15 days Rwanda & Uganda wildlife safari
Rwanda & Uganda wildlife safari overview
Excursions on Rwanda & Uganda wildlife safari from Europe, Asia, Australia, United states of America, Canada, Scandinavia, United Kingdom etc. give the best of Africa’s big 5, big apes and primates, wildlife, mountains like Rwenzori snow capped peaks, nature and unique water bodies for example lake Victoria, River Nile along numerous activities for example bungee jumping, water rafting etc.
Rwanda & Uganda wildlife safari highlights
Arrival & departure: Kigali- Entebbe
Day 1- arrive, city tour
Day 2- Nyungwe forest & chimpanzees
Day 3-4- Akagera park with Africa’s big 5
Day 5- golden monkeys at volcanoes NP
Day 6- gorilla trekking at Bwindi Impenetrable forest national park
Day 7- tree climbing lions game drives at Ishasha sector
Day 8- game drives, boat cruise at Kazinga channel
Day 9- chimpanzee tracking at Kibale national park
Day 10- Murchison falls N.P, game drive, boat cruise
Day 11- Murchison water falls, game drive, top of the falls
Day 12-13- source of the river Nile, water rafting, bungee jumping
Day 14- Kampala city tour, l. Victoria shores & night life
Day 15- botanical tour, birding & departure
Detailed Rwanda & Uganda wildlife safari itinerary
On arrival at Kigali international airport, our tour guide will pick you up and lead you to your booked accommodation in the heart of the city for a brief rest and will later on take you around Kigali city; one of the cleanest cities in Africa with its malls, eco parks, resorts, golf courses, restaurants and lounges, hand-made art and craft shops, museums, archeries, horse riding, recreation parks among others (the duration of this tour will depend on time of arrival).
Accommodation: The Manor hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
On this day you will be at Nyungwe national park; one of Africa’s oldest rainforests having a greatly rich biodiversity, 13 species of the primates’ family including chimpanzees, over 300 recorded bird species, a water catchment area and watershed between the drainage systems of the Nile and Congo basins and believed to be the furthest source of the Nile. The park will get you have primate tracking, canopy walk experience, bird watching, hiking & waterfall trails and community based activities such visiting tea plantations, bee keeping and honey making experiences.
Accommodation: Ubucuti (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
On this day you will head out to the green savannah and wetland wilderness of Akagera national park and home to Africa’s big 5 game; lions, leopards, buffaloes, rhinos and elephants along with giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, hyenas, wild dogs, antelopes, kobs, water bucks, elands, gazelles, kudus, pythons, monkeys, baboons and more than 300 bird species. the park provides various safari options such as day and night game drives, boat safari cruises, hot air balloons and walking safaris.
Accommodation: Mantis Akagera game (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Fifth day will find you in the same volcanoes national park and will be woken up by the songs of the birds of the montane tropical rain forest. After breakfast, you will have a briefing and be led by expert rangers up to above 2,500 meters of sea level in the bamboo vegetation zones of the mountains where the playful and chattering golden monkeys reside in groups and families of hundreds along with over 200 bird species including Albertine endemics. Thereafter you will return to the park headquarters and continue with a nature walks that will lead you the Musanze caves; 52 caves with 15.2km of cave passages developed from Cenozoic volcanic rocks dating back to 65 million years.
Accommodation: Buhoma lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Early morning you will have a briefing on the gorilla behaviors, livelihoods and how to handle their reactions to the human presence. The trek into the tropical montane forests will last between 45 minutes to 1 hour before meeting the gorilla family you are assigned to and you will be allowed to follow and spend an hour with that gorilla family. Getting to find the mountain gorillas on a trek in Uganda is a 99% chance backed up by the gorilla population in this region. After the trek, you will have an experience with the Batwa people who have for all their life time co-existed with the forest and its species.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
You will head out to the Kazinga channel (a river connecting lakes Edward and George) for a morning boat cruise through queen Elizabeth national park. At this experience you will have a glance at the world’s largest concentration of hippos which are numbered above 5,000 at the Kazinga channel, Nile crocodiles, buffaloes, water birds and other land birds coming in to quench their thirst, elephants, lions and other land wild game like water bucks, giraffes, kobs, kudus among others also coming in onto the banks of the Kazinga channel to quench their thirst. After the boat cruise, you will embark on a game drive around this channel and beyond into the vast savannah grassland to enjoy more game viewing at more lion and elephant families, ostriches, leopards, raptors and vultures, reptiles, monkeys, wild dogs among other creatures, scenery views of the ice capped mountain Rwenzori and its slopes. On this day, you will also once again come across the equator landmark as it crosses through queen Elizabeth national game park.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
On this day, you will head to Kibale national park known for chimpanzee tracking and for having the highest population & concentration of chimpanzees in world numbering above 1,500 individuals in the park. The afternoon tracking session starts at 14:00 and takes 2-5 hours with a more than 90% chance of meeting the chimpanzees; a forest walk that will come along with numerous sceneries of more than 370 bird species of grassland, forest, swamp and Albertine rift region endemics, 350 tree species and 71 mammal species. other primates in the park include the L’hoest monkeys, colobus monkeys, blue monkey, olive baboon, red tailed monkey, vervet monkeys. Mammal species include leopards, lions, elephants, water bucks, warthogs, giant forest hog, sitatungas, hippos, buffaloes, hyenas, jackals, and other nocturnal species. after the evening tracking you will head out of the park.
