13-Day Rwanda-Uganda Primates and Wildlife Experience
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Duration
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This safari offers you the once in a lifetime wildlife encounters. You’ll track chimpanzees and spot monkeys, baboons and other wildlife in Nyungwe National Park. Trekking deep into the forests of Volcanoes National park as you hike Mt bespoke then Cross the border to Uganda’s Bwindi for gorilla trekking there. You will head to Queen Elizabeth via its Ishasha sector, famously known for tree-climbing lions to Kibale Forest before heading to Murchison Falls then to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary.
Included/Exclude
- Gorilla trekking permits (for non-residents): 1 permit 2 permits per person
- Chimp trekking permits (for non-residents): 1 permit 2 permits 3 permits per person
- Park fees (for non-residents)
- All activities mentioned (unless clearly labeled as optional)
- Meals (as specified in the day-by-day description)
- All accommodation mentioned (unless clearly labeled as optional upgrade)
- Round trip airport transfer
- A professional driver/guide
- All transportation mentioned (unless clearly labeled as optional)
- All Taxes/VAT
- International flights (from/to the client's home country)
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Tips: tipping guideline of US$ 5.00 US$ 10.00 US$ 15.00 US$ 20.00 US$ 25.00 US$ 50.00 US$ 100.00 No tip expected per person per day for the guide and crew
- Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees and other personal items)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
Tour Amenities
Tour Plan
Board your international flight to Rwanda’s capital, Kigali. Once you arrive, you will be swiftly escorted by our representative who will transfer you to your chosen accommodation. As this is your first day, you will have time to leisurely explore Rwanda’s lively city.
You’ll have an opportunity to visit the bustling local markets and the Caplaki Craft Co-operative where you’ll find local craftsmen in wooden huts. They'll be selling handicrafts, including jewelry, paintings, batik, fabrics, wood carvings, traditional masks, baskets, bags, scarves and beading and all this depends on the time of arrival.
you will have dinner later at the booked hotel and stay there overnight.
After breakfast, you'll be picked up by the assigned tour driver-guide who will take you around Kigali City for the city tour incase you didn't have it the previous day. Expect excursion to places like the national museum, local markets, art and craft shops and Genocide Memorial Ground. Thereafter, you will transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park. Filled with stunning beauty, Nyungwe in southwestern part of Rwanda is not a place to miss on a Rwanda safari offering memorable wildlife experiences. A visit to Nyungwe takes you through the great natural forest comprising of ancient trees which have all favored the inhabitation of a number of primates including chimpanzees, black and white Colobus monkeys among others.
Optional: En route, you may make a stop to visit Kings Palace Museum. dinner at the booked hotel and rest for the day.
Have your breakfast and transfer to the trekking point where you will first receive some briefing on the dos and don’ts during chimp trekking. Thereafter, enter the forest to encounter these fascinating and human-like primates firsthand in their natural habitat. Return to your accommodation for lunch and some rest before going out again for the canopy walk experience.
After lunch in Nyungwe National Park, you’ll also have an opportunity to cross the Canopy Walkway, a 200-meter bridge suspended between giant trees, 50 meters above the forest. The walkway offers incredible views of the upper canopy and it is excellent for spotting wildlife. Many of the primates live in trees so you’ll have better chances of locating them from the walkway. It is also a fantastic way to see the birds and butterflies that are found in the forest. Later, enjoy your dinner plus the overnight stay at the hotel.
Enjoy a relaxed breakfast at the accommodation and then hit the road to Volcanoes National Park. Volcanoes National Park lies in northwestern Rwanda and borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. The drive is a bit long but incredibly scenic, passing through villages and lush green countryside giving a breathtaking scenery. You won’t get bored at all. With a strenuous day ahead, you will reach and just check into your accommodation and relax. Later, enjoy your dinner plus the overnight stay at the booked hotel.
After an early breakfast, pick your packed lunch and proceed to the start point you’ll venture out to (Kinigi) the starting point, at the foothills of the Virunga's in Volcanoes National Park where you’ll begin your hiking and scenery sighting on Mount Bisoke. Today, you will have breakfast. You will receive a briefing and head out with the assigned ranger-guide to hike Mount Bisoke (3711 metres above sea). The ascend 4-5 hours and descend is 3 hours. At the summit, you will be rewarded with the sight of a beautiful crater lake. Return to the accommodation and take your rest. Optional: Depending on your energy level and interest, you may consider the local community cultural encounter later today. Later, enjoy your dinner plus the overnight stay at the hotel.
