Waterfalls & wildlife: gorillas & Murchison Falls

You can spend today enjoying game drives in the national park, searching for elephants, buffalo, hippos, giraffes and more. In the afternoon you will go on a boat cruise on the river, getting close to the falls.

Today, you will go on a hike to the top of Murchison Falls to enjoy the waterfall from a different perspective. After lunch, head off on an afternoon game drive to enjoy more wildlife in this pretty national park.

Depart south for the Kibale Forest, a full day's drive, taking picnic lunches with you. On the right-hand side, you should enjoy views of the Rwenzori Mountains in the distance, known as the Mountains of the Moon.

Spend the morning tracking chimpanzees in the Kibale Forest — one of the best places in Africa to see these lively primates. In the afternoon you will visit the nearby Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a haven for birdlife and butterflies.

Set off further south today for Queen Elizabeth National Park, a journey of around three to four hours. Settle into your room at Mweya Safari Lodge, which overlooks the park and in the afternoon, go out on a game drive to explore the surrounding area.

This morning, you can go on a game drive on the Kasenyi Track, an area which is one of the best places to look for big cats, herds of elephants and solitary buffalo, and, of course, the fairly common Ugandan kob. This afternoon, you will take a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel, which is a lovely change of scenery from being in a vehicle and is best in the afternoons when animals such as elephants and waterbuck come to the water to drink. Birdlife along the shore is equally impressive, including malachite kingfishers, saddle-billed storks and pink-backed pelicans.

Today, you will game-drive through the national park to reach the southern Ishasha sector — famed for its tree-climbing lions. There are also good populations of elephants, buffalo and hippos here, and with only one camp in the area, you can enjoy the wildlife to yourselves.

The Ishasha Plains in the southern section of Queen Elizabeth National Park are incredibly beautiful, with driving trails weaving between lantana bushes and looping around sycamore fig trees. The area is famous for tree-climbing lions, but they aren't the only animals to see here! The area is filled with buffalo, elephants, Ugandan kobs, unusually large herds of topi, a huge variety of birdlife, and black and white colobus monkeys.

Depart the national park today and head into the rolling hills of southwestern Uganda. It will take around four to five hours to reach the Buhoma area of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, where you will search for the gorillas tomorrow.

Gorilla tracking day! You will have a briefing at the park headquarters nearby before being driven to the trailhead for your trek. The walk will take between one and three hours to find the gorillas, and you can spend an hour with them once they've been located, watching them groom, eat and play. You will then trek out of the forest and be driven back to your lodge for a well-earned hot shower and hearty dinner.

On the edge of Bwindi is a village called Buhoma, home to a large community of people. You will spend a few hours learning how to weave baskets with the women while you enjoy a cup of tea and snacks. The women use basket weaving as a social activity and often to start a career. This is a great opportunity to interact and experience the everyday life of women in this area.

You'll be taken to the local airstrip, where you'll board a light aircraft bound for Entebbe. Say goodbye to forested Bwindi and enjoy your last night in Uganda with a relaxing meal set in the pretty gardens at The Boma Guesthouse.

You will be driven to the airport today.