Accommodation: Kibale forest lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Today you will head out to sections of the Murchison falls national park to continue exploring this vast grassland and its remarkable wild game. You will be amazed with many elephant families and their playful young ones, lion families, rothschild’s giraffes, waterbucks, buffaloes, baboons, reptiles, numerous bird species among others. Later on you will have a trek up to view the magnificent Murchison falls from above and watch the strongest falls on the planet, gashing 3,000 cubic litres of water per second through an eight-meter corridor cascading down a 43-meter height into the “the devil’s caldron” forming a white mist and a signature rainbow producing a loud sound from the powerful force of the water of the river Nile. After lunch you will then head to the banks of the river Nile for a boat cruise towards the face of the Murchison falls. While on the boat cruise, you will have scene of various water birds like the shoebills, raptors, geese among others, hippos and a great number of huge nile crocodiles and many more mammals that approach the river banks to quench their thirst like buffaloes, elephants and the scenes are endless.
Accommodation: Paraa safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
This section of the river Nile has numerous water falls that have become common water sport points to tourists and adventurers from all corners of the world. Some of the falls include Owen falls, Bujagali falls, Ripon falls, Itanda falls, Busowoko falls among others. The clean and white waters of the River Nile at this point are the most entertaining of the river course throughout Africa offering the best bungee jumping point, water rafting, horse riding at the river banks, water surfing, swimming, canoeing, river boarding, quad biking around the river banks among others. The river banks also host numerous bird species that can be experienced on nature walks thus being some of the best birders’ destinations in the region. You will also take a boat to reach the source of the nile where 30% of the water emanates from underground streams and 70% from Lake Victoria. The green sparsely forested areas will provide a chilling breeze for nature walks and relaxations that will grant you a memorable time at the source of the river Nile.
Accommodation: Nile safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Kampala tour will get you to various historical administrative, economic and cultural sites and centers in the city have affected the development of Uganda as a country such as the Kasubi tombs where 3 ancient kings are buried, the Rubaga cathedral; headquarters of the Catholics’ faith, Namirembe cathedral; headquarters of the protestant faith, Kaddafi mosque; headquarters of the Muslim faith, Baha’i temple of the Baha’i faith, fort Laggard the first administrator of Kampala city, the parliament building of Uganda among others. Food and commodity markets around Kampala are so interesting and have a great reflection of how the county’s population survives; these will get you have some taste on fresh fruits, vegetables grown in the country and street food delicacies like the rolex (an egg omelet rolled in chapatti). Later on in the evening, you will have a nightlife experience in the bars and lounges of Kampala city till resting time as you wait for the next day.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Today, you will head to the botanical gardens still along the shores of the lake. This walking tour at the cool 40.7 hectare botanical gardens along the shore of Lake Victoria. The park has more than 400 recorded bird species that inhabit these gardens such as; blue headed Coucal, white egrets, red-chested cuckoo, black cuckoo, African cuckoo, laughing dove, rock pigeon, Egyptian goose, yellow-billed buck, red-billed duck, spur winged goose, white faced whistling duck, blue turaco among others. The shores of Lake Victoria; Africa’s largest lake harbor numerous bird species with kingfisher being common and almost visible all over and more interesting in the period between June and September when hundreds of migrant bird species from Europe fly in to settle at the shores of this lake. The length of this tour will depend on your departure time.
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch| Dinner
Inclusions
- Park entry fees
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee tracking permits
- Golden monkeys tracking permits
- Border crossing fees
- Bottled drinking water/ Refreshments
- Driver & guide
- Laundry
- Transport 4×4 safari landcruiser
- Government taxes
- All activities indicated in the itinerary
- Airport transfers
Exclusions
- Travel insurance
- International flights
- Visa fees & flights
- Extra activities, meals, alcohol/liquor
- Tipping & gratitude
- Souvenirs & snacks
- Any changes to the itinerary
- Accommodation after the end of the trip
- Anything not mentioned