend an hour near a gorilla family that your guide takes you close to.
Use the evening for hike to or visiting the Batwa community
Day 4: start for Kibale National park and pass by Ishasha decor of Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 5: if Gorilla tracking mesmerised you you will be elated with the Chimp experience. They are far more active and unhinged in front of the audience (that is you)!
I absolutely loved walking at the Bigodi swamp in the evening where a black Mamba walked gently on my toes, I saw a Turaco flying and the living thriving swamp that generates livelihood very kindly for the locals of the nearby village. Couple of hours of pure nature for your viewing pleasure!
Day 6: from Kibale we head towards Murchisonfalls, day two of a long very long road trip. Stop by the megawatt waterfalll where Nile burst into Albert Nile on his way to South Sudan. Murchison is a beauty to Behold.
Day 7 & 8: I had two days to go for game drive at Murchison because, why not?
But if you are okay with just one day of safari, you can stay there for one night.
We did Boat Safari, night safari, along with 2 morning game drives and I absolutely loved Murchison. It’s a small National park but has a decent variety of wildlife.
Day 9: on our way to Kampala we stopped at Ziwa Thino sanctuary where the White rhino conservation work is in progress. I recommend this experience although the rangers seemed to be very greedy for tip (unlike any other park & we tip gently).
We drive further, bypassed the maddening crowd of the Kampala city and headed straight to Entebe for the night’s rest. We went to shop at and slept at this hotel.
Dinner was at this place which served very hood Ygandan food as well as Biryani!
Day 10: it’s time to say good bye to Uganda.
But dare you do that before seeing the Shoebill Stork!
The famed birds are found at a handful of places in East Africa. But you may not plan a trip to South Sudan or western swamps of Tanzania anytime soon. So the Victoria swamp go Entebe is your best option to see them.
We spotted a juvenile. I truly enjoyed the hour long boat ride!
10 Days in Uganda- Bwindi, Queen Elizabeth, Kibale and Murchison NP
We started in Rwanda. The country went through massive upheaval during the 90s genocide and has risen like a phoenix.
I had watched the film Hotel Rwanda as a child. Visiting the Genocide memorial was a must for me.
I spent half a day exploring the museum. this is my first experience of witnessing human pain upclose and personal, if I do not consider the partition museum of Amritsar. But I belong to a displaced family, that is my legacy.
That was a heavy start to the trip. SOon after we started for Uganda.
Normally, a straight road takes you to Bwindi Impenetratblke forest. A road huddled with bunch of blockers. Nails on wood spread on the road. Jungle. Tea plantation. SLow heavy trucks manevering mountain roads. Baby jesus to Allah to Gujarati writing- everything is part of the Trucking decoration in Uganda.
We were late because our guide decided to ditch the bumpy road. So we took the longer road bordering Congo and took a long 8 hour journey to the heart of the forest.
Cash is king in Uganda, like many other places in East AFrica. If you do not want to carry an obnoxous amount of cash, be sure to put them in M Pesa ,the mobile app. Internet is flakey and expensive in the country. We trsuted our guide with the whole transaction.
As we reached the doors of Mahoganny SPring, the doorman peeped. so did his AK 47!
It was late in rainforest stanmdard. We were to reach by 5 but clock neared 9: 30.
A beautiful cande lit tabel was waiting for us with a hearty spread of food that I can not appreaciate enough.
Mahogany spring is a British owned jungle resor with a handful of chalet topped with thatched roof and jet spree for bathroom.
They took care to cover the bed with mosquito nets and place a hot water bag that rendered rest to my soar waist that jumped countless times on the AFrican massage route.
The next morning we left for briefing at 7. AT the gate of the Bwindi forest, you will come across a bunch of wooden artisans sitting with wooden gorilla, masks and other artefacts. Please buy from there. You will not find them easily elsewhere.
A briefing is a boring version of introducing you to the forest. You have smelt it. You have seen the blue of the sky playing opeek a boo with the verdent green. You want to run towards it, be one with it.
