Book the 12 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour with Mountain Gorilla trekking for an opportunity of wildlife encounters in their respective natural habitats. 12 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour will involve tracking primates like the Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees and the Golden Monkeys found in the spectacular Uganda and Rwanda National Parks. The safari is punctuated with intervals of game drives to view the savannah inhabitants, boat cruises for closer wildlife encounters, authentic cultural experiences, scenic viewing, simple nature walks and a lot more. Request a Quote
Furthermore, the 12 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour suggests arrival in Uganda through Entebbe International airport and depart through Kigali International airport in Rwanda. The 12 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour with Mountain Gorilla trekking shall take you to national parks of Murchison falls, Kibale Forest, Queen Elizabeth and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, all found in Uganda. In Rwanda, it will be Volcanoes National Park for Golden Monkey tracking and Ibyacwu cultural village tour. You shall wind up the 12 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour with a visit to the Genocide Memorial site and the local markets with in the beautiful Kigali city.
Day 1 – Arrival for your 12 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour
It is a norm at Jungle Escape Africa to receive all our visitors upon arrival at any entry point/airport. Our staff which shall include your driver and a reservations person shall be right on time for your flight arrival to receive you and transfer you to the hotel of your stay which can be in Entebbe or Kampala city. Side by side as you drive from the airport, the views of the beautiful fresh water lake – Victoria are so calming that can virtually help you in shading off some of the jetlag. Check into the hotel to rest or take dinner and a night’s rest thereafter.
Day 2 – Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park, Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
After breakfast at the hotel, be ready to set off at 7.00am for Murchison Falls National Park. You shall break the journey to pick some fresh fruits from the local roadside markets, Rhino tracking at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary – the only place in Uganda where rhinos can be spotted in the wild. After lunch at Kabalega Diners, continue to the park for relaxation with soothing sounds of the jungle dwellers. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Day 3 – Game drive in the morning and bottom of the falls boat cruise
Storm the jungles abit early for a game drive experience in Murchison Falls National Park that shall position you well for sightings of the animals as they arise or return to their hide outs. To catch such moments, we agree to leave the lodge after some simple snacks and return later for a full breakfast. Expect to spot birds in plenty, animals like the giant Elephants, Giraffes, Buffaloes, Bush bucks, Waterbucks, Jackson heart beasts, Kobs and a lot more. Lions, hyenas and Leopards are also among the animals to expect on any safari but they are so elusive. At least our experienced guides know their usual hide outs and can assist in the search. Finding them is not guaranteed though. Keep the morale high and the expectations neutral as you traverse the game trails because stumbling upon them at any time and place is one of the many jungle surprises.
Return to the lodge for a full breakfast and some rest before lunch. After lunch in the afternoon, slope down to Paraa landing area for a boat cruise to the bottom of the dramatic Murchison falls. Take a hike to the top of the falls from where the driver can pick you or return with the boat to the landing area at Para. If a hike to the top of the falls is the plan, let your driver know about it to arrange and pick you from there. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Day 4 – Top of the falls tour, drive to Kibale National Park
After breakfast, cross the Nile with the early morning ferry and visit the top of Murchison falls before continuing with the journey to Kibale National Park. The top of the falls is one of the most dramatic wildlife scenes world wide. You are to witness how the huge water volume of the mighty Nile squeezes itself through a narrow gorge that is barely 7 meters wide and plunders down 45 meters forming a thunderous roar that is quite soothing at the same time. Check out of Murchison falls National Park and drive 6 hours to Kibale National Park. Take a walk into the Bigodi Swamp in the evening after which you shall check into your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5 – Chimpanzee tracking, transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Early morning at 7.00am, check out and leave the lodge with some packed lunch to drive to the briefing point for the Chimpanzee trekking activity. Finding Chimpanzees requires some walk into their habitat and the time plus where to find them cannot be predetermined so we shall have to follow the guide to lead us through the trails to any close family or one that we may have been allocated to during the briefing session. We shall get into the car after Chimpanzee tracking to drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Depending on your place/lodge of stay, an evening game drive shall be/not possible.
