Rwanda and Uganda Tour
Day one: Arrival
On your arrival at the airport in Kigali, you will be welcome by your tour guide who will then transfer you to the hotel. Dinner and overnight at Serena Hotel Kigali or Hotel Des Mil Coline. Bed and breakfast
Day Two: Kibuye
After your healthy breakfast, depart for Kibuye visiting Bisesero genocide memorial, Kibuye church and Nyange school genocide memorial. Then in the afternoon, take a boat to Amahoro Island, the Island of Peace. Overnight at Moriah hotel. Full board
Day Three: Gisenyi
Leave after your breakfast to Gisenyi and visit the fishing village, hot springs, visit DRC-Rwanda border (Gisenyi town) and relax at the lake side in the evening. Overnight at Serena Lake Kivu or Stepp Hotel or Parades Marahide hotel. Full board
Day Four: Ruhengeri
Depart and head for Ruhengeri for the ethno botany experience. Afternoon go to the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo, visit bee hive locations. Dinner and overnight at Mountain Gorilla view, Sylva Back Lodge, Virunga Volcanoes Lodges (High end) or La Palme, (Medium range) or Kinigi guest House (Basic accommodation
Day Five: Gorilla tracking
Early morning breakfast then transfer to the Kinigi headquarters for briefing and allocation of the gorilla group as you experience traditional dancers and learn about Rwandan drumming, singing and dancing. Then go to the forest for gorilla tracking returning in time for lunch. Later in the afternoon at the Ebi’wachu where you learn about Rwanda’s tradition. Dinner and overnight at Mountain Gorilla view, Sylva Back Lodge, Virunga Volcanoes Lodges (High end) or La Palme, (Medium range) or Kinigi guest House (Basic accommodation
Day Six: Rwanda – Uganda
After breakfast, drive and cross to the Uganda on Cyanika border to Kisoro then proceed to southern part of Bwindi National Park. Dinner and overnight at Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Volcanoes Safaris (High end) or Nkuringo Gorilla campsite, Kimbla-Mantana, Buhoma Lodge (Medium range) or Bwindi view Rest camp, Wagtail Eco Safari Camp (Basic accommodation)
Day Seven: Gorilla tracking
This morning you will have to wake up very early to get ready for Gorilla tracking. The guide will drive you to the headquarters for briefing before you set off in the interior of the forest. Do not forget to take your lunch boxes and all the necessary gear to track the rare Mountain Gorilla, perhaps one of the most exciting wildlife experiences on this Planet. There are now only 650 left in the world. The tracking may take between 3 and 6 hours but it’s well worth the effort. There are always park guides with you who interpret the flora and fauna and the lifestyle of the Gorillas. The rainforest is spectacular as it offers a dramatic, heavily forested and dense landscape crisscrossed by numerous animal trails, allowing access for tourists. Recorded mammals here include the endangered mountain gorilla, the rare golden monkey, buffalo, elephants, black-fronted duikers, bushbucks, leopards, giant forest hogs as well as other animals. Spend the night at Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge, Volcanoes Safaris (High end) or Nkuringo Gorilla campsite, Kimbla-Mantana, Buhoma Lodge (Medium range) or Bwindi view Rest camp, Wagtail Eco Safari Camp (Basic accommodation)
Day Eight: Bwindi – Bunyonyi
After breakfast, depart Bwindi for Lake Bunyonyi passing through Kabale with beautiful scenery and terraced farming arriving in the afternoon. After lunch, you may decide to relax in your room or go for a Village walk. Dinner and overnight at Bird Nest, Arcadia Cottages (Medium range) or Bunyonyi Over land, Bushara Island Camp, Heritage lodge. (Low budget) full board.
Day Nine: Lake Bunyonyi
Spend the whole day visiting various historical Islands including the punishment Island, Lepers Island, Bushara Island, the upside down Island, visit the Batwa (pygmies ) community, retuning at the lodge in the evening. Do not forget to take your lunch boxes. This also provides a good chance for the birders to view different water and swamp bird dwellers. Dinner and overnight at Bird Nest, Arcadia Cottages (Medium range) or Bunyonyi Over land, Bushara Island Camp, Heritage lodge. (Low budget) full board.
