Itinerary
This 10-day Rwanda Uganda safari is a great opportunity to explore some of the most diverse wildlife in Africa, spectacular scenery (even though the world's longest river, the Nile River, originates from this country), and memorable cultural experiences. The great vacation spot off the beaten track, and Uganda’s wildlife destinations including Murchison Falls, Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth, Kigali city and volcanoes National Parks, are perfect for an ideal African safari.
Upon arrival, our tour guide will welcome and brief you at the airport before transferring you to the hotel. This is a 20-minute drive from the airport to the hotel. You will also meet our representative for a meet and greet and get a brief about the trip.
On this day, your assigned driver-guide will pick you up from your designated address in Kigali and head for the Kigali city tour, where you will visit the Kigali genocide memorial site, markets, museum, and other historical monuments. Later, you'll proceed to Volcanoes National Park, located in the north of Rwanda, via magnificent terraced hills with views of a clear picture of the landscape and altitude of the countryside. You will have a relaxed evening at the lodge as you get prepared for the next day’s adventure.
On this day, you'll have an early morning breakfast and drive to the park offices for the briefing, where the golden monkey tracking in the forest will be discussed. This activity starts at 7 am at the Park headquarters, where you will head to the forest with other tourists in search of the endangered golden monkey. This takes about 4 hours or more of the Golden monkey tracking adventure, inclusive of a one-hour stay near them where you view them rolling on the Bamboo stems and present themselves with no shyness, as it has been worked on through habituation, and see the sights of their silver patch. From there, you will transfer to the gorilla land, which is Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda. The road trip takes you through the beautiful Kigezi land with dinner and an overnight stay at the lodge.
After breakfast, you'll converge at the park headquarters for a briefing and gorilla group allocation. In a group of 8 trackers, you will be led by a game ranger in the company of several porters to a gorilla group specified on the permit earlier secured for you. Upon encountering the gorilla family, you will be allowed an hour to view and take photographs before returning to the lodge for lunch and relaxation. Afternoon activities, including a community walk, may be organized for you. Later, you will head for dinner and an overnight stay at your lodge.
In the morning, you will be transferred to Queen Elizabeth NP with en route wildlife viewing in the Ishasha sector for the tree-climbing lions. Later, you will proceed to the lodge for lunch as you get ready for an afternoon boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel. This natural 32km-long (20 mi) channel joins the 2 lakes. Lake George is in the east whose overall depth of 2.4m, and it is a 250 sq km stretch into Lake Edward (2,000 sq km) in the west.
The banks of the Kazinga Channel attract large numbers of mammals and birds. Expect big mammals, including hippos, elephants, buffalo, waterbucks, etc. Both migratory and savannah birds are found in large numbers along this channel.
After a cup of coffee, you'll hit the Kasenyi track to catch up with the early risers, including the cats, as they return from their night hunt. The abundance of wildlife in this area will captivate you on this early morning game drive. On return, you will transfer to Kibale with an en route visit to the crater lakes region of Ndali and Kasende.
In the evening, you may go for a nature walk in the Bigodi Wetland for primate and bird watching.
Kibale National Park is the primate capital of East Africa. Chimpanzee trekking is a fulfilling adventure that takes you deep into the tropical forest across streams of water. You might have sightings of red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobus monkeys, butterflies, and birds calling from the canopies while on this safari. With the help of your guide, you will locate the chimps. You'll enjoy picture moments and watch them as they play and feed.
In the afternoon, you will visit the Bigodi village and wetland, known for its rich diversity of birds and primates, depending on the time available. By taking this tour, you are contributing to the development of this community because the proceeds are used to build schools and offer small loans.
This day is for a long drive to Murchison Falls National Park via Masindi. The 361 km distance from Kibale Forest to Murchison Falls National Park can take between 4 and 5 hours as the Murram Road has been upgraded. The picturesque drive along the banks of Lake Albert offers a beautiful and very scenic view of the Western Rift Valley.
After an early breakfast, our driver-guide will pick you up for the early game drive. Explore the major game trails, especially in the Northern bank, for good game spotting, including lots of elephants, lions, giraffes, antelopes, jackals, hyenas, Uganda kobs, water bucks, Jackson's hartebeests, and hopefully the elusive leopards, among others. Later on, you will enjoy your lunch break and some relaxation.
Later, you'll set out for the afternoon boat ride on the Victoria Nile, which is the highlight of any Murchison Falls safari, as you get to spot lots of animals at close range. You will spot lots of hippos, Nile crocodiles, elephants, buffaloes, and many other animals that come to drink water, refresh, and cool themselves off in the scorching sun. You'll see other animals eating the fresh grass along the river banks. You'll drive to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
After breakfast, you'll transfer back to Kampala with an en-route visit to the top of the falls for sightseeing. You may track rhinos in Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongora if it is part of your safari package.
Depending on the return travel arrangement, your tour guide will transfer you straight to Entebbe.
