Rwanda & Uganda Wildlife & Culture

Having arrived independently to Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, you will make your way to your hotel for your included overnight stay. Today will be at your leisure and you may wish to explore some of the sights of this lively city. Alternatively, if you plan to arrive a day earlier, you can opt to take part in an optional Nile River Whitewater Rafting experience in Jinga. Suitable for rafters of all experience levels, a BBQ lunch and drinks as well as transport to and from the activity will be included. Please enquire for pricing.

1 night’s accommodation at Kampala Forest Cottages or similar, with breakfast included.

On the morning of day two you will travel from Kampala in a private vehicle, via the scenic route, to Fort Portal at the edge of Kibale National Park, where you will stay for 2 nights on a rustic guest farm. Dramatic scenery along the way will brighten the journey, and upon arrival you will be warmly greeted by your hosts and shown to your furnished tent to get settled in. Spend the evening relaxing on the farm and listening out for the calls of the birds and monkeys that reside here.

On day 3 it will be time for your exciting Chimpanzee trekking experience. Step foot into the evergreen rainforest guided by an experienced park ranger to learn all about the ecosystem here and search for sightings of chimpanzees. Although sightings of the chimps cannot be guaranteed, there are very good chances of seeing quite a few of our distant relatives and observing their behaviours, as well as other wildlife that resides in the forest. You may also wish to venture further into the wetlands for more wildlife spotting in the Bigodi Wetlands Sanctuary.

For lunch today you will visit the Bigodi community for a traditional buffet-style lunch hosted by local residents who will introduce you to Bigodi dining etiquette and tell you all about how the ingredients are grown, harvested and prepared.

2 night’s stay at Kluges Guest Farm in a simple furnished tent with shared bathroom facilities. Breakfast, lunch and dinner included.

As you leave Kibale behind, today you will set off in your private guided vehicle for another equally impressive National Park, Queen Elizabeth. On the way you will stop at the Equator for some photo opportunities before arriving at your bush lodge to begin your 2 night stay.

After settling in, in the afternoon you can head out on your first guided wildlife safari drive before returning to the lodge for dinner.

2 nights’ accommodation at the Queen Elizabeth Bush Lodge, or similar, in a simple furnished tent with shared bathroom facilities. Safari drives, 2 breakfast, 2 dinners and 1 lunch are included.

The Queen Elizabeth National Park is home to Uganda's largest wildlife populations and today you will have another chance to discover this on an early morning wildlife safari drive through the park. Search for sightings of lions, hyenas, buffalo, hippos, elephants, warthogs and even the elusive leopards as your guide takes you through the open savannah of the park, the swamp areas around Lake George and parts of the extensive Maramagambo Forest.

In the afternoon you could choose to join an optional boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel to see even more wildlife including crocodiles, hippos and a wide range of reptiles and birds.

On the morning of day 6 you will take a scenic private drive past forests, volcanoes and lakes as you make your way to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Enjoy a relaxing evening as you prepare for the adventures that lie ahead tomorrow.

On day 7 it’s time for perhaps the most exciting portion of your adventure…Mountain Gorilla Trekking! Uganda’s biggest draw for visitors, this unforgettable experience take anything between 1 to 8 hours so an early start is a must.

After an early breakfast you will join your transfer to the offices of the National Park where upon arrival you will be allocated a gorilla family, an 8-person group and a gorilla trekking guide. After a briefing into what lies ahead, including safety precautions and an introduction to the behaviour of the gorillas, you will be driven to the trailhead for the start of your thrilling adventure.

Depending on the gorilla family that you have been allocated the trek to see them can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 6 hours so patience and an average fitness level are required. (You can opt to hire a porter for the day to carry your day pack throughout the trek). The terrain can be muddy, and rainy weather is likely, but as you trek through the jungle the anticipation of seeing these gentle giants in the wild, along with the spectacular views and likely bird sightings on offer, is likely to be more than enough distraction from that. And we can almost guarantee that when you come face to face with these majestic animals the trek will soon become a distant memory!

Upon sighting the gorillas your group will be allowed one hour with them to watch them as they go about their daily lives; feeding, moving, playing, wrestling and feeding their young – this will be a totally unique and unforgettable experience!

Gorilla trekking experiences in Bwindi have been designed to ensure that numbers are kept to a minimum whilst still offering the experience of seeing these animals in the wild so that more can be done to protect them and ensure the species’ ongoing survival. The vast majority of your gorilla permit cost goes to protecting these vulnerable animals and ensuring that their population thrives. Thanks to these conservation efforts, in the last few years the mountain gorillas population in Bwindi NP alone has increased from 300 to 400! Without tourist visits there would be substantially less funds available to do this. Each of the habituated families of mountain gorillas are only allowed to be visited by one group of eight people per day, and only 72 visitors are allowed each day.

2 nights accommodation at Rushaga Gorilla Camp, or similar, in a simple furnished tent or room with en-suite bathroom facilities. Mountain Gorilla trek and breakfasts included.

As your exciting bucket-list Uganda and Rwanda adventure nears its end, there’s time for one more excursion as you cross the border into Rwanda and are driven to Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city. Here you can take an included visit to the interesting Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, which serves as a permanent memorial to those who fell victim to the genocide in 1994. You can also enjoy a traditional lunch at the Women’s Centre in Nyamirambo, the largest and most vibrant township in Rwanda. The centre provides women and girls from a diverse range of backgrounds the opportunity to support each other and succeed, through education and training programs, and you can learn all about the work here as you tuck into some local foods and popular dishes prepared by the women employed at the centre. Proceeds from the lunch help support the centre’s education and training programs and you may also wish to have a look around the centre’s shop which features high-quality crafts and clothes made by the women of the centre as well as other women's cooperatives throughout Rwanda. Proceeds from the shop also go to supporting the centre.

After lunch and your visit to the Memorial centre, your private vehicle will drop you at a downtown location where you may wish to spend another night here to see more of the city, or make your way to the airport for your homeward flights. If you’re seeking even more adventure, we can help you with options for extending your tour.