11 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari
This 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari is an amazing adventure that starts from Kampala and ends in Kigali. During the safari you will engage in interesting activities like chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk in Kibale national park, game drive and boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth national park, gorilla trekking and Batwa cultural experience in Bwindi impenetrable national park, golden monkey trekking and another gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park, chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk in Nyungwe national park. You will wrap up the safari with a city tour in Kigali where you will visit the genocide memorial center.
Highlights of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda Safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Kibale national park
Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 4: Morning game drive and boat cruise
Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 6: Gorilla trekking
Day 7: Batwa cultural experience and transfer to Volcanoes national park
Day 8: Gorilla trekking
Day 9: Golden monkey trekking and transfer to Nyungwe national park
Day 10: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Day 11: Departure to Kigali
Detailed itinerary
Day 1 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari
Arrival and transfer to Kibale national park, upon arrival at Entebbe international airport on day 1 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then start the journey to Kibale national park. Kibale national park is located in western Uganda and is also known as the primate capital because it harbors about 13 species of primate species. On your way you will have a stopover at the Equator in Kayabwe where you will take picture and buy some souvenirs, art crafts among others. From the Equator you will continue the journey with another stopover at Igongo cultural center for lunch. After lunch you will proceed with great views of the crater lakes. Rwenzori Mountains, landscapes, tea plantations among others and upon arrival in the park you will continue to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Chimpanzee trekking, after an early breakfast on day 2 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules and regulations of chimpanzee trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a chimpanzee family to trek, a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest and start trekking. Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale national park takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees because they like to move from one area to another in search of food and once they are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their lifestyle, behaviors, take photos and record the moments to show people back home. After the one hour encounter with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the lodge for lunch.
Bigodi swamp walk, after lunch you will go for nature walk in Bigodi wetland, a sanctuary in the community that harbors different wildlife species such as primates like l’hoest monkeys, vervet monkeys, bird species like the great blue turaco, plant and tree species. After the swamp walk you will move around the surrounding communities where you will interact with the local people, know about their culture, tradition, way of living, visit farmlands, enjoy entertainment through cultural performances, music, dance and drama. After the nature walk you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
On day 3 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park which is the second biggest protected area in Uganda. On your way you will have views of the tea plantations, Rwenzori Mountains, crater lakes, beautiful scenery among others. upon arrival in the park you will proceed to the lodge for lunch and relaxation as you prepare yourself for an evening game drive where you will have great views of the sunset, different animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, Bushbucks, waterbucks, warthogs, bird species, take pictures among others. After the game drive you will drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Morning game drive (lion tracking) and afternoon Boat cruise
Morning game drive/ lion tracking, after an early breakfast on day 4 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kasenyi plains for the morning game drive or lion tracking experience. During the game drive you will have spectacular views of the sunrise, predators like lions, leopards, hyenas, bush babies which will be going back to their hiding areas, other animals like elephants, Uganda kobs, buffaloes, warthogs, waterbucks, bushbucks, bird species like the yellow throated long crow, red throat spur fowl, grey crowned crane, hooded vulture, black bellied bustard, Senegal plover, pin tailed whydah, grey capped warbler among others. After the game drive you will drive to Katwe salt lake where you will interact with the local people who will be extracting rock salt from the lake. You will learn how the local people extract rock salt from the lake and sold to trader in Uganda and other countries as a way of earning a living. After the Katwe lake tour you will drive to the lodge for lunch.
Boat cruise, after lunch you will go for an amazing boat ride on Kazinga channel a water body that joins Lake George and Lake Edward. The scheduled boat cruise starts at 2:00pm at the landing site near the luxury lodge Mweya safari lodge and takes about 2 to 3 hours ride. During the boat cruise you will have an opportunity to cruise meters away from animals like elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs among others along the water banks, large concentrations of hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, aquatic birds such as martial eagle, papyrus gonolek, pelicans, African skimmers, cormorants, African spoonbills, fish eagles, king fisher’s, little bee-eaters, swamp nightjar, black headed gonolek among others. After the boat ride you will meet your driver guide and drive to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
On day 5 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge and your driver guide will pick you up to transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park in southwestern Uganda. On your way you will have a stopover at Ishasha sector where you will view the tree climbing lions that will be lying up in acacia/fig tree branches. The tree climbing lions in Ishasha sector will be viewed during the game drive and it’s believed that these tree climbing lions climb trees to escape ground heat, biting insects and to have a clear view on their prey. After the game drive in Ishasha sector you will have lunch at one of the lodges and then proceed with the journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park where you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Gorilla trekking, after an early breakfast on day 6 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari you will carry packed lunch, meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about gorilla trekking rules and regulations. Gorilla trekking is done in groups of 8 people where each group is allocated a gorilla family to trek each day and a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the jungle. Grouping of individuals is done according to age, personal preferences and physical fitness because trekking in Bwindi forest is done in steep and muddy areas therefore you are advised to inform your driver guide so that they allocate you a gorilla family that is near to trek.
