10-Days Uganda And Rwanda Wildlife And Primate Safari

• Uganda safaris
• Rwanda Wildlife and gorilla Trekking Tours

The 10-days Uganda and Rwanda wildlife and primate experience safari starts at Entebbe international airport in Uganda and ends at Kigali international airport in Rwanda. This is a magical safari that promises you the most adventurous and magical wildlife, primate, and cultural experiences that are filled with back-to-back fun. This adventurous safari was planned to give you an unforgettable wildlife experience and an ultimate primate experience, such as meeting eye-to-eye with the amazing gorillas and chimpanzees fully in their natural habitat, getting a close encounter with other diverse African wildlife species such as leopards, lions, elephants, and cape buffaloes, several primate species, many antelope species, beautiful landscapes, and if you are a keen bird lover, this is an ideal safari to spot several African bird species. The 10-days Uganda safari involves a visit to Ziwa rhino sanctuary for the rhino tracking experience, Murchison Falls national park to discover the Murchison Falls, wildlife sighting safaris, boat cruise safaris on the Nile River, Queen Elizabeth national park for wildlife sighting, Kazinga channel boat cruise safari, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park to encounter the magical mountain gorillas, and then cross to Rwanda to visit Volcanoes National Park for the second mountain gorilla trekking encounter safari and golden monkey tracking safari. This is an ideal tour to fully enjoy nature and to explore the abundance of wildlife species, beautiful scenery, and numerous primate species such as the miraculous mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, among others, and to see several African classic games such as lions, leopards, elephants, African Caped Buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, and many others.

Detailed itinerary

Day 1:Arrival at Entebbe international airport – Meet and greet and drive to your booked Hotel in Entebbe city

On arrival at Entebbe international airport, you will be warmly met by a company representative with your professional English-speaking safari guide to meet and greet and then be transferred to your booked hotel in Entebbe town to check in, freshen yourself and later meet with our company representative and safari guide at the hotel lobby to brief you about your 10- Days Uganda and Rwanda safari. The hotel is about 10-20 minutes’ drive from Entebbe international airport on the shores of Lake Victoria.  After the tour briefing, spend the evening at leisure while enjoying Lake Victoria till time to be served dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation: Protea Hotel by Marriot Entebbe (Luxury)

Meal plan: Dinner

Day 2: Entebbe city – Visit Ziwa Rhino sanctuary – Drive to Murchison falls national park – Night game drive safari

Rise up very early in the morning to have breakfast (630 am), check out of your hotel to start your drive to Murchison falls national park found in northwestern Uganda about 320 km from Kampala on your way, you will visit Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary found in Nakasongola district for the white Rhino tracking experience. Ziwa Rhino sanctuary is the only place in Uganda where you can meet the white rhinos in the wilderness. Once Uganda had an adequate number of Rhinos which were found in Kidepo valley and Murchison Falls national parks but they became nationally extinct due to numerous illegal human activities such as poaching and civil unrest in early 1970s. Therefore, in 2005 Ziwa Rhino sanctuary was established to re-introduction of Rhinos in Uganda’s wildlife inventory. During Rhino tracking, you will have a chance to see them close to their feet with the help of the local site guide and spend with them a maximum of one hour and you will be allowed to take as many photos as you would want so, you have to keep your camera on standby not to miss any great moment uncaptured. After you have had an unforgettable experience with rhinos, relax with a bottle of water and drive to Kabalega diner to have lunch. Later, proceed with the drive to Murchison Falls National Park to check in at your booked lodge and spend the evening at leisure while enjoying the breezes of the river Nile and preparing for your adventurous night game drive safari which will boost your chances to encounter nocturnal animals and birds of the park such as lions, Leopard, Porcupine, Civet, spotted hyenas, the grazing hippos among others not for getting the lovely sounds of animals and to run how wildlife animals spend their night in the jungle. On a lucky day, you may meet predators hunting which is one of the great wildlife experiences of the savannah. Murchison falls National Park is the best savannah national parks in Uganda for a night game drive. Dinner and an overnight

