11 Days Rwanda Uganda Gorilla & Wildlife safari

We understand that flights can change and sometimes your arrival may be delayed. Upon your arrival in Uganda, our experienced and happy guide shall meet and pick you from the airport or any hotel accommodation in Entebbe/Kampala and embark on a transfer to your safari lodge.
After that, you shall have a briefing from the team regarding your next stay in Uganda and Rwanda before having a short city tour if you have time.

You will set off early after breakfast for Murchison Falls national park before arriving in the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary just before the Murchison Falls National Park. The Ziwa Rhino sanctuary ensures your complete Big 5 encounter in Uganda .You get to sightsee the giant African white rhinos in the natural habitat, there is more to sight see here including topis, hartebeest and more.

After touring the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, you will have lunch en-route before proceeding to Murchison Falls for a hike to the top of the falls where you get to experience world’s fastest and most powerful waterfall as it squeezes itself into a small gorge of about 8meteres. Retire from the adventure and have a short game drive before checking into your accommodation for relaxation.

You will wake up early to take your breakfast and be driven to the southern banks of the River Nile. This morning drive will provide you with opportunities to spot four of the big five – Lions, buffalo, leopards, and Elephants. You will also see hyenas, Bushbucks, Jackals, the Uganda Kob, and the Hartebeest among many other great creatures. Proceed to have lunch and later relax before embarking on a boat ride for an impressive launch cruise at the bottom of the falls.

As you pass by the river banks, look out for one of the world’s largest concentrations of hippos and crocodiles. Bird watching is a great activity here, with some rare species like the Saddle-billed Stork, African Skimmer, shoebill stork, Grey-crowned Crane, Goliath Heron, Black-headed Gonolek, and the Fish Eagle and Long-toed Plover among many others.

Wake up early in the morning for your breakfast as you wait to start the long journey to Kibale National Park. Our guide/driver will start the journey from your Murchison Falls accommodation to embark on a long drive to Kibale National Park via Hoima. Use this time to admire Uganda’s beautiful countryside, changing landscape, small towns, lakes, rivers, forest, and the local people working in their gardens.

You will stop along the way for lunch and proceed to have a Bigodi community tour to encounter some primates, birds, and visit the local community. A homestay experience can be arranged for you to experience life in a local African home. If you are interested in this, let us know in advance.

You will wake up to have your delicious breakfast before embarking on a drive to the Kibale Forest National Park for a chimpanzee trekking briefing. The briefing is basically about what you should expect during your chimpanzee tracking adventure, and how to behave when and after meeting the chimpanzees. It is a different experience from gorilla trekking because the chimps spend more time in the trees.

Chimpanzee tracking is also somewhat demanding physically; therefore, ensure you have some level of physical fitness to have the very best of this experience. After meeting the chimpanzees, you shall have an hour with the chimps before returning to the starting point, and later you shall transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park for relaxation as you await tomorrow’s activities.

After resting early yesterday, you should wake looking forward to today’s interesting activities. Our driver will pick you up after breakfast for an early morning game drive. The early morning game drive ensures you meet the nocturnal animals going back to their dens after a night of hunting.

During the game drive, expect to see the big cats and birds waking up from their sleep. As the day proceeds, you should see hippos, buffaloes, lions, hartebeests and a great collection of birds.

Afterwards continue for lunch and rest before heading to the Kazinga channel at 2.00pm, for the boat cruise at the Kazinga channel. The channel connects Lake George to Lake Edward and attracts most of the park animals especially during the dry season. Watch as predators and prey come for a drink or marvel the amazing bird collection and later return to your accommodation for dinner, relaxation and overnight.

After the previous day’s activities, it’s time to transfer to Bwindi for your first adventurous gorilla trekking activity. You shall have breakfast and embark on a drive that lasts about 4 hours before finally arriving in Bwindi. You shall drive through the famous Isasha sector of Queen Elizabeth and if you are luck, you can sightsee the famous tree-climbing lions of Isasha.

Upon arrival in Bwindi, check in and have lunch before having an exciting Batwa cultural encounter where you get to meet the local Batwa that still live like they did centuries ago. Learn and watch them make fire from dung and grass, perform and later return to your accommodation for dinner, relaxation and overnight.

You will wake up very early, have breakfast, and be taken to the park offices for registration and briefing. The briefing covers information about the park, what to expect, and the gorilla groups in Bwindi. Gorilla trekking groups are allocated based on level of physical fitness, preference and age.

As soon as you are done with the briefing, you will be offered a hiking stick and led into the forest to locate the primates. This is also the time to check and ensure you have enough drinking water, and you may hire the services of a porter to help you with luggage if necessary.
Gorilla tracking is an interesting and adventurous activity, but you shall need some level of physical fitness as it takes you through dense forest, shrub, and muddy areas before suddenly locating the gorilla group. Take as many photos as you can, as you will only be with the family for one hour.

You will then be offered a certificate of participation before being driven to Lake Bunyonyi for a relaxing evening in the second deepest lake in Africa. Here, you shall enjoy the beautiful views of the 29 islands the lake has. Proceed to your accommodation for relaxation and overnight.

Today, you bid farewell to Uganda and cross to Rwanda after having your delicious breakfast and enjoying the beautiful views of Lake Bunyonyi. You shall cross to Rwanda and later proceed for a drive to Volcanoes National Park.

You shall arrive in the late afternoon and have the whole day to relax as you await tomorrows gorilla trekking in the famous Volcanoes National park.

Wake up early morning and transfer to the park’s headquarters for a briefing for gorilla trekking at the Volcanoes National Park that begins about 7:00 a.m. During the briefing, you shall have a particular gorilla family allocated to you of the ten gorilla families in Rwanda. The allocation of gorilla groups is based on the individuals’ overall fitness.

While tracking mountain gorillas in the bush, constantly listen to and obey your ranger guides’ guidelines and avoid making unexpected moves and only take images without flashes.
After your gorilla tracking in Rwanda, you will return to the starting point to collect your Gorilla Trekking Certificate before a transfer to your accommodation for lunch and rest.

Later in the afternoon, the Guide will take you to see the Gorilla Guardians Village for an highlight tour of the Banyarwanda cultural heritage. Here, learn, watch performance and if you want, dress in local costumes for photographs.

Wake up early and eat breakfast before proceeding to the park’s headquarters for yet another briefing on golden monkey tracking. Golden monkeys are adorable animals that are unfortunately endangered and can only be found in Uganda, Rwanda & Congo. Seeing them here is considered a very exciting and unforgettable experience. They are quite playful and live in large groups of about 50 individuals. Their golden (orange) coats distinguish them from all other primates in the park.

During your golden monkey safari, expect to see other primates along the routes while tracking them. After that exciting adventure, our guide will take you back to your accommodation to check out before continuing to Kigali. The journey will take three hours, but you will have great views of the gorgeous rolling hills, green countryside, and tea plantations – Rwanda is truly a land of a thousand hills.
End of Tour