DAY 1: ARRIVE ENTEBBE — WELCOME TO UGANDA

Your journey begins as you touch down at Entebbe International Airport, where a Mahogany Travel Expeditions guide will greet you and transfer you to your lakeside lodge. Take the afternoon to settle in, breathe in the equatorial air, and enjoy your first views of Lake Victoria, the source of the mighty Nile.

Depending on arrival time, we can arrange a relaxed visit to the Uganda Wildlife Education Centre or the Botanical Gardens — a gentle introduction to the birdlife and landscapes that await over the next two weeks.

Overnight: Entebbe, Lake Victoria shore

DAY 2: ENTEBBE — ZIWA RHINO SANCTUARY — MURCHISON FALLS

Drive: ±6–7 hrs with stops

Depart Entebbe and drive north, breaking the journey at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary — home to Uganda's only wild population of southern white rhino. Walk on foot, under expert guard escort, to within metres of these gentle giants, reintroduced after being hunted to local extinction.

Continue north into Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda's largest protected area, arriving in time to settle into your lodge overlooking the Nile as the sun sets over the savannah.

Overnight: Murchison Falls National Park

DAY 3: MURCHISON FALLS — GAME DRIVE & NILE BOAT CRUISE

An early game drive through the park's golden savannah offers your first big-game encounters: lion, elephant, buffalo, giraffe and the handsome Jackson's hartebeest all roam these plains, with the Nile as their backdrop.

In the afternoon, board a launch cruise upriver toward the base of Murchison Falls, where the entire Nile River is forced through a gorge just seven metres wide before exploding over a 43-metre drop. Hippos, crocodiles and elephants line the banks. For the adventurous, a hike to the top of the falls delivers a spine-tingling view straight into the churn.

Overnight: Murchison Falls National Park

DAY 4: MURCHISON FALLS — KIBALE FOREST

Drive: ±6–7 hrs

After a final sunrise over the Nile, journey south through the rolling Albertine Rift toward Kibale Forest National Park, home to the highest concentration of primates in Africa. En route, optional stops through the Royal Mile of Budongo Forest reward birders with rare forest species.

Arrive by evening at your forest-edge lodge, with the calls of colobus monkeys already echoing through the trees.

Overnight: Kibale Forest area

DAY 5: KIBALE — CHIMPANZEE TREKKING & BIGODI WETLAND

This morning, head into the rainforest canopy in search of Uganda's largest population of wild chimpanzees. Guided by expert trackers, follow the calls of the forest until you find a family group — grooming, feeding and swinging through the canopy just metres away. It is an encounter with our closest living relatives that few forget.

In the afternoon, take a gentler walk through the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a community-run reserve rich in birdlife, monkeys and butterflies — and a wonderful window into local conservation efforts.

Overnight: Kibale Forest area

DAY 6: KIBALE — QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

Drive: ±2–3 hrs

A shorter, scenic drive today carries you south past a string of volcanic crater lakes and through tea-covered hills into Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of Africa's most biodiverse landscapes. The park's mosaic of savannah, wetland, forest and lake supports elephant, buffalo, hippo, leopard, lion and over 600 recorded bird species.

Arrive with time for an afternoon at leisure or an optional crater lakes viewpoint stop en route.

Overnight: Queen Elizabeth National Park

DAY 7: QUEEN ELIZABETH — GAME DRIVE & KAZINGA CHANNEL CRUISE

Rise early for a game drive across the Kasenyi plains, prime territory for lion prides and abundant plains game. Afterward, board a launch cruise along the Kazinga Channel, the 32-kilometre waterway linking Lakes Edward and George — one of the greatest concentrations of hippo and Nile crocodile on the continent, with elephant and buffalo regularly drinking along the shore.

Overnight: Queen Elizabeth National Park

DAY 8: ISHASHA TREE-CLIMBING LIONS — TRANSFER TO BWINDI

Drive: ±4–5 hrs

This morning, venture south to the remote Ishasha sector, famed for its tree-climbing lions — a rare behaviour found in only a handful of places on Earth. Search the fig trees for lions draped lazily across the branches, escaping the heat and the tsetse flies below.