Murchison Falls National Park is a home to 76 recorded mammal species these include; Jackson’s hartebeest, Waterbucks, Hippopotamuses, Nile crocodiles, some primates like Chimpanzees, Olive baboons, Black and white colobus monkeys, Giraffes, Uganda kobs, Elephants, Caped Buffaloes, Lions, Leopards, Spotted hyenas, Civets, Warthogs, Oribis, Topis among others plus 450 recorded bird species such as the rare shoebill stork, Abyssinian ground hornbill, papyrus Gonolek, marabou stork, black bellied bustard, open billed stork among others. Dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation: Paraa Safari Lodge (Luxury)

Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch /Dinner

Day 3: Murchison Falls national park – Morning game drive safari – Afternoon boat cruise along the river Nile – Spend the evening at leisure

Wake up very early to have a cup of coffee, get your packed breakfast and head to the northern sector of the park where superb game drive safaris are carried out. During the game drive, your safari guide will help you to spot several animals and share with you lot of information regarding various wildlife species that you will spot such as Caped buffalo, Elephants, Uganda Kobs, Jackson hartebeest, Roth child giraffes, oribis, Lion, Common warthogs some primates species on a lucky day, you may spot a leopard, have short break to enjoy your full breakfast and later proceed with your game drive to fully explore the park and be able to spot several wildlife species. Later early afternoon, leave the jungle and return to your lodge to relax, have lunch and then drive to Paraa gathering point for an afternoon boat cruise safari on the river Nile which starts at 02:00 pm. The boat cruise safari goes upstream from the calm Victoria Nile to the base of the Murchison falls stopping few meters from the ‘Devil’s Cauldron’ of the falls which will give you an amazing view of the fall and see how the river Nile drops into a pool. The boat cruise will take you through the zones of water mammals and birds like bloats Hippopotamus, Nile crocodiles, some birds like the Egyptian goose, goliath heron, kingfisher, pelican bee-eater, hornbill, cormorant, you may see some land mammals when they have come to drink water and swimming. After the boat cruise on the Nile, return to your lodge and spend the evening at your leisure till time to be served dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation: Paraa Safari Lodge (Luxury)

Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch /Dinner

Day 4: Murchison Falls national park – Visit the top of the Murchison Falls – Fly to Queen Elizabeth national park – Evening game drive safari

Today after your fantastic breakfast, visit the top of the Murchison falls to enjoy the breathtaking view of the falls and to enjoy the verbal burble of the falls as drops into a pool of water. While at the Murchison falls, you will see how the whole river Nile forces itself through a narrow gorge of only 7 meters wide and then drop 43 meters into a pool and then form a strong thunderous sound which is so lovely. After enjoying the Murchison falls, return to the lodge to be at leisure till time to be served lunch and then drive to the Pakuba airstrip to prepare for your internal flight from Murchison Falls national park to Queen Elizabeth national park. On arrival at the park at (0225pm), you will meet your safari guide waiting for you for a pick up and drive you to your booked lodge to check in, refresh, spend some time at leisure and then later early evening, drive to Kasenyi plains for an evening game drive to start searching for the wildlife species of Queen Elizabeth national park. The park is a feeding ground for over 95 mammal species which includes the African Caped buffaloes, elephants, Uganda kobs, warthog, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, some primate species like baboons among others, and a collection of bird species like the malachite kingfishers and pink-backed pelicans on the banks of the channel, which will be so adventurous. So, during your game drive safari, you will have a chance to encounter many of these species and your safari guide will help you to spot as many animals and bird species as possible as well as giving you much information about everything that you will encounter. After the game drive, return to your lodge to have dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge (Luxury)

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

Day 5: Queen Elizabeth national park – Morning predator tracking experience – Evening game drive at Ishasha sector to search for the tree climbing lions

