Skip to content
The Nile forcing its way through a narrow gorge at the top of Murchison Falls, with a rainbow above the spray

Sample journey · 10–12 days

Uganda beyond the gorillas: Murchison Falls and the Kidepo Valley

Entebbe & Mabamba Swamp, the rhinos of Ziwa, the Nile at Murchison and the remote Kidepo Valley

Photo: Jonathan Göhner / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

Most people go to Uganda for the gorillas and chimpanzees. This route turns north and shows another side of the country: savannahs, rivers and wild country with even fewer travellers. It begins by Lake Victoria, where at dawn a canoe takes you through a swamp in search of the rare shoebill. Next comes the country's only rhino sanctuary, then Murchison Falls National Park, where the full force of the Nile bursts through a narrow cleft in the rock and elephants, giraffe and buffalo graze along the riverbanks.

The journey ends in the Kidepo Valley in the far north-east, near the borders with South Sudan and Kenya, one of Africa's most remote and beautiful parks. You fly in by light aircraft, and on plains ringed by mountains there is often not another vehicle in sight. The journey is for experienced travellers and wildlife lovers for whom space and quiet matter more than comfort at every step. The stays and the pace would be shaped around you.

The route

The journey

  1. Entebbe
  2. Mabamba Swamp
  3. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
  4. Murchison Falls National Park
  5. Kidepo Valley National Park
  6. Entebbe
  1. An orange sunrise over Lake Victoria in Uganda, with silhouetted trees in the foreground

    01Days 1–3 · Entebbe & Mabamba Swamp

    A canoe through the papyrus

    After a flight via a European hub, two nights in Entebbe, a quiet town on the shore of Lake Victoria. On the second day, before sunrise, you head to Mabamba Swamp: local fishermen paddle you in wooden canoes through papyrus channels in search of the shoebill, a prehistoric-looking bird that can stand motionless for a long time. It is often found here, but not always. The afternoon is slow: Entebbe's botanical gardens, a walk by the lake or simply rest after the long journey.

  2. A black-and-white photograph of a rhino grazing at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Uganda

    02Day 3 · Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

    On foot to the rhinos

    On the third morning the road heads north past Kampala; after about four hours comes Ziwa, the only place in Uganda where white rhinos live again. With a ranger you track them on foot through the bush until grey backs appear in the grass; distance and time depend on the animals' mood and the ranger's judgement. After lunch it's around two more hours to Murchison Falls National Park, where four nights await. It's a long day, so it can be split in two with a night at the sanctuary.

  3. Murchison Falls seen from the Nile, the water plunging through a cleft between forested cliffs

    03Days 4–5 · Murchison Falls: the Nile

    A river forced through a crack

    In Murchison the Nile flows west towards Lake Albert and on the way forces itself through a rocky gorge barely seven metres wide; you hear it from far off. In the afternoon a boat heads upstream past pods of hippos, crocodiles and elephants on the banks to the very foot of the falls, where spray rises above the forest. The next day, the top of the falls: from the river a trail climbs for about an hour until the foaming gorge opens below you. It is one of the most powerful places along the whole course of the Nile.

  4. A lion cub sitting on a termite mound in tall grass in Murchison Falls National Park

    04Days 5–7 · Murchison Falls: the north bank

    Giraffes, termite mounds and a delta

    Once the ferry has taken you across the Nile, the north bank opens into savannah dotted with borassus palms. Early drives follow the Buligi tracks towards Lake Albert, where Rothschild's giraffe, Uganda kob, buffalo and elephants graze and lions like to sit on termite mounds. One morning is worth spending on a boat into the Nile delta at Lake Albert: in the reed beds you sometimes find the shoebill too, though that's not a rule. Afternoons are for resting at your lodge above the river.

  5. Dry golden savannah and a lone rock tower on the horizon around the Kidepo Valley, with a few roofs in the foreground

    05Days 7–10 · The Kidepo Valley

    Savannah at the northern edge

    On day seven, a light-aircraft flight to Kidepo Valley National Park, in the north-east corner by the borders with South Sudan and Kenya. Three nights on plains ringed by mountains. In the Narus Valley, where water lasts longest, large buffalo herds graze and lions hunt, while the dry plains hold animals barely found in Uganda's other parks: cheetah, ostrich, jackal and bat-eared fox. One day you can drive to the sandy bed of the Kidepo River with its borassus palms and to the Kanangorok hot springs, and with a local guide visit a Karamojong community. On day ten, the flight back to Entebbe and home the same evening or after one more night.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Looking for the shoebill

    Early morning in the papyrus channels and a bird that looks as if it came from another age.

  2. 02

    Rhinos on foot

    Quiet tracking through the bush with a ranger at Ziwa.

  3. 03

    The force of the Nile

    By boat to the foot of the falls, and the next day on foot to the very top.

  4. 04

    The quiet of Kidepo

    Plains ringed by mountains where there is often not a single other vehicle.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • With the gorillas

    If you'd like the primates after all, from Kidepo you can fly south-west and add Bwindi or Kibale. That makes it a journey of almost two weeks, with permits that need arranging well in advance.

  • More birds

    For birdwatchers, an extra day at Mabamba or the Nile delta, longer walks with a specialist guide and more time along the forest edges of Murchison.

  • Less road

    Instead of driving north from Entebbe, you can fly straight to a Murchison airstrip and skip Ziwa. The journey then loses a day and becomes calmer.

  • In another season

    The drier months, usually December to February and June to August, are the most comfortable for roads and wildlife viewing; in the rains the savannah is greener and there are even fewer travellers.

Practical considerations

  • Kidepo is reached by small aircraft that fly only on certain days or are chartered separately; the number of nights depends on this. Light aircraft carry a luggage weight limit.
  • Kidepo lies in the country's north-east, near the borders. Before confirming the route we always check the latest official travel advice for the region and talk it through with you.
  • Park fees and the costs of rhino tracking and boat trips change, so we check them when planning. No one can guarantee wildlife sightings, the shoebill included.
  • The drives north from Entebbe are long and rough in places. Talk to your doctor or a travel clinic in good time about your health before you travel.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

Keep exploring

Destinations

Ways to travel

Related articles

More journey inspiration

Plan your journey

Shape a journey like this

Would you like to see the side of Uganda that is talked about less? Tell us where in Africa you've been and what draws you most — rivers, birds or remote savannah — and we'll shape the route together.

Shape a journey like this

This journey becomes the starting point of your enquiry — you can change or remove it.

All journey inspiration