2 Weeks -Big 5 Safari Gorilla Uganda -Rwanda
Overview:
This 14 days Uganda Adventure Safari starts in Entebbe International Airport and Ends at Kigali
Airport. Meet eye to eye with the amazing gorillas and chimpanzees of Uganda in their natural
habitat, one of Africa’s major highlights. This close encounter with these amazing apes is simply
breathtaking. Also get a close encounter with other diverse African wildlife, beautiful landscapes,
and amazing culture and if you are a keen Birder, this is the place to be. Experience the wonder of
the World’s reknown Murchison Falls as it squeezes through the narrow gorge.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe International Airport
Meet and greet at Entebbe International Airport where your Uganda Adventure Safari starts by our representative who will warmly welcome you and facilitate seamless arrival formalities. Your will then be transferred to your hotel where you will be briefed about your adventure safari.
Accommodation: Boma Guest House or Similar
Meal Plan: Bed and Breakfast
Day 2: Kampala- Murchsion Falls National Park
After your early morning breakfast drive northwest to Murchison Falls National Park, you may stopover at the Rhino Sanctuary for an opportunity to trek Rhinos . There are 15 Rhinos which were reintroduced after their extinction in the 1970s through poaching. A local ranger guide will lead you on foot to an up-close encounter with the rhinos and it may take about 1 and half hours. Proceed to Masindi Town for lunch at your expense and later continue to Murchison Falls National Park arriving at your lodge late afternoon.
Accommodation: Pakuba Safari Lodge or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 3: Murchsion Falls National Park- Game Drives and Boat Safari
Arise very early in the morning for your game drive on the northern bank of the River Nile in your open-roof vehicle which will give you an excellent opportunity to view and photograph the diverse wildlife. Your guide will help you spot elephant, lion, cape buffalo, Roth child’s giraffe, hartebeest, waterbuck, oribi, bushbuck, bohor reed buck, hyena and if you are lucky, the leopard. After lunch, go for a boat cruise upstream the calm Victoria Nile to the base of the falls
stopping just few of meters from the ‘Devil’s Cauldron’, marvel at the schools of hippos, crocodiles and over the 17km stretch you may see elephant, waterbuck and Uganda Kob. This is also the zone of many birds, species like goliath heron, Egyptian goose, pelican bee-eater, kingfisher, hornbill, cormorant and the rare shoebill stork. After taking shorts of the photogenic Murchison Falls, you may continue to the top of the falls where you will have the amazing view of the falls! See where the Nile -world’s longest river explodes violently through a narrow cleft in the Rift Valley escarpment to plunge into a frothing pool 43m below. Later, return to your lodge and relax in the evening.
Accommodation: Pakuba Safari Lodge or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 4: Murchsion Falls to Kibale Forest National Park
After your morning breakfast, Carry packed lunch from the Lodge and begin your journey to Kibale Forest National Park. Drive south via Hoima to Fort Portal through verdant countryside passing through traditional homesteads, farms and Tea Estates. You will arrive at your lodge in the late afternoon. Check in at your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Accommodation: Turracco Tree Tops or Similar
Meal Plan: Full board
Day 5: Chimp Trekking - Afternoon Swamp Walk
After breakfast at your lodge, transfer to the starting point of your Chimpanzee tracking experience in Kibale Forest National Park which is reputed to have the greatest variety and highest concentration of primates in East Africa. The most famous of its 13 species is the Chimpanzee, man’s closest relative. Kibale’s 1450 Chimpanzee represent Uganda’s largest population of this endangered primate. Kibale is also a home to the rare I’Hoest’s monkey. Other primates include the black and white Colobus, Blue monkey, Grey cheeked mangabey, Red tailed monkey, Olive baboon to mention but a few. So you will
enjoy a guided nature walk in the tropical rainforest in search of the wild chimpanzees, red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys and many others. Although chimp sightings are not guaranteed, visitors stand a good chance of hearing and seeing
our distant cousins as they gloom and bond with one another. After lunch, head to Bigodi for an optional afternoon swamp walk. Bigodi was established by a local development organization to protect the 4sq-km Magombe Swamp that’s home to around 200 species of birds (highlights include papyrus gonolek, white-winged warbler and great blue turaco). The highlight of this tour is catching a glimpse of the great blue turaco. The swamp is also good for spotting butterflies and primates, with 8 different species here, including grey-cheeked mangabey. The 2-3 hour guided walk is led by experienced local guides who interact with the guests and make the trip both enjoyable and exciting.
Accommodation: Turracco Tree Tops or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 6: Kibale to Queen Elizabeth National Park- Evening Game Drive
After breakfast at your lodge before you proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park following the mystical Rwenzori Mountain Range. Your expert driver guide will take you through the game park where you might spot some animals.
