15 Day – Authentic Rwanda and Uganda African Savannah Primate Safari
Big5 game, Primate Experience, African Savannah, Birds, People and Unique Cultural Experience
Overview:
This 15 days Rwanda to Uganda Safari starts in Kigali and ends in Entebbe International Airport. Meet eye to eye with the amazing gorillas and Chimpanzees of our region in their natural habitat, one of Africa’s major highlights. This close encounter with these amazing apes is simply breathtaking. Also get a close encounter with other diverse African wildlife, beautiful landscapes, and amazing culture and if you are a keen Birder, this is the place to be!
Brief Itinerary
Day 1: Meet and Greet at Kigali International Hotel
Day 2: City Tour in Kigali – Transfer to Akagera, Enjoy Boat Safari on Lake Ihema
Day 3: Full Day Game Drives
Day 4: Transfer Back to Kigali – Reach in Time for Lunch at the Hotel
Day 5: Transfer to Nyugwe National Park – Afternoon Canopy walk
Day 6: Chimpanzee Trekking Experience
Day 7: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 8: Golden Monkey Trekking – Afternoon Gorilla Guardian Gorilla Village Visit
Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi – Boat Safari on Lake Mutanda
Day 10: Morning Gorilla Tracking Experience in Bwindi
Day 11: Morning Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park – Boat Safari on Kazinga Channel into Lake Edward
Day 12: Full Day Game Drives
Day 13: Transfer to Kibale National Park
Day 14: Chimpanzee Trekking
Day 15: Transfer to Entebbe for a Flight Back home
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Meet and greet and transfer to the Hotel
| Meet and greet at Kigali International Airport with our representative who will warmly welcome you and facilitate seamless arrival formalities. He will transfer you to your hotel, which is a few minutes from the airport. However, depending on which time of arrival, you are advised to have your money changed and enjoy the City tour. | Overnight: Kigali Serena Hotel Meal Plan: B/B |
|---|
Day 2: City Tour in Kigali – Transfer to Akagera, Enjoy Boat Safari on Lake Ihema
| Have Breakfast Visit to Genocide memorial center where we shall learn of the Political, social and economic History of the Hutus and Tutsi tribe prior to the Genocide, have a guided marvel through the breath-taking museum and proceed to shopping malls or sample more food, and craft markets for souvenir shopping.
Time allowing, drive through Nyamirambo Township – this is the oldest town in Kigali which has a unique stretched neighbourhood found in south western corner of Kigali that envelopes diverse behaviour with dominancy of Arab – like Culture. It is a huge stretched corner which is sometimes referred to as a gangsters’ Paradise! Characterized with Many Muslim residents, Mosques and unlike other places that close by 8pm with everyone inside their homes, Nyamirambo hustles and rocks late into the nights. Later Drive to Akagera National Park – you will reach in time for Lunch and afternoon Boat Safari on Lake Ihema where you will be so close to wildlife. |
Overnight: Ruzizi Tented Camp Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 3: Full Day Game Drives
| Arise early morning and pursue a whole day game drive to explore the park’s most magnificent and famous features as well as Rwanda’s largest lake. Here we shall run into a great number of elephants as well as the buffalos along the way. We shall then have a picnic lunch in savannah plains and then continue with our exploration game drive where you will view animals including; zebras, impalas, waterbucks, topis, baboons, giraffes, cape elands and many more.
