13 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Expedition

This 13 days Uganda Rwanda Safari is a true adventure to two countries located in East Africa. Get ready to counter some amazing activities while on this tour including the famous gorilla trekking in Rwanda and wildlife viewing in Uganda’s national parks.

This tour starts from Uganda, in Murchison falls national park – one of the oldest parks for some wildlife action then proceeds to Kibale national park. Kibale is famous for the chimps, and visitors to this park have chances of enjoying chimp tracking or habituation. The Park is almost famous for birds and other primate species. This safari also takes you to the famous Queen Elizabeth national park, one of the famous parks in Uganda.

While in Rwanda, you will visit the Dian Fossey site and track gorillas in the Volcanoes national park. You will also have a chance to go for a city tour in Kigali.

Trip Highlights

Day 1: Arrive in uganda, transfer to hotel

Day 2: Transfer to murchison falls park

Day 3: Morning game drive, afternoon nile launch cruise and hike to the top of the falls.

Day 4: Transfer to kibale

Day 5: Chimpanzee tracking experience

Day 6: Transfer to queen elizabeth national park

Day 7: Morning game drive and afternoon boat on kazinga channel.

Day 8: Transfer to rwanda

Day 9: Gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park

Day 10: Golden monkey tracking-dian fossey hike and transfer to lake kivu for boat cruise

Day 11: Drive to nyungwe forest national park

Day 12: Canopy walk & evening tour of the tea factory

Day 13: Kigali city excursion & departure

Tour itinerary

DAY 1: ARRIVE IN UGANDA, TRANSFER TO HOTEL

Upon your arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be welcomed by a professional tour guide who will take you to your hotel for overnight stay and dinner.

DAY 2: TRANSFER TO MURCHISON FALLS PARK

After breakfast in Kampala at around 6.30 am, you will embark on a 364 km (5-6 hours) drive to Murchison Falls National Park. We will drive through the flat terrain of central Uganda with beautiful scenery and towns where you will see people going on with their daily life.

You will then make a stop en route at Ziwa Rhino and Wildlife Sanctuary in Nakasongola district to track the Southern White Rhinos that were re-introduced in 2005 following their notable extinction in 1982. The rhino tracking experience on foot will provide a great opportunity go closer to these Jurassic animals, have clearer view and photo moment. We will have enroute lunch and proceed to a lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge or Murchison river lodge
Meal Plan:  Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 3: MORNING GAME DRIVE, AFTERNOON NILE LAUNCH CRUISE AND HIKE TO THE TOP OF THE FALLS.

After breakfast, you will go for your morning game drive that will provide you an opportunity of spotting wild game that may include many of the park’s 76 species of mammals including Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Buffalos, Rothschild’s giraffes, spotted hyenas, Jackson’s hartebeests, Hippos, Warthogs, Oribis, Uganda kobs and Waterbucks. You will also have an opportunity to see several of the park’s 451 bird species.

You will then return to the lodge for a lunch break before proceeding to the pier for your two hour boat cruise to the bottom of the falls to witness how river Nile squeezes itself in a 7 meter wide gorge before dropping down while exploding out a 45 meters narrow gorge producing an experience of a lifetime.

On the launch cruise, you will be able to see passing hippos and crocodiles, elephants and waterbuck that come to the river to drink along with numerous birds such as shoebills, Goliath herons, Saddle billed storks, African Jacana, Senegal thick-knee, African quail finch, Squacco heron, kingfishers, skimmers, and Comrants.

Thereafter, you will undertake a challenging but rewarding hike to the top of the falls from where you will be marvelled by the power with which the Nile crashes through the narrow gap in the escarpment with a deafening roar and voluminous spray.

After this exciting afternoon, you will drive back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and over night

Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge or Murchison river lodge
Meal Plan:  Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 4: TRANSFER TO KIBALE

After an early breakfast, you will drive to the Northern bank of the Queen Elizabeth National Park (Kasenyi) area in search of some wild animals which include: Elephants, Buffalo, and some wild cats, different species of antelopes such water buck, Uganda kobs etc. as well as Savannah birds. After lunch you will drive to Kibale National Park arriving at your lodge in the evening.

Accommodation: Turaco tree top or Primate lodge Kibale

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 5: CHIMPANZEE TRACKING EXPERIENCE

Today the forest opens its doors for a sensational chimpanzee tracking experience. After your breakfast, you will have pre-tracking briefing after which you will walk or drive to the trailhead for the start of an unforgettable adventure – hiking in the footsteps of the habituated family of chimpanzees.

En-route, your guide will enthral you with stories and facts about the forest and her other inhabitants including other species of primates and birds and other big mammals. Upon sighting the chimpanzees, you will spend an unforgettable one hour with them as they go about their daily life – feeding, playing, grooming, taking care of their young, howling and screeching, in their natural habitat. Besides the chimpanzees, you should also not miss out on the sightings of several other primates that call this forest their home including the black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, Grey monkeys. After the chimpanzee encounter which lasts an hour of pure enjoyment return to the park centre where your trekking efforts are rewarded with a trekking certificate.

