7 days' Uganda- Rwanda primates' safari
Safari Overview
Arrival & departure: Entebbe- Kigali
Day 1- arrive, city tour
Day 2- lake Mburo
Day 3-4- Queen
Day 5- gorilla trekking
Day 6- Golden monkey tracking at volcanoes
Day 7- Kigali city tour & depart
Detailed itinerary
Day 1
Destination: Kampala city tour & night life
On arrival, you will be picked up from the airport by our guide that will lead you to your booked accommodation and you will embark on a city tour around the hills of Kampala and its streets. This 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. 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: Imperial Royal hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Dinner
Day 2
Destination: Lake Mburo
This day you will find you at lake Mburo national park commonly known for its high zebra population. Lake Mburo national park offers a wide range of touring options from board rides, horseback riding safaris, walking safaris, game drives, biking/cycling safaris and community walks. The park has 70 mammals and 332 recorded bird species and is richly gifted with various acacia and papyrus endemics such as the papyrus gonelek, papyrus yellow warbler, white-winged warbler and shoebill; as the acacia species are wide spread elsewhere in the park. Mammals include burchell’s zebras, Nubian giraffes, hippos, leopards, buffaloes, topi, elands, antelopes, warthogs, bushbucks, stripped jackals, reedbucks, olive baboons, sitatungas, bush pigs, hyenas, impalas, crocodiles, reptiles among others.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Dinner
Day 3-4
Destination: Queen Elizabeth N.P
This day you will have morning and evening game drives to various parts of the park for a lot of wonderful scenic view of the Rwenzori mountains and its slopes, the African big 5; elephant herds, lion families, leopards, hippo herds, hyenas, wild dogs, Uganda kobs, water bucks, antelopes, baboons, monkeys, crocodiles, crater lakes, reptiles, raptors, sun birds and many more awaiting your memorable tour in this game park. 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, cheetahs, leopards, raptors and vultures, reptiles, monkeys, wild dogs among other creatures, scenery views of the ice capped mountain Rwenzori and its slopes as you head to the Ishasha sector of the park that is famously known for tree climbing lions; a character of lions known for on 2 places in Africa particularly this park being one of them. The drive out of this sector will lead you to Bwindi impenetrable National park.
Accommodation: Buhoma lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Dinner
Day 5
Destination: Bwindi Impenetrable / Mgahinga N.P
Very early in the morning you will embark on a four-hour journey to Bwindi impenetrable forest in Uganda for a morning gorilla trekking. On arrival 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 30 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. During this nature walk you will experience numerous bird species with particularly 23 albertine endemics that are habitats to only the albertine region. Following this experience, you will head to the Uganda- Rwanda border for a golden monkey tracking experience in the Volcanoes.
Accommodation: Virunga lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Dinner
Day 6
Destination: Volcanoes N.P
Early in the morning on this day, you will head to 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: Virunga lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast | Dinner
Day 7
Destination: Kigali city & departure
On this morning you will head right to Kigali the capital city of Rwanda; 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 as you get ready for your departure flight. (the duration of this tour will depend on time of departure).
Accommodation: N/A
Meals: Breakfast | Lunch