After the long exciting day, return to the lodge for sun downers busk on the deck of the lodge where you will also enjoy a comforting fire plus the sounds of the African wild! |
Overnight: Ruzizi Tented Camp Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 4: Transfer Back to Kigali – Reach in Time for Lunch at the Hotel
| Have early Breakfast and proceed to Kigali with an optional stopover in Nyakarambi Village to view how the Imigongo cow Dung paintings are also created by the Kakira Women Co-operative. There is also the art form that was created by Prince Kakira and was also used in decorating the houses using cow dung. This dung is also dried and then mixed with colors that are made from the organic material-like the plants to create white and red paints which are very spectacular and vibrant. Later proceed to Kigali reaching early at the Hotel for Dinner. | Overnight: Amata N ubuki Meal Plan: B/B |
|---|
Day 5: Transfer to Nyugwe National Park – Afternoon Canopy walk
| After breakfast, transfer to Nyugwe forest which is South West of Rwanda via Musanze, you will reach in time for Lunch at the Lodge – After a Hot lunch at the Lodge, we will drive to Uwinka, the main reception center of the park, and set out for the canopy walk to experience the park from a different perspective – the Canopy Walkway is a highlight of a Nyungwe Safari and hangs 60 meters above the forest floor between giant trees and towers, this is East Africa’s only Canopy Walkway that provides a stunning view of the park’s amazing wildlife and nature. The Walkway is accesses several trails including the famous Igishigishigi trail if one is interested in hiking one! Enjoy epic views of the Nyungwe forest and catch elusive wildlife in the canopies such as monkeys and birds! | Overnight: Emeraude Kivu Meal Plan: B/B |
|---|
Day 6: Chimpanzee Trekking Experience
| After early breakfast we will transfer to the nearest reception center in Nyungwe forest by 5am to meet the ranger guides for the pre-trek briefing and thereafter drive to the start point of trekking in the Nyungwe forest to track the Wild chimpanzees – Nyungwe Rainforest is a haven for primates and believed to be one of the oldest forests in Africa and still remains ever green with an untouched natural rainforest that is filled with exciting biodiversity that includes habituated chimpanzees and 12 other primates species (including a 400-strong troop of habituated Ruwenzori Black & White Colobus), it’s also a birder’s paradise with over 300 species, including 16 endemics, and is home to 75 different species of mammals. After the locating the cheeky wild elements of the park, you will have only one hour to observe them as you exercise a great ideal with great photogenic shots with them! | Overnight: Emeraude Kivu Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 7: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
| After Breakfast, leisurely Transfer to Ruhengeri where you will spend your night at the Home of Mountain Gorillas – Upon arrival, you may have lunch and enjoy optional activities or spend a day at the Lodge as you wait for the next adventure./th> | Overnight: Bishops House Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 8: Golden Monkey Trekking – Afternoon Gorilla Guardian Gorilla Village Visit
| Have Breakfast, transfer to the Briefing centre at kiningi where you will be allocated your ranger guides – you will later trek the jungle in search for the cheeky yet very rare primates. Your eyes will stretch on the canopies where you will be able to glance at the playful shy primates. In the Afternoon, you will visit the Gorilla Guardians which is a Non-Profit umbrella organization that aims at improving the lives of reformed poachers and communities around Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park through provision of conservation incentives, supporting community enterprise development and livelihood-based projects. |
Overnight: Bishops House Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi – Boat Safari on Lake Mutanda
| Have Breakfast and Proceed to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which is the ancient rainforest and home of roughly half of the world’s mountain gorillas, it lies in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the Rift Valley. Its mist-covered hillsides are blanketed by one of Uganda’s oldest and most biologically diverse rainforests, dating back over 25,000 years and contain almost 400 species of plants. More famously, this “impenetrable forest” is home to half of the remaining Mountain Gorillas in the world.
