We are pleased to present this wonderful 14 days safari to the pearl of Africa and the land of a thousand hills! Uganda and Rwanda are the best destinations in the world where you can experience the life-changing opportunity of seeing mountain gorillas in the wild.
On this 14 days adventure, you will explore some of Uganda and Rwanda’s top safari destinations to see these gentle giants, including Volcanoes National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. You also track other wild primates like the rare golden monkeys of Mgahinga and chimpanzees of Kibale Forest National Park. And the memorable adventures don’t stop there. Set out on thrilling savannah game drives and relaxing boat cruises in the wildlife-rich Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Enjoy several cultural experiences such as Batwa Pygmy Culture, Bigodi village walk, hiking to Diane Fossey’s grave, visiting Hôtel des Milles Collines, made famous by the film, Hotel Rwanda and interacting with members of local community-based initiatives, such as the Omwani Women’s Coffee Cooperative. During this 14 Days Uganda to Rwanda Safari, expect the best accommodation, world-class service, friendly staff, fine dining, and every creature comfort you would need on a perfect safari getaway.
Highlights
- Track wild Mountain gorillas, chimpanzees and the rare golden monkeys
- Incredible game viewing in Queen Elizabeth National Park
- Enjoy a relaxing Kazinga Channel boat cruise
- Hike to Dian Fossey’s Grave site
- Lunch at Milles Colinnes Hotel from Hotel Rwanda film
- Visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum
- Guided Bigodi Village Walk
- Batwa Pygmies Cultural Experience
Summary
Day 1: Welcome to the Pearl of Africa!
Day 2: Trip to Kibale Forest & Guided Bigodi Wetland Walk
Day 3: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest & Bigodi Village Walk
Day 4: Cross the Equator into Queen Elizabeth National Park for Exciting Game Viewing
Day 5: Morning Game Drive in Kasenyi Plains, afternoon boat cruise on Kazinga Channel, and evening game drive along the Channel Track.
Day 6: Predator Tracking Queen Elizabeth & Coffee Tour Experience
Day 7-10: Track Gorillas & Golden Monkeys in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Day 10-13: Mountain Gorillas, Diane Fossey’s Grave & Ellen DeGeneres
Day 13: Hotel Rwanda and the Genocide Memorial & Museum in Kigali
Day 14: Say Goodbye to Rwanda!
Details
Day 1: Welcome to the Pearl of Africa!
On the first day of the trip, arrive at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda. Post your immigration and customs; you will be greeted by our company representative who will safely transfer you to the nearby hotel in Entebbe City for relaxation, dinner and overnight stay. Entebbe is a relaxed town relaxed town on the beautiful shores of Lake Victoria – Africa’s largest lake.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Hotel No.5/Protea Hotel Entebbe/Lake Victoria Serena Resort
Midrange: 2-Friends Beach Hotel/Boma Hotel/Karibu Guest House
Budget: Airport Guest House
Meal Plan: Dinner
Day 2: Trip to Kibale Forest & Guided Bigodi Wetland Walk
Today, after you have had your delicious breakfast, our driver guide will meet and have a briefing about your 14 Days Uganda to Rwanda Safari. After that, you will be taken on a scenic drive of about 5 hours past rolling hillsides, towns, villages, rainforests, tea plantations, and crater lakes towards Fort Portal.
Fort Portal rests in the shadow of the snow-capped Mountains of the Moon and is famous for the many tea plantations. From this lovely town, you will continue to Kibale Forest National Park. Upon arrival, you enter a completely different world; a primate world! Kibale is one Africa’s most primate-rich rainforests. The primeval forest hosts 13 different primate species including chimpanzees, red-tailed, black-and-white colobus, red colobus, blue monkeys, and Uganda mangabeys.
Kibale is also a stellar bird-watching destination, with a checklist of 375 bird species that includes the glamorous likes of great blue turaco, double-toothed barbet and papyrus Gonolek. Kibale is surrounded by tea plantations, beautiful crater lakes, papyrus swamps and quite rural villages. Today you can decide to go for a guided walk around the lodge or explore beautiful volcanic crater lakes around the park.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Crater Safari Lodge/Kyaninga Lodge/Primate Lodge
Midrange/Budget: Kibale Forest Camp/Chimpanzee Forest Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 3: Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale Forest & Bigodi Village or Wetland Walk
Chimpanzee trekking is an awesome adventure. You wake up at around dawn, enjoy a hearty breakfast and transfer to the park visitor center for a briefing. At 8 am, you into the lush Kibale Forest in company of range guides who hack a trail through the forest undergrowth.
They employ their deep knowledge of the chimps’ behaviors to track their location and bring you to them. More than 1,500 chimpanzees reside in Kibale Forest and there is a chimp community that was habituated in the 1990s and has been located 99% of the time during treks.
Chimpanzees are fascinating creatures. These forest-dwelling apes share nearly 99% of their DNA with humans, and despite their hairier coat and more stooped posture, they are recognizably human-like, both in appearance and behaviorally. Once you find them, you will have one hour to watch them grooming, foraging, arguing, swinging through the trees and tending to their young.
After the chimpanzee tour, you will have your lunch and some time to relax. In afternoon, you will go for a community based guided tour of the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary.
During this walk, you’ll learn more about this community-run initiative that aims to conserve the unique biodiversity and environmental values of the wetlands. Alternatively, you can decide to go for a Village Walk. Accompanied by a guide who can tell you everything about the traditional customs and lifestyle of the inhabitants, you will follow the village path and visit a primary school, traditional homesteads and listen to the story telling of a Mzee (elderly man). Both activities are an initiative of the inhabitants of Bigodi Village and the revenues are shared by the local community.