From Ishasha, continue south into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the last strongholds of the mountain gorilla, arriving in time to relax before tomorrow's trek.

Overnight: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

DAY 9: BWINDI — MOUNTAIN GORILLA TREKKING

Today is the heart of your journey. After an early briefing, set off into the ancient, mist-cloaked forest with experienced guides and trackers in search of a habituated mountain gorilla family. The trek can take anywhere from one to several hours through dense, steep terrain — and the reward is a full, unforgettable hour in the presence of a gorilla family: silverbacks, mothers, and playful young, going about their day as if you were not there.

Fewer than 1,100 mountain gorillas remain in the wild, and Bwindi is home to roughly half of them. This is conservation tourism at its most powerful.

Overnight: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

DAY 10: BWINDI — BATWA CULTURAL TRAIL

Take a slower day to absorb Bwindi's rhythms. Join a Batwa guide — descendants of the forest's original hunter-gatherer inhabitants — for a cultural trail through the forest, learning traditional hunting techniques, medicinal plants, music and the Batwa's deep, ancestral relationship with this landscape.

Alternatively, for those wanting a second primate encounter, an optional habituation experience or an additional gorilla trek can be arranged in a neighbouring sector.

Overnight: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

DAY 11: BWINDI — LAKE BUNYONYI

Drive: ±2 hrs

A short, scenic drive brings you to Lake Bunyonyi, cradled among terraced hills in Uganda's far southwest and dotted with 29 small islands. Free of bilharzia and crocodiles, it is one of the few lakes in the region safe for swimming.

Spend the afternoon at your own pace: paddle a dugout canoe across the still water, swim, or simply relax on the terrace as fishermen glide past in the golden light.

Overnight: Lake Bunyonyi

DAY 12: LAKE BUNYONYI — LAKE MBURO NATIONAL PARK

Drive: ±5–6 hrs

Head northeast into Lake Mburo National Park, Uganda's smallest savannah park and the only one where walking safaris are freely permitted, along with zebra, impala, eland and the rare Rothschild's giraffe further north. As dusk falls, take a boat ride on Lake Mburo itself in search of hippo, crocodile and a rich array of waterbirds, including the elusive African finfoot.

Overnight: Lake Mburo National Park

DAY 13: LAKE MBURO — JINJA, SOURCE OF THE NILE

Drive: ±6 hrs

This morning offers a final chance for a walking safari or game drive among Lake Mburo's zebra-studded hills before the long, scenic drive east to Jinja, Uganda's adventure capital, perched where the Nile begins its 6,650-kilometre journey to the Mediterranean.

Arrive in the late afternoon with time to visit the Source of the Nile itself and enjoy a relaxed sunset cruise on the river before tomorrow's adrenaline.

Overnight: Jinja, on the Nile

DAY 14: JINJA — WHITE-WATER ADVENTURE ON THE NILE

Today is built for adrenaline. Choose your own adventure on the mighty Nile: tackle Grade 5 white-water rapids on a full- or half-day rafting expedition, leap from the Nile High Bungee, cut across the water on a kayak, or explore the riverside trails by quad bike or mountain bike.

Prefer a gentler pace? A guided village walk, a coffee and craft tour, or a horseback ride along the Nile's banks make for an equally memorable last full day.

Overnight: Jinja, on the Nile

DAY 15: JINJA — KAMPALA — DEPARTURE

After a final Nile-side breakfast, transfer back toward Kampala and Entebbe, with time along the way for last-minute souvenir shopping at a local craft market. Depending on your flight time, we can build in a short city tour of Kampala's hills, markets and monuments before transferring you to Entebbe International Airport for your onward journey.

As you depart, you carry with you fifteen days of Uganda's rarest wildlife, its warmest people, and memories that last a lifetime.

Overnight: Departure — no accommodation