11 Days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour
11 Days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour
The 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour is an exceptional tour that will start from Kampala Uganda and end from Kigali. The safari will take you to different national parks in Uganda and Rwanda including Murchison falls national park, Kibale national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Bwindi impenetrable national park and Volcanoes national park. During the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, you will be able to spot different wildlife species including elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, rhinos, giraffes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, hippos, crocodiles among others during the game drives and boat cruise. You will also engage in an adventurous chimpanzee and gorilla habituation experience where you will be able to spend four hours with the chimpanzees and mountain gorillas in their natural environment.
Highlights of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Entebbe
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Day 3: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale national park
Day 5: Chimpanzee habituation experience and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 6: Morning game drive/ lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise
Day 7: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Day 8: Gorilla habituation in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Day 9: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
Day 10: Gorilla trekking experience
Day 11: Departure to Kigali
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Entebbe
Depending on your arrival time at Entebbe International Airport on the first day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then transfer to a hotel in Entebbe for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
On the second day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel to start the journey to Murchison falls national park. On the way you will have a stopover at Ziwa rhino sanctuary for rhino tracking and then proceed with another stopover for en-route lunch. After lunch, you will proceed to Murchison falls national park and upon arrival, you will drive directly to the top of the falls where you will be able to enjoy stunning views of the waterfalls and later connect to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on the third day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive where you will be able to spot various animals like Uganda kobs, warthogs, giraffes, elephants, bushbucks, lions, leopards, hyenas, Jacksons hartebeest, view different bird species among others. After the game drive you will return to the lodge for lunch.
Afternoon boat cruise,
After lunch you will drive to Paraa landing site for an amazing boat cruise to the bottom of the falls which takes about 2 to 3 hours’ drive. During the boat trip you will be rewarded with incredible views of animals like elephants, buffaloes and antelopes which gather to drink water, hippos and crocodiles in water, view variety of bird species like kingfishers, fish eagles, bee-eaters, hornbills among others. After the boat cruise you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale National Park, Bigodi Swamp walk
After breakfast on the fourth day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kibale national park. It’s a whole day journey and on the way you will have en-route lunch and enjoy stunning views of the farmlands, Rwenzori Mountains, tea plantations, Lake Gorge, crater lakes among others.
Upon arrival in Kibale national park you will go for a nature walk in Bigodi swamp where you will be able to spot various primate species, birds among others. After the bigodi swamp walk, you will connect to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Chimpanzee habituation experience
Chimpanzee habituation,
After an early breakfast on the fifth day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kanyachu Visitors Centre for chimpanzee habituation briefing. After the briefing you will be allocated an experienced park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest and start trekking which takes a whole day. During trekking you will be able to view other primates such as grey cheeked mangabey, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, some bird species, plants among others. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be allowed to spend four hours with them in their natural habitat which helps you to learn and monitor their behaviors, watch them feed, breastfeed, fight, hunt, enjoy the juveniles playing up in the trees, take photos and record videos.
After the face to face encounter with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park with great views of the landscape, crater lakes, tea plantations among others on the way. Upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Morning game drive/ lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive/lion tracking,
You will have breakfast on the sixth day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, you will meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive or lion tracking experience in Kasenyi plains. During the game drive you will be rewarded with great views of large herds of elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, bushbucks, waterbucks, warthogs which will be grazing in the open savannah plains view predators like lions, leopards if you are lucky, variety of bird species among others. After the game drive you will return to the lodge for lunch.
Boat cruise on Kazinga channel
After lunch you will go for an exciting boat cruise on Kazinga channel a water body that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. During the boat cruise which takes about 2 hours you will get a chance to view elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs drinking water along the shores, view large concentrations of hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, water birds like martial eagle, papyrus gonolek, pelicans, hornbills, African skimmers, cormorants, African spoonbills, fish eagles, king fishers among others and also view fishermen organizing their fishing nets along the water banks. After the boat ride you will return to the lodge for an evening relaxation dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
After breakfast on the seventh day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park. On the way you will have en-route lunch and then proceed to Bwindi impenetrable national park and upon arrival you will check in at the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Gorilla habituation,
After an early breakfast on the eighth day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, you will carry your lunch box and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla habituation. After the briefing you will be allocated a park guide who is knowledgeable about the mountain gorillas and start trekking in the jungle which takes a whole day. During trekking you will be able to view forest birds, other primates like l’hoest monkeys, baboons, plant and tree species among others.
Once the mountain gorillas are found you will be able to spend four hours with them which gives you an opportunity to learn and monitor their lifestyle, behaviors, habits, engage in the naming process, take photos, watch them carry out their daily activities and record the fascinating memories to show people back home. After a breath-taking encounter with the gentle giants, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla habituation and then meet up with your guide to return to the lodge for an evening relaxation dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
On the ninth day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Volcanoes national park in Rwanda. On the way, you will have en-route lunch and enjoy views of the scenery, rolling hills, homesteads among others and upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Gorilla trekking experience in Volcanoes National Park
Gorilla trekking,
After an early breakfast on the tenth day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, you will carry your packed lunch from the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for gorilla trekking briefing. After the briefing you will be allocated a habituated gorilla family and start trekking in the forest which takes about 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on where they are located. Once the mountain gorillas are located, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them which gives you an opportunity to learn about their lifestyle, behaviors, habits, watch them carry out their daily activities, take photos and record the fascinating memories to show people back home.
After an encounter with the gorillas, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and then meet up with your guide to go for an optional Ibyi’wacu cultural tour where you will be able to visit and interact with the local people, learn about their culture, way of living, history, visit their homesteads, enjoy their traditional performance among others. After the cultural tour, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Departure to Kigali
On the last day of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour, you will have breakfast at leisure, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey back to Kigali. Upon arrival, you will go for a city tour where you will visit Kimironko market, Kigali genocide memorial Centre, art centers among others. After the Kigali city tour, you will have lunch and later transfer to Kigali International airport where you will be dropped off for your departure flight or drop off at any place of advise.
End of 11 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour
Tour includes
- Gorilla habituation permit
- Chimpanzee habituation permit
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Park entrance fees/ game drives
- Boat cruise fees
- Lion tracking experience
- Rhino tracking
- Top of falls
- All activities included in the itinerary
- Services of a professional English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off in Kampala
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled drinking water
Tour excludes
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Life insurance
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, cigarettes, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.
