14-Day Rwanda and Uganda Big 5 and Gorilla Safari

• You’ll be collected from the airport.
• Accommodation before the tour starts can be arranged for an extra cost.

Day 1

Meet your Guide at Kigali International Airport

On your arrival at Kigali International airport (KGL) you will be met by your private guide for the 14 days ahead. Greet and be driven to your Hotel in Kigali where you will have a night before your adventure fully begins the next day. The Hotel is about 15 minutes drive from the airport.

Main Destination:

Kigali

Accommodation:

Quiet Haven Hotel

• Mid-range hotel located in or near Kigali

 

Day 2

Drive to Akagera National Park (boat safari and drive in the afternoon)

Have breakfast at the hotel and later you’ll be driven east in your own 4WD through rolling hills and small farms with bananas and tropical fruit growing on the side of the road. It’s a beautiful drive, usually arriving at the Lodge after around three hours. Should you wish to stop, however – perhaps to take photos or to visit a village – just chat to your guide about the options. This is very much your trip. In the afternoon, take on a boat trip on Lake Ihema and a short evening game drive.

Main Destination:

Akagera National Park (Rwanda)

Mantis Akagera Game Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located inside Akagera NP

Day 3

Morning game drive and to Volcanoes National Park

Akagera national Park has seen transformation since the end of the 1994 genocide that left it in shambles. It has seen the glory of the park return after the reintroduction of lions in 2015, rhinos, and now the park has a big 5 status. We shall have a morning game drive at the park before we head northwest to Musanze. Where we shall visit the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of Dian Fossey before we retire.

Main Destination:

Musanze (City, Rwanda)

Accommodation:

Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located just outside Volcanoes NP

Day 4

Golden Monkey tracking and to Lake Kivu (Kibuye)

Spend a morning trekking to find the golden monkeys in the Volcanoes National Park. These endangered monkeys are endemic to the Albertine Rift area and are characterised by their golden-orange fur. You’ll be able to enjoy an hour watching them jump through the bamboo and hunker down to chew bamboo leaves, curiously watching you, as you watch them.
Your driver-guide will operate your transfers to the park headquarters from the lodge and introduce you to your trekking group and parks guide. After, we have lunch and visit the gorilla guardians village before you drive to Kibuye on Lake Kivu for a night.

Main Destination:

Lake Kivu (Rwanda)

Accommodation:

Cormoran Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located in or near Lake Kivu

Day 5

To Nyungwe Forest after the Island tour

Today, we shall have a boat tour to the Napoleon Island. The island is a famous on and is known for its colony of fruit bats. The tour is about 2 hours before we return and head for Nyungwe Forest. The waters of Lake Kivu pave way for the forests of Nyungwe. It’s not a long drive – around three hours – but with the flexibility to choose where and when you stop, you can spend as long as you like taking photographs or just revelling in the scenery before arriving at the lodge in the afternoon.

Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel

• Mid-range hotel located just outside Nyungwe NP

Day 6

Chimpanzee tracking and canopy walk

Trekking to see the chimpanzees in Nyungwe Forest National Park can be exhilarating. While sighting them in dense forest can be challenging, to watch them cavorting in the tree tops, their all-too-human characteristics to the fore, makes this an exceptionally rewarding half-day excursion. After you return from the trek, drive to the lodge for lunch and in the afternoon experience the canopy walk.

Main Destination:

Nyungwe National Park (Chimps)

Accommodation:

Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel

• Mid-range hotel located just outside Nyungwe NP

Day 7

To Kigali via Nyanza

Today, we leave Nyungwe and drive to Kigali and on our way we shall stop at Nyanza and have a visit to the King’s Palace and Museum gives an interesting insight into Rwanda’s cultural history and monarchy. It’s also ideally placed to break up the long journey from Nyungwe Forest. The palace is an hour or two from Kigali, and we shall arrive in Kigali in the evening. Check in at our lodge and wait to head to Uganda the next day.

Main Destination:

Kigali

Accommodation:

Quiet Haven Hotel

• Mid-range hotel located in or near Kigali

 

 

Day 8

To Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (de tour to Lake Bunyonyi)

Have breakfast at our hotel and by 8, we leave for Uganda via the Katuna-boarder. We shall cross after about 3-hour drive and then visit Lake Bunyonyi. We shall have a tour of the islands at the Lake using a dugout canoe and have lunch before we drive to Ruhija sector of Bwindi Forest. This an amazing journey and great introduction to Uganda.

