15 Days Uganda and Rwanda Gorilla, Wildlife and Primate Safari

On arrival at Kigali International Airport, or from your preferred location in Kigali, you meet your driver-guide and begin the safari with a guided city tour. It includes the Kigali Genocide Memorial, a place of remembrance that gives insight into Rwanda’s history and its journey towards reconciliation.

You then visit Kimironko Market, with stalls of local produce, fabrics and handicrafts. Depending on your arrival time and the opening hours of the attractions, the tour may be adjusted. Later you transfer to your hotel for check-in, dinner and the night.

After breakfast you leave Kigali and travel east to Akagera National Park, Rwanda’s main savannah reserve. The road passes rural communities and rolling landscapes before the grassland, woodland, lakes and wetlands of the park.

You check in at your lodge and have lunch. In the afternoon you take a guided boat cruise on Lake Ihema, where you may see hippos, Nile crocodiles and many waterbirds along the shore. You return to the lodge for dinner and the night.

After an early breakfast you set out on a full-day game drive through wildlife-rich parts of Akagera, across open savannah, acacia woodland, wetlands and rolling hills. Look for elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, antelopes and, with luck, lions and leopards.

Akagera is Rwanda’s Big Five destination, but sightings of any one species are never guaranteed. Your guide explains animal behaviour and the park’s conservation story. A packed lunch or picnic is arranged inside the park, subject to park rules. You return to the lodge in the evening for dinner and the night.

After breakfast you check out and drive south-west to Nyungwe National Park, through terraced hillsides, rural settlements, tea plantations and green mountain landscapes.

You stop in Huye, formerly Butare, for lunch and a visit to the Ethnographic Museum of Rwanda, subject to opening hours. The museum introduces Rwanda’s traditional lifestyles, material culture and heritage. You then continue through the highlands to Nyungwe, a montane rainforest and a stronghold for primates, and check in at your lodge. Dinner and the night there, with an early start tomorrow.

After an early breakfast you go to the park briefing point for chimpanzee tracking. With park guides and trackers you enter the forest to find a habituated chimpanzee community. The trek can involve uneven trails, steep sections and humid conditions. You may see the chimpanzees feeding, grooming and communicating, along with other primates and forest birds. Duration and sightings depend on where the chimpanzees move.

After the trek you return to the lodge for lunch and a rest. In the afternoon you take the Nyungwe Canopy Walk, a suspended walkway about 160 metres long and around 70 metres above the forest floor at its highest point, with views over the canopy, valleys and hills. Dinner and the night at the lodge.

After breakfast you leave Nyungwe and travel north to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda’s Virunga highlands. It is a long cross-country drive through scenic countryside, towns and cultivated hills, with rest and lunch stops. Near Musanze the scenery turns dramatic, with forested slopes and volcanic peaks.

You check in at your lodge and receive a briefing on tomorrow’s gorilla trek, covering clothing, footwear, fitness and park procedures. Depending on arrival time, you relax or enjoy the views of the highlands. Dinner and the night at the lodge.

After an early breakfast you report to the Volcanoes National Park headquarters for the gorilla trekking briefing. Park staff assign a gorilla family and explain the rules for approaching and observing the animals. With trained rangers and trackers you climb the forested slopes of the Virunga Mountains to find a habituated mountain gorilla family.

The trek can take several hours and cross steep, muddy or uneven ground. You then have a regulated viewing period to watch the gorillas feed, rest, groom and interact, keeping the required distance and following ranger instructions.

After the trek you return to the lodge for lunch and a rest. In the afternoon you visit the Gorilla Guardians Cultural Village, subject to availability, for traditional music, dance and demonstrations of historical practices. Dinner and the night at the lodge.

After an early breakfast you go to the park headquarters for a briefing on golden monkey trekking. With park guides you enter the bamboo forest at the base of the Virunga Mountains to look for these lively, endangered primates, which you may see feeding, leaping between bamboo stems and interacting in their groups.

After the permitted viewing period you meet your driver-guide and begin the cross-border journey into Uganda. You complete immigration formalities at the designated Rwanda to Uganda border crossing, then continue through the south-western highlands to the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

This is a long, activity-filled day, and timing depends on the length of the trek and the border procedures. You check in at your lodge, have dinner and rest before tomorrow’s gorilla trek in Uganda.

