12 Days Rwanda & Uganda Primate Safari
On this 12 Days Rwanda & Uganda Primate Safari you have an opportunity to visit and explore Uganda and Rwanda plus their remarkable destinations as well as wildlife. This safari starts in Uganda with game viewing safaris in Murchison Falls National Park, head to Kibale Forest National Park for a primate encounter including chimpanzees, Queen Elizabeth National Park for game viewing and Bwindi Forest for a once in a life encounter with mountain gorillas.
Cross over to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park for another gorilla trekking experience and golden monkey trekking.
Highlights of 12 Days Rwanda & Uganda Primate Safari
- Day 1: Arrival and Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park & en-route Visit to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
- Day 2: Morning Game Drive and Boat Trip to the base of Murchison Falls
- Day 3: Drive to Kibale Forest National Park – East Africa’s Primate Capital
- Day 4: Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale Forest
- Day 5: Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park – Afternoon Game Drive
- Day 6: Morning Game Drive and Afternoon Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel
- Day 7: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via Ishasha Sector
- Day 8: Gorilla Trekking Experience in Bwindi Forest
- Day 9: Drive to Volcanoes National Park
- Day 10: Gorilla Trekking Experience in Volcanoes National Park
- Day 11: Golden Monkey Trekking – Dian Fossey Hike
- Day 12: Departure
Detailed Itinerary of 12 Days Rwanda & Uganda Primate Safari
Day 1: Arrival and Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park & en-route Visit to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
On arrival at Entebbe International Airport for your 12 Days Rwanda & Uganda Primate Safari, you will be warmly welcomed by our representative, he will give you a short briefing about the safari then embark on a journey to Murchison Falls National Park with a stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a rhino tracking experience.
With your armed ranger guides, you will take a walk through the bushes of the rhino sanctuary looking for the endangered white rhinos. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary is the only place where you can see rhinos in their natural habitat in Uganda and you will spend 1 hour with them.
Continue with your journey to Murchison Falls National Park with lunch in Masindi, when you arrive in the park you will head to the top of Murchison Falls National Park where you will see the Nile River forcing itself through a 7-meter-wide gap and then furiously plunging downwards 43 meters. This sight is beyond description and a core memory that will stick with your forever. Head to your lodge for check in, have dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation:
Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge
Midrange: Fort Murchison Lodge
Budget: Red Chill Rest Camp
Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner
Day 2: Morning Game Drive and Boat Trip to the base of Murchison Falls
Wake up early for breakfast and head out for an early morning drive giving you chances of sighting the big cats such as lions and leopards as they return to their dens from their hunting sprees. Other animals to lookout for include hyenas, leopards, lions, giraffes, herds of elephants, buffaloes and many more.
Return to your lodge in time for lunch, enjoy your meals and have a moment to relax. Later go for an afternoon boat trip along the Nile to the bottom of Murchison Falls, a highlight of a Murchison Falls Safari allowing you to get up close and personal with the animals. You will see huge schools of hippos and Nile crocodiles as well as water bird species including colored kingfishers and bee-eaters darting along the riverbanks.
Accommodation Option
Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge
Midrange: Fort Murchison Lodge
Budget: Red Chill Rest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Drive to Kibale Forest National Park – East Africa’s Primate Capital
After breakfast, check out of your lodge and head south journeying via vast farmlands and historic Great Rift Valley, meandering majestically and dividing the lands. As you approach on the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, you enter Uganda’s famous tea plantations region. A carpet of green spreads before you, as far as the eye can see, and seem an unusual contrast to the countryside through which you have just passed.
Enjoy lunch in Fort Portal and continue to the park, go for a visit in the nearby forest swamp – the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary which offers incredible viewing of primates including black and white colobus monkeys and other forest animals. Head to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation Option
Luxury: Primate Lodge Kibale
Midrange: Isunga Lodge
Budget: Kibale Forest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4: Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale Forest
Wake up early for breakfast, meet your driver guide and head to the park headquarters for briefing about chimpanzee trekking, join other treks and your armed ranger guide and into the forest looking for chimpanzees. The trekking takes approximately 2 to 4 hours of trekking through the emerald rainforest, when you locate these playful chimpanzees you will be allowed to spend one hour in their presence watching them play, feed, pick fruits and groom. While in the forest you will also see other primates including bush babies, Pottos, black and white colobus monkeys among others.