Golden monkeys trekking takes place in Volcanoes National Park and at the same time (7:00 am) as gorilla trekking. These rare monkey species are also listed as endangered and Volcanoes National Park has habituated groups that are available for trekking by visitors. The exercise starts with a short briefing from the park ranger at the RDB Office. Thereafter, you will proceed to trek the golden monkeys through the rainforest of the Volcanoes. Afterwards, return to the accommodation for some rest and lunch. After lunch, drive off to Cyanika Border Post. From Cyanika, you will be received by our Uganda-based professional tour driver-guide who will take over from his Rwanda-based colleague. You will cross the border into Uganda and overnight at a property close Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where you will undertake the gorilla trekking the next day.
Have breakfast and move to the rangers’ post. You will receive some briefing (from a ranger-guide) on the dos and don’ts during gorilla trekking. Thereafter, you will enter the gorilla sanctuary for your adventure and encounter. The beauty of this rain forest is spectacular! The area offers dramatic steeply forested landscape and is incredibly dense but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists. The time taken and the terrain vary with the movements of these great primates. Once you have located a gorilla group, you will be allowed an hour in their presence. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle but endangered giants is unforgettable. Return to the accommodation and take some rest after an exhausting day.
After an early morning breakfast, You will set out with a packed lunch and drive to Queen Elizabeth through the Ishasha area of the park looking for the tree-climbing lions which can only be seen in this part of Uganda. Fortunately, the terrain is open savannah scattered with acacia and fig trees. Once there, you will undertake a game drive in search of this rare species of lions. When you get the chance to spot the lions up in the tree, the sight is attractive and unforgettable. From Ishasha in the south exit and head to the booked accommodation in the north sector. Check in and have some rest.
If interested, you may consider a late afternoon-to-evening game drive/safari in the Kasenyi Plains.
Wake up to an early cup of tea/coffee at 6:00 am and set out for an early game drive. Games to see include lions, buffaloes, elephants, hyenas, kobs and topis. The scenery is amazing with crater lakes and grassy hills. Afterwards, close to three hours, return to the lodge for breakfast, rest and have lunch. After lunch, set out for the boat safari on the Kazinga Channel that joins Lakes Edward and George. The channel attracts a plethora of wildlife including hippos, buffaloes, elephants, monitor lizards and lots of water birds and wonderful scenery. Dinner and your overnight stay are at your accommodation.
Wake up early for breakfast you will take packed lunch and later proceed for another rewarding nature walk in the Kyambura Gorge of Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will be rewarded with an impressive hike and you will experience the tranquility of a true tropical jungle and the soothing river beneath, it’s a rejuvenating walk!
On a lucky day, you will see the chimps play on trees as they get down and up. This offers you heaven short lived on earth. They will make a lot of hooting which makes it very easy to locate them. Later in the afternoon, you will be transferred to Fort Portal town and retire for the day with dinner and your overnight at the hotel.
After having breakfast, you will check out of the hotel and kick start this day’s nature adventure with an exciting road trip to Murchison Falls National Park with lunch en route. Upon arrival inside the park, you will be amazed by the beautiful landscape while occasionally sighting warthogs and other wildlife, while on a drive to the top of the falls whose views are breathtaking. You will see the top of Murchison Falls where about 300 - 400 cubic meters per second of Nile water force through a tiny gorge of about 7 meters to plunge into a violent tempest in a whirlpool about 42 meters below. It is such a beautiful sight with incredible picture moments here. Drive to the lodge as you view wild animals en route and have a peaceful overnight at the lodge.
Have your breakfast, depart for an early morning game drive across the rolling plains of Uganda’s largest national park and be on the look for wildlife including: lions, leopards (though hard to spot) among others. For any birder, there are quite a number of birds to sight during the drive. Return to the accommodation for some rest time and lunch. After lunch, you will head out for the boat trip to the base of Murchison Falls where you will also be able to catch sight of more animals including hippos, crocodiles and several water birds.
Optional (extra cost): If interested, continue with a hike to the top of the falls. The hike may be a strenuous one but the thrill on reaching the top is unforgettable.
Afterwards, return to your accommodation and relax.
After an early breakfast, you will check out and set off for the drive from Pakuba to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. Along the way, you will make a stop at the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where rhinos are being reintroduced to the wild in Uganda. You will have a complete feel of the African Big Five mammals as it is the rhinos, out of the Big Five that are missing in Murchison Falls National Park. Here you will go for a trek around the sanctuary on foot. You will have lunch at the sanctuary and some relaxation for an indefinitely short time. Later, transfer to Entebbe airport where your trip ends.
Optional (extra cost) ; You may consider an excursion to some touristic sites in/around Kampala City which is Uganda's capital city before heading to the Entebbe Airport.
