Uganda Rwanda gorilla chimps & wildlife safari
12 DAYS UGANDA & RWANDA GORILLAS-CHIMPS & WILDLIFE SAFARIS
This 12 day of Uganda Rwanda gorilla, and chimps & wildlife safari starts from Kigali Rwanda with a visit to Akagera National Park, chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest, gorilla tracking in Bwindi Forest, game dive and a boat ride on the Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth NP, game drive and boat ride in Lake Mburo National Park among other places to visit on this safari.
Summary of Uganda Rwanda gorilla chimps & wildlife safari
Day 1: Kigali city tour and Visit to Genocide Memorial Sites
Day 2: Transfer to Akagere National Park for a game drive and afternoon boat ride
Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park for Chimp trekking
Day 4: Chimp trekking and Transfer to Butare
Day 5: Visit Kigeme Hospital and Gahini Health Center
Day 6: Butare and transfer to Bwindi Forest National Park.
Day 7: Gorilla trekking and afternoon community walk
Day 8: Bwindi to Lake Bunyonyi
Day 9: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 10: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 11: Queen Elizabeth National Park – Lake Mburo National Park
Day 12: Lake Mburo National Park – Entebbe
Day 1: Kigali city tour and Visit to Genocide Memorial Sites
After breakfast, you will start with a visit to the Nyamata genocide memorial site and later visit the Gisozi genocide memorial site in the afternoon enjoy the beautiful Rwanda Culture around Kigali city and also visit Kandt’s Natural History Museum, and the dancing pots workshop. Dinner and overnight at Chez Lando Hotel
Day 2: Transfer to Akagere National Park for a game drive and afternoon boat ride
Wake up early from your hotel or residence in Kigali and have breakfast. The driver will brief you about the tour and let you know what to expect. After the briefing, the driver will start the 2-hour journey to Akagera National Park. Expect to pass through beautiful countryside with amazing hills. Once you arrive at the southern gate of the park, the driver will take you for hotel check-in and registration from the park offices. You will then proceed for the morning game drive with a park Guide. You should expect to see Zebras, Masai giraffes, leopards, elephants, lions, buffaloes, rhinos, and antelopes. The game drive will not be so long because you need to get back to your hotel for lunch as you prepare for the afternoon boat cruise.
The boat cruise on Lake Ihema is excellent for viewing birds, crocodiles, hippos, and also land animals drinking on the shores. Among the bird species to look out for are the Shoebill Stork, kingfishers, fish eagles, and cormorants. The boat cruise lasts between 2 to 3 hours after which you will be taken back to your hotel for relaxation, refreshment, and dinner and overnight at Akagezi Lodge.
Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park for Chimp trekking
Wake up early, shower, and take breakfast. The Driver will pick you up early to pick up the park ranger/guide at the park offices. The ranger/guide will once again help with locating the best places to find the mammals. The game drive starts from the southern gate of the park all the way to the northern section of the park depending on the time, most of the time will be spent at the Kilala plains, the Mutumba hills, the “hippo beach”, the vast swamps and along the lake Ihema. This particular area has the greatest concentration of wildlife. In case you missed any of the animals on the first day, this is the time to see them. Expect to see lions, buffaloes, Kobs, hippos, Giraffes, Elephants, and all kinds of antelopes with the help of the park ranger.
Akagera National Park is one of the best birding destinations in Rwanda. Over 500 species have been recorded in the park including the lesser kestrel, papyrus gonoleks, and shoebill stork. The scenery in the park is great and we know you will enjoy the African wilderness, the savannah grasslands, woodlands, bushes, and acacia thickets. After seeing most of the park animals, you will head to Nyungwe Forest National Park. Dinner and overnight at Gisakura guest house
Day 4: Chimp trekking and Transfer to Butare
You should wake up early a take your breakfast as you prepare for an adventurous day tracking the primates. Chimpanzee trekking starts at 5 am. The reason why the activity starts early is that meeting the primates is not guaranteed. Starting early increases your chances of finding the primates. The Driver will take you to the park offices and visitor center in Uwinka for briefing and meeting the park Rangers/Guides who will be leading you into the forests. The Guides/Rangers will brief you about the rules and requirements for chimpanzee trekking. If there are many travelers booked for the day, you will be divided into two groups – One will start the trek from the Uwinka Visitor Centre and the other from the Cyamudongo area. There are about 500 chimpanzees in the Nyungwe forest. As you enter the forest, you will be welcomed by the beautiful jungle noises of birds, primates, and insects. Chimpanzee trekking in the Nyungwe forest is just as unpredictable as gorilla trekking. The activity can take up to 4 hours depending on the location of the primates that day. Chimpanzees move as they wish and you will have to follow them through the forest. They are different from gorillas which generally stay in one place for longer periods of time. The good thing about chimps is that they are very vocal. Because of the constant loud screams, hoots, and barks made by chimps, it is easy to pinpoint their location even before seeing one.
As you continue your search for the chimps, you will continue to encounter more beautiful scenery, birds, insects, butterflies, primates, waterfalls and so much more. The nature lover and birder will be very impressed even before finding the chimps. Once you find them in a stationary position, you will only be allowed one hour with them. This one hour excludes the time spent following them as chimpanzees can be very mobile. In that one hour with the primates, you should see them feed, play, build nests, mate, and tease each other. Chimpanzees are our closest relatives – even more than gorillas. Each individual chimp has a unique character. Some are more aggressive while others are calm and mind their own business. After transfer to Butera. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Ibis
Day 5: Visit Kigeme Hospital and Gahini Health Center
Wake up early and take breakfast. The Driver will pick you up early to pick up and take you to Kigeme Hospital and later in the afternoon, the driver guide transfer you to Gahini Health Center. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Ibis
Day 6: Butare and transfer to Bwindi Forest National Park.
