The 13 Days Rwanda and Uganda Safari is an excellent combined safari tour holiday that takes you to Rwanda referred to as a land of a thousand hills and to Uganda famously known as the Pearl of Uganda.
Both safari destinations lead you to most visited safari national parks and uniquely culture tours, through engaging in-game drive, primates tour in gorilla, Golden monkey, and Chimpanzee trekking activities as well as Rhino tracking adventure.
Day 0: Arrival in Kigali.
Our driver guide will pick you up from Kigali International Airport. Upon your arrival at 7 pm. You will be driven to your hotel for dinner and an overnight stay at Onomo Hotel (Midrange)
Meal Plan: Dinner
Day 1: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park (Approximately 6 hours ‘drive)
On day 1 of the 13 Days Rwanda and Uganda Safari, you will be picked by the driver from your hotel in Kigali and drive southwards to Nyungwe Forest National Park after your breakfast. Then, you will set off to Nyungwe with a stopover in Butare, where you will also visit the National Museum of Rwanda, the king’s palace in Nyanza with a lunch en route. Dinner and overnight at Mantis Kivu Marina Bay Hotel (Mid-Range).
Meal Plan: Breakfast, en-route Lunch and Dinner
Day 2: Colobus Monkey Trekking and Canopy Walk.
On day 2 of the 13 Days Rwanda and Uganda Safari, have a relaxed breakfast early in the morning and meet up with your driver guide. You will then drive to the park headquarters for a briefing about Colobus monkey trek. Trekking starts at 8 am in the morning and can last between 4-6 hours or more depending on their movements. Thereafter, during your colobus monkey trek, you will drive back to your lodge for a hot lunch at your lodge and then spend the rest of the day at leisure.
After having your lunch, you will head on a guided nature walk along the impressive canopy walkway bridge- a swing bridge 50 meters in length that is suspended from large trees. You will be able to see the beautiful rainforest with a bird’s eye view, explore wildlife moving about below you thereafter connect to your booked accommodation to spend the evening at leisure. This hike takes only 2 hours. Later,drive back to your lodge/hotel for dinner and an overnight stay at Mantis Kivu Marina Bay Hotel (Mid-Range)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, en-route Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park and Ibyi’wacu Village Tour (Approximately 4-5-hour drive).
On day 3 of the 13 Days Rwanda and Uganda Safari, after having an excellent breakfast in the morning, you will meet your guide and transfer to Volcanoes National Park with a stopover for lunch at Lake Kivu. Enjoy the rewarding views as you traverse the countryside. Arriving in Volcanoes NP in the evening.
You will head on a cultural tour to Ibyi’wacu village aka ‘The Gorilla Guardians Village’ where you will get to interact with the locals and watch their traditional dance and singing performances from the local dance troupe. If you still wish to encounter more, you can do other optional activities like visiting the Elle DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Fund where you will be taken on a tour of the campus facilities including the classrooms, laboratories, and exhibition hall. Dinner and overnight stay at Da Vinci Lodge (Midrange)
Optional Activities: Coffee Tour at Kinunu Washing Station, Visit Elle DeGeneres Campus for the Dian Fossey Fund
Day 4: Golden Monkey Trek and Optional Visit to Karisoke Centre
On day 4 of the 13 Days Rwanda and Uganda Safari, you will go for golden monkey tracking. This activity also takes like 2-3 hours in the Virunga forest. Later return back to your lodge for early lunch and spend the rest of your evening at leisure.
This is an unforgettable and memorable experience. En route, there are a lot of chimpanzees and other small primates like monkeys, and birds among other. Return for lunch at the Lodge and in the afternoon, you may go on an optional visit to the Karisoke research center where you can visit the Dian Fossey Museum and also the graves of the Late Diane Fossey, an American primatologist who was murdered because she was protecting these endangered mountain Gorillas. Have dinner and overnight stay at Da Vinci Lodge (Midrange)
Day 5: Drive to Bwindi (Approximately 3-4 hour’s drive)
Have breakfast at your lodge and then meet up with your driver guide. You will head on a 5hours drive from Ruhengeri to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. Have lunch en-route with a brief stopover along the way for you to take a few pictures of the stunning scenery. Arrive in Bwindi in the late afternoon for dinner and overnight stay at your lodge. Four Gorillas Lodge (Midrange)
Day 6: Gorilla Trek in Bwindi and Optional Batwa Cultural Tour
After an early morning breakfast, you will leave with your packed lunch and be driven to the park headquarters for briefing and then take a walk to the forest trails in search of mountain gorillas. The trek can last about 30 minutes to 7 hours. Gorilla Trekking can take an hour or four depending on the location of the gorillas.
