Uganda.

The Pearl of Africa.

Churchill called it the Pearl of Africa, and he was not wrong. Uganda is the only country where you can track mountain gorillas in the morning, ride the Nile in the afternoon, and watch tree-climbing lions the next day. It is Africa in a single, generous country.

For our guests who want primates without the polish — Bwindi's gorillas, Kibale's chimpanzees, the golden monkeys of Mgahinga — Uganda is the deeper, wilder, less-trodden alternative to Rwanda. The trekking is harder. The lodges are simpler. The reward is greater.

We pair Uganda often with Kenya — flying in via Entebbe, trekking the gorillas, and emerging onto the Kenyan coast a week later. Few combinations are as varied, or as quietly transformative.