Uganda: Into the Wild

From Entebbe International Airport you will have a private transfer to the city of Kampala. Like Rome, the Ugandan capital of Kampala was built on seven hills, but today it occupies more than 20. This is a city of panoramic views, parks, palaces, cathedrals, and mosques, as well as flea markets, pork joints, and kafundas (roadside bars with plastic chairs and tables) that sell locally brewed gin, beer, and foods like rolex, chapati wrapped around an onion, tomato, and cabbage omelet. Your accommodation for two nights is Latitude 0°, set among trees laced with orchids on Makindye Hill. Its 47 rooms, which offer views of the city or Lake Victoria, are filled with natural light, fine linens, and hand-beaded textiles, plus essentials like fresh Ugandan coffee. Local artwork, vintage chestnut leather sofas, and antique carvings create a boutique vibe in the lobby, while the outdoor pool, gym, and spa provide opportunities to relax after your flight.

Dance, sing, and connect on a visit to Breakdance Project Uganda, a nonprofit that uses hip-hop as a tool for education and empowerment. Curated exclusively for this itinerary, the experience includes a talk by a local musician and a chance to meet with BPU community members. Head next to the Afriart Gallery to experience its collection of contemporary art and photography, all exclusively by African artists. After lunch, stroll among the stalls at Owino Market; the largest in Uganda, it sells everything from shoes and second-hand clothes to traditional medicines and herbs. More than half the stallholders are women, many of whom drive a hard bargain. Locals suggest offering a quarter of what is asked and walking away if the offer isn’t accepted––hopefully, you will be summoned back.Next, step back in time at the Kasubi Tombs––the royal burial grounds designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. On the hilltop is the former palace of the Kabakas (kings) of Buganda, the name of the homeland of the Baganda, the largest Bantu ethnic group. Four tombs containing the remains of Buganda kings lie inside the circular main building, topped by a thatched dome. After learning about Baganda traditions and beliefs from your guide, return to Latitude 0° for some downtime before enjoying a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

About 50 miles east of Kampala lies the town of Jinja, founded by British settlers in 1901. Your accommodation for the next two nights is Lemala Wildwaters Lodge, set on a private island about 15 miles from Jinja and accessible only by boat. True to its name, it occupies a granite outcrop in the middle of the Nile, surrounded by grade-five rapids. The soothing sound of the water is constant, whether you’re in your suite, the spa, the lunch deck, or the pool cantilevered over the river. Look out for different bird species, from turacos and cuckoos to hawks and eagles, and keep your eyes peeled for giant otters and monitor lizards.In the afternoon, take a cruise around Lake Victoria. The second-largest body of freshwater in the world, and the largest in Africa, it is shared by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. After a sundowner, end your day with dinner back at the lodge with the rushing waters as background music.

Begin by kayaking a calmer stretch of the White Nile with an expert instructor. Uganda is home to more than 1,000 bird species (about 10% of the world’s bird species can be found here), thanks to its varied habitats––rainforest, savannah, lakes, papyrus swamps, wetlands, and the Nile itself––making it an extraordinary birdwatching destination. Learn about them from your guide as you paddle. After lunch at the lodge, enjoy the rest of the day at your leisure. If you wish, you may book a treatment at the Garden Spa or book one of the extra activities such as fishing, horse riding, or whitewater rafting.

Set out early from Jinja to Murchison Falls National Park, stopping at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a lesson in wildlife conservation. Comprising 27 square miles of woodland, swamp, and savannah, the facility is home to Uganda’s only wild southern white rhinos—named not on account of their color but their wide (“wyd” in Afrikaans) lower lip, which distinguishes them from black rhinos. Here, the animals roam free but can be tracked on foot with a ranger. Watch them from a distance as you learn about their behavior and plans to reintroduce the species into Uganda’s national parks.After a light lunch at the sanctuary, continue to Murchison Falls National Park. The waterfalls themselves are created in a place where the Nile is forced through a gap in the Rift Valley escarpment. Check in at Nile Safari Lodge, a collection of eight thatched bandas on the southern bank of the river, each with an en suite bathroom, indoor and outdoor showers, and a private viewing deck. Listen for the sound of birds like wading shoebills (or shoe-billed storks), whose huge bills are shaped like a Dutch clog.

Bisected by the White Nile (or Victoria Nile), Murchison Falls National Park is home to lions, giraffes, chimpanzees, and Uganda’s largest population of Nile crocodiles. The exceptional birdlife elevates the park even further. More than 460 species have been documented here, from shoebills and Goliath herons to dwarf kingfishers, white-thighed hornbills, and great blue turacos.Rise early for a game drive along the northern bank of the Nile, keeping an eye out for buffalo, Jackson hartebeest, hyenas, and lions (since 2005 the park has been designated as a Lion Conservation Unit). Later, see, hear, and feel the full force of Murchison Falls as you explore its base by boat, hoping for a sighting of hippos and crocodiles.

