16 Days Uganda Rwanda Primates and Wildlife Safari
The 16 Days Uganda Rwanda Primates and Wildlife Safari is an interesting and extraordinary safari that starts from Kigali Rwanda and ends in Kampala/Uganda. The safari will take you to Volcanoes National Park which is located in the north-western part of Rwanda in Musanze village, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park which is located in the southern part of Uganda, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kibale Forest National Park also known as the primate capital, Murchison falls national park which is famously known for its powerful waterfall, Jinja where you will see the source of the Nile and Lake Bunyonyi which is the deepest lake in Uganda. During the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will be able to engage in game drives and boat cruises where you will be able to view different animals like buffaloes, elephants, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, giraffes, topi, lions, leopards, hippos among others. You will also engage in adventurous activities like white water rafting, gorilla, golden monkey, and chimpanzee trekking experience where you will be able to spend time with the mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, and chimpanzees in their natural environment.
Highlights of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Kigali
Day 2: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 3: Gorilla trekking experience
Day 4: Golden monkey trekking and Ibyi’wacu cultural tour
Day 5: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi-boat ride
Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 7: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park
Day 8: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 9: Morning game drive, afternoon boat cruise
Day 10: Morning game drive and transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
Day 11: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Day 12: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
Day 13: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 14: Transfer to Jinja via Ziwa rhino sanctuary
Day 15: White water rafting
Day 16: Departure to Kampala/Entebbe
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to the hotel in Kigali
Depending on your arrival time at Kigali International Airport on day 1 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will be welcomed by a representative from Achieve Global Safaris who will brief you about the safari and then transfer to the hotel for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
On day 2 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to go for a short Kigali city tour where you will be able to visit art/craft centers, Kigali genocide memorial center, Kimironko market among others. After the city tour, you will have lunch and later start the journey to Volcanoes National Park which takes about 2 to 3 hours’ drive. Upon arrival at the lodge, you will connect to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Gorilla trekking experience
After an early breakfast on day 3 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge and transfer you to the park headquarters for a gorilla trekking briefing. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the forest with an experienced park guide in search of mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park takes about 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on where the gorillas are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking, you will be able to view other wildlife species and once the gorillas are found, you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat. After the one hour with the gorillas, you will return to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Day 4: Golden monkey trekking experience and Ibyi’wacu cultural tour
Gorilla trekking,
After an early breakfast on day 4 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will carry your packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a golden monkey trekking briefing. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the forest with an experienced park guide which takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the gorillas are located. During trekking, you will be able to view other wildlife species and once the golden monkeys are located, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their behaviors, and habits, watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, playing, jumping up in trees, take photos and record videos to show people back home.
After the one hour with the golden monkeys, you will trek back to the starting point where you will meet up with your driver guide and go for an exciting cultural tour where you will be able to interact with the local people who live in the neighboring villages, learn about their history, culture, lifestyle, way of living, visit their homesteads, listen to their ancient stories, enjoy their traditional performance among others. After the cultural tour, you will return to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Day 5: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi-boat ride
On day 5 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Lake Bunyonyi which is the deepest lake in Uganda via the Katuna border. Upon arrival, you will go for an amazing boat ride where you will be able to explore the 29 islands and view different bird species, beautiful scenery, landscapes, and farmlands among others. After the boat ride, you will drive to the lodge for lunch where you will spend the rest of the day at leisure or engage in optional activities like zip lining, cultural tour, and nature walk among others. Dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
After breakfast on day 6 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Bwindi impenetrable National Park. On the way, you will enjoy great views of the rolling hills, scenery, Kigezi hills, plantations among others. Upon arrival in Bwindi impenetrable national park, you will check into the lodge for lunch and spend the rest of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park
Gorilla trekking,
On day 7 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will have an early breakfast, carry your packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for gorilla trekking briefing. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the jungle with an experienced park guide which takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on their location. During gorilla trekking in Bwindi National Park, you will be able to view other wildlife species and once the mountain gorillas are located, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their behaviors, habits, watch them feed, breastfeed, play, groom young ones, take photos and record the breath-taking moments to show people back home after the safari.
