14 Days Ultimate Safari In Uganda and Rwanda

14 Days Ultimate Safari In Uganda and Rwanda

Experience Uganda and Rwanda in 14 Days! This Uganda-Rwanda safari will take you to the wilderness Mabamba Swamp, Jinja, Kibale Forest, Bwindi Impenetrable, Volcanoes and Queen Elizabeth National Parks. Enjoy the jungle to experience the gorillas, chimpanzees, wildlife, birds in Uganda and Rwanda.

Itinerary

Day 1: Birding in Mabamba Swamp

Stop At: Mabamba Swamp Bird Watching, Kasanje, Mabamba, Uganda
Morning drive to Mabamba swamp for the Shoebill Stork and other water birds. Look out for many different birds on our way to the swamp, like the Papyrus Gonolek, White Winged Warbler and Weyns Weaver. This Swamp is one of the best places to spot the exceptional Shoebill Stork. But we should not under look other species found here, like the Allen’s and Purple Gallinule, Grey, Purple, Rufous Bellied and Goliath herons, African and Lesser Jacanas, Squaco Herons, the Globally threatened Pallid Harrier and Blue Swallow the migrant species, a variety of egrets, ducks etc. The best way to enjoy the rich bird life is by canoe and you might even have the luck to encounter the elusive Sitatunga Antelope, adapted to swampy habitats.
Duration: 7 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 2: Transfer to Jinja for white water rafting

Stop At: Source of the Nile - Speke Monument, Bukaya Njeru, Jinja 7675 Uganda
After morning breakfast, your guide will transfer you to Jinja for rafting. You will explore the Nile on a boat as you peddle past six different grades of rapids with your wooden peddle. Expect to be overturned with your boat as you pass these rapids as you enjoy one of the most thrilling adventures where only the strong hearted will participate. You will have lunch and later return in the Afternoon to your Kampala hotel.
Duration: 8 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 3: Transfer to Kibale national park

Stop At: Kibale National Park, Kasese Uganda
After an early breakfast, Leave Kampala for Kibale NP. The drive to the west through Mityana to Mubende and later to Fort Portal is about 6-7hours but rewards you with sights of plantations, local shops and the lifestyle of the people of Uganda. At Mubende, you have a chance to visit the Nakayima tree which acts like a shrine where local people always visit to seek blessings from the spirit Nakayima, a Muganda goddess. You will learn the superstitions surrounding its existence from the local attendant. This 400 years old tree is like a house, with an entrance where ladies with trousers are prohibited from entering.You will proceed to to have lunch in Fort Portal as you catch a glimpse of the Tooro kingdom palace as well as local shops and markets.After lunch you will drive for not more than an hour to Kibale Forest national park whilst glancing at the scenic peaks of the Rwenzori Mountains if the weather allows.
Duration: 7 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest National Park

Stop At: Kibale National Park, Kasese Uganda
Take an early breakfast and report to the park headquarters with packed lunch for briefing about Chimpanzee tracking. You will then proceed to track these primates that are believed to share 98.4% of the DNA with human beings. While in this forest, you are likely to encounter other primates like the black and white colobus monkey, the red tailed monkey, the olive baboon, the blue monkey, grey cheeked mangabeys, Vervet monkey, bush baby, and L’hoest’s monkey among others. A number of bird species will sing for you good melodies as you track primates. Of the park’s 325 species, 6 are endemic to the Albertine rift including the black capped apalis, blue headed sun bird, dusky crimsom wing, and the red-faced woodland warbler among others. Remember that Kibale Forest is regarded as the Primate capital of the world for its 13 primate species; the highest primate population in Africa. It is also home to the East Africa’s largest population of the threatened red colobus monkey. After your lunch, you will take a nature walk around Bigodi wetland sanctuary. The walk will reward you with primate and bird viewing as well as a chance to visit different community projects at Bigodi and interact with the local people.
Duration: 6 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 5: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Stop At: Queen Elizabeth National Park, 410 kilometers from Kampala, Kasese Uganda
Enjoy breakfast at leisure and transfer to Queen Elizabeth NP whilst enjoying en route views of the magnificent Rwenzori Mountain, a chance to visit the Ndali crater area for scenic viewing and later glance at the local businesses in Kasese town. Proceed to enter the park with a game drive, viewing different wildlife species. Arrive at the lodge early enough for lunch. After lunch take a game drive around the park as you look out for the common residents like elephants, buffalos, bush bucks among others. Continue to reach the Katwe crater area as you glimpse at the locals mining salt and learn of the other community projects.
Duration: 4 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 6: Game drive and Boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Stop At: Queen Elizabeth National Park, 410 kilometers from Kampala, Kasese Uganda
After an early breakfast, embark on a rewarding game drive along the Kasenyi trail with hopes of viewing a variety of wildlife like the elephant, the buffalo, the giraffe, topi, water buck, bush buck, kob, warthogs among the park’s 100 mammal species. Do not forget to look out for the carnivores like lions, jackals, spotted hyenas, and leopard if lucky as they retire from a night’s hunt. Return for lunch at your lodge before carrying out an afternoon boat trip along Kazinga channel which will captivate you with fascinating views of yawning crocodiles, hippos, buffalos, elephants and other wildlife that storm the channel for water as well as an array of bird species including the African fish eagle, African skimmer, the pelicans, and the prehistoric looking shoe bill among others.
Duration: 6 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 7: Game drive in Ishasha and Crater lakes experience

