14 Days Rwanda And Uganda Gorilla Safari
There are a few places in the world where you can experience the opportunity to see mountain gorillas 🦍 in their natural habitat. Rwanda and Uganda are two of the three destinations and arguably the best destinations for gorilla trekking expeditions. This 14 days tour takes you through Rwanda’s places south west to Nyungwe past Lake Kivu to Volcanoes and also get to track primates like Golden monkeys at Volcanoes, Gorillas of Bwindi, chimpanzees of Kibale Forest and set out on boat cruises and game drives at the wildlife rich Queen Elizabeth and Murchison Falls National Parks. There is a bit of culture and history and community engagement.
Day 1-Welcome to Rwanda
Your International Flight lands at Kigali International Airport, you check in and purchase an East African Tourist Visa (100USD) that will allow you in Rwanda and Uganda. You meet your guide who will transfer you to the hotel in Kigali (private transfer). Unwind from your flight and prepare for the safari adventure.
Accommodation: Quiet Haven Hotel,Kigali
Meal Plan: Breakfast
Day 2-Kigali to Nyungwe Forest via Nyanza King’s Palace
Your guide will pick you from your hotel and after briefing you head southwest to Nyungwe Forest. The journey incorporates visit to the Genocide Memorial Museum at Gisozi before you head south and a stop at the King’s palace in Nyanza. The two places give an interesting insight into to Rwanda’s past, cultural history and monarchy. The King’s palace is ideally placed to break the long drive to Nyungwe. Lunch will be had along the way.
Accommodation: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3-Colobus monkey tracking and canopy walk
Visiting the black and white colobus monkeys of Nyungwe is a highly enjoyable experience. The walk is gentler than trekking and searching for chimpanzees, and it takes you through the lush green tea plantation’s surrounding an isolated patch of rainforest, where you can spot these striking primates. After return to the lodge and have lunch before you head for the Canopy walk. The 160m long bridge is suspended 70m high and is part of the guided tour on the Igishigishigi trail. You will retire for the day and have a night before heading north to Lake Kivu.
Accommodation: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4-To Lake Kivu
As you travel north today, the forest of Nyungwe create way to the stunning view over lake Kivu and its Islands, stretching as far as DRC. The drive is about 3 hours but you have the flexibility to choose where and when to stop if there is something interesting from the reveling scenery before you arrive at Rebeero Kivu Guesthouse. You will after checking in take a boat trip to the Napoleon Island. Experience the cruise on the lake and the life at the Island (involves a short hike).
Accommodation: Comoran Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5-Kivu to Volcanoes National Park
Wake up to the views of the lake and after your breakfast, drive further north to Volcanoes National park and Kinigi Guesthouse. When you arrive, visit the museum that holds the remains of the Karisoke Research Center by Dian Fossey: The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of Dian Fossey. The campus has information about Gorilla conservation (its history and the future) and brings together a number of gorilla conservation stakeholders. Have a night before your gorilla and golden monkey adventure.
Accommodation: Da Vinci Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Day 6-Gorilla tracking and cultural tour
A day to tick off gorilla tracking in Rwanda. Your driver guide will operate the transfer to the park headquarters in Kinigi for your briefing and gorilla experience. Meet the park rangers and guides who will brief you about gorilla tracking and be allocated a gorilla group. Get into the forests that cover the Volcanoes for the search of these giant apes. When you meet them, you will be allowed an hour to watch and photograph them before you return.
After the return, you will later visit the Gorilla Guardians Village at Iby’Iwachu for an insightful show of culture and history of Rwanda by a group that has retired poachers.
Have a night before your golden monkey experience and bid farewell to Rwanda.
Accommodation: Da Vinci Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Day 7-Golden monkey tracking and to Ruhija
Golden monkeys are a little harder to track down compared to mountain gorillas. Just like any other monkeys, they don’t settle and are always on the move, but the experience of tracking these beautiful colored primates is amazing. Just like gorilla tracking you will receive the briefing from the park rangers and a guide will lead you on the adventure. After have your lunch and say bye to Rwanda, cross to Uganda through the Cyanika border. Drive to the East of Bwindi to Ruhija sector where yo will have an adventure to track gorillas the second time.
