Day 1 – Entebbe / Kampala

On your arrival at Entebbe International Airport in Uganda our representative will welcome you and transfer for overnight in BB in Entebbe, at Karibu Guest House / Boma Hotel / 2Friends Beach Hotel. BB

Day 2 – Ziwa Reserve - Murchison Falls National Park

Full Board. After breakfast your adventure in Uganda will begin driving northwest to Masindi and Murchison Falls National Park. First activity along the journey is the nature walk in Ziwa Rhino sanctuary, the rhinos breeding project which has brought back to Uganda the endangered white rhinos and you will see them closely while walking freely. Lunch at a restaurant. Proceed to Murchison Falls, the largest national park in Uganda, that offers beautiful sceneries of grassland acacia and palm trees savannah in the north and tropical forests in the south. You reach the river Nile at the beautiful Murchison Falls and you will have a view from the “top of the falls”. Before evening you check in to your lodge, dinner and overnight, Paraa Safari Lodge / Twiga Safari Lodge (C) or Pakuba Lodge / Bamboo Village Lodge (E). 

Note: Today transfer is about 6 hours’ drive, part of it through dirt road within the park for a distance of about 350 km

Day 3 – Murchison Falls National Park

Full Board. Early breakfast, you will depart for an early morning game drive using our safari vehicle to explore the savannah, in the region of the delta of the Nile on Lake Albert, Northern bank. Among other animals in the wild, you might find elephants, lions, buffalos, giraffes, waterbucks, bushbucks, spotted hyenas and, very rarely, the leopards. Relax as you drive back to the lodge where you will have lunch. 

In the afternoon, another safari will be organized by boat along the river Nile to the base of the Murchison Falls. It is amazing the concentration of wildlife in the bank of the river Nile, including hippos, crocodiles, and a variety of bird’s species, like African eagles, pelicans, kingfisher, Egyptian geese and much more. Dinner and overnight Paraa Safari Lodge / Twiga Safari Lodge (C) orPakuba Lodge / Bamboo Village Lodge (E) 

Day 4 – Albertine Rift Valley and Fort Portal

Full Board. After breakfast you leave the National Park proceeding southwest along the Lake Albert and Rift Valley escarpment, which offers a lot of sceneries and viewpoints. You pass via Hoima the capital town of Bunyoro kingdom and through tea, banana, coffee and cocoa plantations. Lunch en route in Bugoma forest at Bugoma Jungle Lodge where we also organize a short nature walk to appreciate this authentic site. By evening you reach Fort Portal, the capital town of Tooro kingdom on the shadow of Rwenzori Mountains, the biggest mountain range in Africa. Dinner and overnight at Turaco Treetops Lodge / Rubalika Lodge and Farm / Guereza Canopy Lodge (C) or Isunga Lodge / Kibale Guest Cottages (E). 

Note: Today transfer is about 5 / 6 hours drive, through dirt road and variable conditions for about 350 km.

Day 5 – Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest - Queen Elizabeth National Park

Full Board. With early breakfast, set off for the chimpanzee tracking experience in the forest of Kibale. The activity starts as early as 8am or in the afternoon with a briefing from the head park ranger. Hot lunch at the lodge and afterwards take the activity visiting the eco-tourist site of Bigodi for community walk where you get closer to the inhabitant of the area surrounding the forest, meeting some of them and learning about history, traditions and customs. This experience is possible though the organization KAFRED, which provides local guides. It is also possible to plant a tree at the tree planting site under the project “One traveler, one tree, one forest”. In the evening transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, for dinner and overnight Mweya Safari Lodge / Kikorongo Lodge / Katara Lodge (C) or Ihamba Lakeside Safari Lodge / Enganzi Lodge / Marafiki Lodge / Aardvark Lodge (E). 

Note: The chimpanzee trekking can be done in the morning or in the afternoon according to availability of permits. 

Day 6 – Queen Elizabeth National Park

Full Board. In the early morning, after breakfast, long game drive along the tracks of the national park, in the Northern sectors and towards Lake George and Kasenyi village, using our safari vehicle. You might see lions, elephants, buffaloes, spotted hyenas, waterbucks, Ugandan kobs, perhaps the leopard though is shy and rare to be seen.

Lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon, from Mweya peninsula you take the exciting safari by boat along Kazinga channel, one of the most popular sites in Uganda for its concentration of wildlife, bird’s life and opportunities for good photographs. Moreover, you will see plenty of hippos, buffaloes and elephants while drinking from the channel. By evening, there is a short transfer to the south of Queen Elizabeth Park in the Ishasha sector. Dinner and overnight at Ishasha Jungle lodge. 

Day 7 – Ishasha – Lake Bunyonyi

Full Board. After breakfast, morning game drive in the area of Ishasha which is famed with the tendency of lions climbing up in the acacia trees. After early lunch at the lodge, you leave the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth and proceed further south towards the area famed for its stunning dramatic beauty bearing one of Africa’s deepest Lakes. With the many islands on the lake and a chance to discover the indigenous tribe of ‘Twa’ by boat trip, Lake Bunyonyi offers the peace and tranquility of a dreamer’s heaven. Lunch en route. You reach by evening the Lake Bunyonyi after Kabale town. Dinner and overnight at Bird Nest Resort / Arcadia Cottages Bunyonyi (C) or Bunyonyi Eco-resort / Lake Bunyonyi Rock Resort (E). 

