13 Days Uganda Rwanda safari
The 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari is an exceptional adventure that starts from Kampala and end in Kigali Rwanda. The safari will take you to the most interesting destinations in Uganda and Rwanda including Murchison falls national park, Kibale forest national park, Queen Elizabeth national park, Bwindi impenetrable national park, Lake Bunyonyi and Volcanoes national park. During the safari you will be able to spend time with the endangered gorillas, chimpanzees in their natural environments, view different animals like the elephants, rhinos, waterbucks, lions, leopards, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, giraffes, Jacksons hartebeest, Nile crocodiles, hippos, warthogs, topi, oribi, bushbucks among others during the game drives and boat cruise and explore Lake Bunyonyi which is the deepest lake in Uganda.
Highlights of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari
Day 1: Pickup and transfer to the hotel
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison falls national park
Day 3: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale forest national park
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 6: Morning game drive/lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise
Day 7: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park via Ishasha sector
Day 8: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 9: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi-boat cruise
Day 10: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
Day 11: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park
Day 12: Golden monkey trekking and Ibyiwacu cultural tour
Day 13: Departure to Kigali
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Kampala or Entebbe
Depending on your location on day 1 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then transfer to a hotel in Kampala or Entebbe for relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Transfer to Murchison falls national park via Ziwa rhino sanctuary
After breakfast on day 2 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel to start the journey to Murchison falls national park which is located in north western part of Uganda. On the way you will have a stopover at Ziwa rhino sanctuary for rhino tracking where after you will continue the journey with another stopover in Masindi for lunch. After lunch you will proceed the journey to Murchison falls national park and upon arrival you will go for an optional evening game drive where you will be able to view animals like buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, elephants, giraffes among others heading back to their resting areas. After the game drive you will drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on the third day of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive where you will be able to view the early risers. During the game drive you will be able to spot large herds of elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, warthogs, giraffes, lions, leopards, view several bird species among others. After the game drive you will return to the lodge for lunch.
Afternoon boat cruise, after lunch you will go for an exciting boat cruise to the bottom of the falls where you will get a chance to view large herds of hippos and crocodiles in water, buffaloes, elephants, antelopes along the shores, view aquatic birds like kingfishers, cormorants, bee-eaters, hornbills among others. After the boat ride you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Transfer to Kibale national park
After an early breakfast on the fourth day of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kibale national park. It’s a whole day journey and on the way you will have en-route lunch and enjoy spectacular views of the local people, farmlands, traditional homesteads, Rwenzori Mountains, tea plantations with stopovers to take photos and stretch your legs. Upon arrival in Kibale national park you will continue to the lodge, check in for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale national park and transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Chimpanzee trekking,
After an early breakfast on the fifth day of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kanyachu Visitors Centre for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations 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 Kibale forest national park takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on their location because they like to move from one place to another in search of food and once the chimpanzees have been located, you will spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their life style, behaviors, watch them feed, enjoy the juveniles playing up in the trees, take photos and record videos with a flash less camera. After the one hour with the chimpanzees, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer back to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch you will check out of the lodge and start the journey to Queen Elizabeth national park which is the second largest national park in Uganda. On the way you will enjoy spectacular views of the Rwenzori Mountains, Lake George, tea plantations among others. Upon arrival in the park you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Morning game drive/ lion tracking experience and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on the sixth day of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive or lion tracking experience in Kasenyi plains. During the game drive you will have great views of the sunrise, big four mammals which are lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, other animals like waterbucks, bushbucks, Uganda kobs, views of different bird species among others. After the game drive you will return to the lodge for lunch.
