11 Days Uganda gorilla, chimpanzee and game safari from Kigali

This 11 days Uganda gorilla, chimpanzee and game safari from Kigali is an extraordinary safari that starts and ends in Rwanda.

The safari will take you to different national parks in Uganda, including Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where you will be able to spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas and golden monkeys in their natural habitat; Kibale Forest National Park, where you will be able to engage in chimpanzee trekking and spend time with chimpanzees.

The safari will also take you to Lake Bunyonyi, which is the deepest lake in Uganda and Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will be able to view animals like elephants, buffaloes, the tree-climbing lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, hippos, and Nile crocodiles, among others, during the game drives and boat cruise.

Highlights of the 11 days Uganda gorilla, chimpanzee and game safari from Kigali

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Kigali

Day 2: Transfer to Mgahinga gorilla national park

Day 3: Golden monkey trekking

Day 4: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park

Day 5: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park via Ishasha sector

Day 7: Morning game drive/lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise

Day 8: Transfer to Kibale forest national park

Day 9: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk

Day 10: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi—boat ride

Day 11: Departure to Kigali

Detailed itinerary

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to the hotel in Kigali

Depending on your arrival time at Kigali International Airport on the first day of the safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide from Achieve Global Safaris, who will brief you about the safari and then transfer you to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Transfer to Mgahinga gorilla national park

After breakfast on day 2, your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel to go for a city tour in Kigali, where you will be able to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, Kimironko market, artcenters,s among others. After the city tour, you will start the journey to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park with en route lunch and beautiful views of the scenery, landscape, rolling hills, hills, among others. Upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Golden monkey trekking experience

After an early breakfast on day 3, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to transfer to the park headquarters for a golden monkey briefing. After the briefing you will be allocated a park guide who is knowledgeable about the golden monkeys and well conversant with trails in the forest.

Golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga National Park takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the gorillas are located. Once the golden monkeys are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their habitat, which gives you an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities, learn about their behaviors, take great photos and record videos.

After the one-hour encounter with the golden monkeys, you will trek back to the park headquarters, where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in golden monkey trekking, meet up with your driver guide to transfer back to the lodge for lunch and spend the rest of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight

Day 4: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park

On the fourth day of the safari, you will have breakfast at leisure, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park and upon arrival, you will connect to your lodge for lunch, after which you will go for an interesting cultural tour in the neighboring communities, interact with the local people, learn about their culture, listen to their stories, enjoy the local dishes, and participate in their traditional performance, among others. Later return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

After an early breakfast on day 5, you will carry packed lunch from the lodge and meet with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a gorilla family to trek with, an experienced park guide, and park rangers and start trekking in the forest in search of the mountain gorillas, which takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on where the gorillas are located.

During trekking you will have views of other primate species, different bird species, among others. Once the gorillas are located, you will have an opportunity to spend one hour with them, watch them feed, breastfeed young ones, play, learn about their behaviors, take great photos and record videos to show people back home. After the one-hour encounter with the gentle giants, you will return back to the park headquarters, where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and later drive back to the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

After breakfast on day 6, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park with a stopover in the Ishasha sector, where you will be able to spot the tree-climbing lions lying up in fig/acacia tree branches and other animals like Uganda kobs, elephants, and buffaloes, among others, during the game drive. After the game ride, you will have en route lunch and then proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Upon arrival, you will check in at your lodge for relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 7: Morning game drive/lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise

You will have breakfast at the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive/lion tracking experience in the Kasenyi plains area, where you will be rewarded with great views of scenery, sunrise, and views of animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, bushbucks, waterbucks, and warthogs, which will be grazing in the open savannah plains; predators like lions, leopards, and hyenas; and different bird species, among others.

After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch, after which you will go for an amazing launch cruise on Kazinga Channel, a 40 km long water channel that connects Lake Edward and Lake George.

During the boat cruise, you will be able to view hundreds of hippos in water, Nile crocodiles lurking on the water banks, buffaloes, elephants, and antelopes drinking water along the shores, and aquatic bird species like pelicans hornbills, cormorants, and kingfishers, among others. After the boat cruise, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Morning game drive and transfer to Kibale forest national park

After breakfast on day 8, you will meet up with your driver guide to go for another morning game drive in the park, where you will look out for animals that you might have missed during the previous game drive.

Later return to the lodge for lunch and check out to transfer to Kibale Forest National Park with great views of the landscape, crater lakes, tea plantations among others. Upon arrival, you will connect to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 9: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk

On day 9, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to transfer to the Kanyachu Visitors Centre for the chimpanzee trekking briefing. After the briefing you will start trekking in the forest with a park guide, which takes about 2 to 5 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located, as they like to move deep into the forest in search of food.

During the trek, you will be able to spot other primates, birds, mammals among others and once the chimpanzees are located, you will be able to spend one hour with them, watching them play, feed, groom young ones, hunt, rest, and take pictures and videos.

After the one-hour encounter with the chimpanzees, you will return to the lodge for lunch and later go for an interesting guided nature walk in Bigodi Swamp, where you will enjoy the cool and quiet environment and spot primates like grey-checked mangabeys, black and white colobus monkeys, L’hoest monkeys, olive baboons, and blue monkeys; bird species like the great blue turaco, kingfishers, and parrots; and mammals like sitatungas, otters, and bushbucks, among others. After the Bigodi Swamp walk, you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Day 10: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi—boat ride

On day 10 of the safari, you will have a relaxed breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Lake Bunyonyi, which is the deepest lake in Uganda, located in the Kabale district.

The journey takes about a 4- to 5 hours’ drive and upon arrival, you will connect to the lodge for lunch, after which you will go for an interesting canoe ride where you will be able to explore some of the 29 islands, view some bird species, beautiful scenery, terraced farmlands among others. After the boat ride, you will return to the lodge and spend the rest of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Day 11: Departure to Kigali

On the last day of the safari, 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 with en route lunch on the way. Upon arrival, you will be dropped off at Kigali International Airport or your hotel depending on your schedule.

End of 11 days of Uganda gorilla, chimpanzee and game safaris from Kigali.

The tour includes

Gorilla trekking permit
Golden monkey trekking permit
Chimpanzee trekking permit
Park entrance fees/game drives
Lion tracking experience
Boat cruise fees
Kigali city tour
All activities included in the itinerary
Services of a professional English-speaking driver guide
Full board accommodation
Pick up and drop off in Kigali
Vehicle and fuel
Bottled drinking water

The tour excludes

Air flight tickets
Visas
Travel insurance
Optional activities not included on the itinerary
Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, cigarettes, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips, among others.