Accommodation: Gorilla Mist Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Day 8-Another Gorilla tracking day
Another draw card of your stay at Bwindi is the opportunity to meet a group of gorillas at a destination with half the population of these primates. Gorilla tracking is a captivating and there is no number of times you can do it that will get you enough. Today after breakfast, drive to the park offices for briefing and introduction to your group for the tracking day. When you return, get back to the lodge and have a night before you transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Accommodation: Gorilla Mist Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Day 9-To Queen Elizabeth National Park (Evening game drive)
Wake up early and have breakfast. Leave the lodge and head to Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will drive through the Ishasha sector (a famous area for tree climbing lions). Do a short drive and search for these lazy felines as they rest in the figs or acacia here. You can have lunch here depending on the time or at the lodge in the north end of the park. In then evening head out to the Kasenyi plains for a game drive to search for the big game here. And retire for the day.
Accommodation: Bush Lodge (QENP)
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Day 10-Morning game drive and boat safari-Night at Kibale
Another day to experience Queen Elizabeth National Park. The park is a premier one when it comes to wildlife viewing in Uganda. It has 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species we shall have a morning game drive and Kazinga Channel boat cruise. The cruise provides a great game viewing alternative and after we shall head to Kibale National Park for an overnight about 2 hours from here.
Accommodation: Chimpanzee Guesthouse
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Day 11-Chimpanzee tracking and Bigodi Swamp walk
After breakfast, drive to the park offices. Breakfast will be early and we arrive by 8am for the briefing at Kanyanchu the park offices for Kibale National Park. The park will open its doors for the Am chimpanzee tracking session. kibale has the largest concentration of primates in Eastern Africa and has two habituated communities of chimpanzees with a 90% chance to be located. Spend an hour with these primates and learn about their behavior. Second up is the community based guided tour of Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary. During the walk you will learn about this community based initiative and the people in the community. Retire at your lodge later and await the transfer to Murchison Falls National Park.
Accommodation: Chimpanzee Guesthouse
Meal Plan: Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
Day 12-To Murchison Falls National Park
After having breakfast, you will check out of the hotel and kick start this day’s nature adventure with an exciting 6 hours’ road trip to Murchison Falls National Park with lunch en route. Upon arrival inside the park, you will be amazed by the beautiful landscape while occasionally sighting warthogs and other wildlife, while on a drive to the top of the falls whose views are breathtaking. You will see the top of Murchison Falls where about 300 – 400 cubic meters per second of Nile water force through a tiny gorge of about 7 meters to plunge into a violent tempest in a whirlpool about 42 meters below. It is such a beautiful sight with incredible picture moments here. Drive to the lodge as you view wild animals en route and have a peaceful overnight at the lodge.
Accommodation: Pakuba Safari Lodge
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 13-Morning game drive and boat safari
After your early morning breakfast, our driver guide picks you up for the early game drive. Explore the major game trails especially in the northern bank for good game spotting including lots of elephants, lions, giraffes, antelopes, jackals, hyenas, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, Jackson’s hartebeests and hopefully the elusive leopards among others. Later on, get your lunch break and some relaxation for an indefinitely short time. Later we’ll set out for the afternoon boat ride on the Victoria Nile which is the high spot of any Murchison Falls safari for you get to spot lots of animals at a close encounter. You will have to spot lots of hippos, Nile crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes, and many other animals that come to drink water, refresh and cool themselves off the scorching sun. Some animals come to eat the fresh grass along the river banks. Later, drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a night. This is to breakdown and create enough time to Entebbe after Rhino tracking the day.
Accommodation: Amuka Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 14-Rhino tracking and to Entebbe for Exit
Last day of 14. Today wake up and by 7 head into the woodlands of Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a search of the vulnerable Rhinos. The sanctuary has 40 southern Rhinos from a project that started in 2005. You will walk with a ranger on foot and watch these on foot. Later, check out and head for Entebbe in time to check in for your exit flight. You can stop for souvenirs at craft markets in the town (talk to your guide about it).
Includes
2 Gorilla permits and a chimpanzee permit
Accommodation at mentioned lodges or their equivalent
All meals (as indicated)
Drinking water on all days
Driver guide
Safari vehicle and gas
Park entry fees
Activity fees
Rhino tracking fees
En route meals
Excluded
Flight tickets and visas
Personal expenses (Laundry, souvenirs, alcoholic drinks and beverages)
Tips
Activities not mentioned