Main Destination:

Lake Bunyonyi (Uganda)

Accommodation:

Gorilla Mist Camp

• Mid-range lodge bordering Bwindi NP without fences

Day 9

Gorilla tracking

Gorilla trekking at Bwindi Impenetrable national park is a magical experience, transcending any other wildlife encounter we know in the country. To meet a family in their natural setting, led by an alpha Male silverback, with a cluster of females and juveniles, is a natural adventure that fully repays the cost of the ticket to see them in unforgettable memories and images. Your guide will operate your transfer to the park offices from the lodge and will introduce you to the rangers and guides at the park that will take you through the briefing and the Forest to search for these primates. Later when you return to the lodge. You can opt for a community tour to get an insight on the lifestyle of the locals around the park (the Batwa, and Bakiga communities).

Main Destination:

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)

Day 10

To Katunguru via Ishasha (Queen Elizabeth National Park)

Today we leave Ruhija, through the part of Bwindi and other towns before we enter Queen Elizbeth’s southern part: Ishasha, after the drive through the town of Kihihi. We shall have a game drive through the network of tracks here. Ishasha is an alluring game viewing area, famous for the tree climbing lions. We shall have Lunch at Enjojo Lodge, and later drive north to Katunguru, arriving at the lodge in the evening. We shall check in, and later go a night game drive at the Kasenyi plains.

Main Destination:

Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda)

Day 11

Game drive and boat trip on the Kazinga Channel

The Kasenyi plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park is one of the famous game viewing areas I Uganda. It has a crisscrossing network of tracks that enables visitors to reach a vast area as they search for wildlife. We shall have a morning drive and increase our chances of seeing the major draw cards (big cats and other carnivores). Return to the lodge have lunch and in the afternoon we do a boat safari on the Kazinga Channel. The channel is 40km long and about 8 meters deep and has prolific bird life and wildlife that comes to the banks to drink.
Have a night at the lodge, as we prepare for the next day’s drive to Murchison Falls.

Main Destination:

Queen Elizabeth National Park (Uganda)

Accommodation:

The Bush Lodge (Banda)

• Mid-range banda located just outside Queen Elizabeth NP

Day 12

To Murchison Falls National Park

Today, we prepare for a drive through the west, upwards to Murchison Falls National Park. It is a long drive arriving at the park in the evening, but there are different stops-For lunch and the sights along the way, because the route is an interesting one. It goes through the floor of the rift valley, past Lake Albert, and we arrive, and visit the top of the falls. Here the, Nile River meets its greatest obstacle to form the Murchison Falls where the park derives its name. After the tour, drive to the lodge.

Main Destination:

Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda)

Day 13

Game drive and boat safari on the Victoria Nile

You will set off at 6am cross to the northern bank of river Nile head for a sunrise game drive to see the Cape buffaloes, Rothschild’s giraffes, Uganda kob, hartebeest and waterbucks. You may also spot oribi, bushbuck, Bohor reedbuck, warthog and bush pig plus large carnivores including lions, leopards and spotted hyenas. Chimpanzees and olive baboons head the list of six species of primates found in the park. In the afternoon go for a boat cruise on the placid Victoria Nile, upstream, to the base of the falls. En route you will see hippos, crocodiles, water buck and a wide variety of birds. The boat stops just tens of meters from the “Devil’s Cauldron” for pictures to be taken of the photogenic and majestic Murchison Falls. Later get back to the lodge for a relaxed evening plus dinner.

Main Destination:

Murchison Falls National Park (Uganda)

Accommodation:

Pakuba Safari Lodge

• Mid-range lodge located inside Murchison Falls NP

Day 14

To Entebbe via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

Wake up early and have breakfast by 6.30 am and by 7am leave the lodge for Entebbe. The drive has a stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary which is about a 3-hour drive from Murchison Falls National Park. Have the experience of on-foot rhino tracking and later have lunch before you continue to Entebbe. Arrive at around, 3 or 4 pm and refresh in your day room at a hotel, go out and shop for some souvenirs before you are transferred to the airport for your exit flight.

Main Destination:

Entebbe International Airport (Entebbe, Uganda)

Accommodation:

No accommodation (End of tour)

End of tour (See Getting There for more details)

• Additional accommodation can be arranged for an extra cost.
• You’ll be dropped off at the airport.

 

 

 

 

 

Included

• Park fees (For non-residents)
• Gorilla permits (One per person, non-resident)
• Chimp permits (One per person, non-resident)
• All activities (Unless labeled as optional)
• All accommodation (Unless listed as upgrade)
• A professional driver/guide
• All transportation (Unless labeled as optional)
• All Taxes/VAT
• Round trip airport transfer
• Meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
• Drinking water

Excluded

• International flights (From/to home)
• Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
• Tips (Tipping guideline US$10.00 pp per day)
• Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
• Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees

 

PACKAGE FOR (2PAX)

PACKAGE PRICE 5,506 USD PER PERSON