11 Days Uganda Rwanda Tour

This 11 days Uganda Rwanda tour is an amazing safari that starts and ends in Kigali, Rwanda. The safari will take you to Kibale National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, and Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda, where you will have great views of wildlife, including elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, hippos, and crocodiles, which will be viewed during the game drives and boat cruise.

You will also engage in an adventurous chimpanzee and gorilla trekking experience where you will be able to spend time with the chimpanzees and mountain gorillas in their natural environment.

This combined safari package also takes you to Volcanoes National Park, where you will engage in golden monkey trekking, the Dian Fossey hike and the Ibyi’wacu cultural tour.

Highlights

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

Day 2: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Day 4: Morning game drive / lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise

Day 5: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park – Chimpanzee trekking

Day 6: Transfer to Lake Bunyoyi – Boat cruise

Day 7: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

Day 8: Golden monkey trekking and Iby’iwacu cultural tour

Day 10: Dian Fossey hike

Day 11: Departure to Kigali

Detailed itinerary    

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

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

Day 2: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After breakfast, your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel to start the journey to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via the Katuna border in Kabale or the Cyanika border in Kisoro.

On the way you will have en-route lunch and enjoy stunning views of the rolling hills, farmlands, tea plantations, and crater lakes, among others. Upon arrival in Bwindi National Park, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Gorilla trekking,

After an early breakfast, 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 trekking.

After the briefing you will be divided into groups of 8 people, where each group will be allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is knowledgeable about the mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on their location and during trekking you will be able to view forest birds, other primates, and plant and tree species, among others.

Once the mountain gorillas are found, you will be able to spend one hour with them, which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their lifestyle, behaviors, and habits; take photos; watch them carry out their daily activities; and record the fascinating memories to show people back home.

After a breathtaking encounter with the gentle giants, 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 return to the lodge for an evening relaxation dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park via Ishasha sector

After breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. On the way you will have a stopover in the Ishasha sector in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will get an opportunity to spot the tree-climbing lions, which will be lying up in fig tree branches.

After the game drive in the Ishasha sector, you will have lunch, after which you will continue the journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park, and upon arrival, you will check in at the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Morning game drive/lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise

Morning game drive/lion tracking,

You will have breakfast and later meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive or lion tracking experience in the Kasenyi plains. During the game drive you will be rewarded with great views of large herds of elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, bushbucks, waterbucks, and warthogs, which will be grazing in the open savannah plains view predators like lions and leopards if you are lucky, and a variety of bird species, among others. After the game drive you will drive to the lodge for lunch.

Boat cruise on Kazinga Channel

After lunch you will go for an exciting boat cruise on the 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, and warthogs drinking water along the shores; view large concentrations of hippos and Nile crocodiles in water; water birds like martial eagles, papyrus gonolek, pelicans, hornbills, African skimmers, cormorants, African spoonbills, fish eagles, and kingfishers, 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 6: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park—chimpanzee trekking

After breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kibale Forest National Park. On the way you will enjoy great views of the landscape and tea plantations and upon arrival you will connect to the lodge for lunch.

Chimpanzee trekking,

After lunch, you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the Kanyachu Visitors Centre for a chimpanzee trekking briefing. After the briefing you will be allocated a chimpanzee family to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest.

Trekking of chimpanzees in Kibale Forest National Park takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food.

During trekking you will be able to spot other primates such as grey-cheeked mangabey, black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and hoest monkeys; some bird species; and plants, among others.

Once the chimpanzees are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat, which helps you to learn more about their behaviors, watch them feed, breastfeed, fight, hunt, enjoy the juveniles playing up in the trees, take photos and record the moments.

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 return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi—boat ride

After breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Lake Bunyonyi, which is the deepest freshwater lake in Uganda.

On the way you will have en route lunch and then proceed to Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale. Upon arrival, you will go for an amazing boat ride where you will be able to explore the 29 islands, view different bird species, beautiful scenery, landscape, and terraced farmlands, among others. After the boat ride, you will drive to the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

Enjoy an early breakfast and later check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Volcanoes National Park, passing through the Cyanka border in Kisoro or the Katuna border in Kabale district.

On the way you will enjoy great views of the rolling hills, countryside, and terraced farmlands, among others. Upon arrival in the park, you will continue to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 9: Golden monkey trekking and Ibyi’wacu cultural tour

Meet up with your driver guide to go for a golden monkey briefing at the park headquarters. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the forest in search of the golden monkeys, which takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on where they are located.

During trekking you will be able to view other primates and once the golden monkeys are found, you will be able to spend one hour with them in their habitat, which gives you a chance to watch them feed, play, jump up in trees, take photos and record videos. After golden monkey trekking, you will return to the lodge for lunch.

After lunch you will go for an interesting cultural tour where you will visit the Ibyi’wacu cultural village, learn about the local people’s culture, tradition, and way of living, taste their local dishes, and enjoy their traditional performances, among others. After the cultural tour, you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 10: Dian Fossey hike

After an early breakfast, carry your lunch box and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for the Dian Fossey hike briefing. After the briefing you will drive to the trailhead, where you will be allocated a park guide and walking stick and you can hire a porter to carry your backpack.

Hiking to the Karisoke research center takes about 6 to 7 hours, passing through lush forest where you will have great views of animals like giant forest hogs, primates, and different bird species, among others.

Upon arrival at the research center, you will be able to view Dian Fossey’s grave, where she was murdered in 1985 and buried next to her favorite gorilla friend, Digit, and 20 other mountain gorillas, some of whom were killed by poachers and others died of natural diseases.

You will be able to learn about Dian Fossey’s work and the legacy she left behind, which still exists to date.

After the Dian Fossey experience, you will enjoy your picnic lunch and later start descending down to the starting point, where you will meet up with your driver guide to return back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 11: Departure to Kigali

After a relaxed breakfast, 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 in Kigali, where you will be able to visit the Kigali Genocide, Kimironko market, art centers, and more.

After the city tour, you will have lunch and then proceed to the airport, where your driver guide will drop you off for your departure flight or drop you off at any place of your choice.

End of 11 days Uganda Rwanda tour

The tour includes

• Gorilla trekking permit
• Chimpanzee trekking permit
• Golden monkey trekking permits
• Dian Fossey hike
• Park entrance fees/game drives
• Boat cruise fees
• Lion tracking experience
• 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
• 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.