Yes, Uganda is one of the easier countries in East Africa to backpack on your own: English is an official language, buses connect every major town, and hostels in Kampala, Jinja and Fort Portal are set up for solo travelers.
The harder part is the parks.
Murchison Falls,
Queen Elizabeth and
Bwindi have no public transport inside, so you hire a car and driver (about US$80 to 120 a day) or join a budget tour. Book gorilla permits (US$800) and Kibale chimp permits (US$250) with the Uganda Wildlife Authority well ahead. Outside permits, expect UGX 90,000 to 150,000 (US$25 to 40) a day.
Two weeks is the right length for a first trip to Uganda, enough for the Nile at Jinja, a savanna park and gorilla and chimp tracking in the southwest.
With 5 days, stay around
Entebbe,
Kampala and
Jinja, where legs run 1 to 3 hours. Ten days covers the southwest: Fort Portal and Kibale, Queen Elizabeth, Bwindi and Lake Bunyonyi. Fifteen days adds
Murchison Falls and Lake Mburo. Plan around road times: Kampala to Fort Portal takes 5 to 6 hours by bus, Kampala to Kabale 7 to 8 hours. Kidepo Valley or a Rwenzori trek each need 4 to 8 extra days.
Yes, you can travel between towns in Uganda without a car using buses, matatus and boda bodas, but game drives inside the national parks need a hired vehicle or a tour.
Matatus run
Entebbe to
Kampala in about 1 hour for UGX 4,000 to 6,000 (about US$1 to 1.60), and Kampala to
Jinja in 2 to 3 hours for UGX 10,000 to 15,000 (US$3 to 4). Buses reach Fort Portal in 5 to 6 hours and Kabale in 7 to 8 hours for UGX 35,000 to 50,000 (US$10 to 14). For Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls and transfers to Bwindi, budget US$80 to 120 a day for a car and driver.
The must-visits in Uganda are
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for mountain gorillas,
Murchison Falls,
Kibale Forest for chimpanzees,
Queen Elizabeth National Park and the
Source of the Nile at Jinja.
Bwindi’s gorilla permit costs US$800 and the trek takes 2 to 7 hours of steep walking. At Murchison, the Nile squeezes through a gap about 7 meters wide; take the boat from Paraa and hike to the top. Kibale chimp tracking costs US$250, and Queen Elizabeth’s Kazinga Channel cruise shows hippos and elephants from your seat. Add 2 slow days at
Lake Bunyonyi and the Kasubi Royal Tombs in Kampala.
If you are short on time in Uganda, skip the far north and the multi-day mountains:
Kidepo Valley, the
Rwenzori and
Mount Elgon each swallow several days.
Kidepo Valley is 10 to 12 hours by road from Kampala, so it only makes sense with a spare week or a domestic flight. The Rwenzori’s classic circuits take 6 to 8 days, and Mount Elgon’s summit routes 4 to 5. Kampala needs no more than 2 days, and Entebbe works as a single night on arrival. With under a week, stick to Entebbe, Kampala and Jinja; with 10 days, focus on the southwest and save Murchison Falls for another trip.
Yes, our itinerary-planner does exactly that. Set your trip length in days, give your interests and travel style, optionally give start- and end location and/or some mandatory stops you would like to include and the itinerary planner creates your personalized routes for Uganda in seconds. Try it out!
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