You will Have Lunch and later enjoy an afternoon return Boat Cruise on Lake Mutanda to the small island identified as a Punishment island where un married young girls who got pregnant were said to be bringing shame to their families hence they were taken by a canoe to the tiny island and left to die. You will see the Remains of those that were punished and left to die in a small open Cave on Akampene the Punishment Island. Transfer to the Lodge for Dinner and accommodation. |
Overnight: Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 10: Morning Gorilla Tracking Experience in Bwindi
| After an early breakfast depart to the starting point for briefing about your gorilla trekking adventure, after which you will be led by experienced gorilla trackers on the slopes of the volcanoes. You will start from the site where the gorillas were encountered the day before and from here, the gorilla tracking begins. Although the hike can be physically demanding, the anticipation of the exciting experience ahead is amazing, and the beauty of the gorilla forest and its inhabitants are fascinating. One of Africa’s major highlights is when you encounter these amazing apes. It is a humbling experience to stand just meters from man’s distant cousins as they eat rest, play and bond with their young ones. Follow the mountain gorillas as they range freely in the impenetrable forest, and discover their gorgeous natural habitual and the many species they share it with. You are allowed an hour with the gorillas before finally sloping down back to your lodge. | Overnight: Nkuringo Gorilla Lodge Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 11: Morning Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park – Boat Safari on Kazinga Channel into Lake Edward
| After your early morning breakfast, pack-up your bags and drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park. The drive takes you through the Switzerland of Africa area known as the Kigezi Highlands with its terraced hillside and winding roads arriving in the evening. Check into the lodge for dinner and your overnight stay. You will enjoy a hot lunch and later in the afternoon take a unique 2-hour boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel into Lake Edward. This trip passes through possibly the highest concentration of hippos and this launch/cruise offers an excellent platform for photography, bird watching and game viewing. The prolific bird life is colorful and stupendous, with well over 550 resident species. |
Overnight: Elephant Plains Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 12: Full Day Game Drives
| Queen Elizabeth National Park’s diverse eco-system of grassy plains, tropical forest, rivers, swamps, lakes and volcanic craters is home to an incredible abundance of wildlife. Have an early morning game drive where you have an opportunity to view the massive Rwenzori as backdrop, which provides excellent opportunities to spot lion, leopard, giant forest hog, Cape buffalo, elephant, defassa waterbuck, Uganda Kob, topi and bushbuck. The game drives and the boat trip (taken prior) are memorable methods of discovering a vast array of Ugandan wildlife. Be sure to have your camera ready for these amazing sightings! | Overnight: Elephant Plains Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 13: Transfer to Kibale National Park
| After breakfast at your lodge, drive to kibale National Park following the mystical Rwenzori Mountain Range. You will reach at the Lodge in Time for lunch – Relax whole afternoon as you wait for the next adventure. | Overnight: Primate Lodge Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 14: Chimpanzee Trekking
| After breakfast at your lodge, transfer to the starting point of your Chimpanzee trekking experience in Kibale Forest National Park which is reputed to have the greatest variety and highest concentration of primates in East Africa. The most famous of its 13 species is the Chimpanzee, man’s closest relative. Kibale’s 1450 Chimpanzee represent Uganda’s largest population of this endangered primate. Kibale is also a home to the rare I’Hoest’s monkey. Other primates include the black and white Colobus, Blue monkey, Grey cheeked mangabey, Red tailed monkey, Olive baboon to mention but a few. So you will enjoy a guided nature walk in the tropical rainforest in search of the wild chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys and many others. | Overnight: Primate Lodge Meal Plan: F/B |
|---|
Day 15: Transfer to Entebbe for a Flight Back home
End Of Service
✔ Inclusions
- All ground transportation in A 4×4 pop up roof land cruiser safari vehicle with fuel
- Comfortable Accommodation based on per person sharing
- Park entrance Fees
- Meals as per the Itinerary
- Gorilla Tracking permit per person
- Chimpanzee Trekking Permit per person
- Golden Monkey Trekking
- Guided Game Drives
- Return Boat Safari to the Punishment Island
- Return Canopy walk
- Visit to Gorilla Guardian Village
- Guided Boat Safari
- City Drives and site visits
- Well bottled water for Drinking
- Any other items included in the above itinerary
❌ Exclusions
- International Air tickets
- Park entrance fees for Vehicles
- Visas
- Personal insurance
- Meals enroute
- Personal expenses such as drinks, tips, telephone calls, etc
- Any other items which are not included in the above itinerar