Accommodation: Bush Lodge or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 7:Game Drives – Boat Cruise on the Kazinga Channel
Queen Elizabeth National Park’s diverse eco-system of grassy plains, tropical forest, rivers, swamps, lakes and volcanic craters is home to an incredible abundance of wildlife. Have an early morning game drive where you have an opportunity to view the massive Rwenzori as backdrop, which provides excellent opportunities to spot lion, leopard, giant forest hog, Cape buffalo, elephant, defassa waterbuck, Uganda Kob, topi and bushbuck. The game drives and the boat trip (taken prior) are memorable methods of discovering a vast array of Ugandan wildlife. Be sure to have your camera ready for
these amazing sightings!
You will enjoy lunch and later in the afternoon take a unique 2-hour boat cruise on the Kazinga Channel into Lake Edward. This trip passes through possibly the highest concentration of hippos and this launch/cruise offers an excellent platform for photography, bird watching and game viewing. The prolific bird life is colorful and stupendous, with well over 550 resident species.
Accommodation: Bush Lodge or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 8: Ishasha- Tree Climbing Lions Search
After your early morning breakfast, pack-up your bags and transfer to IshashaPlains, a Sector in Queen Elizabeth, Enjoy the wilderness and its habitants that are highlighted by Uganda’s Tree Climbing Lions as well as numerous Birds and more Mammals.
Have Lunch and Proceed with another afternoon Search for More mammals or relax at the Lodge.
Accommodation: Enjojo Lodge or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 9: Tranfer to Bwindi impenetrable National Park
After your early morning breakfast, pack-up your bags and drive through Ishasha plains for your final visit with the tree climbing lions and other wildlife before heading out of the Queen Elizabeth National Park and on to Bwindi. The drive takes you through 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.
Accommodation: Mutanda Lake Resort or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 10: Ultimate Gorilla Trekking
After an early breakfast depart to the starting point for briefing about your gorilla trekking adventure after which you will be led by experienced gorilla trackers on the slopes of the volcanoes. You will start from the site where the gorillas were encountered the day before and from here the gorilla tracking begins. Although the hike can be physically demanding, the anticipation of the exciting experience ahead is amazing, and the beauty of the gorilla forest and its inhabitants are fascinating. One of Africa’s major highlights is when you encounter these gentle apes. It is a humbling experience to stand just meters from man’s distant cousins as they eat rest, play and bond with their young ones. Follow the mountain gorillas as they range freely in the impenetrable forest, and discover their gorgeous natural habitual and the many species they share it with. You are allowed an hour with the gorillas before finally sloping down back to your lodge. If your trek was relatively short, you may have a guided nature walk around the lodge and the surrounding communities in the evening. Return to the lodge where you will enjoy dinner with your fellow travelers before getting a good night’s rest for tomorrow’s safari
adventure.
You may opt for Gorilla Habituation on supplement of $900 per person – here you will be sure of meeting and spending enough time with the Gorillas.
Don’t forget to carry your rain gear, packed lunch, plenty of water, gloves, hat, and water proof bag for protection of your camera in case of rain
Accommodation: Mutanda Lake Resort or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day11: Transfer to Gisenyi - Lake Kivu
After breakfast Embark on your Cross Boarder Journey to Rwanda the land of a thousand hills Have Lunch and Stopover at the Diane Fossey Museum . Later transfer to Lake Kivu for an overnight.
Accommodation: Paradise Malahide or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day12: Relaxed Optional Activities at Lake Kivu
Have breakfast, drive to Gisenyi and participate in (optional) relaxed activities on the lake; swimming, boat ride, or just lay by the beach sun bathing. Lake Kivu is a fresh water lake and, along with Cameroonian Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun, is one of three that are known to undergo limnic eruptions. Around the lake, geologists found evidence of massive local extinctions about every thousand years, presumably caused by out gassing events. The trigger for lake overturns is unknown in Lake Kivu’s case, but volcanic activity is suspected. The gaseous chemical composition of exploding lakes is unique to each lake. In Lake Kivu’s case, it includes methane and carbon dioxide, as a result of lake water interaction with a volcano.
Accommodation: Paradise Malahide or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day13: Transfer to Kigali-City Tour
Transfer to Kigali. Make a city tour where you will visit the Kigali Genocide memorial center, the museum in Butare or go for shopping for curios if time permits.
Transfer to Kigali airport in time for your departure flight.
Accommodation: Urban by City Blue or Similar
Meal Plan: Full Board
Day 14: Departure Flight
Relaxed Breakfast and transfer to the Airport.
Meal Plan;Breakfast