Day Ten: Bunyonyi – Mburo
After breakfast, depart Bunyonyi for Lake Mburo National Park arriving in the afternoon. Go for the evening game drive or for the boat trip on Lake Mburo. Lake Mburo is an extension of the north-western Tanzanian Plains and eastern Rwanda with big herds of Zebra, Impala, Eland and other savannah mammals. For birders, this is one of the best place to find African Fin foot, Papyrus yellow warbler, papyrus gonolek, Bush Shrike, Brown-chested plover, Southern ground hornbill, Spot-flanked and many others. Overnight at Mihingo Lodge,, Rwakobo Rock ( High end) or Arcadia Cottages, Kimbla Mantana, Mburo Safari Lodge (Medium range) or UWA tents and Bandas (Low budget). Full Board.
Day Eleven: Lake Mburo – Queen Elizabeth
After breakfast, game drives as you departs Mburo and then proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park arriving in the afternoon. Relax at the hotel or go for the late evening game drive. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge, Katara Lodge, Kyambura Game Lodge (High end) or Ihamba Game Lodge, Kingfisher (Medium range) or Hippo Hill, Simba safari lodge ( low budget). Full board
Day Twelve: Queen Elizabeth
This morning, you will have a game drive to the Kasenyi area to look for Lion prides and other wildlife like, waterbuck, Oribi and Uganda Kob that mate around this area returning at the Lodge for breakfast. Queen Elizabeth is the Uganda’s most popular and certainly one of the most scenic. It stretches from the crater-dotted foothills if Rwenzori range in the north, along the shores of Lake Edward to the remote Ishasha River in the south, incorporating a wide range of a variety of habitats that range from savanna and wetlands to gallery and lowland forest. This gives the park the diversity of bird species of over 550 and a list of 95 mammal species.
Then go for the afternoon boat trip along the Kazinga Channel. Here Hippos huff and spray mere feet away from the boat, Buffalos linger in the shallows, a tremendous variety of birds grace the grasses on the shores. Great White and Pink-Backed Pelicans, Great and Long-Tailed Cormorants, Open-Billed Stork, African Jacana, Malachite and Pied Kingfishers are commonly seen. Dinner and overnight at Mweya Safari Lodge, Katara Lodge, Kyambura Game Lodge (High end) or Ihamba Game Lodge, Kingfisher (Medium range) or Hippo Hill, Simba safari lodge (low budget). Full board
Day Thirteen: Queen Elizabeth – Kibale
After breakfast, depart Queen Elizabeth to Kibale Forest National Park. This park is known for the highest number of primate species in Africa. The activity starts in the morning hours, and there is also another lot for the afternoon depending on the time of your booking and itinerary. When tracking chimpanzees, you may come across other primates including phoestes, Red-Colobus, Blues, Red-tailed and grey cheeked Mangabey in the canopies of the dense forest and birds, butterflies and many small insects. The guides provide explanations about primates and other forest’s fauna and flora, ensuring that your walk is both informative and enjoyable. Dinner and overnight at Cyaniga Lodge or Ndali Lodge (High end) or Chimpanzee Forest Lodge.(Medium range) Full Board.
Day Fourteen: Chimp tracking
This morning you will go for the morning Chimpanzee tracking in the forest, When tracking chimpanzees, you may come across other primates including phoestes, Red-Colobus, Blues, Red-tailed and grey cheeked Mangabey in the canopies of the dense forest and birds, butterflies and many small insects. The guides provide explanations about primates and other forest’s fauna and flora, ensuring that your walk is both informative and enjoyable. Later in the afternoon, you will go for a guided walk through Bigodi Swamp. This Wetland is managed by the Kibale Association for Rural and Environmental organization formed in 1992 with the aim of achieving social and economic development for local communities. This swamp is a home to about 137 bird species. Dinner and overnight at Cyaniga Lodge or Ndali Lodge (High end) or Chimpanzee Forest Lodge. (Medium range) Full Board
Alternatively
You can decide to go for chimp habituation and be part of the habituation team that goes to study the behavior of the Chimps in order to make them get used to human beings. Being part of the team that observe the way Chimps nest, feed, climb trees, react to human presence, caring for the young ones is unforgettable experience. This activity starts very early at 6:00am to 6:00pm. You spend the whole day in the forest observing Chimps.
