6-Day Uganda (Kigali Start): Gorillas, Giants & Legends

Your driver-guide meets you at Kigali International Airport or your Kigali hotel in the morning, and after a short briefing you set off north through Rwanda's famous land of a thousand hills, where terraced farms, banana groves and tea gardens cover every ridge.

You cross into Uganda at the Cyanika border near Kisoro, where formalities are usually quick and friendly, then continue through the volcanic highlands of Kigezi with the cones of the Virunga volcanoes on the horizon. The drive from Kigali to the southern sectors of Bwindi takes about four to five hours, plus time at the border.

By mid-afternoon you reach the Rushaga sector on the southern edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Settle into your lodge, enjoy the views over the forested hills and turn in early, ready for tomorrow's gorilla trek.

After an early breakfast you head to the Rushaga ranger post for a briefing on gorilla etiquette and safety, before being assigned to one of the habituated gorilla families of the southern sector. With experienced rangers and trackers leading the way, you set off into the steep, tangled rainforest that gives Bwindi its name.

The trek can take anywhere from one to several hours, depending on where the family has moved overnight. When you find them, you spend one unforgettable hour watching the gorillas feed, rest and play: the silverback keeping a calm eye on his group, mothers cradling infants and youngsters tumbling through the undergrowth. Bwindi protects almost half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas, and this hour is a privilege few people ever share.

Return to your lodge for a late lunch and a well-earned rest. In the afternoon you can join an optional community walk through the surrounding villages, or simply relax and watch the mist settle over the forest.

After breakfast you drive north along the edge of Bwindi, through tea plantations and small farming villages, towards Queen Elizabeth National Park. The journey takes around five to six hours with stops, and the scenery changes from steep forested hills to the wide, open floor of the Albertine Rift Valley.

You enter the park through the Ishasha sector, its remote southern section, and set off on a game drive in search of its famous tree-climbing lions, which often lounge in the branches of large fig trees during the heat of the day. Ishasha is also good for topi, Uganda kob, buffaloes and elephants.

Continue through the park to your lodge, arriving in time for dinner after a long but rewarding day.

Set off at dawn for a game drive on the Kasenyi Plains, where large herds of Uganda kob gather on their breeding grounds and lions often shadow them. Look out for elephants, buffaloes, warthogs and waterbuck, and keep your eyes on the horizon for the long line of the Rwenzori Mountains rising behind the savannah.

Return to your lodge for lunch and a rest during the heat of the day. In the afternoon you join a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel, the 32 km waterway linking Lake Edward and Lake George. Hippos crowd the shallows in astonishing numbers, crocodiles bask on the banks, elephants and buffaloes come down to drink, and the birdlife, from pelicans to pied kingfishers, is superb.

Return to your lodge as the sun drops over the Rift Valley for dinner and a quiet evening.

After breakfast you leave Queen Elizabeth and drive south through the agricultural heartland of western Uganda, passing tea estates, banana plantations and the highland town of Kabale. The journey to Lake Bunyonyi takes around five hours with stops along the way.

You arrive in the afternoon to the first views of Lake Bunyonyi, its 29 islands scattered across deep blue water beneath steep terraced hills. Later you take a canoe or boat trip with a local guide, who brings the lake's legends to life: Punishment Island, where unmarried pregnant girls were once left to their fate, and Sharp's Island, once home to a missionary doctor's leprosy centre.

Spend the evening relaxing at your lodge, listening to the birds that give the lake its name, 'the place of many little birds'.

Wake early to watch the morning mist lift from the islands, perhaps with a short walk along the lakeshore or a final paddle in a dugout canoe.

After breakfast you drive to Kabale and cross back into Rwanda at the Katuna (Gatuna) border. The road winds through some of the most beautiful hill country in East Africa, and the journey to Kigali takes around three to four hours, including formalities.

Your driver-guide drops you at Kigali International Airport for your onward flight, or at your hotel in the city, at the end of a memorable journey through southwestern Uganda.