13 days Uganda Rwanda safari
The 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari is an adventurous and extraordinary safari that starts from Entebbe Uganda and ends in Kigali Rwanda. The safari will take you to the most visited destinations in Uganda that is Murchison falls national park, Kibale national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Bwindi impenetrable national park and Lake Bunyonyi which is the deepest lake in Uganda and Lake Mburo national park. During the safari you will have great views of wildlife including the big five mammals (elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, rhinos), other animals like Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, hippos, 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. The safari will also take you to Volcanoes national park where you will engage golden monkey trekking and Ibyi’wacu cultural tour.
Highlights of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Entebbe
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison falls national park-Ziwa rhino sanctuary
Day 3: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale national park
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 7: Morning game drive/ lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise
Day 8: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 9: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 10: Transfer to transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Day 11: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
Day 12: Golden monkey trekking and Ibyiwacu cultural tour
Day 13: 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 day 1 of the 13 Uganda Rwanda safari, 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
After breakfast on day 2 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will have breakfast and our driver guide will pick you up from the hotel to start the journey to Murchison falls national park which is located in northwestern part of Uganda. The journey takes about 5 to 6 hours’ drive and on the way you will enjoy spectacular views of the beautiful landscape, countryside, farmlands and a stopover at Ziwa rhino sanctuary for rhino tracking. After rhino tracking you will proceed to Masindi for lunch and afterwards continue to Murchison falls national park. Upon arrival you will drive directly to the top of the falls where you have great views of the waterfall, mammals, bird species, beautiful scenery among others. After the top of the falls tour you will drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on day 3 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari 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 interesting 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
After breakfast on day 4 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, 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 check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Chimpanzee trekking,
After an early breakfast on day 5 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kanyachu Visitors Centre for chimpanzee trekking briefing. After the briefing you will be divided into a group of 6 people where each group 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 4 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, l’hoest monkeys, some bird species, 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 lunch.
After lunch, you will go for an interesting nature walk in Bigodi swamp where you will be able to view different bird species, primates, plant species, beautiful butterflies, enjoy the cool breeze, relax your mind among others. After the swamp walk, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
On the sixth day of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park. On the way you will enjoy great views of the landscape, crater lakes, tea plantations among others and upon arrival you will have lunch. After lunch you will go for an afternoon game drive where you will be able to view animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, warthogs, waterbucks, bushbucks, view different bird species among others. After the game drive, you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Morning game drive/ lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive/lion tracking,
You will have breakfast on day 7 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari and 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 drive 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 fisher’s 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 8: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
After breakfast on day 8 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, 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 pass through 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 Ishasha sector you will have lunch where after you will continue the journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park and upon arrival you will check in at the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Gorilla trekking,
After an early breakfast on day 9 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, 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 trekking. After the briefing you will be divided in 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 like l’hoest monkeys, baboons, 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, 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 10: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
After breakfast on day 10 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will checkout of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Lake Bunyonyi which is the deepest lake in Uganda and the second deepest lake in Africa after Lake Tanganyika. Lake Bunyonyi is located in Kabale and the journey takes about 4 to 5 hours’ drive. Upon arrival you will check into the lodge for lunch.
After lunch, you will go for an interesting boat cruise/ canoe ride on the deepest lake in Uganda where you will be able to explore some of the 29 islands, view some bird species, animals, enjoy great views of the terraced farmlands, beautiful scenery among others among others. After the boat cruise, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
After breakfast on day 11 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Volcanoes national park passing through Cyanka border in Kisoro or Katuna border in Kabale district. On the way you will enjoy great views of the rolling hills, countryside, terraced farmlands among others. Upon arrival in the park, you will continue to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 12: Golden monkey trekking and Ibyi’wacu cultural tour
After an early breakfast on day 12 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will 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 culture, tradition, way of living, taste their local dishes, enjoy their traditional performances among others. After the cultural tour, you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 13: Departure to Kigali
After a relaxed breakfast on the last day of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will 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 center’s among others. 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 off at any place of your choice.
End of 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Golden monkey permit
- Park entrance fees/ game drives
- Boat cruise fees
- Top of the falls viewing
- Rhino tracking permit
- Lion tracking experience
- Ibyiwacu cultural tour
- All activities included in the itinerary
- Services of a professional English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off in Kampala/ Entebbe
- 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.