Day Fifteen: Kibale – Murchison Falls
After breakfast, set off to Murchison falls arriving in the evening. Dinner and overnight at Chobe lodge Paraa Lodge (High end) Nile Safari Camp, Murchison River Lodge. (Medium range) Full Board.
Day Sixteen: Murchison Falls
After breakfast, you will go for an early morning game drive where you may have chances of viewing Lions, Giraffe, Hartebeest, Buffalo, Elephant, Bohor Reedbuck as well as many of the other mammals of the park. For the bird lovers, you can come across the Sported Morning Thrush, Silverbird, Buff-bellied Warbler, Black-headed Batis, Black headed Gonolek, Vitelline masked weaver, Green winged Pytilia, Blue-naped Mousebird, Secretary Bird, Black Chested Snake Eagle, Tawny and Marshal Eagles, Northern and Southern Carmine Bee-Eaters and many others. In the afternoon, go for a boat trip to the foot of Murchison Falls where the Nile thunders through a small 7-meter gap, or down river to the delta where the Nile empties into Lake Albert. The banks of the Nile are home to many species. You may see huge Nile Crocodiles, Hippos and other wildlife that may come down to drink from the river. Dinner and overnight at Chobe lodge Paraa Lodge (High end) Nile Safari Camp, Murchison River Lodge. (Medium range) Full Board.
Day Seventeen: Murchison – Kitigum
After breakfast, you depart Murchison with packed lunch for Kitigum arriving in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight in Boma Hotel. (Medium) Full Board
Day Eighteen: Kitigum – Kidepo
After breakfast, you will proceed to Kidepo Valley National Park. The park lies in the rugged and Semi-arid valley of Karamoja. This is Uganda’s most remote National Park which borders Sudan in the north. The park also suffered the same fate of poaching like other Ugandan Parks which left some game herds depleted. But the park has recovered for the last 2o years of stability with 80 species of mammals and a bird list of 475 species and amongst the host of dry eastern “specials” not found in any other Ugandan park like Karamoja Alpalis and Black-breasted barbet. Dinner and overnight at Apoka Lodge or N’ga muro Wilderness Camp. (High end) Full Board.
Day Nineteen: Kidepo National Park
After breakfast, you will go for an early morning game drive to the Kidepo valley plains where you may have chances of viewing Lions, Giraffe, Hartebeest, Buffalo, Elephant, Bohor Reedbuck as well as many of the other mammals of the park. Later in the afternoon, you can go for the evening game drive or go for optional nature walk. Dinner and overnight at Apoka Lodge or N’ga muro Wilderness Camp. (High end) Full Board.
Day Twenty: Kidepo – Gulu
After breakfast, you depart Kidepo with packed lunch for Gulu arriving in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight in Boma Hotel or Churchill Hotel. (Medium) Full Board
Day Twenty one: Gulu – Ziwa
After breakfast, drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola to track the Rhinos. In Uganda, Rhinos were depleted in the early 1980s, after a period of civil wars and severe poaching. This sanctuary has now been established to breed black and white rhino in phase one and two to restore Rhino populations in Uganda so that they can be re-introduced to their natural habitats. Dinner and overnight at Amuka lodge, Ziwa Rhino lodge. Full Board.
Day Twenty Two: Ziwa – Jinja
Have early morning breakfast, and then drive to Jinja through Kampala arriving in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at Jinja Nile Resort, King fisher, The Haven River lodge (medium range) or Nile River Camp, The Nile porch, Adrift’s camp. (low budget) Bed and Breakfast.
Day Twenty Three: Jinja – Kampala
After breakfast, you will go and visit the source of the Nile and the spectacular with an option of half or full day rafting returning to Kampala. Dinner and Overnight at Hilton Hotel ,Serena Hotel or Sheraton Hotel (High end), Hotel Africana (medium end), Ivy Hotel (basic accommodation).
Day Twenty Four: City Tour
After breakfast, go for the city tour and visit Kasubi Tombs, The Palace, The Buganda Parliament, Naggalabi (the coronation site), Katereke prison, Uganda Museum, Old Churches, Bahai Temple, markets etc. Dinner and Overnight at Hilton Hotel ,Serena Hotel or Sheraton Hotel (High end), Hotel Africana (medium end), Ivy Hotel (basic accommodation).
Day Twenty Five:
After your breakfast, you will be transfer to Entebbe Airport to catch your flight back home.