8 Days Best of Uganda Rwanda Primate and Wildlife safari

8 days best of Uganda Rwanda primate and wildlife safari is an amazing tour that starts from Kigali and ends in Entebbe city of Uganda. The safari starts in Kigali with a city tour and later it heads to volcanoes national park to trek the golden monkeys and visit the twin lakes of Ruhondo and Burera. From volcanoes national park, you will head to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park where you will trek mountain gorillas for 1 hour and visit the Bwata people. The safari will also give you an opportunity to see most of the animals in Queen Elizabeth national park including tree-climbing lions on a game drive and then the boat cruise on the Kazinga channel before ending in Kibale forest national park for chimpanzee trekking.

8 days best of Uganda Rwanda primate and wildlife safari highlights

Day 1: Pick up, Kigali city tour and transfer to volcanoes national park

Day 2: Encounter golden monkeys and visit the twin lakes

Day 3: Connect to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park

Day 4: Encounter mountain gorillas in Bwindi

Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

Day 6: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

Day 7: Connect to Kibale forest national park and Bigodi nature walk

Day 8: Chimpanzee trekking and transfer to Kampala

Day 1: Pick up, Kigali city tour and transfer to volcanoes national park

On the first day of your 8 days best of Uganda Rwanda primate and wildlife safari, our English-speaking driver-guide will be ready at the airport to welcome you and then brief you about the whole safari. Later you will connect to Kigali city where you will have a city tour and visit places like the Kigali genocide memorial where you will find remains of some of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, Kirimonko market where you can have a one on one with the local traders, and lastly the Inema Art Centre where you visit different craft shops and buy some souvenirs. Later you will connect to volcanoes national park, check in your lodge, have dinner, and have an overnight stay.

Meal plan

Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation 

Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel – luxury, Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge – mid-range, Kinigi Guest House – budget

Day 2: Encounter golden monkeys and visit the twin lakes

On the second day of your 8 days Uganda Rwanda primate and wildlife safari, you will wake up to a morning breakfast at the lodge and after you will meet your driver guide to transport you to Kinigi park headquarters. At the briefing point, you will meet park wardens who will take you through the dos and don’ts of golden trekking activity, and after you will drive to the starting point.

Armed ranger guides will lead you through different trekking trails looking for the bamboo trees where the gentle apes be and on meeting them, you will be given 1 hour to be around them, watch them do daily activities such as the young ones move from one tree branch to another, hunt, mothers breastfeed and you will be able to take the pictures. During all the above you have opportunities of meeting different wild animals like the duikers, giant forest hogs, buffaloes, elephants, and different bird species. You will trek out of the forest, meet your driver-guide and then return to the lodge for lunch.

In the afternoon you will mee your driver to take you for a tour at twin lakes Ruhondo and Burera which are located at the base of Mount Muhabura near the border of Rwanda and DR Congo. At the twin lakes, you will have a boat cruise where you will get an opportunity to see some of the water animals like fish, hippos, crocodiles, and different bird species such as Ruwenzori turaco, dusky turtle dove, red-faced woodland warbler, strange weaver, kingfisher, and brown necked parrot among others. You will have a beautiful view of different Virunga mountains, watch the fishermen and local people cross from one side of the lake to another. Return to the lodge, dinner, and an overnight stay.

Meal plan

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation 

Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel – luxury, Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge – mid-range, Kinigi Guest House – budget

Day 3: Connect to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park

On the third day of 8 days best of Uganda Rwanda primate and wildlife safari, you will wake up to morning breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet your driver ready to transfer you to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park for mountain gorilla trekking. The journey takes you through Katuna border of Kabale or Cyanika border of Kisoro and on arrival at the park, you check in your booked lodge, have lunch as you wait for the next activity.

In the afternoon, you will take a visit to the Batwa people with the help of the Batwa guides. The Batwa guides take you through the forest showing you how they lived in the jungle, used bows and arrows to kill animals, how they collected honey and fruits, and how they used to use local herbs as medicine. They will take you to their communities where you will visit some of their members, watch them do daily activities, visit and support their small shops and at the end of the day, you will get entertained by the traditional dancers. Later you will move back to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Meal plan

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation 

Silverback Lodge – luxury, Bakiga Lodge – Mid-range, Ride 4 a woman – budget

Day 4: Encounter mountain gorillas in Bwindi

On the fourth day of 8 days best of Uganda Rwanda primate safari, you will wake up to a morning breakfast and meet your driver guide who will drive you to the park headquarters for a briefing from rangers about the dos and don’ts of the trekking activity. After the briefing, you will be grouped and assigned a mountain gorilla family to trek after which your driver guide will drive you to the starting point where your armed ranger guides will lead you through different park trails searching for the endangered apes.

