I’m not sure how me and my husband decided on this lesser known country. It was probably because we were mesmerised by Africa and craved to go back ever since our honeymoon. And to think you can visit gorillas up close in the wild? This really is wild. We were deciding between Japan and Uganda, with the latter winning the showdown.
Eight days, just the two of us, moving through a country that felt raw, wild, and endlessly alive.
We usually travel on our own but decided on a travel agency for Uganda. We picked a budget variation and were thrilled! All the stays were actually above our expectations. And we loved our guide Arafat (*The company is called Home to Africa – not affiliated with them but genuinely loved it).
We took Malaria prophylaxis (Malarone) and sprayed with a lot of deet spray agains mosquitos. We probably got 3 bites each, but jungle wasps are attracted to it so we got stung by them (ouch – but it was better than getting malaria). You also need yellow fever vaccination.
🦒 Day 1: Lake Mburo National Park – Our First Safari
Right after landing in Entebbe, we hit the road. Our driver Arafat picked us up in the morning and the adventure began! The drive was long but full of roadside scenes—colourful markets, rolling hills, children waving as we passed. We stopped at the Equator line and had lunch.
By afternoon, we were in Lake Mburo National Park, our first safari stop.
We didn’t expect much this early in the trip, but as soon as we entered the park, giraffes appeared—elegant and impossibly tall, moving slowly through the acacia trees. Our guide parked our jeep and we actually went closer on foot?? We laughed at how surreal it felt: only hours ago we were on a plane, and now giraffes were right in front of us and we were walking among them??
I took a deep breath, these amazing animals leisurely walking past, a light breeze in my face. Ahhh, Africa. She welcomed us back in full. We sat back in the Jeep and drove through the savanna, dazzles of zebras everywhere we looked. This Park doesn’t have any big cats but it’s definitely worth a visit – for giraffe strolls, if not anything else.
That night, tucked away in a lodge with wild views of undeveloped countryside, we fell asleep to the sound of distant birds and the thrill of knowing the adventure had truly begun.
🐘 Day 2: Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast we hit the road again. By lunch time we unpacked in a small lodge inside Queen Elizabeth National Park. There wes a small school near the lodge so me and my husband went to play football with them. It was a really heartwarming experience.
Then Arafat took us for our first big savannah safari together! It was already afternoon so we didn’t expect much as the animals are usually abundant in the mornings. But we saw elephants crossing our road, buffalos, antelopes, and finally—our first big cat! It was a leopard, perched up on a tree, relaxing and feeling a bit bored at the look of us. We sat in the jeep grinning at each other, barely believing it. My husband was just disappointed that we didn’t have better cameras to snap a good shot of the elusive leopard.
It was nightfall when we returned to the lodge and now we really saw what it meant that we were staying right inside the park. The kudus (kind of a big antelope) were roaming freely around! That night, in our small beds, we replayed every sighting, the way you do when you’re still buzzing from the day. We couldn’t wait for tomorrow’s morning drive.
🐘 Day 3: Queen Elizabeth NP Continued
We woke up at 4:30 am so we could be the first in the park, maybe even lucky enough to see the lions. Arafat asked us the previous evening if we wanted to pay extra to be able to have a lion tracker, but it was quite expensive (around 300$ for a day, so I declined). BIG MISTAKE. If you have that option, take it!
Soon after entering the park, animals began to appear, gazelles, giraffes, elephants, buffalos. But no lion… yet. After a lunch perched above an artificial lake and numerous walkie-talkie tips from Arafat we saw our first lion. It was much darker than I expected. Then we saw two more in the distance. But! We weren’t allowed to drive off the road so we were actually quite far away. And then we saw some cars driving right up to the lions! What?? And Arafat told us – it’s the lion tracker. I wish I knew that you can actually get closer to the lion with the tracker sooner. Ahhh, I regret this misunderstanding to this day!
We waited for an hour for them to move, but we weren’t lucky enough to see them crossing any road close to us. No good photos, but it was an experience nontheless! It was nearly time for us to leave, so we headed back to the lodge for dinner and looked forward to our next stop – Kibale Forest.
🐒 Day 4: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale
Arafat drove us to Kibale forest in the morning, and on the way we stopped quickly by his family and got some delicious passion fruits on the market (so cheap, 2$ for a giant bag!). There were quite some tourists waiting for the tracking to begin. We were split into groups and went into the forrest. Not far into the jungle the tracker informed us of a family in the vicinity.
They were perched high up on a tree and some were loud, playful, wild—swinging overhead, calling to each other, thundering through the branches. One sat quietly, watching us as if studying us. Again, we only had our phones and although we could clearly see the chimps with our eyes, we couldn’t quite capture their faces on photos. The guide led us their binoculars.
Throughout the jungle, the guides shared information about these primates: they are endangered species, live in families led by alpha males, their young ones stay with mammas for two years at least and they can care for other babies if their mammas die. It was very informative and the walk through jungle wasn’t at all demanding.
If you wish to go, definitely bring a good camera and binoculars, though. By late afternoon, we were back in our lodge, relaxing after dinner.
🦛 Day 5: Hippos on the Kazinga Channel
This was one of my favourite days because it felt different than the usual safari drives. We cruised the Kazinga Channel, hippos surrounded us, grunting and jostling in the water. Crocodiles lounged on the banks, and elephants splashed at the shoreline. There were so many! We sat side by side, the breeze in our faces, sometimes pointing excitedly, sometimes just sitting in silence, soaking it all in.
