7 Days primates and wildlife safari from Kigali
7 Days primate and wildlife safari from Kigali
Our 7 days primate and wildlife safari from Kigali is a breathtaking adventure that will start and end in Kigali. The safari will take you to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where you will view and spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
You will also visit Queen Elizabeth National Park, which is the second largest protected area in Uganda harboring abundant wildlife species, including tree-climbing lions in the Ishasha sector; elephants; leopards; buffaloes; waterbucks; warthogs; giant forest hogs; Uganda kobs; hippos; crocodiles; and bird species, among others, which will be viewed during the game drive in the Kasenyi plains and boat cruise on the Kazinga channel.
From Queen Elizabeth National Park, you will connect to Kibale national park also known as the primate capital, where you will engage in an incredible nature walk in Bigodi Swamp and chimpanzee trekking, which gives you unforgettable experiences as you spend time with the chimpanzees in the forest.
Highlights
Day 1: Pick up from Kigali International Airport and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Day 2: Gorilla trekking
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 4: Game drive and boat cruise
Day 5: Transfer to Kibale national park
Day 6: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi nature walk
Day 7: Departure to Kigali
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pickup and transfer to Bwindi National Park
Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park; depending on the time of arrival, you will be welcomed by our driver guide at Kigali International Airport, who will give you a short briefing about your safari and then start the journey to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in southwestern Uganda.
The journey takes about a 3- to 4-hour drive, passing via the Cyanika border in Kisoro or the Katuna border in Kabale. On your way you will have en route lunch and great views of the rolling hills in Rwanda, Kigezi hills, landscapes, beautiful scenery, homesteads, and en route. Upon arrival in the park, you will continue to the lodge, check in, have dinner, and stay overnight.
Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Gorilla trekking,
Have an early breakfast, carry a packed lunch, and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking. After trekking, you will be allocated a gorilla family to trek with and a park guide who is well conversant with the trails in the forest and then start trekking.
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park takes 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on the location of the gorillas, and during trekking you will have great views of other primates like baboons and monkeys, forest birds, animals, trees, and plant species, among others.
Once the gorilla family is 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 habits and behaviors; take photos; record videos; and watch juveniles entertaining the group, mothers breastfeeding, among others, which gives you lifetime experiences.
After spending one hour with the gorillas, you will trek back to the park headquarters, meet up with your driver guide, and transfer back to the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner, and overnight stay.
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. On your way you will pass via the Ishasha sector, which is famously known for harboring the tree-climbing lions that will be viewed lying up in the fig tree branches during the game drive. You will also view other animals like elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, hippos, bird species, and others.
After the game drive you will have lunch en route and then proceed with the journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will have great views of animals as you continue to the lodge. Upon arrival you will check in, have dinner, and stay overnight.
Day 4: Game drive/lion tracking and boat cruise
Game drive,
After an early breakfast, meet up with your guide and go for a morning game drive or lion tracking experience, which starts at around 7:00am in the Kasenyi plains.
During the game drive you will be able to view various wildlife species, including animals like elephants, lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, giant forest hogs, waterbucks, bushbucks, and warthogs; and bird species like grey crowned cranes, yellow-throated longcrows, red-throated spurfowl, African white-backed vultures, African wattled plovers, black-bellied bustards, and black-headed gonoleks, among others.
After the incredible game drive, you will drive to Katwe Crater Lake, where you will interact with the local people who earn a living through extracting rock salt from the lake and selling it to traders in Uganda and around the country. After the Crater Lake tour you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Boat cruise:
After lunch you will go for an exciting boat cruise on Kazinga Channel, a water body that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. During the boat cruise, which starts at around 2:00pm and takes about 2 hours, you will be able to cruise meters away from water animals such as large concentrations of hippos and crocodiles; view animals like elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs, and kobs, among others, on the shores of the lake; and see water birds such as saddle-billed storks, long-tailed cormorants, African shoebills, yellow-billed storks, pink-backed pelicans, black crakes, cormorants, kingfishers, and fish eagles, among others. After the boat cruise you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Transfer to Kibale national park
After breakfast, your driver guide will pick you up and go for the game drive in the park, which gives you an opportunity to view wildlife species that you will have missed during the previous game drive. After the game drive you will drive out of the park to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch you will check out of the park and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kibale National Park. The journey takes about 3 hours to drive, and on the way you will have spectacular views of the Rwenzori Mountains, tea plantations, crater lakes, among others. Upon arrival you will check into the lodge, have dinner, and stay overnight.
Day 6: Chimpanzee trekking and nature walk
Chimpanzee trekking,
After an early breakfast, meet up with your driver guide and transfer to Kanyachu Visitors Center for a briefing about the rules and regulations of chimpanzee trekking.
After the briefing you will be allocated a chimpanzee family to trek with and a park guide who is well conversant with the trails in the jungle and then start trekking in the forest.
Chimpanzee trekking takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours, and during trekking you will view various primate species like L’hoest monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, and olive baboons; bird species like African pitta, crowned eagles, black-capped apalis, purple-breasted sunbirds, and collared apalis; and tree species, among others.
Once the chimpanzees are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat, which gives you an opportunity to take photos, record videos, learn about their lifestyle, habits, and behaviors, and watch chimpanzees playing up in the trees, among other things. After the one-hour encounter with the chimpanzees, you will trek back to the park headquarters, where you will meet your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for lunch.
Nature walk: After lunch you will go for a nature walk in the Bigodi community wetland, where you will have spectacular views of different bird species like the great blue turaco, papyrus gonolek, blue-breasted kingfisher, white-spotted flufftail, and western Nictor; primates like the black and white colobus monkey, blue monkeys, and red-tailed monkeys; butterflies; and tree and plant species, among others.
After the swamp walk you will walk around the community, where you will be able to interact with the local people, learn about their culture, tradition, and way of living, and enjoy entertainment through music, dance, and drama. After the nature walk you will meet up with your driver guide and head back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Departure to Kigali
On the last day of your 7-day primate and wildlife safari from Kigali, you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge, and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kigali.
You will have en route lunch on the way, spectacular views of tea plantations, homesteads, and rolling hills in Rwanda, among others. You will pass via the Katuna border in the Kabale district, and upon arrival, your driver guide will drop you off at Kigali International Airport for your next flight.
End of Safari
The tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Park entrance fees
- Boat cruise
- Bigodi swamp walk
- An English-speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled water
The tour excludes
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- personal insurance
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, cigarettes, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tips, among others.
