When to visit Uganda.

January opens on long, bright mornings and tracks that have set after the short rains. Gorilla permits for June and September are released this month; we hold them before the rest of an itinerary is written.

The driest, kindest month for first-time Uganda travellers. Murchison and Queen Elizabeth concentrate game around the water, and the Bwindi trails are at their gentlest.

The transition month. Skies soften, the parks empty of the January rush, and lodges begin to release single-night specials. A designer's favourite for last-minute travel.

Afternoon thunderstorms shape the day. Rwenzori and Mgahinga close central-circuit huts. We rebuild itineraries around forest, lake, and lodge — the green season at its most cinematic.

The rains soften through May. Birding peaks across the Albertine Rift, photography light turns painterly, and lodge rates are at their lowest of the year.

The opening of high season. Gorilla, chimp and savannah parks all sharpen in the same week. June permits are the most contested twelve months of the year.

Peak. Kidepo, the Rwenzoris and Bwindi all perform at the top of their range. We book July journeys nine to twelve months ahead.

The month most travellers picture when they picture Uganda. Lions in Ishasha, herds in Kidepo, gorilla treks short and dry. Lodges are full; design starts a year out.

The crowd thins, the parks remain dry, and the light begins its September turn. Our most-recommended window for travellers who want peak-season Uganda without peak-season company.

The short rains arrive in earnest. Rwenzori summit attempts pause; the rest of the country becomes a green-season classic — long lunches at the lodge, afternoon game drives between showers.

The rains taper. Mid-November onward, a quiet pre-Christmas window opens — gorilla permits are easier to secure and lodges are at their warmest.

The festive window. Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth book out first; we hold lodges from August onward for December departures. Christmas at Apoka in Kidepo is its own quiet tradition.