Return back to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon you will enjoy a guided nature walk through the Bigodi wetland.

The Bigodi Swamp Walk is an initiative of the local community and is known for its rich diversity of birds and primates. The path and board walk maybe flooded and muddy after heavy rainfall and gumboots are recommended. This community walk will bring you closer to the local tribe that lives in this area and is about 4km in length taking 3-4 hours at birding pace. Accompanied by a local guide, who can tell you everything about the traditional customs and lifestyle, you will follow the village path and visit a primary school, traditional homesteads and learn more about the crops in the fields.

All proceeds from eco-tourism go back to into the community, a conservation project worth supporting. After this really exciting cultural mash-up you will have had, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Turaco tree top or Primate lodge Kibale
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 6: TRANSFER TO QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK

This morning you will depart for Queen Elizabeth National Park. So, be prepared for some incredible scenery along the way. You will arrive in time for Lunch at the lodge and an afternoon game drive in the plains of Kasenyi in search for Savannah wildlife that may include herds of buffaloes, antelopes, elephants and if you are lucky, you will spot some wild cats such as lions and leopard.

Accommodation: Enganzi lodge or Elephant plains lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

DAY 7: MORNING GAME DRIVE AND AFTERNOON BOAT ON KAZINGA CHANNEL.

After an early morning cup of coffee or tea, you will drive to Kasenyi plains for your game drive. Kasenyi plains boost of several wild animals whose chance of seeing them depends on your luck of the day. On a good day, you may spot big cats like lions and leopards hunting, buffaloes, elephants, several antelopes, warthogs and other small mammals.

After the game drive, return to the lodge for lunch and then drive to Mweya peninsular for a two hour boat cruise on Kazinga channel. Kazinga channel which connects Lakes George and Edward offers an opportunity to view on of the highest concentration of hippos in the world. You will also be fascinated by the large numbers of crocodiles and over 400 water bird species since most animals converge there to drink water. You will have high chances of spotting hippos, birds, elephants, buffaloes, crocodiles and so much more. Retreat from the cruise and do a game drive along the channel track as you connect to the lodge for dinner and overnight

Accommodation: Enganzi lodge or Elephant plains lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

DAY 8: TRANSFER TO RWANDA

Today we will transfer to Rwanda, via Kabale – located in south western Uganda with beautiful green rolling hills and country sides. We will have a stop over in Kabale town for lunch before proceeding to Ruhengeri, Rwanda where you’ll spend the night.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 9: GORILLA TREKKING IN VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK

Having had an early morning tasty breakfast at the lodge, you will start your exciting morning drive to the Volcanoes National Park Headquarters for briefing by park officials and then begin your trek into the indigenous forest in search for the shy mountain endangered gorillas. This trek gives you the opportunity to immerse yourself into the strange but intimate part of the rain-forest where you will hear live calls of colourful birds, chattering of the rare golden monkey, as well as the forest filled with fresh spoor of the mountain elusive populations of buffalo and elephant.

Gorilla trekking tends to last from 2 to 8 hours depending on the day’s gorilla movement. The one hour of direct encounter with the gorillas brings you closer to these ancient apes and their gigantic structure. You will see them forage, play and also have a chance for photography before retreating to the starting point and connect to Gisenyi which is about 2 hours away. The Gisenyi beaches offer a remarkable evening experience like swimming, beach sports, and boat cruise among others. Retire for relaxation, dinner, and overnight

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 10: GOLDEN MONKEY TRACKING-DIAN FOSSEY HIKE AND TRANSFER TO LAKE KIVU FOR BOAT CRUISE

This morning you will gather at the parks head quarter for briefing at 8.30 am before embarking on golden monkey tracking and later hike up to Karisoke research Centre established by Dian Fossey, an American primatologist who dedicated all her life conserving the primates. You will return to your Hotel for lunch after which you will be driven to Lake Kivu 110km away for a boat cruise. This drive will be approximately 2 hours in duration.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 11: DRIVE TO NYUNGWE FOREST NATIONAL PARK

You will after breakfast travel to Nyungwe Forest National Park, some 220km away from Kivu. The journey will take about 5 hours with lunch en route arriving in Nyungwe in the afternoon.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 12: CANOPY WALK & EVENING TOUR OF THE TEA FACTORY

You will after breakfast leave for the famous Nyungwe Forest Canopy walk, the only one of the Kind in East Africa. Take a walk under the cover of a fully grown canopy of lush green inhabited by various primate species and birds. You will return to the lodge for lunch and in the afternoon you will take a tour to the adjacent tea factory to see how the locally grown tea is processed to become one of the finest products Rwanda has for export. You will spend a night at your previous lodge.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 13: KIGALI CITY EXCURSION & DEPARTURE

After an early breakfast you will transfer to Kigali to conclude the Uganda – Rwanda Expedition Safari. The journey is 268km and is a  6 hour drive from Nyungwe Forest National Park. Enroute there will opportunities to visit the Butare Museum, Murambi Memorial and Nyanza Palace. You will either spend an optional night in Kigali or take a departure flight back home.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch.

End of tour