Take in the 360-degree views with a guide from the top of Murchison Falls. Here, the Nile passes through a 23-foot-wide gap in the rocks before tumbling 141 feet and then flowing into Lake Albert. With its sensational vistas and roaring soundtrack, the summit is a perfect breakfast spot.After lunch at the lodge, head to the airstrip for the scenic flight to Kibale National Park, known primarily for its 11 species of primates. Its population of common chimpanzees is the highlight, but the park is also home to Uganda mangabeys, red and black-and-white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, and blue monkeys.After landing, check into one of eight bandas at the newly opened Volcanoes Kibale Lodge. Conceived and built by East African architects, engineers, designers, and landscape gardeners, it features furniture, textiles, and artworks by local artisans. Relax in the spa or by the pool before dinner, then get an in-depth education on the behaviors of the park’s chimpanzees during a fireside chat with leading primatologists and field researchers.

The forest will be eerily silent as you leave the lodge early in search of chimpanzees. Several families here have been habituated, meaning they are used to humans. Less sedentary than gorillas, chimpanzees move through the forest canopy or at ground level, and you follow their progress with trackers and a guide. Watching these intelligent animals swing through the trees, play, eat, and groom one another is a life-changing experience. Pause for a picnic lunch before moving on again.Humans live in the forest too. Learn about their way of life on a community walk through the Bigodi wetlands, stopping for a lesson in the production of banana gin. Uganda has the world’s highest per capita consumption of bananas; the fruit provides residents with nearly a third of their daily caloric intake. Matoke (the word not just for banana, but for food generally) is usually cooked, but here grasses are used to break it down to juice; it is then fermented and distilled into three types of gin as well as wine. You’ll also get to taste local coffee and get a lesson in basket weaving, followed by a music and dance performance, before you retire to your banda.

Fly south to Uganda’s gorilla heartland. Wild, remote, and dense with foliage, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is astounding in its beauty: a high-altitude realm of misty mountains, streams, steep ravines, and valleys carpeted with a tangle of trees, creepers, vines, and ferns. More than 500 mountain gorillas thrive here.The most luxurious place to stay in the national park, Gorilla Forest Lodge, an A&K Sanctuary, has 10 architecturally striking villas scattered across a hillside, linked by stepped gravel paths through gardens where monkeys often roam. In 2024, the former tented camp that previously stood here was replaced with more spacious villas, each with a deck to sit and watch wildlife. No villa overlooks any other, so guests have total privacy.After lunch, a guide will show you around Bwindi Village, where you’ll be able to engage with several projects supported by Abercrombie & Kent Philanthropy (AKP). Meet local women who have been empowered to repair and sell bicycles within the community—with some proceeds going towards providing bicycles for nurses visiting outlying villages—and others who make beads from recycled paper and fashion everything from jewelry to the chandeliers for the villas at Gorilla Forest Lodge. Other success stories include Bwindi Community Hospital, with its live-in facilities for pregnant women, and a nursing school that is on track to elevate to a university.Back at the lodge, meet the gorilla research team before dinner and learn about primate conservation—from habitat protection and the dynamics of the various family groups in Bwindi to what trackers must do to locate them every day.

Set off early on a mountain gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Begin with a briefing from the rangers from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, whose trackers will have already located 12 gorilla families and assigned one of them to your group. Trek toward the animals along trails that cut through the dense forest, venturing within a few yards of them. Thanks to the trackers’ efforts, sightings are almost assured.Spend up to an hour in the gorillas’ company, watching silverbacks feed on vegetation and youngsters tumble and climb trees, before embarking on the hike back through pristine forest. Because they are used to human presence, the gorillas will be relaxed as they go about their normal business. Afterward, return to Gorilla Forest Lodge for free time and dinner.

After meeting the giants of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, focus on the smaller things as you walk along forest trails to a scenic waterfall in the company of expert ranger guides. In addition to pointing out vivid butterflies, rare chameleons, dazzling forest birds, and insects found nowhere else on earth, they’ll talk about how local communities utilize the forest, including different medicinal plants. Be prepared for surprises: Forest elephants frequent these trails, and you may even spot another gorilla.Head back to spend time with the Batwa—a Bantu-speaking pygmy people indigenous to East Africa. When Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was created as a sanctuary for mountain gorillas in 1992, these hunter-gatherers were forced to leave their ancestral lands and live on the fringes of the park. But in 2001, the California physician Dr. Scott Kellerman and his wife, Carol, introduced new medical facilities and other support for the Batwa, work continued today by the Batwa Development Program. On a hike with a Batwa guide, stroll through villages and learn about their practices, including farming, food, spiritual beliefs, and traditions. Return to the lodge for time at leisure before a farewell dinner.

After breakfast at the lodge, drive to the airstrip and board your bush plane for the flight to Entebbe. There, a dayroom has been reserved at Protea Hotel Entebbe, where you can spend time at leisure ahead of your journey home.