The Long Green Country

This is the country taken whole. You walk after rhino in the morning and stand in the roar of Murchison by afternoon. Kibale gives you chimpanzees, Queen Elizabeth gives you the channel and the fig trees, Bwindi gives you the hour that people come for. Then Lake Mburo, which nobody expects, where you walk among zebra and eland without a vehicle between you and them. Twelve days, one road, and the landscape changing under you the whole way.

Best months

June to September for the driest forest trekking and best road conditions across the full loop. December to February works well and is quieter. Skip April and May, when the western roads deteriorate and Bwindi becomes hard walking, though permits drop to USD 600 then.

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Queen Elizabeth National Park

Day by day.

• Day 1 Entebbe

  Land on Lake Victoria

  Arrival at Entebbe International, short transfer to Protea Hotel Entebbe. Lakeside dinner, full route briefing, permit documentation confirmed. Early night before the northbound drive.

• Day 2 Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

  North to the rhino

  Roughly three and a half hours north through Luwero. Afternoon tracking southern white rhino on foot with sanctuary rangers, then shoebill canoe search on the sanctuary swamp if water levels allow.

• Day 3 Murchison Falls NP

  Through Budongo to the river

  Two and a half hours north, entering via Kichumbanyobo and dropping to the Nile. Baker's Lodge or Nile Safari Lodge on the south bank. Evening river sundowner, hippo close in.

• Day 4 Murchison Falls NP

  Buligi plains and the gorge

  Dawn ferry crossing and a long Buligi peninsula drive for lion, elephant and Rothschild's giraffe. Afternoon launch to the falls base, then the top-of-falls walk into the spray.

• Day 5 Kibale Forest

  South to the crater lakes

  Long transfer of about six hours south to Fort Portal through Hoima. Kyaninga Lodge, hand-built in crater-rim hardwood. Afternoon rest, Rwenzori snow line visible on clear evenings.

• Day 6 Kibale Forest

  Chimpanzees and swamp birds

  Morning chimpanzee tracking from Kanyanchu with the Kanyantale community. Afternoon guided walk in Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, eight primate species, great blue turaco and papyrus gonolek.

• Day 7 Queen Elizabeth NP

  Crater rim to the channel

  Two hours south past the Ndali-Kasenda craters to Kyambura Gorge Lodge. Afternoon Kazinga Channel launch between Lake George and Lake Edward, elephant, buffalo and enormous hippo pods.

• Day 8 Queen Elizabeth NP

  Kasenyi lions and Kyambura

  Dawn game drive on the Kasenyi kob leks for lion and hyena. Afternoon descent into Kyambura Gorge after its isolated chimpanzee troop, riverine forest beneath the savannah floor.

• Day 9 Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

  Through Ishasha to the forest

  Morning drive through Ishasha scanning fig branches for tree-climbing lions, then three hours to Buhoma. Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp or Bwindi Lodge, forest wall directly behind you.

• Day 10 Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

  The hour you came for

  Briefing at 07:00, trek your allocated sector family through dense understorey, two to six hours walking. One hour at close range. Afternoon Batwa cultural walk or the Bwindi community hospital visit.

• Day 11 Lake Mburo NP

  East to zebra country

  Roughly five hours northeast to Mihingo Lodge on its rock outcrop above the plains. Afternoon walking safari or horseback ride among zebra, impala, eland and topi.

• Day 12 Entebbe

  Boat, equator, departure

  Dawn boat on Lake Mburo for hippo and African finfoot. Four-hour drive to Entebbe crossing the Equator at Kayabwe. Day room, dinner, international departure.

What the price actually covers.

From USD 21,340 per person sharing. Permits, park fees and charter legs are inside that number, not added at the end. International flights and visas are not.

• Bwindi gorilla permit USD 800 and Kibale chimpanzee tracking permit USD 250 per person

• All UWA park entry: Murchison USD 45, Queen Elizabeth USD 40, Lake Mburo USD 45 per day

• Private Land Cruiser with pop-top and a single senior guide for all twelve days

• Kazinga Channel and Nile launch cruises, Ziwa rhino tracking, Bigodi wetland fees

• Full board throughout with house drinks at Kyaninga, Mihingo and the Bwindi lodge