Day 6 – Game drive and Boat Cruise on Kazinga Channel
Traverse the Kasenyi plains early morning after breakfast to see animals and the beautiful scenery. Queen Elizabeth is the most visited park in Uganda as it has a lot to offer ranging from plenty of wildlife, the amazing scenery and the Kazinga Channel – a water channel that connects two lakes, George and Edward, among others. After the morning game drive, return to the lodge for lunch. A boat ride on Kazinga Channel will be done after lunch. While on the Kazinga Channel, it’s as though one is viewing all the park’s wildlife in one place. This channel attracts many animals and birds that you shall find quenching their thirst, cooling off the heat, playing in/near water while some like the herbivores are further attracted by the greener grass at the channel banks. Drive back to the lodge after this exciting boat cruise for some rest and refreshing before dinner.
Day 7 – Ishasha tree climbing lions, Bwindi National Park transfer
From Queen Elizabeth National Park, we are to reach Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via Ishasha, a sector in the south of the park that is majorly famous for the tree climbing lions. Elsewhere, not in Ishasha, finding lions at great heights in tree branches is a spectacle that is only held in imaginations. It is such an opportunity for you to witness these big cats (lions) draped across tree branches or even climbing up or pouncing down. After the tree climbing lions game drive and lunch at Ishasha, we shall drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where we shall arrive in the evening. Check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8 – Gorilla Trekking and Lake Bunyonyi Tour
Wake up to the chilly misty weather of Bwindi and have breakfast before driving to the park offices/headquarters. Gorilla trekking is a major highlight for most Uganda tours. Here, you are now, so close to the Gorillas’ habitat and very excited to take up the trek to have a peek at them. But before the trek, there is a general briefing to share the Gorilla trekking rules and regulations as well as the expectations whilst tracking. As you start the trek, bear in mind that the time taken to find the Gorillas can range from half an hour to several hours or even a whole day but what is most important is leaving the forest after finding them and that is what happens every day. After finding the Mountain Gorillas, you have an hour of observing them after which you shall have to leave them to carry on with their day. Leave the forest to your waiting car and drive to the picturesque Lake Bunyonyi area. Relax by the lake in the evening and later catch a glimpse of the sunset.
Day 9 – Canoeing/Boat ride and transfer to Rwanda
At your breakfast table in the morning, your meal shall be given a special taste by the stunning views of the lake and the adjacent terraced hills. Take a canoe or a boat ride on Lake Bunyonyi, the second deepest lake in Africa to traverse its various islands which shall include Akampene or the punishment island. In the Kikiga tradition, it was a taboo for a girl to get pregnant before being married off officially by her parents and where it would happen, she would be dumped at the punishment island where she would meet her death and this would imply a curse wiped out of the family. Leave Lake Bunyonyi and drive to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda through the Chanika border post. Evening relaxation at the lodge before dinner.
Day 10 – Golden Monkey tracking, Ibyacwu Cultural Village tour
After breakfast at the lodge, drive to the park headquarters at Kinigi to register and get briefed about the Golden Monkey trek you are about to undertake. You shall walk to the edge of the forest to find these amazing and playful animals. It will be an hour watching them as they play and feed after which your guide will lead you out of the park to meet your driver at the starting point. Get into your safari vehicle to drive back to the lodge for lunch and afternoon relaxation. Visit Ibyacwu cultural village in the evening to learn and experience more of Rwanda’s cultures.
Day 11 – Kigali city tour, Genocide Memorial Site
After breakfast at the lodge, we are to drive to Kigali, Rwanda’s capital and airport city. It is a drive of 2 hours from Volcanoes National Park to Kigali. Visit the Genocide Memorial site in Kigali before having lunch at a local restaurant. Continue with the city tour after lunch where you shall check on other places among which shall be the local and craft markets, the national library. Retire to your hotel in the evening.
Day 12 – Airport transfer and departure
Breakfast at the hotel, stay at leisure until time for the transfer to Kigali International airport for your flight back home. End of the 12 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour with Mountain Gorilla trekking.