Wake up very early to have your travel bags arranged, be served breakfast, have all your bags loaded in your safari vehicle, check out, and then drive to the park for an early morning lion or carnivore tracking experience. This experience is done by the Uganda Carnivore Program (UCP) under the research department of the Uganda Wildlife Authority with the purpose of giving an extra experience of the predators by deeply searching them in their thickets and having a chance to closely see and experience how they behave. To your surprise, you will discover that they are shy about looking into the eyes of humans. Predators spend most of their daytime hiding and then hunting at night with stealth. They can probably approach their prey closer at night than during the day. During the carnivore experience, you will encounter other wildlife species of the park that you may have missed during your previous game drives. After the carnivore tracking experience, drive back to your lodge to spend some time at leisure, till time to be served lunch and then go for an afternoon boat cruise on the Kazinga channel for the 2-hour afternoon boat cruise safari. The Kazinga channel is the main water channel which goes through the park and connects Lake George and Lake Edward. During the boat cruise safari, you will see a good number of both aquatic and land animals such as hippos, crocodiles, alligators, Caped buffaloes, elephants, Uganda kobs, among others, and also a collection of bird species like the malachite kingfishers and pink-backed pelicans on the banks of the channel, which will be so adventurous. After your 2-hour boat cruise along the Kazinga channel, drive back to your lodge and spend the evening at leisure till time to be served dinner and an overnight

Accommodation: Mweya Safari Lodge (Luxury)

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch / Dinner

Day 6: Queen Elizabeth national park – Drive to Ishasha Sector – Game drive safari to search for the tree climbing lions – Spend the evening at leisure

Today wake up at your best time to have breakfast, get all your luggage packed in the vehicle, check out of your lodge and then start your drive to Ishasha sector in the southern parts of Queen Elizabeth National Park. On arrival at Ishasha sector, go for a late morning game drive safari to lookout for the unique tree climbing lions which are only found in Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park in Uganda with 4 prides, Lake Manyara of Tanzania with 2 prides and Kruger national park in South Africa. Besides the tree climbing lions, you will encounter other wildlife species such as Elephants, Buffaloes, topis, Uganda Kobs and several other primate species and your safari guide will ensure that you spot as many wildlife species as possible and give much information about everything that you well encounter during your game drive safari. After the game drive safari, return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation: Ishasha Wilderness Camp (Luxury)

Meal plan: Breakfast /Lunch / Dinner

Day 7: Ishasha Sector – Morning game drive safari to search for the tree climbing lions – Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park (Rushaga sector)

Wake up very early in the morning to have breakfast, get your binoculars, snacks, drinking water and then drive to Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park to search for more wildlife species. Ishasha sector is one of the best wildlife watching areas ion Queen Elizabeth national park where you can have an opportunity to spot several species of mammals in big numbers such as big herds of elephants, buffaloes, topis, Uganda kobs and several other antelope species as well as predators like lions, leopard, spotted hyenas and many others. Ishasha sector has some special mammals to keep an eye out for, savannah birds and the top vulture of the region such as Africa`s most spirited eagle the Marshal eagle, Lappet faced vulture, larks and can try to tick off the rare Dusky blue flycatcher on the Ishasha River. Have a short break to relax, have lunch and then proceed with your safari to Bwindi impenetrable Forest national park the famous for being a home to half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas and one of the Uganda’s ancient as well as the most biologically diverse rainforests that is over 25,000 years with almost 400 tree species that are forming the huge impenetrable forest that is ever green. It is a home to approximately 500 mountain gorillas, 120 mammal species such as numerous primate species and over 350 bird species.

