9 Days Luxury Uganda safari from Kigali
9 Days Luxury Uganda safari from Kigali
This 9-day luxury Uganda safari from Kigali is an amazing tour that starts and ends in Kigali, Rwanda. The safari will take you to different destinations in Uganda, including Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kibale Forest National Park and Lake Bunyonyi, which is the deepest lake in Uganda.
You will spend time with the endangered gorillas, golden monkeys, and chimpanzees in their natural environments, view different animals including elephants, waterbucks, lions, leopards, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, Nile crocodiles, hippos, warthogs, oribi, bushbucks among others during the game drives and boat cruise on Kazinga channel.
Highlights;
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Day 2: Golden monkey trekking and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Day 3: First gorilla trekking in Bwindi National Park
Day 4: Second gorilla trek in Bwindi National Park
Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park via Ishasha sector
Day 6: Morning game drive, afternoon boat cruise and transfer to Kibale forest national park
Day 7: Chimpanzee habituation experience
Day 8: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Day 9: Departure to Kigali
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
Depending on your location in Kigali on the first day of the 9 days luxury Uganda safari from Kigali, you will be welcomed by our driver guide from Achieve Global Safaris who will brief you about the safari and then start the journey to Mgahinga gorilla national park with en-route lunch and great views of the rolling hills, beautiful scenery, landscape, traditional homesteads among others on the way. Upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Golden monkey trekking and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
On day 2 of the 9 days luxury Uganda safari from Kigali, you will have an early breakfast, check out of the lodge with your packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide go for an interesting golden monkey trekking briefing. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the forest which takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours.
During trekking, you will be able to see different bird species, other primates, among others, and once the golden monkeys are found, you will be able to spend one hour with them in their environment, where you will watch them feed, play, jump up in tree branches, take photos, and record videos to show people back home.
After the golden monkey trekking, you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Upon arrival, you will connect to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: First gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park,
After an early breakfast on day 3 of the 9 days luxury 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 start trekking in the jungle, which takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on where the gorillas are located. During trekking, you will have views of mammals, other primates, and different bird species, among others.
Once the gorillas are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat, which gives you an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, breastfeeding, playing, grooming young ones, learn about their behaviours, take photos, and record the breathtaking moments.
After the 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 transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Second gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
After an early breakfast, you will carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a gorilla trekking briefing. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the jungle in search of the mountain gorillas, which takes about 30 minutes to 6 hours, depending on where the gorillas are located.
During trekking, you will have views of other primates, bird species among others and once the gorillas are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you a chance to watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, breastfeeding, playing, grooming young ones, learn about their behaviours, take photos and record the breath-taking moments.
After the one hour with the mountain gorillas, you will trek back to the park headquarters, where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and later meet up with your driver guide to return to the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner, and overnight stay.
Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast on day 5 of this luxury Uganda safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park. On the way, you will have a stopover in Ishasha sector for a game drive, where you will be able to view the tree climbing lions lying in acacia/fig tree branches if you are lucky. After the game drive, you will have en-route lunch and then proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park, and upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Morning game drive/ lion tracking experience, afternoon boat cruise and transfer to Kibale forest national park
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on day 6 of the 9 days luxury Uganda safari from Kigali, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive/ 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 go for an amazing boat cruise along Kazinga channel a 40km long channel that connects Lake George and Lake Edward. During the boat cruise, you will be able to view large concentrations of hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, view buffaloes, elephants, warthog’s drinking water along the banks, view water birds 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 start the journey to Kibale forest national park and upon arrival you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Chimpanzee habituation experience
On day 7 of the 9, you will have an early breakfast from the lodge, carry packed lunch, and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kanyachu Visitors Centre for a chimpanzee habituation briefing. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the forest in search of the chimpanzees which takes a whole day.
During trekking, you will be able to view other primate species, birds, plants, and trees among others. Once the chimpanzees are located, you will be allowed to spend four hours with them in their habitat which gives you a chance to learn and monitor their habits, behaviors, watch them feed, breastfeed, play, rest, take photos and record videos. After the encounter with the chimpanzees, you will drive back to the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 8: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi-boat cruise
After a relaxed breakfast on day 8 of the 9-day safari from Kigali, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale. On the way you will have en-route lunch and enjoy views of the terraced farmlands, hills among others.
Upon arrival, you will go for an interesting boat ride where you will be able to explore the 29 islands, listen to stories about each island, enjoy the beautiful views of the scenery, view different bird species among others. After the boat ride, you will connect to your lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Departure to Kigali
After breakfast on the last day of the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your guide to start the journey back to Kigali. On the way you will have en-route lunch and continue the journey to Kigali, arriving early evening and upon arrival your driver guide will drop you off at your hotel or drop off at Kigali international airport for your departure flight.
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Golden monkey permit
- Lion tracking experience
- Park entrance fees/ game drives
- Boat cruise fees
- 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.