We were assigned our group of 7 Brits who have been coming back for gorilla tracking for a while now. They loved it. Some of them were returning the next day.
We drove for 40 minutes to reach our trailhead. There are 3 to 4 sectors in briwndi where Gorilla tracking takes place. Basically the jungle remain. At its periferi, humans have started their living.
You can choose to entyer through enter of the, I had requested the guide to help us choose an easy sector. Buyt its nature. You do not know what youy get!
We walked for 15 minuted and our tarckers had spotted the Gorilla family.
It was an ethereal experience. The great apes are so very similar to humans that it was almost eerie.
We stopped, we stopped, we paid our respect to the king of the jungle. We spent an hour. At the end of it, it started to pour heavily. It took a while to wear rain gear and then we started back, leaving behind teh B family in rain. A silverback sitting begrudgingly in rain under the bmassive tree. I would never forget that scene in my life.
Once the gorilla tracking is done, we were brought back to the resort, to enjoy the evening at lkeisure. I ventured out to meet the Batwa community, whoich toi be honest felt like a staged show. I did not appreciate the theatrics they do (or have to do) to appease tourists.
It is pre election time in Uganda. Political parties ran oitreach campaign where women huddle in with children in their back tied in filmsy piece of cloth.
I liked seeing the real village where Batwa once inhabitants of the forest being rehabiliatted.
The next day we started for Kibale forest through Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth NP. QENP was part of my original plan. Then I learnt about the attack and changed itr to Kiable. I was very skeptical about Chimp Tracking however it urned out to be even better than Gorilla. We were intrigued, entertained, scared all at the same time.
For both the primate experiences I highly recommend you stay for a day extra and do the habituation trek too, where you spend almost 4 hours with the animals. You spend time with groups who are not fully habituated to people, meaning they are still getting used to with humans coming and observing them from a distance for an hour each day during tourist season!
You may not be able to go very close to the apes, but you have time. Trust nature to gift you with an experience you will talk till old age.
From Kibaale we headed towards Murchison Falls NP. I am told it was EDi Amin’s favourite spot in East Africa. The park bears wounds from his escape when Tanzanian airforce Gombe’s some of the properties.
Anyway I had to visit Kurchisons for the burst of a waterfall that river Nile had created in a meagre 7 meter George. It was astounding. I have forever been fascinated with river Nile and it shows up in true beauty at Murchison.
Also the park has almost 280 lions. Being a smaller NO with marked trail for game drives, you have a higher chance of spotting wild animals at Murchison NP.
I found it to be really pretty with Nile flowing on one side. A recent oil mine discovery at the park has had a lot of attention in the region, which I am not sure how well will play out in future.
You could also end your trip at Kibale with a quick visit to Queen elizabeth NP. Set up around a dormant crater, QENP is a beautiful park, particularly famed for tree climbing lions. We crossed through the Ishasha sector and saw a bunch of African roof ants, some as close as 5 feet from the car.
But I had to visit Murchison because a. river Nile b. I had planned to stop at Ziwa Rhuno sanctuary on the way back.
Uganda lost its last living rhino during the conflict of 1983. Later, they flew in rhino from Florida, USA and Kenya, and started another family. Some of them were named Obama.
Those rhino have increased in the umber to 50 now and are slowly getting rehabilitated to the wild.
You can walk with a ranger and go really close to the white rhino.
Cost of Traveling in Uganda
Uganda is not an expensive country until you fancy a private safari car. Prices double even triple if the experiences are more private more exclusive.
If you can brave the bus and head to the clutter of Kampala downtown you are in for a treat, as well as save a whole lot of money!
Prices only go up for safari, primate experiences.
I tried to find the middle tier travel segment in Uganda which Murchison still had but the primate sector hardly offered any good choice.
It was our 10th year of traveling together so I did not mind splurging a little either.
We wanted to self drive but adding a driver did not cost a whole lot much so that’s there too.