Accommodation: Gorilla Safari Lodge (Luxury)

Meal plan: Breakfast /Lunch / Dinner

Day 8: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest national park – Mountain gorilla trekking –Drive to Volcanoes national park

Day 8 of the 10-days best of Africa adventure vacations Uganda safari, wake up early morning (0600am) to organize yourself, arrange the necessary equipment during mountain gorilla trekking such as camera, binoculars, insect repellants, get well-dressed in a recommend style for mountain gorilla trekking like long khaki /jean trouser, long sleeved shirt, water proof hiking boots, a rain jacket, heavy duty gloves and round hats, have heavy breakfast, get your packed lunch boxes, get enough drinking water and meet your safari guide to be transferred to the park information offices to join other guests to be briefed about mountain gorilla trekking dos and don’ts, how to behave in the presence of mountain gorillas and the expectations, be allocated a mountain gorilla family to track, UWA ranger and the forest guide. We would recommend you to hire a porter to help you carry your packed bag other and your other items you would need during mountain gorillas. After pre-mountain gorilla trekking session, start your forest walk in search for the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitats.  The time taken before encountering your allocated mountain gorilla family is not known however, it may be between 45mins to 4 hours depending on the movements and location of gorilla family therefore, you should be physically and mentally prepared to walk a long distance through the forest that is made of hills and with no clear walking trails that are only made on that particular time of tracking by the your guide depending on the direction that can easily lead you to the location of the gorilla family. That is why, it is recommended to carry enough water to keep you hydrated and snacks to keep you with enough energy since you use a lot of energy when walking through the forest in search for the mountain gorillas.

Once you encounter the mountain gorilla family, the excitement of seeing the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, will outweigh the hardship went through while searching for them. A mountain gorilla family can be made of several members such as the giant silverback who is always the head and protector of the family, mothers, infants and juveniles. The time you will spend with the mountain gorillas, you get to know much about their behaviors, how they socialize and be excited with their actions like the playful babies, mothers grooming their babies and the Mr. silverback watching the situation silently as he is ready to protect the family from any kind of attack. You will spend a maximum of one hour with the mountain gorillas and you will be free to capture as many photos and recording videos as you would want to keep your great memories with the mountain gorilla family in the jungle. Thereafter an hour with the mountain gorilla family, return to the trekking start point to receive your mountain trekking certificate in appreciation of your contribution to the conservation of the endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda. Have lunch and then start your drive to cross to Rwanda via Chanika Uganda Rwanda border and then drive to Volcanoes national park check in at your lodge, freshen up, dinner and an overnight.

Volcanoes National Park covers an area of about 160 km² of rainforest and encompasses five of the eight volcanoes found in the Virunga Mountains, namely Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo. Volcanoes national park is a home to the endangered mountain gorillas and a rich mosaic of montane ecosystems which embraces an evergreen and bamboo forest, open grassland and swamp. It was named after the chain of dormant volcanoes making up the Virunga Massif: these include Karisimbi – the highest at 4,507m, Bisoke with its verdant Crater Lake, Sabinyo, Gahinga and Muhabura and part of Virunga Conservation Area which includes Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Virunga national park in DR Congo and Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda.

Accommodation: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel (Luxury)

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch /Dinner

Day 9: Volcanoes national park – Mountain gorilla trekking – Spend the evening at leisure

Again wake up early morning to prepare yourself for the second mountain gorilla encounter in volcanoes national park, be served breakfast, get your packed snacks, get in your safari vehicle and drive to the park information office to attend the must do pre-mountain gorilla trekking briefing by the park ranger guide about the guide lines to follow during the forest walk in search for the mountain gorillas, what are the mountain gorilla trekking expectations, how to behave in the existence of the mountain gorillas, be allocated to a gorilla family and the ranger guides to take you during the forest walk while looking for the mountain gorillas. The time taken before encountering your allocated mountain gorilla family is not known however, it may be between 45mins to 4 hours depending on the movements and location of gorilla family therefore, you should be physically and mentally prepared to walk a long distance through the forest that is made of hills and with no clear walking trails that are only made on that particular time of tracking by the your guide depending on the direction that can easily lead you to the location of the gorilla family. That is why, it is recommended to carry enough water to keep you hydrated and snacks to keep you with enough energy since you use a lot of energy when walking through the forest in search for the mountain gorillas.

