Detailed itinerary

Day 1

Destination: Kigali city

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).

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Day 2

Destination: Nyungwe NP

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.

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Day 3-4

Destination: Akagera NP

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.

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Day 5

Destination: golden monkeys- volcanoes NP

This 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.

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Day 6

Destination: gorilla trekking & Batwa experience

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 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.

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Day 7-8

Destination: queen Elizabeth

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. On this day, you will also once again come across the equator landmark as it crosses through queen Elizabeth national game park.

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Day 9

Destination: Kibale NP

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.

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Day 10

Destination: Semuliki NP

On this day you will head to one of the most gorgeous places in this East African region for its remarkable features and as a landmark position between East and Central Africa thus having vegetation and forests of characteristics of both regions. Semuliki national park has hot springs that were a result of geological actions dating thousands of years back; these produce water of over 100°C producing white mist and smoke in the forests. It’s a common for visitors to buy raw eggs and boil them at the hot water point. Locals in the area also believe that the hot springs are a blessing and of supernatural healing as this hot water comes up from the ground among different rock layers filled with various minerals such as sulphate, zinc among that heal fungal and many other skin diseases. The park is also an intersection of the east African grasslands and the central African tropical forests thus harboring numerous tree species of the west and central African forests and bird species. the park has 435 bird species, 11 primate species and 53 mammal species. some of these include Albertine Rift Endemics such as the dwarf honey guide and purple-breasted sunbirds; 35 Congo-Guinea biome species found nowhere else in East Africa, including black dwarf hornbill, Nkulengu rail, Congo serpent eagle, Gabon, woodpecker; and other species with very limited ranges such as white-tailed hornbill, capuchin babbler, blue-headed crested flycatcher and the orange weaver. Mammal and primate species include; chimpanzee, blue monkey, black and white colobus, red colobus, olive baboons, vervet monkey, de brazza’s monkey, Mangabeys, stripped jackal, leopards, elephants, hippos, cape buffaloes, Uganda kobs, sitatungas, warthogs, nile crocodiles.

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Day 11

Destination: lake Mburo NP

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. On the first day of arrival, you will have a game drive and a night wild safari which lasts 2-3 hours to exhaust both the days’ and nocturnal species of the park. On the second day you will have a walking safari that will also get you meet members the community; fishermen at lake Mburo, pastoralists and farmers. 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. Later you will embark on a 4-hour journey to Kampala.

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Day 12-13

Destination: source of the River Nile

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.

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Day 14

Destination: kampala city tour & nightlife

On this day, 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 centres 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.

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Day 15

Destination: botanical gardens & Lake Victoria shores

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 gardens are also common for biking/ cycling safari, monkey feeding, birding safari and 500 plant species including both exotic and indigenous. 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.  These plants are categorized into indigenous and exotic fruits, medicinal, beverage, spices, ornamentals, timber, oils and important crop wild relatives, several of these threatened in the wild and agro-ecosystems. The shores of Lake Victoria; Africa’s largest lake for a rest as you chill in the cool lake breeze, scenic endless water horizons and numerous green islands and swampy shores that can also be visited by boat cruises, speed boats or canoes. These harbor numerous bird species with kingfisher being common and almost visible all over, egyptian geese, water ducks, eagles, kites, marabou storks, white egrets and these shores become 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.

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