The remaining time after visiting the gorillas can either be spent relaxing and meditating about the activity or you can do an optional trek to visiting local Batwa communities in the area. Dinner and overnight at Four Gorilla Lodge (Midrange)
Day 7: Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park & Evening Game Drive (Approximately 4 hours’ drive)
After having breakfast at your lodge, meet your driver guide and drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park via Kabale- Ishaka, with lunch en route to access the park. Arrive in the park late afternoon and check into your lodge. Have dinner and overnight stay at Kikorongo Safari Lodge (Midrange)
Day 8: Morning Game Drive & Afternoon Boat Cruise
After your breakfast, you will set off to an early morning game drive where you will track lions in the park with a team of expert researchers and park rangers. This activity takes approximately 1-4 hours depending on the location of the lions. You will also enjoy a short game drive where you stand a chance to encounter other animals like buffaloes, elephants, waterbuck, Uganda Kob, and other types of antelopes. Then go back for lunch.
Afternoon, go for a 3-hour launch cruise along the Kazinga Channel into Lake Edward, this cruise will let you pass through a place of the highest concentration of hippos and you may also see many animals drinking at the water’s edge. The cruise also offers a good platform for photography, bird watching, and games. Dinner and overnight stay at Kikorongo Safari Lodge (Midrange)
Day 9: Drive to Kibale National Park and Optional Bigodi Swamp Walk (Approximately 2 hours drive)
You will have breakfast at your hotel, and set off to drive to Kibale Forest National Park in the western part of Uganda with stopovers to stretch. Arrive at your lodge in Kibale in time to check in and have lunch.
You can do an optional visit to Bigodi Swamp in the afternoon. The reserve is home to butterflies, plants, animals, in particular, birds and primates among others. Spectacular birds like Great Blue Turaco and rare Papyrus Gonolek will be of rewarding interest to birders. The swamp is also home to more elusive animals like Red Colobus monkeys and Sitatunga antelope. There is also a chance to visit local community projects that have been financed by tourism. Dinner and overnight stay at Turaco treetop (Midrange)
Day 10: Chimpanzee Trek
After breakfast, drive to Kibale National Park head offices for a briefing about the chimpanzees. Enter the forest and start trek the chimpanzees in their natural habitat, It takes 2-5 hours to find them and on finding them, you are allowed 1 hour to be in their process as they swing from the branches in the canopy high above the forest floor. Have lunch at your lodge and spend the rest of your afternoon relaxing. Dinner and overnight stay at Turaco Treetop (Midrange)
Day 11: Drive to Murchison Falls National Park and Drive to the Top of the Falls
After your an early breakfast and meet up with your driver guide. You will then head on about a 6-hour drive to Murchison Falls National Park which lies in northwestern Uganda and with lunch en route to the park. Arrive in Murchison in the late afternoon and check into your lodge before heading out to view the Top of the Falls. Get up-close views of the world’s most powerful waterfalls-Murchison Falls. Later embark back to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay at Pakuba Safari Lodge (Midrange)
Day 12: Morning Game Drive and Afternoon Boat Cruise
A full day of game viewing at Murchison; start with a morning game drive with a great view of elephant, buffalo, giraffe, antelope, lion, leopard and jackal. If luck is really on our side, we may encounter one of Murchison’s few cheetahs.
In the afternoon, you will take a boat trip to the base of the 43m high falls. This is also a perfect opportunity to spot a few of Murchison’s 460 bird species including the shoebill stork and goliath heron many more. You will also see one of Africa’s densest hippo and crocodile populations. Dinner and overnight at Pakuba Safari Lodge (Midrange)
Day 13: Rhino Trekking at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and Drive to Kampala.
Have an early breakfast at the lodge and drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino trekking where you will have an up-close adventure with white rhinos. Rhino trekking can take 1-2½ hours depending on the movements of the rhinos. Make sure to wear long trousers and a good pair of hiking boots in order to have an excellent experience especially since the area is bushy.
After your rhino tracking experience, you will head on a return journey to Entebbe with lunch en route. Upon your arrival in Entebbe, your driver guide will take you to the Best Western Hotel where you will have a comfortable stay. Have dinner and this marks the end of 13 Days Rwanda and Uganda Safari.
Departure.
At 2 am on 4TH AUGUST, 2024: We shall have the hotel drop you off at Entebbe International Airport in time to check in and board your flight back home
Quotation Includes;
- Pickup in Kigali and Drop-off in Entebbe
- Canopy walk
- Chimpanzee Permit
- Gorilla Permit
- Golden monkeys
- Colobus monkeys
- Game Drives
- Boat Cruises
- Park entrance fees
- Vehicle entrance fees
- All accommodation as per itinerary
- 4X4 safari vehicle & Fuel
- Full-time English/ French speaking driver/ guide
- Bottled mineral water while on safari
Excludes;
- Tips
- Rwanda Visa fees
- Air tickets
- Lion Tracking
- All items of a personal nature like laundry, porterage, phone calls, beer, e.t.c
- Optional/ any activity not included in the price quoted
