This 8 Days Rwanda Uganda wildlife safari starts in Kigali city and ends in Kampala or Entebbe. During this tour, you will enjoy double gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park and Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park; and also wildlife game drives as well as lion tracking in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Highlights for 8 Days Rwanda Uganda Wildlife Safari
Day 1: Kigali City Tour and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking and Ibyi’wacu Village Tour
Day 3: Golden Monkey Trek
Day 4: Hike to Dian Fossey Tomb and Transfer to Bwindi
Day 5: Gorilla Trek and Optional Batwa Cultural Tour
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park- Game Drive
Day 7: Lion Tracking Experience/ Morning Game Drive and Afternoon Boat Cruise
Day 8: Transfer to back to Kigali
Detailed Itinerary for 8 Days Rwanda Uganda Wildlife Safari
Day 1: Kigali City Tour and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Our professional driver guide will pick you up at your Kigali hotel or the airport early in the morning and take you on a half-day tour around the city. The tour includes a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Site and Museum to learn more about the 1994 genocide, the Nyamata Genocide Church, and local markets. After lunch, we’ll head to Volcanoes National Park. The journey will take you through gorgeous hilly and lush terrain, which inspired the moniker “The Land of a Thousand Hills”. Dinner and stay at your lodge.
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking and Ibyi’wacu Village Tour
This morning, after breakfast, you will be taken from your lodging to the park headquarters for the day’s Gorilla trekking briefing. It is best to park your lunch, drinking water, and hire porters because the time spent in the bush is uncertain. Following the Park rangers’ instruction, you will be assigned a Gorilla family and will then proceed into the bush in search of the friendly jungle giants. Tracking gorillas may take anything from a few hours to a full day of hiking up and down the mountain, depending on where they were sighted the night before.
Physical fitness is strongly advised, however those who are not fit enough can hire human helicopters (sedan chairs). After visiting the gorillas, you will be able to spend no more than one hour with them. Then, return to your lodge and spend the evening in the Ibyi’wacu Cultural hamlet (also known as the ex-poacher’s hamlet) for entertainment and cultural experiences. Dinner and an overnight stay at your Lodge.
Day 3: Golden Monkey Trek
After breakfast at your lodge, return to the Park offices for a briefing on the morning’s activities. This time, we will be monitoring Golden Monkeys. These endangered monkey species are located in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. Unlike gorillas, golden monkey trekking is quick and easy to spot. Return to the lodge to eat and relax. Stay overnight at your lodge.
Day 4: Hike to Dian Fossey Tomb and Transfer to Bwindi
After breakfast, we ventured off into the jungle for another hike to Diane Fossey’s tomb at Karisoke. First, you will travel approximately 30 minutes from the park headquarters to the trailhead where the walk to Karisoke Research Camp begins. Then you will travel for around 1 to 2 hours to the camp, followed by about an hour to the famed Dian Fossey cemetery. The ranger guides will tell you about her passion to the big apes as you go. Her legacy endures today. After the walk, return to the lodge for lunch before leaving for Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Stay overnight at your lodge.
Day 5: Gorilla Trek and Optional Batwa Cultural Tour
The day has finally arrived for your once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to encounter huge mountain gorillas up close. Your day will begin with an early breakfast at your lodge, followed by a trip to the Park headquarters (depending on where you have booked your accommodations) for a briefing. Gorilla trekking takes occur in four sections of the Bwindi Forest. The park is divided into two sectors: Buhoma and Ruhija in the north and Rushaga and Nkuringo in the south. After the briefing, you will begin your day’s walk. The search for the gorillas might take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours, depending on where they were last seen the day before.
Once they are located, you will have one hour to capture films and images, as well as ask the rangers and guides any questions you may have about these huge apes. Aside from the great apes, the forest is home to a variety of fauna and bird species, including butterflies, primates, mammals, frogs, and more, all of which may be viewed on the route to the gorillas. After visiting the gorillas, you’ll return to your lodge and relax for the remainder of the day. The entire day activities might take between 5 and 9 hours. It is strongly suggested that you pack your lunch and hire porters. Dinner and an overnight stay at your Lodge.
Day 6: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park- Game Drive
After having breakfast at your lodge, you will check out of your lodge and meet up with your driver. You will drive from Bwindi to Queen Elizabeth National Park located in Kasese district. You will have lunch enroute to the park and upon your arrival in the park, you will first check into your lodge. Later head out for a game drive in the park where you will see a variety of wildlife roaming in the park.
Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 7: Lion Tracking Experience/Morning Game Drive and Afternoon Boat Cruise
Wake up early in the morning and set out for your lion tracking experience in the park. This activity is conducted in the Kasenyi plains and you will be accompanied by a team of experts, researchers and park rangers as you track a pride of lions. Once you have located the lions, you will spend some quality time with them as you monitor their social behaviors among other things. After this, you will embark on a short game drive in Kasenyi area before heading back to your lodge to rest and have lunch later.
Later in the afternoon, you will head out for a boat cruise on the famous Kazinga channel where you stand a chance of viewing wildlife animals roam or bask near the lake shores. You will also get to view a number of bird species within the area such as; the Hooded Vulture, Black bee-eater, African finfoot and many others.
Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 8: Transfer to Entebbe
Following your breakfast, you will check out of your hotel and embark on your journey to Kampala or Entebbe with a stopover to view the equator monuments and have lunch enroute. Upon your arrival in Kampala/Entebbe, you will be dropped off at a hotel of your choice or Entebbe international airport in case you have an evening flight out of Uganda.
End of 8 Days Rwanda Uganda Wildlife Safari
