11 Days Uganda Big Five, Chimpanzees and Gorillas from Kigali

Your driver-guide meets you at Kigali airport and drives north-west through Musanze to the Cyanika border and on to Mount Gahinga Lodge, which sits at the foot of the Virunga volcanoes. The afternoon is for the gardens and the view.

Trek into the bamboo and montane forest on the volcano slopes to find the gorilla family that lives there. After lunch you drive south to Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, on a ridge above the Nkuringo forest.

Your second trek begins at the Nkuringo trailhead, a short drive from the lodge. The terrain is steep, so we match you to a family that suits your pace, and porters are available at the trailhead.

Drive north along the edge of the park to Ishasha, the quiet southern sector of Queen Elizabeth, and settle in at Ishasha Wilderness Camp. An afternoon game drive looks for the lions that rest in the fig trees.

Search the fig trees at dawn, then drive north through the park to Kyambura Gorge Lodge, which overlooks the gorge and the plains beyond.

Take the morning launch along the Kazinga Channel, where hippos and waterbirds crowd the banks, then drive north to Kibale Forest and Primate Lodge.

Track a chimpanzee community with a ranger in the cool of the morning, then drive to Kyaninga Lodge, on the rim of its own crater lake.

Drive north to Murchison Falls and the Nile, arriving at Nile Safari Lodge in time to watch the light go on the river.

Start with a morning game drive for giraffe, elephant and buffalo, then take the afternoon launch up the Nile to the foot of the falls, past hippos, crocodiles and fish eagles.

Take the morning launch down the Nile to the delta, where shoebills stand in the papyrus. Sightings are never guaranteed, but the delta gives you the best odds in the park. In the afternoon walk to the top of the falls.

Drive south to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and track southern white rhinos on foot with a ranger. Then drive on to Entebbe, arriving in the evening.