Backpacking Uganda for 10 days will drastically bring cost down as you don’t have to pay the hefty 1200 for the car . Selecting cheaper accommodation also saves you a good few thousands.
Let’s get to our price breakdown for a bit:
We spend the following in round figure:
Vehicle: 1200
Fuel: 400
Hotels: 3000 (included food)
Driver: 300
Tips: 500
Np entry: 60 usd per person per day
Night safari: USD 60 per person per night
Primate tracking permit: 1600 for Gorilla
500 for chimps
It came to be around 11k for 10 days whole.
What to pack for a trip to Uganda
Gorilla tracking needs you to pack a bunch of stuff to help guard from the moist of the rainforest.
Rain poncho
If you rent from hotel they charge you USD 5
Shirts that cover your arms
Pants that you can tuck in to your socks. Even better if they are waterproof.
Gaitor I debated a lot If I should them these but they were super helpful especially during the heavy downpour. It’s a rainforest. It rains unannounced.
Good hiking shoe that comes upto your ankle. Also helps while jungle safari and looks very stylish.
Binoculars or a good telephoto Len’s in lieu of it.
A good camera if you are into photography.
Insect repellent. Since we were there during rains we did not really need it but during drier months I can see why you would need them.
Yellow fever vaccination card: they did not check it but asked it if we have it during border crowing. We got it in Bangalore and it is valid till 2027.
Malaria meds: we did not carry it but you may need it especially while traveling from western countries.
Food especially vegetarian food was easily available in Uganda.
Ugandan love their meat, especially a good Beef or Goat. The country chicken cooked inside banana leaves was fascinating.
Having said that meat if scarce and expensive.
The major source of nutrition is plantation. In steamed form or fried. Ugadi is a much loved food in Uganda.
And the whole country runs on Rolex.
It’s a modified version of Kolkata Egg roll, albeit with less oil but more Flour. I liked having Rolex from breakfast during safari. Fried eggs layered inside rolled bread or chapti. Munch on it every now and then, until you reach your resort where a larger ‘proper’ meal awaits.
I am not a big fan of African food, except for the fish of Nile river. We tried Nile perch this time at Paraa and loved it.
Rice is available on request. A large segment of Indians from Gujarat had settled in Uganda. Oh you know about Mamdani don’t you?
Where there is India you will find Daal Bhat. That was my comfort meal for the major part of the trip.
We walked to a Sanctuary and found oyster mushroom farming. Satued mushroom tastes very nice with bread and butter.
Loved the Avocado as much as I loved the massive fruit trees everywhere.
To self drive or take a guide
Self driving is a viable option in Uganda. Roads are not a delight but not in extreme ramshackle conditions. The game drives are done through well marked trails.
However hiring a local guide adds to the experience. Firstly they are good at spotting and sharing knowledge related to wildlife conservation.
Secondly, and the most important of it, they can become a bridge between the locals and the guests.
I did ask the calculation. I found hiring a guide driver adds only 400 to 500 extra to the budget of 10 days trip. We chose to go for a guide.
He helped us with the permits, game drives, choosing hotels, arranging nature walks with local guides etc. he even helped me get an easy hike to the gorillas.
I highly recommend Hassan.
Buying a Gorilla statue as a Souvenir
Before visiting Uganda, I knew I would bring back a Gorilla with me. A wooden statue with impeccable artistry. Living eyes. The furs.
I saw a bunch of them at the hotel (heavily priced), at the entry of Bwindi forest (could not stop due to rain) and at Entebb Market. Entebbe market, much like the Masai Market of Serengeti gives you space to barghain. We brought down the price to USD 60 and bought a silver back.
The real struggle started as we started to cross borders. Neither as ahnd luggae nor as a check in luggae the gorilla found it easy to pass security scan. Once I brought it back to NYC, I found it battered and bruised, but standing, as if it is carrying the legacy of its forefathers of Virunga!
The gorilla lives!
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