12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and Wildlife Safari
The 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and Wildlife Safari is an exceptional adventure that starts from Kampala and ends in Kigali Rwanda. The safari will take you to the most visited savannah destinations that are Murchison Falls National Park which is famously known for harbouring the most powerful waterfall in Africa and Queen Elizabeth National Park where you will view different animals like elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, waterbucks, bushbucks, Uganda kobs, Jackson’s hartebeest among others during the game drives and boat cruise. The 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari will also take you to Kibale Forest National Park and Bwindi impenetrable national park where you will be able to spend one hour with the chimpanzees and endangered mountain gorillas in their natural environment. During the safari, you will also visit Volcanoes National Park where you will be able to engage in gorilla or golden monkey trekking and Ibyi’wacu cultural tour.
Highlights of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to the hotel in Entebbe
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park-Rhino tracking
Day 3: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 7: Morning game drive 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 Volcanoes National Park
Day 11: Gorilla/golden monkey trekking and Ibyi’wacu cultural tour
Day 12: Departure to Kigali
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Entebbe
Depending on your location in Kampala/Entebbe on the first day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then transfer to the hotel in Entebbe for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
After breakfast on the second day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then start the journey to Murchison Falls National Park. The journey takes about 5 to 6 hours’ drive and on the way you will have a stopover at Ziwa rhino sanctuary for rhino tracking and then continue the journey with another stopover for en-route lunch. After lunch, you will proceed to Murchison Falls National Park and upon arrival in the park, you will drive directly to the top of the falls where you will have breath-taking views of the waterfalls, scenery, and animals among others. From the top of the falls, you will drive to check in at the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Morning game drive and boat cruise to the bottom of the falls
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on the third day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive where you will be able to view animals like buffaloes, elephants, waterbucks, warthogs, giraffes, Uganda kobs grazing in the savannah plains with due, view predators like hyenas, lions, leopards among others before going back to their hiding areas, view different birds among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Boat cruise,
After lunch, you will go for an exciting boat cruise to the bottom of the falls which starts at Paraa jetty landing site and takes about 2 to 3 hours. During the boat cruise you will be able to view large concentrations of hippos and crocodiles in water, view animals like elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, and antelopes along the water banks, view water bird species like fish eagles, kingfishers, and cormorants among others. After the boat cruise, you will return back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale National Park
After breakfast on the fourth day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kibale National Park in western Uganda. The journey takes about 6 to 7 hours’ drive and on the way you will have en-route lunch and enjoy stunning views of the traditional homesteads, local people, beautiful scenery, views of the Rwenzori Mountains, crater lakes, and tea plantations among others. Upon arrival in the 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 the fifth day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a chimpanzee trekking briefing. After the briefing, you will be allocated a chimpanzee family to trek and a park guide who is conversant with trekking trails. Chimpanzee trekking is an interesting activity that starts at 8:00 am and 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, especially during the dry season. During trekking, you will be able to see other primates, view some bird species, plant species among others. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn about their behaviours, and habits, watch them feed, play, fight, hunt, mate, take photos and record the moments. After the one hour with the chimpanzees, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide and return back to the lodge for lunch.
Bigodi swamp walk
After lunch, you will relax at the lodge and later go for an interesting nature walk in the Bigodi swamp where you will get a chance to view different bird species, primates, animals like sitatungas, plant and tree species among others. After the swamp walk, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park-afternoon game drive
On the sixth day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife 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 crater lakes, and tea plantations and upon arrival you will check into the lodge for lunch where after you will go for an afternoon game drive in the park where you will be able to spot different animals including elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, warthogs, bushbucks, lions, leopards among others. After the game drive, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Morning game drive/Lion tracking experience and afternoon boat cruise
Game drive
After an early breakfast on the seventh day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive where you will be able to view animals like elephants, lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, giant forest hogs, bird species among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Boat cruise,
After lunch you will go for an amazing boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel a water body that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. The scheduled boat cruise starts at 2:00 pm and takes about 2 to 3 hours, during the boat cruise you will be able to cruise near a large concentration of hippos and crocodiles in water, animals like elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs on the shores of the lake, bird species, view fishermen preparing their fishing gears among others. After the boat cruise, you will drive to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
On the eighth day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park in the southwestern part of Uganda. On the way, you will have an en-route lunch and then continue with the journey to Bwindi Forest National Park. Upon arrival in the park, you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Gorilla trekking,
After an early breakfast on the ninth day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking. Gorilla trekking takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on where the gorillas are located. During trekking, you will have views of colourful bird species, animals, primates, plant and tree species among others. Once the mountain gorillas are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment which gives you an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, breastfeeding, playing, asking questions, learning more about their behaviours, habits, take photos and take pictures.
After the encounter with the endangered mountain 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 driver guide to transfer back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
After breakfast on the tenth day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with our driver guide to transfer to Volcanoes National Park. On the way you will have an en-route lunch and then proceed to Volcanoes National Park. Upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Gorilla/golden monkey trekking and Ibyi’wacu cultural tour
On the eleventh day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will have breakfast, carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver to transfer to the park headquarters for a gorilla/ golden monkey briefing. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the forest which takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the golden monkeys are located. Once the golden monkeys are located, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you a chance to watch them carry out their daily activities, take photos record the breath-taking moments among others.
After the one hour with the golden monkeys, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide and go for an interesting Ibwi’wacu cultural tour where you will be able to interact with the local people, learn about their culture, way of living, tradition, enjoy their traditional performances among others. After the cultural tour, you will return back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 12: Departure to Kigali
After a relaxed breakfast on the last day of the 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kigali. Upon arrival, you will go for a shirt city tour where you will be able to visit the craft centres, Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, Kimironko Market among others. After the 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 advice.
End of 12 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Golden monkey permit
- Rhino tracking
- Top of falls
- Park entrance fees/game drives
- Boat cruise fees
- Lion tracking experience
- All activities included in the itinerary
- An English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled water
Tour excludes
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- personal insurance
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, cigarettes, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others