Trek back to the park headquarters, meet your driver guide and return to your lodge for an evening of rest, have dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation Option
Luxury: Primate Lodge Kibale
Midrange: Isunga Lodge
Budget: Kibale Forest Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5: Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park – Afternoon Game Drive
After a leisurely breakfast, check out of your lodge and embark on a journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park while enjoying views of the forest and the crater lakes. When you arrive in this impressive park, you will have a game drive as you head to your lodge for check-in, lunch and short rest.
In the afternoon you will return to the park for an extensive game drive, keep an eye out for elephants, lions, giant forest hogs, elephants, hippos and several bird species of more than 600. Later return to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation Option
Luxury: Elephants Plains Lodge
Midrange: Enganzi Lodge
Budget: Simba Safari Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 6: Morning Game Drive and Afternoon Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel
Today we explore Queen Elizabeth National Park on a morning game drive in Kasenyi Plains and boat cruise on Kazinga Channel.
Wake up early for breakfast, meet your driver guide and go out for a game drive on which you will several animals including elephants, lions, buffaloes Uganda Kobs, and several bird species. For lunch, you will return to your lodge for your meals.
In the afternoon, head for a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel , a waterway connecting Lake George to Lake Edward. The boat cruise gives you an opportunity to view wildlife up close, hippos huffing and spraying at a mere foot away from the boat, buffaloes lingering in the shallows and several water birds including pink – backed pelicans, pied and malachite kingfishers, saddle-billed stork and many others.
Accommodation Option
Luxury: Elephants Plains Lodge
Midrange: Enganzi Lodge
Budget: Simba Safari Camp
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 7: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via Ishasha Sector
After breakfast you will check out of your lodge and embark on a journey to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with a game drive in the Ishasha Sector where you will be able to see the rare tree climbing lions lounging on fig tree branches.
With en-route lunch, continue to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park arriving in the evening, check in at your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation Option
Luxury: Mahogany Springs Lodge
Midrange: Buhoma Haven Lodge
Budget: Buhoma Community Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 8: Gorilla Trekking Experience in Bwindi Forest
Today we trek the endangered mountain gorillas in the forests of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Wake up early for breakfast, meet your driver guide and head to the park headquarters for briefing about gorillas trekking, rules and regulations to follow and what to expect. In groups of 8 people you will be assigned a gorilla family to trek, head into the forest looking for the gentle giants. The trek takes approximately 2 to 6 hours depending on the movement of the gorillas and where they spent their previous night, once you locate these primates you will be allowed to spend one hour in their presence watching them feed, play, groom and females nursing their babies. You are free to take as many photos as possible.
Trek back to the park headquarters, meet your driver guide and return to your lodge or head to the Batwa Village for a culture experience.
Accommodation Option
Luxury: Mahogany Springs Lodge
Midrange: Buhoma Haven Lodge
Budget: Buhoma Community Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 9: Drive to Volcanoes National Park
After breakfast, continue on a journey to Volcanoes National Park with border crossing at Cyanika Border. Along the way the way you will enjoy lunch and have a visit to the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo.
Arrive in the park in the evening, check in at your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation Option
Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel
Midrange: Da Vinci Lodge
Budget: Muhambura Hotel
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 10: Gorilla Trekking Experience in Volcanoes National Park
Today we have another mountain gorilla trekking experience in Volcanoes National Park.
Wake up early for breakfast, meet your driver guide and head to the park headquarters in Kinigi for briefing about gorilla trekking, in groups of 8 people you will be assigned a gorilla family to trek. Head into the forest looking for mountain gorillas, the trek takes about 2 to 4 hours or more depending on the movement of the gorillas and where they spent their previous night.
You will spend one hour in the presence observing the gorillas go on with their life in forest. Later trek back to the starting point, meet your guide and return to your lodge for an evening of rest, have dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation Option
Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel
Midrange: Da Vinci Lodge
Budget: Muhambura Hotel
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 11: Golden Monkey Trekking – Dian Fossey Hike
Wake up and return to the park for golden monkey trekking experience, you will have a briefing session at the park headquarters, meet your ranger guide and head into bamboo forest looking for the beautiful golden monkeys. You will spend one hour with these playful chimpanzee watching them play, feed and pick fruits.
After this amazing experience, return to the starting point, meet your driver guide and head to your lodge for lunch. In the afternoon you will return to the park for a Dian Fossey Hike to visit the tomb of Dian Fossey an American Primatologist and witness her tremendous work towards the conservation of mountain gorillas.
Accommodation Option
Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel
Midrange: Da Vinci Lodge
Budget: Muhambura Hotel
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 12: Departure
After breakfast you will embark on a journey back to Kigali City where you will be dropped off at your hotel or at the airport for your flight back home or to your next destination.