Butare and transfer to Bwindi Forest for your Uganda gorilla trek, after breakfast you will enjoy an adventurous drive through the terraced hills as you access Uganda then to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park famous for its great mountain gorillas. Dinner and overnight at Haven Lodge or Bakiga Lodge
Day 7: Gorilla trekking and afternoon community walk.
In the morning, assemble at the park headquarters for briefing from the park rangers about the dos and don’ts while with the gorillas. Proceed for the memorable adventure in the forest, gorilla trekking may take 2-6 hours depending on the movement of the gorilla. Meet and stay with the animals for a maximum of one hour, then descend to the park headquarters and then to your Lodge for lunch and relaxation. In the evening, you may go for a community walk in the nearby community, where you will be entertained and unique cultural experience. Dinner and overnight at Haven Lodge or Bakiga Lodge
Day 8: Bwindi to Lake Bunyonyi
After breakfast as you prepare for a drive to Lake Bunyonyi. The first thing to do is enjoy the beautiful sounds of birds in the morning. The lake has an amazing collection of birds including the African harrier, egrets, grey crowned cranes, hawks, herons, leveling cuckoo, Rufus breathed wryneck, weaver birds, and the white-tailed blue monad among many others.
Afterward, you can go to the hotel/lodge for lunch before proceeding for a boat ride or canoeing. You will be taken to visit the beautiful islands where you will get even better views of the lake, surrounding areas, rolling hills, and terraces. Most of the islands are named after the dominant bird species there. One particular island is known as the punishment island. The Bakiga tribe living in the area once had a cruel culture of abandoning all girls who got pregnant before marriage on this particular island. They were left there to die since most couldn’t swim. Most of the girls were eventually rescued by the men who had impregnated them or bachelors who couldn’t pay the bride price required by parents of virgins. Dinner and overnight at Lake Bunyonyi Rock Resort
Day 9: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast, drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park. This drive will take you through the Ishasha sector if lack you may spot tree-climbing lions as you drive to the northern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park and have an evening game drive. Dinner and overnight at Bush Lodge or Irungu Forest Lodge
Day 10: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
After an early morning warm-up tea or coffee, you will head for a game drive along Kasenyi tracks in search of animals like lions, cape buffalos, elephants, warthogs, waterbucks, spotted hyenas, mongoose, kobs and, if you are lucky, the leopard is often spotted. Over 606 bird species have been recorded in this park and most notably along the Kazinga channel.
Return for a full breakfast, relax and prepare for yet another exciting activity in the afternoon. After lunch, we will transfer you to enjoy a unique two hours boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel connecting Lake Edward and Lake Gorge. This launch cruise gives you a great opportunity for photography, and animal and bird watching at close range. Dinner and overnight at Bush Lodge or Irungu Forest Lodge.
Day 11: Queen Elizabeth National Park – Lake Mburo National Park
Get up ready for an early morning game drive. The park’s diverse ecosystem of grassy plains, tropical forests, rivers, swamps, lakes, and volcanic craters is home to an incredible abundance of wildlife. Look out for buffaloes, lions, elephants, and other wildlife in their natural habitat and leave for Lake Mburo National Park. We shall have a stop in Mbarara town for lunch and thereafter head out for a boat ride after lunch that gives you the chance to view water animals like; Crocodiles, Hippopotamus and water birds including; Fish Eagles, Pelicans, Black crake, Heron, Cormorant, and the rare shoebill stork
After proceeding with the evening game drive, Lake Mburo National Park is an extension of the Tanzanian plains with big herds of zebra, impala, eland, and other ungulates. Bird viewing opportunities are excellent – for birders, this is one of the best places to find African fin foot and papyrus bush shrike. Dinner and overnight at Rwakobo Rock Lodge
Day 12: Lake Mburo National Park – Entebbe
Get up ready for an early morning game drive. With the park’s diverse ecosystem of grassy plains, look out for buffaloes, zebras, impalas, topis, and other wildlife in their natural habitat after transferring to Entebbe arriving in the afternoon for your evening flight back home.
End of 12 days of Uganda Rwanda gorilla chimps & wildlife safari
COST PER PERSON SHARING TWIN/DOUBLE ROOMS
| Cost per person sharing | Price (USD) Moderate Safari |
| 1 person | 8,075 |
| 2 people | 6,825 |
| 3 people | 6,080 |
| 4 people | 5,317 |
| 5 people | 4,552 |
| 6 people | 3,587 |
Includes: Meet & greet services, airport transfers to/from Kigali/Entebbe airport, one gorilla for Bwindi per person and one Nyungwe chimpanzee permit per person, accommodation and meals on safari as above, bottled water on a safari vehicle, services of English speaking driver/guide, all park entry fees and set activities on the itinerary.
Excludes: Visas, personal travel insurance, and items of a personal nature, Charter/Scheduled flights are also an optional extra. Plus all expenses of personal nature like tips, drinks, etc.