Accommodation: As on day three
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 4-7: Cross the Equator into Queen Elizabeth National Park for Exciting Game Viewing | 3 Nights
After your breakfast today, check-out from the lodge and be taken on a leisurely drive of about 2 hours through Kibale Forest, Kasese Town and across the equator to your next stop.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s most popular safari destination. This is partly due to its closeness to the country’s gorilla trekking hubs, but also reflects its status as one of East Africa’s most biodiverse protected areas.
Here you’ll find massive freshwater lakes, swathes of equatorial rainforest, tracts of rolling savannah and brackish crater lakes nestled below the snowcapped Rwenzori Mountains. Four of the Big 5 are present (no rhino). The bird checklist of over 600 species is the most of any national park in East Africa.
Morning, afternoon, and evening game drives through the park are most rewarding, with elephants, buffalo, spotted hyenas, antelopes and lions being regular sightings. Thrilling game drives are not the only way you get to explore this Uganda’s premier national park.
The Kazinga Channel is the lifeblood of the park and attracts many animals to its water, including one of the world’s densest concentrations of hippos year-round. A Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel is included in your itinerary, offering a great wildlife viewing alternative.
A dash of culture is also sprinkled into your tour of Queen with a visit to the Omwani Women’s Coffee Cooperative – a community-based initiative that offers vocational training and an alternative, but sustainable, source of income to local women and their families. A highlight of this cultural experience is sure to be sampling the best cup of Uganda coffee, the beans of which are grown, harvested and processed by these amazing women.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge/Elephant Plains Camp/Kyambura Gorge Lodge
Midrange: Park View Lodge/Bush Lodge/Enganzi Lodge
Budget: Bush Lodge/Pumba Safari Cottage
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 7-10: Track Gorillas & Golden Monkeys in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park | 3 Nights
Begin your day with a hearty breakfast and then take a light aircraft flight from Queen to Kisoro. Here, a comfortable short road transfer sees that you arrive at Mount Gahinga Lodge by late morning. This is a luxury lodge that occupies one of the most beautiful locations in Uganda.
Nestled in the foothills of the majestic Virunga Volcanoes, you’ll enjoy the most picturesque views of the three mighty extinct volcanoes from the setting of a gorgeous landscape of gardens. During your stay at Mount Gahinga Lodge, you’ll be treated to the interesting history of the Batwa Pygmy People at the lodge’s heritage site. The Batwa Cultural Experience comprises a demonstration-based herbal garden, a small collection of traditional huts and a short trail that demonstrates the lifestyle of the Batwa.
But the real draw card of your stay is the opportunity to venture into Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in search of rare mountain gorillas and golden monkeys. Gorilla trekking is a fascinating and life-changing wildlife adventure. Spending time with these gentle giants and watching them interact within their natural environment is an unforgettable experience. Golden Monkeys are a little harder to track down, but there is no better feeling of accomplishment than when you finally spot these energetic endangered creatures as they leap from tree to tree.
Accommodation: Mount Gahinga Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 10-13: Mountain Gorillas, Diane Fossey’s Grave & Ellen DeGeneres | 3 Nights
Bid farewell to the “Pearl of Africa” as you cross the border into the “Land of a Thousand Hills”: Rwanda. Here, you will stay at comfortable safari lodge near Volcanoes National Park for the next three nights.
There are only a handful of places in the world where you can encounter wild gorillas face-to-face. Uganda and Rwanda are the two premier destinations to do so. And since you got to experience trekking with gorillas in Uganda, it is only right that you get to tick it off in Rwanda too.
Gorilla trekking adventuress in Volcanoes National Park is one of the best wildlife adventure activities on the African continent. History enthusiasts, animal lovers and conservationists alike will love hiking through the park to visit the Diane Fossey Grave, as well as her former Karisoke Research Center. Not only will you gain a deeper understanding of the incredible life of Diane Fossey and her unwavering passion for gorillas, but you will also be rewarded with wonderful views of Volcanoes National Park.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: Singita Kwitonda Lodge/ Bisate Lodge/Virunga Lodge
Midrange: Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge/Gorilla Solution Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 13: Hotel Rwanda and the Genocide Memorial & Museum in Kigali | 1 Night
After breakfast at the lodge, you will leave for the final destination on this epic 14 Days Uganda to Rwanda Safari: Kigali city. You will arrive in this beautiful and clean city in time for lunch at Hôtel des Milles Collines – film connoisseurs and history buffs will recognised it as the historic hotel in Hotel Rwanda movie. It was in this very hotel that 1,268 Rwandans were saved from the horrific 1994 genocide taking place throughout the country.
Keeping with the theme of the day, your trip will proceed with a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum to learn more about this tragic event in Rwanda’s history, as well as pay respect to those who lost their lives. Your day will end with an overnight stay at a comfortable Hotel in Kigali city.
Accommodation Options:
Luxury: The Retreat/Kigali Serena Hotel/Heaven Boutique Hotel
Midrange: Dove Hotel/Hotel Chez Lando
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 14: Say Goodbye to Rwanda!
Your 14 days Uganda & Rwanda Safari ends here in Kigali city. Enjoy your final breakfast in Africa before being transferred to Kigali International Airport (KGL) to catch your departure flight home.
End of 14 Days Uganda to Rwanda Safari
Inclusion
- Overnight stays at the desired level and accompanying meals (see itinerary)
- Gorilla permits
- All entrance fees to the national parks
- 4WD Land Cruiser
- Transfers as stated
- Professional English-speaking driver and guides (in the national parks)
- All activities mentioned in the itinerary
- Domestic flight transfer to Kisoro
Exclusion
- Intercontinental flight
- Other meals, drinks (depending on accommodation level)
- Single room surcharge
- Visa costs
- Optional excursions
- Travel Insurance