Afternoon boat cruise, after lunch you will drive to the landing site near Mweya safari lodge for an incredible boat cruise along Kazinga channel which is a 40km long channel that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. During the boat trip which lasts for about 2 hours you, will be able to view large concentrations of hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, view buffaloes, elephants, warthogs drinking water along the banks, view water birds like yellow billed stork, cormorants, hornbills, African skimmer, kingfishers, fish eagles among others. You will also be able to see the fishermen along the shores preparing their fishing gears for night fishing, take beautiful pictures among others. After the boat cruise you will go for an evening game drive where you will be able to view some of the animals that you missed in the morning and later return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
After breakfast on the seventh day of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park which is the most visited gorilla destination because it harbors half of the world’s mountain gorillas. The journey takes about 3 to 4 hours’ drive and on the way you will have a stopover at Ishasha sector in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth national park. Ishasha sector is famously known for the tree climbing lions which will be viewed lying up in acacia/fig tree branches during the game drive. Ishasha sector also harbors other animals like elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, Uganda kobs among others. After the game drive you will have lunch where after you will proceed the journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park, upon arrival you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Gorilla trekking,
After an early breakfast on the eighth day of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will carry packed lunch and your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is knowledgeable about the gorillas and well conversant with trails in the jungle. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on where the gorillas are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking you will have views of animals like forest elephants, buffaloes, other primates like l’hoest monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, chimpanzees, different bird species like African harrier hawk, crowned hornbill, African green pigeon, blue headed sunbird among others. Once the gorillas are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their habitat which gives you an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, breastfeeding, playing, observe their behaviors, take great photos and record the breathtaking moments to show people back home.
After the one hour encounter 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 up with your driver guide to go for an optional cultural tour where you will be able to interact with the batwa people, learn about their culture, enjoy their performance among others. After the cultural tour, you will transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi for canoeing
After breakfast on day 9 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale district. Lake Bunyonyi is the deepest fresh water lake in Uganda and second deepest lake in African after Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania. The lake is locally translated as a place of little birds because it harbors a range of bird species and 29 main islands. The journey to Lake Bunyonyi takes about 3 hours’ drive and upon arrival you will go for an amazing boat ride on the Lake where you will be able to explore some of the 29 islands such as the punishment island, view bird species, have spectacular views of the terraced farmlands, Kigezi hills, traditional homesteads among others.
After the boat ride you will drive to the lodge for lunch where after you will relax at the lodge or engage in optional activities like nature walk or community tour where you will be able to interact with the Batwa and Bakiga. In the evening you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
On day 10 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Volcanoes national park in Rwanda. On the way, you will have en-route lunch and enjoy great views of the rolling hills, beautiful scenery, landscape among others. Upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 11: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park
After an early breakfast on day 11 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for gorilla trekking briefing. After the beefing, you will start trekking in the jungle in search of the gorillas which takes about 2 to 6 hours drive. During trekking you will be able to view other primates, bird species and once the gorillas are found, you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat where you will be able to learn about their behaviors, watch them carry out their daily activities, take photos and record videos.
Day 12: Golden monkey trekking and Ibyi’wacu cultural tour
On day 12 of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will go for an interesting golden monkey trekking experience which takes about 2 to 5 hours. During trekking you will be able to different bird species, other primates among others and once the golden monkeys are found, you will be able to one hour with them in their environment where you will take photos and record videos to show people back home.
After golden monkey trekking, you will return to the lodge for lunch where after you will go for an exciting Ibyi’wacu cultural tour where you will be able to interact with the local people, learn about their culture, way of living, lifestyle, enjoy their traditional entertainment among others. After the cultural tour, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 13: Departure to Kigali
After a relaxed breakfast on the last day of the 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your guide to start the journey back to Kigali and upon arrival your driver guide will drop you off at Kigali international airport for your departure flight or drop off at any place of advise.
End of 13 days Uganda Rwanda safari
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Golden monkey trekking
- Rhino tracking fees
- Lion tracking experience
- Park entrance fees/ game drives
- Boat cruise fees
- Ibyi’wacu cultural tour
- Professional English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Ground transfers (in a 4WD vehicle)
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled drinking water
Tour excludes
- International air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Life insurance
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips among others.
