About Empathy Tours
Empathy Tours is a premier Uganda-based safari company specializing in private travel, great ape expeditions, and authentic East African wildlife encounters.
Uganda is our home and our craft.
We design private journeys for travellers who want to experience East Africa with depth, clarity, and unhurried authenticity.
Primate travel sits at the very heart of our operations. Mountain gorilla trekking in Bwindi and Mgahinga, chimpanzee habituation in Kibale, and golden monkey trekking in the Virungas are our signature strengths. Around these once-in-a-lifetime encounters, we weave classic savannah game drives, Kazinga Channel boat expeditions, and stays at extraordinary wilderness lodges.
Unlike overseas travel brokers who simply re-sell third-party packages, our Kampala headquarters coordinates every vehicle, driver-guide, park permit, and lodge booking directly.
Travel that listens before it moves.
Empathy Tours was founded on a simple conviction: meaningful travel begins with understanding the destination, its wildlife, and its people, not merely ticking checklist items.
This belief dictates how we work: bespoke in how we plan, attentive to individual travel pacing, and focused entirely on Uganda and Rwanda rather than spreading thin across the continent.
How we approach every expedition.
Deep Local Insight
Based directly in Kampala, our planners and driver-guides live and breathe Uganda. We know seasonal road conditions, wildlife movements, and authentic local communities intimately.
Responsible Wildlife Stewardship
Gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking must strictly respect habituation guidelines, viewing distances, and park authority regulations. We prioritize wildlife welfare above all else.
Unhurried Pacing & True Comfort
We refuse to cram 6 national parks into 5 days. Every itinerary gives you adequate time to absorb the wild, rest in handpicked wilderness lodges, and travel comfortably.
Transparent, Direct Pricing
Official UWA and RDB gorilla permits are secured directly with zero hidden markups. As an on-the-ground operator, we eliminate unnecessary foreign agency commissions.
Protecting the wild ecosystems we explore.
Tourism exists only because wild animals and ancient habitats are actively protected. A significant portion of every gorilla permit and national park fee goes directly to the Uganda Wildlife Authority and surrounding community development funds.
We strictly uphold primate viewing rules: maintaining a minimum 7 to 10 meter distance from gorillas, wearing masks when required during close habituation encounters, and never tracking when experiencing respiratory illness.
Our Commitments to You
- Direct booking of official UWA and RDB primate permits at cost.
- Experienced, certified local Ugandan driver-guides on every route.
- Customized 4x4 Land Cruisers with guaranteed pop-up roof photography.
- 24/7 dedicated on-the-ground support from our Kampala team.