Stop At: Queen Elizabeth National Park, 410 kilometers from Kampala, Kasese Uganda
After your breakfast, take a game drive to Ishasha sector in the southern part of the park expecting to see the tree-climbing lions that are a popular species of this park. Your drive might reward you with sights of other animals like Kobs and gazelles grazing in the Ishasha plains. You will have lunch there and proceed with another game drive across the plains. In the evening you will have a walk to experience the beautiful crater lakes.
Duration: 8 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 8: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Stop At: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Buhoma Kanungu and Kisoro, Kabale Uganda
This drive will take you to the Switzerland of Africa area known as the Kigezi Highlands with its terraced hillside and winding roads to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, arriving in the evening. Check into the lodge for dinner and your overnight stay.
Duration: 7 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 9: Bwindi Gorilla trekking

Stop At: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Buhoma Kanungu and Kisoro, Kabale Uganda
After an early breakfast, report to the park headquarters for pre-trekking briefing by the senior park ranger guide. Proceed for this thrilling adventure that will lead you through the dense forest with steep wet slopes on your quest for the endangered apes. The time taken to see the Mountain gorillas is not specific because it depends on where they will have spent the previous night. Once you catch a glimpse of them, you are guaranteed an hour with them as you observe and learn their behaviors while taking photos to back up your memory. There after transfer to the stunning Lake Bunyonyi.
Duration: 6 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 10: Relaxation at Lake Bunyonyi

Stop At: Lake Bunyonyi Rock Resort, Plot 10 and 11 Kashambya, Kabale, Uganda
After your breakfast, transfer to Lake Bunyonyi as you enjoy the magnificent views of Kabale hills adorned with terraces. After lunch you will take a boat trip to explore the different islands on this 2nd deepest lake in Africa. You are likely to be fascinated by the overwhelming variety of birds from which the lake derives its name.
Duration: 8 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 11: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park Rwanda

Stop At: Volcanoes National Park, Musanze Kinigi, Ruhengeri Rwanda
After a breakfast, you will transfer to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. The park shelters a third of the World’s remaining mountain Gorillas and has 5 of the 8 volcanoes that make up the Virunga chain of Volcanoes including Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhavura, Sabinyo and Gahinga.
Duration: 5 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 12: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Stop At: Volcanoes National Park, Musanze Kinigi, Ruhengeri Rwanda
Report to the park headquarters after a cup of coffee with your packed lunch for briefing by the senior park ranger guide. Proceed thence to track the man’s evolutionary cousin in this light forest as you hike up and down the slopes of the volcanoes. The time you will spend tracking will depend on where the Gorillas will have spent the previous night. Once you sight them, you will be given an hour to observe and learn much about their behaviors as you take photos to show your people at home. After trekking, return to relax at your lodge or take an optional visit to the Banyarwanda community.
Duration: 6 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 13: Transfer to Kigali for Culture tour and Genocide museum

Stop At: Kigali Genocide Memorial, KG 14 Ave, Kigali Rwanda
After your breakfast, transfer to Kigali for a visit to the Gisozi genocide memorial site as you picture out the terrifying memories of the 1994 survivors of one of the most horrific disasters the world has known where the Hutu massacred thousands of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in less than 100 days. Proceed to visit Hotel des Mille Collines where the movie; ‘Hotel Rwanda’ was acted and then to the crafts markets and other local markets as you try out your bargaining skills with the local business men and women. Explore the city regarded as the region’s cleanest capital for the rest of your day.
Duration: 8 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.

Day 14: Departure

Stop At: Kigali Arts Center, 44 KG 654 St, Kigali Rwanda
Take a cup of coffee at leisure and prepare to go for last shopping before transferring to the airport for your departure flight.
Duration: 4 hours

No meals included on this day.
No accommodation included on this day.