Mountain gorilla trekking takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on where the gorillas are located and during trekking you will have spectacular views of primates like red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, baboons, mammals like forest elephants, duikers, golden cats, buffaloes, bush pigs, bird species like chapins fly catcher, Ruwenzori batis, strange weaver, African harrier hawk, cinnamon chested bee-eater, African emerald cuckoo among others. Once the mountain gorillas are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment which gives you an opportunity to learn about their behaviors, habits, watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, playing, females breastfeeding, take photos and record the moments. After the one hour with the gentle giants you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking, meet your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Batwa cultural experience and transfer to Volcanoes national park
After breakfast on day 7 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari you will meet up with your driver guide to go for Batwa cultural experience in the surrounding communities. During the Batwa cultural experience you will visit the forest where the Batwa used to live before the forest was gazette into a national park, view plants that were used as medicine to cure different ailments, listen to ancient traditional songs and stories among others. After the cultural experience you will drive back to the lodge for lunch. After lunch you will check out of the lodge and your driver guide will pick you up to transfer to Volcanoes national park in Rwanda. On your way you will pass via Cyanika border in Kisoro or Katuna border in Kabale and upon arrival you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park
Gorilla trekking, after an early breakfast on day 8 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari you will carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kinigi park headquarters for the briefing about the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking. After the briefing you will be grouped into 8 people, allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with the trails in the forest. Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park takes about 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on where the gorillas are located because they like to move from one area to another in search of food.
During trekking you will have great views of the colorful bird species, primates, plant and tree species among others and once the gorillas are found you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their behaviors, habits, lifestyles, take photos and record videos with a flash less camera. After the one hour encounter with the mountain gorillas, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Golden monkey trekking and transfer to Nyungwe national park
Golden monkey trekking, after an early breakfast on day 9 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the expectations, rules and regulations of golden monkey trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a golden monkey family to trek and start trekking in the forest which takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the location of the golden monkeys because they like to move from one area to another in search of food. Once the golden monkeys are found you will spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to take photos, record videos, learn more about their behaviors, lifestyle, watch them play, jump from one tree to another among others. After the one hour encounter with the golden monkeys you will trek back to the park headquarters, meet up with your driver guide and drive to the lodge for lunch.
Transfer to Nyungwe national park, after lunch you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Nyungwe national park which is situated in the southern part of Rwanda. On your way you will have views of the beautiful landscape, hills, traditional homesteads, terraced farmlands among others and upon arrival you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Chimpanzee trekking, on day 10 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari you will have an early breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for the briefing about the rules and regulations of chimpanzee trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a chimpanzee family to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest. Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe national park starts at around 8:00am and takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on where they are located because they like to move deep into the forest in search of food. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their lifestyle, habits, behaviors, take photos and record the moments to show people back home after the safari. After the one hour interaction with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters, meet up with your driver guide and drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Canopy walk, after lunch you will go for a guided nature walk or canopy walk. The canopy walk is an amazing activity that was opened in 2010 and Nyungwe national park is the only forest in East Africa offering the activity. The canopy walk starts at Uwinka visitor’s center and goes through huge trees across the steep and deep valley filled with thick forest. The breathtaking canopy walk takes about 2 hours and offers spectacular views of the forest canopy, birds like kivu-ground thrush, Rwenzori batis, red faced woodland warbler, butterflies, primates like blue monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, silver monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, plant and tree species among others. After the canopy walk you will trek back to the starting point where you will meet up with your driver guide and drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Departure to Kigali
After breakfast on day 11 of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kigali. You will have en-route lunch, great views on the way and upon arrival in Kigali you will visit Kigali genocide memorial center where you will know more about the brutal killing of people during the 1994 Rwanda genocide. After the city tour you will drive to Kigali international airport where you will be dropped for your departure flight.
End of 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari
Inclusions of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee trekking permits
- Bigodi swamp walk
- Golden monkey trekking permit
- Batwa cultural experience
- Kigali city tour
- Park entrance fees
- Boat cruise fee on Kazinga channel
- Services of an English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled water
Exclusions of the 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, tips among others.
