5-day Queen Elizabeth and Kibale safari: chimpanzees, wildlife and Kazinga Channel

The road to Queen Elizabeth National Park takes you west through Uganda's countryside, with a stop at the Equator for photos along the way. Your guide will collect you after breakfast and handle the journey at a comfortable pace. By late afternoon, the focus moves to the park. Check in, take a short break, then head toward the Mweya Peninsula for an evening game drive. Elephants, buffaloes, warthogs and antelopes are among the species you may find. A visit to the Lake Katwe salt-mining area can also be included before returning to the lodge for dinner.

Kasenyi Plains gets the first hours of the day, when temperatures are lower and wildlife is generally more active. Lions are sometimes seen around Uganda kob herds, while waterbucks, buffaloes, bushbucks and varied birdlife are also present. Because the vehicle is private, your guide can change the route around recent wildlife movement, road conditions and your interests. By afternoon, the safari shifts to the Kazinga Channel. The boat travels between Lake Edward and Lake George, giving you a water-level view of hippos, crocodiles, waterbirds and any larger animals approaching the banks. Your guide will add context on the channel and its wildlife as you cruise.

Savannah gives way to forest as you leave Queen Elizabeth for Kibale National Park. Kibale supports 13 recorded primate species, including red colobus monkeys, L'Hoest's monkeys and olive baboons. Kibale is an overnight stop with a purpose: tomorrow is the chimpanzee tracking day. Once you have checked in, the rest of the afternoon is deliberately left quiet.

Kanyanchu Visitor Center is where the chimpanzee day begins. After the ranger briefing, you enter Kibale Forest and follow the trackers as they search for a habituated community. The search can take between 2 and 6 hours depending on where the chimpanzees have moved. Black-and-white colobus monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys and red-tailed monkeys may also appear along the trail. Once the chimpanzees are located, you observe the activity taking place while following the ranger's instructions. Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary provides a slower second half to the day. A local guide leads the walk through wetland and forest-edge habitat known for the Great Blue Turaco, several monkey species, butterflies and other birdlife.

The route turns back toward Kampala or Entebbe today, with lunch taken along the way. There is no major activity scheduled, which keeps the final day straightforward after the previous forest walks. If five days feels too short, extra time can be added around Jinja, Lake Victoria or another Uganda wildlife area without changing the core Queen Elizabeth and Kibale route.