Day-by-day itinerary

What the operator has planned, day by day, across 10 days.

1. Day 1

   Arrival and transfer to Kampala

   The trip opens at Entebbe International Airport, where a guide from the company meets arriving travellers. The road then runs into Kampala, where the first night is spent at a city hotel. Nothing further is scheduled, so the rest of the day is free for settling in.

2. Day 2

   Buganda heritage across Kampala

   The whole day goes to the Buganda kingdom and its capital. Travellers call at the Kabaka's palace, the residence of the reigning king, and then at the Kasubi Tombs, the burial ground of four Buganda rulers and a listed World Heritage site. Later the group reaches the Ndere Cultural Centre, where performers present song, dance and storytelling drawn from tribes across the country.

3. Day 3

   East to Jinja for the Nile source

   A morning drive heads east through farmland and busy trading towns to Jinja. On the water, a boat carries the group out to the point where the Nile starts its long run north towards the Mediterranean. The afternoon is spent in town among craft stalls and the old Indian trading quarter, which dates from the colonial era.

4. Day 4

   Sipi Falls and a Sabiny homestead

   After breakfast the route continues east into the foothills below Mount Elgon. Sipi Falls drops here in three separate steps, the tallest of them around a hundred metres, and a guide leads the walk between them. Later the group calls at a Sabiny homestead to watch grain being ground, cloth woven and beer brewed in the customary way.

5. Day 5

   Mbale and the Bagisu

   Mbale is the centre of Bagisu country, and the day is given to the customs, traditions and beliefs of that community. The Bagisu are known for imbalu, the male circumcision rite that marks the passage from boyhood into adulthood. The ceremony follows its own calendar and is not staged for visitors, so the day is about understanding what the rite means locally rather than attending one.

6. Day 6

   Mbarara and the Igongo Cultural Centre

   The route turns west and south to Mbarara, in Ankole country. At the Igongo Cultural Centre the group works through displays of artefacts, reconstructed homesteads and figures modelled on Ankole life. An Ankole meal follows, and the night is spent nearby.

7. Day 7

   Onward to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

   The drive carries on southwest towards Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, crossing hill country cut into terraces. Arriving leaves the afternoon free, which is used to rest and get ready for the following morning. The night is spent at the park.

8. Day 8

   Gorilla trekking in Bwindi

   The morning begins at park headquarters, where rangers brief the group before the walk starts. Trackers then lead the way into the forest in search of one of the habituated gorilla families. Once the animals are found, travellers have one hour in their company before the return walk.

9. Day 9

   A day with the Batwa

   This day is spent with Batwa families, the earlier inhabitants of the Bwindi forest. They explain how they lived as hunters and gatherers, what the forest supplied and which customs they kept. The visit takes in a hunting demonstration, the gathering of plants, and performances of their own songs and dances.

10. Day 10

    Return drive to Kampala

    After breakfast the group leaves Bwindi and drives back towards Kampala, breaking at Mbarara for lunch. Any time left once the capital is reached can go to the craft markets in the city centre for souvenirs. The tour ends in Kampala.