Note: Today transfer can be up to 5 hours through mountain road for about 140 km.

Day 8 - Lake Bunyonyi – Bwindi Forest / Mgahinga National Park

Full Board. After breakfast, you will enjoy one of the most extraordinary wildlife and birding experience by boat crossing the Lake Bunyonyi. With its forested and green islands, the lake is home to species of endemic birds and the guide will help you to spot many of them. Lunch at the lodge. 

In the afternoon, the journey proceeds to the area of Bwindi Forest National Park or Mgahinga Gorillla NP. Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Safari Lodge / Ichumbi Lodge (C) or Lake Mulehe Gorilla Lodge / Lake Chahafi Lodge / Bweza Lodge (E). 

NOTE: the gorilla trekking may be in Bwindi or in Mgahinga according to availability of permits.

Day 9 - Mountain gorilla tracking - Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

Full Board. After breakfast, in the morning you will have the top primates’ travel experience: the gorilla trekking in the forest in search for one of the habituated families of mountain gorillas. After the briefing from the park rangers, you follow them as they guide you through the forest’s trails. Bring with you water and packed lunch. It is not predictable the time you will spend to find the gorillas. You have one hour for observing the primates and their behaviors, while taking photographs. 

By evening, cross the border of Rwanda from Cyanika. Dinner and overnight at Five Volcanoes Lodge (deluxe) / Sambora Lodge(C) or Mountain Gorilla View Lodge / Tiloreza Volcanoes Ecolodge / Ndaza Escape Hotel (E).

Day 10 – Volcanoes national Park – Transfer to Lake Kivu Kibuye

Full Board. This morning after breakfast we organize one trekking in Volcanoes National Park. This activity can be a choice between visiting the tombs of Dian Fossey and the mountain gorillas at the Old Karisoke Center on Mount Visoke; or taking the golden monkey trekking to see this endemic endangered primate. Both activities ought to be booked in advance. Any of the activities booked starts at 7am with a briefing from the head park warden of RDB. Take caution to carry drinking water and a packed lunch box. 

In the afternoon we recommend visiting the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund Ellen DeGeneres Campus, with its photographic collection that tells the story of gorilla conservation since the time of Dian Fossey. In the center there is also the Azizi Life Gorillas Gift Shop, not to be missed. In the town of Kinigi there are also eco-tourism programs where you can watch traditional Intore dances.

Later in the afternoon, the journey continues to Kibuye in the direction of South Western Rwanda along the road on the shores of Lake Kivu. Dinner and overnight at Cormoran Lodge / Inn On the Lake. Upgrade: Cleo Kivu Hotel. 

Note: All optional activities ought to be booked in advance at a supplement

Day 11 – On the shores of Lake Kivu and Southern Rwanda

Full Board. After breakfast, we organize an activity on Lake Kivu, a boat excursion on the lake to see Napoleon Island and other naturalistic sites. After lunch at the hotel, you will continue your journey to Cyangugu, which is located on the south shore of Lake Kivu, near the entrance to Nyungwe Forest. We can organize the Rwandan “tea experience” through the IVOMO organization https://ivomo.rw/ a social enterprise that aims to promote culture and community tourism, to support local communities through responsible tourism in South- West of Rwanda. Activities include tea harvesting with farmers, traditional and modern tea making, tasting at the factory in Gisakura. You visit the tea museum and support the local communities by purchasing souvenirs in the local products shop. You will continue towards Nyungwe National Park, in southern Rwanda along Lake Kivu Dinner and overnight at Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel (C) or Emeraude Kivu Resort / Nyungwe Nziza Eco-lodge (E)

Day 12 – Primates Trekking in Nyungwe Forest National Park

Full Board. After an early breakfast, at 7am you will enter the Nyungwe forest for the Angolan colobus trekking and other forest primates (supplement for chimpanzee trekking). Nyungwe Park expands over 970 square km of verdant hills, the largest tropical forest in East Africa. It is home to 13 different species of primates, including the Angolan colobus, the red-tailed monkey, the velvet monkey, the owl-faced monkey and the silver monkey and is a habitat for chimpanzees. Return to the lodge for lunch. 

Free afternoon and in the evening we organize the "canopy walk", the panoramic walk on a suspension bridge over the forest.

Dinner and overnight at Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel (C) or Nyungwe Nziza Eco-lodge / Emeraude Kivu Resort (E)

Day 13 – Butare – Nyanza - Kigali 

Half Board. After breakfast you will drive to Kigali. Lunch in Butare, the second town in Rwanda, considered the cultural capital, hosting the university and the National Museum. Very rewarding are the handicraft shops where are sold typical products made by Rwandan artisans, especially in the weaving and baskets. As you proceed, a stop over is made in Nyanza, that in the past was the political capital and it hosts the antique Royal palace, entirely renovated for the visitors, displaying original items and pieces of history of the Mwami, the king. Arrive in Kigali for your flights at Kigali International airport. 

Note: Today's journey is approximately 7 hours by road, for approximately 260 km. Please note that flights schedule should be not before 8 pm to allow time; If necessary, we will add an overnight stay in Kigali with the corresponding supplements.

Possible Extensions