We had a young girl as our guide and she was fantastic. Answered all our questions, explained animals’ behaviours.
Back at the banks we bought handmade gorillas (made from wood) and I think they were the best handcrafts we saw before or after. If you have the chance, get them here!
🐆 Day 6: The Tree-Climbing Lions of Ishasha and Arrival in Bwindi
We headed south into the quieter Ishasha sector. There, lions climb trees, and we searched hard to see them. As we were quite far away from the Ishasha sector to begin with, it was to late in the day for these lions. Better luck next time, I guess! You can’t always get everything 🙂 But again, we did see lots of other animals on the way.
The drive to Bwindi was winding and beautiful: terraced hillsides, tiny villages, endless green. Kids ran out to wave as we passed. They shouted ‘White Woman and White Man’ in their language and Arafat explained they look at white people like gods. We felt sad at this. They deserve so much better – not to think white people are anything more than them! We smiled and waved.
On the road, a snake fell of a tree right in front of us. Arafat told us it was a green mamba and I kind of didn’t feel safe driving in an ‘open’ roof jeep anymore 😀 He told us we really need to be careful when in the jungle – snakes are a normal thing to encounter.
We finally arrived to our mountain lodge – it was quite chilly but the jungle tents were magical. Dinner was excellent, prepared by the lodge’s chef and we ended our evening with a gin tonic by the fireplace. Our fancy tent overlooked the forest, and we slept like babies, tired from the long road. Tomorrow, the gorillas.
🦍 Day 7: Gorilla Trekking – The Hour of a Lifetime
This was the day we had been waiting for. A few info about this before I go into our experience:
- You need to secure your gorilla permit BEFORE you visit Uganda, the number of tourists is restricted! We got this half a year in advance.
- The permit is EXPENSIVE. It cost us 650$ per person (but in 2025 costs 800$ already). It is more expensive than Congo (400$) and less than Rwanda (1500$). Most of this goes into Gorilla preservation fund.
- If you buy the permit, you will see the gorillas. The rangers joked that even if you break your leg, they will carry you to see one and then call a helicopter to take you to the hospital. So don’t worry – you pay for what you get.
- Time with these great primates is restricted to 1 hour. They are naturalised and used to seeing people, but they are not domesticated.
- Is it worth it? YES!!! If you want to splurge on one thing – pick this!!! It’s a lifetime experience.
We grouped at the Gorilla outpost and were divided into groups of 8-10 people. Each group was assigned a family of gorillas to visit. The rangers go into the jungle ahead and then walkie-talkie to the guides where to find these families. You get a long stick to help you walk in the jungle. We were told not to grab anything with our hands -a root might be a snake!
Now you might get lucky and see them in 30 min. You might search for them for 3 hours. We were quite lucky and trekked for 1 hour. But be prepared. This is not an easy hike. It’s called The Impenetrable Forest for a reason. The terrain is full on jungle – no paths no nothing. And steep! All of us fell and were on our bums several times. The rangers really deserve a medal. They help everyone out! Sometimes even carry people for a short period of time :D.
Then we saw them! You are now allowed to approach them closer to 3 meters. But the gorillas don’t know this boundary. One walked less than a meter past us! Amazing. We saw the silverback, but kept a distance as they might get aggressive. This family had a few females and even babies. They are the cutest, like human babies, fooling around, calming over mamma.
For one magical hour, time stood still. When it was over, we walked back in silence, the trek being much more demanding (but luckily shorter), soon we reached the road and they picked us up with jeeps.
It was the most moving experience we’ve ever shared. I honestly can’t recommend this enough. I think such wildlife experiences have become so rare and are going to be even rarer in the future. Staring eye to eye with a wild animal feels vulnerable as well as powerful. This will stick with us forever!
In our jeep, heading back to the lodge we stayed at the first night, our legs felt sore, our behinds hurt but our mind buzzed and the soul was full. We exchanged tired glances and smiles between each other. It was our last night in the Pearl of Africa.
⛰️ Day 8: Bye Bye Uganda and Flight from Entebbe to Zanzibar
I woke up in the morning to a few emails about our flight to Zanzibar being rescheduled. I panicked! they moved our flight from Dar es Salam to three hours before, so we only had 30 min in between flights. I was so stressed but Arafat told us that he senses we are ‘one lucky couple’.
Guess what? We made the flight. But this is for another post… the one about our one week in Zanzi.
The road back to Entebbe was long, with stops for a quick Ugandan lunch. We also bought a cow’s horn (their cows have the biggest horns I’ve ver seen!). By the time we reached the airport, we felt full—of stories, of sights, of something bigger than both of us. Uganda had given us a journey we’ll never forget.
🌍 Final Thoughts
Uganda wasn’t an easy trip—the drives were long, the treks muddy—but it was unforgettable. From the first giraffes in Lake Mburo to that one sacred hour with the gorillas, every day gave us something new.
And the best part? Experiencing it all together.
🧳 Tips & Bookings
- Gorilla Permits: Must be booked in advance (limited daily). Best through booking agencies.
- Best Time to Go: June–September and December–February (drier seasons).
- Packing: Hiking boots, gloves, rain jacket, sturdy camera.
- Health: Yellow fever vaccination required; malaria prophylaxis recommended.
- Transport: A 4×4 with a driver-guide made the whole trip stress-free.
✨ Eight days, countless memories, and one hour that will stay with us forever. Uganda will always be our shared story.
For other travel inspirations check out my other blog posts (like our South Africa trip!). You can also follow me on Pinterest!