After the one hour with the mountain gorillas, you will trek back to the starting point where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and later meet up with your driver guide to return back to the lodge for evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast on day 8 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park. On the way you will have a stopover in the Ishasha sector where you will be able to view the tree-climbing lions lying in acacia/fig tree branches and other animals like topi, waterbucks, elephants, buffaloes among others. After the game drive in the Ishasha sector, you will have an en-route lunch and then proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Upon arrival, you will connect to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Morning game drive/Lion tracking experience and afternoon boat cruise
Game drive
After an early breakfast on day 9 of the 16 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 meet up with your driver guide and return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Morning game drive and transfer to Kibale Forest National Park
On day 10 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will have breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to go for another morning game drive in the park where you will be able to view some of the animals that you might have missed the previous day. After the game drive, you will drive back to the lodge for lunch where you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kibale Forest National Park. The journey takes about 3 hours to drive and on the way you will enjoy great views of the crater lakes, and tea plantations upon arrival you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Chimpanzee trekking experience and Bigodi swamp walk
Chimpanzee trekking,
After an early breakfast on day 11 of the 16 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 start trekking in the forest in search of the chimpanzees which takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located. During trekking, you will be able to see other primates, different bird species, animals, plant species among others. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn about their behaviors, and habits, watch them feed, play, fight, hunt, rest, take photos, and record the moments.
After the encounter 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 after you will go for an interesting Bigodi swamp walk where you will be able to spot different bird species, primates, mammals, plant and tree species among others. After the Bigodi swamp walk, you will drive back to the lodge for evening relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Day 12: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park,
After breakfast on day 12 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to start the journey to Murchison Falls National Park in the north-western part of Uganda. On the way, you will have an en-route lunch and enjoy spectacular views of the scenery, landscape, and traditional homesteads among others. Upon arrival in the park, you will drive directly to the top of the falls where you will enjoy stunning views of the waterfall, enjoy water splashes among others. From the top of the falls, you will drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 13: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on day 13 of the 16 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 see animals like buffaloes, Uganda kobs, warthogs, elephants, Jackson’s hartebeest, giraffes, waterbucks among others grazing in the open savannah plains, view predators like lions, leopards, hyenas before they go back to their hiding areas, view different birds among others. After the game drive you will return back to the lodge for lunch.
Afternoon boat cruise,
After lunch, you will go for an amazing boat cruise to the bottom of the falls where you will enjoy spectacular views of the beautiful scenery, view hippos and Nile crocodiles in the water, elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, antelopes along the shores, water birds like kingfishers, bee-eaters, cormorants, fish eagles among others. After the boat cruise, you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 14: Transfer to Jinja via ziwa rhino sanctuary
On day 14 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will have an early breakfast, check out of the lodge, and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Jinja. On the way, you will have an en-route lunch and a stopover at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino tracking. After rhino tracking, you will proceed to Jinja arriving in the evening,g and upon arrival, you will check into your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 15: White water rating
After breakfast on day 15 of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for white water rafting which starts with a briefing about the rules, regulations, and expectations. After the briefing, you will start the rating experience which has different grades ranging from grade 1 to grade 5, and after rafting, you will meet up with your driver guide and return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 16: Source of the Nile boat cruise and departure to Entebbe
On the last day of the 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari, you will have breakfast at leisure, check out of the lodge, and meet up with your driver guide to go for an amazing boat cruise to the source of the Nile where you will enjoy views of the beautiful scenery, landscape, bird species among others. After the boat cruise, you will meet up with your driver guide and start the journey back to Entebbe with en-route lunch on the way. Upon arrival, your driver guide will drop you off at Entebbe International Airport for your departure flight or drop you off at any place of advice.
End of 16 days Uganda Rwanda primates and wildlife safari
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Golden Monkey trekking permit
- Park Entrance fee/game drives
- Boat cruise
- Source of the Nile boat ride
- Rhino tracking
- White water rafting
- Top of Falls Drive
- Kigali city tour
- Ibyi’wacu cultural tour
- Services of a professional English-speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up in Kigali Rwanda and drop off in 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, and tips among others.
