7 Day Primates & Wildlife Rwanda and Uganda Safari

Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport (KGL), you will clear immigration, collect your luggage, and meet your professional safari guide/driver in the arrivals hall. After a brief welcome meeting, you will transfer to your hotel in Kigali (10–20 minutes drive). If your flight arrives before 2:00 PM, you may take an optional city tour including the Kigali Genocide Memorial and a local craft market. In the evening, enjoy dinner at your hotel or a nearby restaurant. Overnight in Kigali on the 7 Day Primates & Wildlife Rwanda and Uganda Safari.

Hotel: Five To Five Hotel Kigali

Meal Plan: Half Board

After an early breakfast (6:30 AM), you will drive 2.5 hours to the Katuna border, where you will complete exit formalities from Rwanda and entry into Uganda. The East Africa Tourist Visa allows smooth passage. From the border, continue 3 hours to Lake Mburo National Park, arriving around midday for check-in and lunch. At 4:00 PM, an armed ranger will lead you on a 2-hour evening nature walk through open savannah and acacia woodland, where you can see zebras, impalas, elands, buffaloes, and many bird species. Return to your lodge before sunset for dinner and overnight near Lake Mburo.

Lodge: Hyena Hill Lodge

Meal Plan: Full Board

Wake up at 6:00 AM for a 2.5-hour morning game drive inside Lake Mburo National Park, where you may spot zebras, topis, waterbucks, and the rare sitatunga antelope. Return to your lodge for a full breakfast, then check out and drive 3–4 hours to Queen Elizabeth National Park, stopping at the Equator for photos. Arrive in the early afternoon, check into your lodge, and enjoy lunch. At 4:00 PM, set out for a short evening game drive on the Kasenyi plains, where lions, elephants, hyenas, and Uganda kobs are often active near dusk. Return to the lodge before dark for dinner and overnight in Queen Elizabeth NP.

Lodge: Bush Lodge

Meal Plan: Full Board

Begin your day with an early morning game drive (6:30 AM) in the Kasenyi sector, focusing on predators such as lions, leopards, and spotted hyenas. Return to the lodge for breakfast and rest until midday. After lunch, take the famous 2-hour Kazinga Channel boat cruise (1:00 PM – 3:00 PM), where you will see hundreds of hippos, Nile crocodiles, elephants bathing, buffaloes, and abundant birdlife including fish eagles and pelicans. In the late afternoon (4:30 PM), enjoy a second evening game drive on a different route, such as the Katunguru or crater lakes area, to spot nocturnal animals beginning to emerge. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Lodge: Bush Lodge

Meal Plan: Full Board

After breakfast, drive 30 minutes to Kyambura Gorge for chimpanzee tracking (8:00 AM). You will descend 100 meters into an underground rainforest, where a ranger guides you to a habituated chimp group. Spend one hour observing them feed, groom, and play, along with red-tailed monkeys and colobus monkeys. Exit the gorge by 11:30 AM, then enjoy lunch. After lunch, transfer 3–4 hours to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, driving through steep hills and tea plantations. Arrive in the late afternoon, check into your lodge, and attend the pre-gorilla trekking briefing. Dinner and overnight in Bwindi on the 7 Day Primates & Wildlife Rwanda and Uganda Safari.

Lodge: Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge

Meal Plan: Full Board

Wake up early (5:30 AM) for a light breakfast, then report to Bwindi park headquarters by 7:00 AM. After a brief orientation, you will begin gorilla tracking at 8:00 AM. The trek takes 2 to 6 hours through thick, muddy forest. Once you locate a habituated mountain gorilla family, you will spend one unforgettable hour with them, observing the silverback, mothers, and babies. After the trek, transfer 1.5–2 hours to Lake Bunyonyi, a beautiful crater lake. Check into your lodge, enjoy dinner, and overnight at Lake Bunyonyi.

Lodge: Keija Lodge Lake Bunyonyi

Meal Plan: Full Board

After breakfast (7:00 AM), take a 2-hour morning boat trip on Lake Bunyonyi. You will visit Punishment Island and Bwama Island, spot otters and kingfishers, and enjoy the scenery of 29 islands surrounded by green hills. Swimming is safe here. Return to your lodge by 9:30 AM, check out, and depart for Kigali via the Katuna border. Drive 1.5 hours to the border, complete exit from Uganda and re-entry into Rwanda (30–45 minutes), then continue 2.5 hours to Kigali with a lunch stop en route. Arrive at Kigali International Airport by 3:00–4:00 PM, in time for your departure flight. End of 7 Day Primates & Wildlife Rwanda and Uganda Safari.

Meal Plan: Half Board