While going through different park trails, you will be able to meet different park animals such as bush pigs, buffaloes, duikers, giant forest hogs, and several bird species but on meeting the endangered apes, you will be given 1 hour to be around them, get to learn about their behaviors, watch them do daily activities like hunting, nesting, others breastfeeding and you will be able to take pictures with flashless cameras. After an hour with mountain gorillas, you will trek out of the forest, meet your ranger guide and get back to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon you can rest at your lodge or have a simple nature walk around the lodge, dinner, and an overnight stay.

Meal plan

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation 

Silverback Lodge – luxury, Bakiga Lodge – Mid-range, Ride 4 a woman – budget

Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

On the fifth day of 8 days best of Uganda Rwanda primate safari, you will wake up to an early morning breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet your driver guide for a transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park in the western part of Uganda. The time taken from Bwindi impenetrable forest national park to Queen Elizabeth national park is about 3-4 hours via the Ishasha sector where the tree climbing lions do live. On arrival at the park, you will have a game drive as you head to your lodge and with this, you will be able to spot different park animals like the lions, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs, topis, leopards, spotted hyenas, giant forest hogs among others. After the game drive you will have lunch and then continue to your lodge, check in for dinner and an overnight stay.

Meal plan

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation 

Mweya Safari Lodge – luxury, Buffalo Safari Lodge – Mid-range, Pumba Cottages – budget

Day 6: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise

On the sixth day of 8 days Uganda Rwanda primate and wildlife safari, you will wake up early in the morning, have breakfast, and meet your driver for a morning game drive in the Kasenyi plains. During the game drive, you will be able to see several animals of the park such as lions, hyenas, leopards, bushbucks, warthogs, waterbucks, Uganda kobs, elephants, topis, and giant forest hogs among others. Later you will return to the lodge, relax, and have lunch.

In the afternoon you will meet your driver guide who will take you to Mweya where the boat cruise does start from. The boat cruise at Kazinga channel will be able to give you an opportunity to spot different water animals like the hippos, and crocodiles then the park animals on the shores of the lake drinking water such as elephants, antelopes, buffaloes, and much more. You will spot different water birds such as African shoebills, Pink-backed pelican, African spoonbills, Yellow-billed stork, Fish eagle, Papyrus gonolek, Martial eagle, Malachite kingfisher, Long-tailed cormorant, Black bee-eater, Pied kingfisher, Black crake, and African skimmer among others. Return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Meal plan

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation 

Mweya Safari Lodge – luxury, Buffalo Safari Lodge – Mid-range, Pumba Cottages – budget

Day 7: Connect to Kibale forest national park and Bigodi nature walk

On the seventh day of the 8 days best of Uganda Rwanda primate and wildlife safari, you will wake up early in the morning for breakfast and then check out of the lodge to meet your driver for a transfer to Kibale forest national park. The journey to Kibale forest national park from queen Elizabeth takes about 3 hours and on arrival at the park, you will check in your lodge and have lunch.

In the afternoon, you will meet a park ranger birder guide who will lead you to the Bigodi swamp for a nature walk. On your way to and from the swamp, you will meet different monkey species such as vervet monkeys, grey checked mangabeys, olive baboons, blue monkeys, different bird species among others. At Bigodi swamp, you will see a number of bird species such as purple breasted sunbird, collared apal, crowned eagle, black-capped apalis, kingfisher, ground thrush, hornbills, weavers, green breasted pitta, cuckoos, papyrus gonolek, flycatchers, Abyssinia, and the African pitta among others. Return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Meal plan

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Accommodation 

Crater safari lodge – luxury, Isunga Safari Lodge, mid-range, Rweteera Safari Park budget.

Day 8: Chimpanzee trekking and transfer to Kampala

This will be the last day of your safari and on this day you will wake up very early in the morning breakfast, check out of the lodge, and thereafter meet your driver guide who will move you to the starting point to meet rangers for a briefing about the dos and don’ts of the chimpanzee trekking activity. it’s from here that grouping will be done and a family to trek will be assigned and then a driver-guide will transfer you to the starting point.

The armed ranger guides will lead you through different trails of the park looking for the chimpanzees and as you search you will be able to see different park primates like the blue monkeys, vervet monkeys, olive baboons, and different bird species. When you set your eyes on chimpanzees, you will be given 1 hour to be around them, watch them do daily activities, learn about their habits as you take photos. Later you will trek out of the Kibale forest, meet your driver-guide for your journey to Entebbe to end your 8 days best of Uganda Rwanda primate and wildlife safari

Meal plan

Breakfast and lunch

Tour includes

• Gorilla trekking permit
• Golden monkey trekking permit
• Chimpanzee trekking permit
• Bigodi Swamp walk
• Park entrance fee
• Twin lakes tour
• Kigali city tour
• Boat cruise
• Service of an English speaking driver-guide
• Accommodation
• Meals
• Transport

Tour excludes 

• International tickets
• Visas
• Tips
• Porter fee
• Personal expenses
• Personal insurance