After an early breakfast you go to the Rushaga briefing point for an introduction to the trekking guidelines and safety procedures. Rushaga is one of Bwindi’s recognised gorilla trekking sectors, with several habituated families. With experienced rangers and trackers you trek through dense montane rainforest to find your assigned family.

The hike can take a few hours or longer, depending on where the gorillas are, the terrain and the weather. When they are found, you spend the authorised time watching them feed, groom, rest and interact. After returning to the trailhead you receive a trekking certificate where provided, and transfer to the lodge for lunch. The afternoon is free to relax and enjoy the forest views. Dinner and the night at the lodge.

After breakfast you check out and travel north to Queen Elizabeth National Park, taking the route through the Ishasha sector where conditions allow. Ishasha is known for tree-climbing lions, and a game drive there lets you search the branches of large fig trees and scan the grassland for wildlife. Lion sightings are not guaranteed.

You continue to the northern part of the park, passing rural communities, crater-lake landscapes and, in clear weather, views of the Rwenzori Mountains. Lunch is taken on the way or at your lodge. You check in, relax and have dinner before tomorrow’s game drive and Kazinga Channel cruise.

You start with an early game drive across the Kasenyi plains, one of Queen Elizabeth’s well-known wildlife areas. Look for Uganda kobs, elephants, buffaloes and warthogs, and for lions and leopards where activity allows. Your guide explains the park’s ecology and animal behaviour.

You return to the lodge for breakfast or a break, then lunch. In the afternoon you go to the Mweya area for a boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel, which links Lake George and Lake Edward. From the water you may see hippos, Nile crocodiles, elephants coming to drink and many waterbirds. Dinner and the night at the lodge.

After breakfast you check out and travel towards Fort Portal through the countryside of western Uganda. On the way you explore the Ndali-Kasenda crater-lake region, known for its volcanic landforms, green hills, tea plantations and lakes. A guided walk at a viewpoint or around an accessible crater lake leaves time for photographs.

You have lunch in Fort Portal, then make the short drive to Kibale Forest National Park, one of Uganda’s most important primate destinations. You check in at your lodge and get an introduction to tomorrow’s chimpanzee tracking. The rest of the day is free. Dinner and the night at the lodge.

After breakfast you go to the Kibale briefing point for an introduction to forest etiquette and chimpanzee tracking, then enter the forest with trained guides and trackers to find a habituated chimpanzee community. Look and listen for chimpanzees feeding, grooming and calling in the canopy. Kibale also has other primates and many forest birds. The length of the trek depends on where the animals are.

After lunch and a short rest, you visit Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a community-managed conservation area known for wetland vegetation, birdlife and primates. A local guide takes you along established trails to look for species such as the Great Blue Turaco and for monkeys, and explains how tourism supports local livelihoods and conservation. Dinner and the night at the lodge.

After an early breakfast you check out and begin the long drive north to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s largest. The road passes rural landscapes, trading centres and farmland as you travel towards the Nile basin, with a lunch stop on the way.

Depending on arrival time, park access and your lodge location, you visit the top of Murchison Falls, where the Nile is forced through a narrow rocky gorge. The viewpoints give dramatic sights and sounds, with spray and rugged rock. Because the transfer from Kibale is long, the visit may need to be adjusted. You check in at your lodge, have dinner and rest before the final day.

You start the final day with an early game drive in the northern savannah of Murchison Falls National Park, depending on your lodge location and departure time. Look for elephants, Rothschild’s giraffes, buffaloes, hartebeests and Uganda kobs, with a chance of lions or leopards.

You then take a boat cruise on the Victoria Nile towards the base of the falls, watching for hippos, Nile crocodiles and waterbirds along the banks. After the cruise you begin the long drive south to Entebbe International Airport for your onward flight.

This is a demanding travel day. The activities and the transfer must be planned around your international flight time, and a late-night flight is strongly recommended. If your flight is earlier, an extra night near Entebbe or a shorter final-day schedule may be needed.