Once you encounter the mountain gorilla family, the excitement of seeing the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, will outweigh the hardship went through while searching for them. A mountain gorilla family can be made of several members such as the giant silverback who is always the head and protector of the family, mothers, infants and juveniles. The time you will spend with the mountain gorillas, you get to know much about their behaviors, how the socializes and be excited with their actions like the playful babies, mothers grooming their babies and Mr. silverback watching the situation silently as he ready to protect the family from any kind of attack. You will spend a maximum of one hour of the mountain gorillas and you will be free to capture as many photos and recording videos as you would want to keep your great memories with the mountain gorilla family in the jungle. Thereafter an hour with the mountain gorilla family, return to the trekking start point to receive your mountain trekking certificate in appreciation of your contribution to the conservation of the endangered mountain gorillas in the Virunga conservation area. Drive back to the lodge to have refreshments, freshen up, be served lunch and spend the enter evening at your leisure till time to be served dinner and an overnight.

Accommodation: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel (Luxury)

Meal plan: Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner

Day 10: Volcanoes national park – Golden monkey trekking – Drive to Kigali international airport

Wake up very early in the morning to have breakfast and transfer to the park information offices for the pre-trekking briefings for the guidelines to follow during golden monkey tracking and then start the forest hike to search for the beautiful golden monkeys. Golden monkeys are species of the Old-World monkey only found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of Central Africa, including four national parks: Mgahinga gorilla national park, in south-west Uganda; Volcanoes national park, in north-west Rwanda; and Virunga national park and Kahuzi-Biéga, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Compared with other monkey species, the golden monkeys are gorgeous in appearance, they have bright colored fur with long golden hair mixed with orange. The overall estimate currently stands between 2000 and 4000 individuals and since they are only found in the Virungas conservation area, they have been classified as endangered species. After your trek, you will return to the lodge to have lunch, refresh yourself, and then start your drive back to Kigali international airport to prepare for your return flight. Before driving to the airport, you will have a stopover at Kigali city to have some refreshments, have dinner and at 0830 pm, depart to Kigali international airport to prepare for your return flight.  This will be the end of your 10 days best of Uganda and Rwanda wildlife and primate encounter safari.

Meal plan: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner

Package Quotation

for 2 people in sharing a double room on full board (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) using a well-modified safari land-cruiser

The package price includes;

• Return airport transfers (pick up and drop off)
• Private transport for 10 days in a well-modifies safari land-cruiser that is (4×4 WD, air-conditioned and pop-up roof)
• Fuel for 10 days
• English speaking safari guide for 10 days
• Private luxury accommodation for 9 nights on full board (Breakfast/ Lunch/ Dinner)
• Bottled mineral waters and all en-route meals
• All government applicable taxes
• All park entrance fees and all itinerary activities
• One-way domestic flight from Murchison falls national park to Queen Elizabeth national park
• 2 mountain gorilla trekking permit per person (Bwindi impenetrable forest national park in Uganda and Volcanoes national park in Rwanda)
• 1 golden monkey tracking permit per person at Volcanoes national park
• Rhino tracking experience at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
• Hiking safari to the top of the Murchison falls
• Night and morning game drive safaris at Murchison falls national park
• 3 hours afternoon boat cruises on the river Nile
• Evening game drive at Queen Elizabeth national park
• Morning predator tracking experience at Queen Elizabeth national park
• 2 hours evening boat cruise safari on the Kazinga channel
• Evening and morning game drive safari at Ishasha sector to search for the tree climbing lions
• Mountain gorilla trekking at Bwindi impenetrable forest national park (Rushaga sector)
• Mountain gorilla trekking at Volcanoes national park Rwanda
• Golden monkey tracking at Volcanoes national park

The package price excludes;

• Country entry visas
• Personal travel insurance
• Extra meals and activities
• Alcoholic and other soft drinks (Soda, beer, special juice order at the lodge and wines)
• Items of personal nature/laundry/telephone charges/ souvenir shopping
• Tips