Uganda: Gorillas & Beyond

Arrive in Entebbe, Uganda, a nation of stunning greenery, deep lakes, soaring mountains and rich biodiversity. Transfer to your hotel for an evening at leisure.

Depart Entebbe and fly to Murchison Falls National Park, one of the most scenic spots along the Nile and the location of the classic Humphrey Bogart film, The African Queen. After settling into your lodge on the banks of the Victoria Nile, set out on a fascinating evening game drive.

Set out on a game drive along the northern bank of the Nile, in Murchison Falls National Park. You may see giraffes, buffalo, elephants, warthogs, leopards, lions and antelope. Later, embark by boat to the base of the falls, watching for hippos, crocodiles and other species.

Join your guide for a visit to Murchison Falls, where invigorating spray — the collective force of the majestic Nile — showers a narrow ravine. This afternoon, board a flight to Kibale National Park and settle into your lodge.

Kibale Forest is home to 11 species of primates, including chimpanzee and mangabey, and 300 types of birds. Rise early for the start of your chimpanzee trek, listening to the forest’s silence as you go. After the trek, stop for a picnic lunch, and then head out on a walk through the Bigodi wetlands, where you visit members of the local community. Return to your lodge for the rest of the afternoon at leisure. You may opt to go canoeing before dinner.

Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, home to elephants, lions, hippos and baboons, any of which you may see on an afternoon game drive.

Keep exploring, watching for tree-climbing lions, a sight seldom seen elsewhere in Africa. Then, toast your safari with a Scenic Sundowner.

Set out for a morning game drive through Queen Elizabeth National Park. Make your way out of the Rift Valley through the Kigezi Highlands and on to the mountains of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After lunch at your lodge, visit Uganda Nursing School Bwindi and Hospital, a project supported by A&K Philanthropy. Learn how the school invests in promising local students who will become the region’s future healthcare workers.

Spend two days tracking endangered mountain gorillas, spending up to an hour among them each day. See mothers keeping infants close as they knucklewalk on three limbs. Watch scampering toddlers reined in by an attentive father. Return to your lodge, where you partake in a chef-led culinary experience, savoring the results beneath the sparkling African night sky.

Today, once again bask in the bond that exists between primate and man as you set out on your final gorilla trek.

Fly to Entebbe and return to your hotel, where a dayroom awaits until your international flight home.