6 Days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour
6 Days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour
Our 6 days Uganda and Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour is an extraordinary primate tour that starts from Entebbe and ends in Kigali.
The safari will take you to three primate destinations, including Kibale Forest National Park, also known as the primate capital; Bwindi Impenetrable National Park; and Volcanoes National Park, where you will get a chance to spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas, chimpanzees and golden monkeys in their natural environment.
Highlights of the 6 days Uganda Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee habituation tour
Day 1: Flight to Kibale forest national park
Day 2: Chimpanzee habituation experience
Day 3: Flight to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 4: Gorilla habituation experience
Day 5: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
Day 6: Golden monkey trekking and departure to Kigali
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Flight to Kibale forest national park
Depending on your location, on the first day of the safari, you will connect to Entebbe International Airport for your domestic flight to Kibale Forest National Park. The scheduled flights depart from Entebbe airport at around 7:00am and 10:30am, arriving at Kasese airstrip at around 8:15am and 11:45am, respectively.
Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by our driver guide and transferred to Kibale Forest National Park; check into your lodge for lunch and relaxation. Later, go for an afternoon nature walk in Bigodi Swamp, where you will be able to spot different bird species, primates, butterflies, and animals, among others.
After the guided nature walk, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Chimpanzee habituation experience
After an early breakfast on the second day of the safari, you will carry your packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a chimpanzee habituation briefing. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the forest with a team of researchers, scientists, park guides and park rangers in search of the chimpanzees, which takes a whole day depending on where the chimpanzees slept the previous night.
During trekking, you will be able to view other primates like grey-checked mangabeys, olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, and red-tailed monkeys, and view bird species, among others.
Once the chimpanzees are located, you will be allowed to spend four hours with them, monitor their behaviors, learn more about their habits, take part in the naming process, watch them feed, breastfeed, hunt, rest, fight, and take pictures and videos.
After the encounter with the chimpanzees, you will return to the starting point where you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer back to the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3: Flight to Bwindi impenetrable national park
On the third day of the safari, you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kasese airstrip for your domestic flight to Kisoro airstrip. Upon arrival, your driver guide will pick you up from the airstrip to transfer to the Rushaga sector in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which takes about 2 hours’ drive.
Upon arrival in Bwindi Park, you will connect to your lodge for lunch, after which you will either spend the rest of the day at leisure or engage in an optional Batwa cultural tour where you will interact with the Batwa people who used to live in the forest, learn about their history, culture, and way of living, listen to their ancient stories, and enjoy their performances, among other things.
Later return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Gorilla habituation experience
After an early breakfast on the fourth day of your safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge with your packed lunch very early in the morning and drive to the park headquarters for the briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla habituation.
After the briefing, you will start trekking in the jungle in search of the mountain gorillas, which takes a whole day. During the trek, you will be rewarded with views of other primates, mammals, birds, including the Albertine rift valley endemics, and colorful butterflies, among others.
Once the gorillas are found, you will have a chance to spend four hours with them, learn and monitor their behaviors, watch them carry out their daily activities, engage in the naming process, and take photos and record videos.
After the face-to-face interaction with the mountain gorillas, you will return to the starting point where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in the gorilla habituation experience and later drive back to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 5: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
On the fifth 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 to Volcanoes National Park via the Cyanika border in Kisoro.
On the way, you will have en route lunch and enjoy beautiful views of the landscape, rolling hills, terraced farmlands among other. Upon arrival, you will connect to your lodge for relaxation, dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 6: Golden monkey trekking and departure to Kigali
On the last day of the safari, you will have an early breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a golden monkey briefing, after which you will be allocated a habituated golden monkey family and start trekking in the forest with an experienced park guide, which takes about 2 to 4 hours depending on where the golden monkeys are located.
Once they are found, you will be able to spend one hour with them in the habitat, watch them feed, play up in tree branches, take photos and record the moments to show people back home. After golden monkey trekking, you will meet up with your driver guide and start the journey to Kigali with lunch en route.
Upon arrival in Kigali, your driver guide will drop you off at Kigali International Airport or drop you off at any place of advice, hence bringing the safari to an end.
The tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Domestic flight fare
- All activities included in the itinerary
- Services of a professional English-speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up in Entebbe 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.
