Combining Gorilla Trekking with a Big Five Safari in Uganda
Uganda ranks among the top African destinations where you can combine gorilla trekking with a Big Five safari in one trip. From the dense rainforests of the southwest to savanna grasslands in the west and north, this combination gives you two distinct wildlife experiences without leaving the country.
Gorilla Hurly Burly arranges this combined itinerary, handling transport, permits, and accommodation across both the trekking and safari portions of the trip.
Where to Trek Gorillas and See the Big Five
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park offers the strongest chance of seeing mountain gorillas, home to almost half the world’s remaining population. Mgahinga National Park provides a second gorilla trekking option in the same southwestern region.
For Big Five sightings, Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks deliver reliable encounters with lions, leopards, elephants, and buffaloes, making either park a strong pairing with a Bwindi gorilla trek.
Getting to Bwindi from Entebbe
This combined trip typically starts in Entebbe, from where you travel to Bwindi for gorilla trekking. By road, the journey covers about 500 km and takes 8 to 10 hours. By air, the same trip takes about an hour, with aerial views of the countryside along the way.
The Gorilla Trekking Experience
At Bwindi, park rangers welcome you with a briefing before forming groups of 8 people, each assigned to a specific gorilla family. After the briefing, you set out along trails through dense vegetation, rugged paths, and often muddy terrain, with birdsong and forest sounds accompanying the hike.
After several hours of trekking, you finally encounter your assigned gorilla family, watching the silverback stand guard while other members feed and play nearby. Many travelers describe this moment as the highlight of their entire Uganda trip. Afterward, you return to park headquarters, where a gorilla permit costs USD 800 for foreign non-residents, USD 700 for foreign residents, and UGX 300,000 for East African citizens.
Continuing to Queen Elizabeth or Murchison Falls
After the gorilla trek, you continue to either Queen Elizabeth or Murchison Falls National Park for the Big Five portion of the trip. The drive from Bwindi to Queen Elizabeth takes about 3 to 4 hours, while reaching Murchison Falls takes considerably longer, around 8 to 10 hours by road.
Wildlife Viewing at Queen Elizabeth National Park
At Queen Elizabeth, tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector stand out as a signature sighting during game drives. Other activities include boat cruises on the Kazinga Channel, birdwatching, mongoose tracking at Mweya Peninsula, and visits to Lake Katwe.
Accommodation options here include Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Mweya Safari Lodge, Ishasha Wilderness Camp, and Elephant Plains Lodge, covering a range of budgets and comfort levels for travelers extending their trip into this park.
Wildlife Viewing at Murchison Falls National Park
At Murchison Falls, the Buligi and Delta game tracks offer strong game drive routes for spotting lions, leopards, buffaloes, and elephants. A boat cruise to the base of Murchison Falls adds a scenic centerpiece to the wildlife viewing here, bringing you close to the Nile’s most dramatic stretch.
Planning Your Combined Itinerary
To fully enjoy both the gorilla trek and a Big Five safari without rushing either portion, plan for 8 to 10 days total. This gives you enough time to properly recover between the physically demanding gorilla trek and the more relaxed pace of game drives, while also allowing for the significant travel time between parks.
The best time to undertake this combined trip falls during the dry season, June to August and December to February, when trails stay firmer for trekking and wildlife tends to cluster near water sources, making game drives more productive during these months.
Why Combine These Two Experiences
Pairing gorilla trekking with a Big Five safari gives you access to two of Africa’s most sought-after wildlife experiences within a single country, avoiding the added logistics of crossing international borders. Uganda’s combination of dense rainforest and open savanna within reasonable driving distance makes this pairing more practical here than in many other African destinations.
Book Your Combined Gorilla Trekking and Big Five Safari
Combining gorilla trekking with a Big Five safari gives you unforgettable memories spanning Uganda’s rainforests and savanna in one well-planned trip. Book this combined safari with Gorilla Hurly Burly today. Contact our team to plan your 8 to 10-day itinerary covering Bwindi, plus either Queen Elizabeth or Murchison Falls National Park.
