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11 Days Rwanda Uganda Safari – Gorilla Trekking In Bwindi & Volcanoes, Chimpanzees In Kalinzu & Nyungwe, Wildlife Viewing In Queen, Relaxation at Lake Kivu, Kigali City, & Community Tours

11 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour – SAFARI OVERVIEW

This 11 Days Rwanda Uganda Safari is a remarkable Rwanda and Uganda trip vacation tour that offers Gorilla trekking in Uganda Bwindi Impenetrable Forest & Volcanoes National Parks, Chimpanzee tracking in Kalinzu Forest & Nyungwe National Park, wildlife safari in Queen Elizabeth Park, beach relaxation at Lake Kivu, a Kigali City tour, community tours, and beautiful scenery viewing in Uganda – the Pearl of Africa and Rwanda – the Land of a Thousand Hills.

If you are looking for a safari that will give you the best double Gorilla trekking and Chimpanzee tracking activities in Uganda and Rwanda then, this 11 days Uganda and Rwanda safari tour is the perfect trip to book.

You will also have a fascinating encounter with the tree-climbing lions, African Elephants, Hippos, and other fantastic African savannah animals in Uganda’s leading national game park, the Queen Elizabeth National Park.

This safari will require some reasonable amount of physical ability due to the tiresome hiking activities planned for in the circuit and is suitable for travelers above 15 years of age. This 10 nights 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari starts from Entebbe Uganda and ends in Kigali Rwanda.

We are flexible and can arrange this Africa safari expedition depending on your safari desires, needs, and budget. Get more details on what to expect…let us hear from you about this safari!

11 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour – SAFARI PRIME ACTIVITIES

Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park
Track Chimpanzees in Kalinzu Forest
Track Chimpanzees in Nyungwe Forest
Canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest
Community tours at Bwindi
Classic game drives in Queen Elizabeth National Park
Track the pride of tree-climbing lions in Ishasha
Boat cruise on Kazinga Channel
Excellent bird-watching opportunities
Cultural of Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village
Relax on the beautiful shores of Lake Kivu
Tour city tour & the genocide memorial
Uganda Equator crossing experience

11 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour – FEATURED PARKS / DESTINATIONS

Day 1, 2, 3 & 4: Queen Elizabeth National Park & Kalinzu Forest

Day 5 & 6: Bwindi Impenetrable National Park & Batwa Community

Day 7: Volcanoes National Park & Iby’Iwacu Village.

Day 8: Lake Kivu – Gisenyi

Day 9 & 10: Nyungwe Forest National Park

Day 11: Kigali city

11 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour – SAFARI HIGHLIGHTS

Day 1: Drive to Queen Elizabeth Park via the Uganda Equator Line Kayabwe & Igongo Cultural Centre in Mbarara.

Day 2: Morning game drive & afternoon Kazinga channel boat cruise.

Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking in Kalinzu forest. Transfer to the southern Ishasha Sector, the home tree-climbing lions.

Day 4: Whole day game drive in search of tree-climbing lions and other wildlife.

Day 5: Bush Breakfast & Travel to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Evening Batwa Cultural Experience.

Day 6: Morning Gorilla trekking & optional evening community walk.

Day 7: Travel to Rwanda & Volcanoes National Park. Tour Iby’Iwacu Village.

Day 8: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes & drive to Gisenyi, Lake Kivu for relaxation.

Day 9: Drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park via the Congo Nile Divide. Afternoon Tea Plantation Experience.

Day 10: Morning Chimpanzee tracking & Nyungwe forest canopy walk

Day 11: Transfer to Kigali for a city tour. Optional Colobus Monkey Tracking in Nyungwe Forest.

11 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour – DETAILED SAFARI ITINERARY

Day 1: Drive to Queen Elizabeth Park via the Uganda Equator Line Kayabwe & Igongo Cultural Centre in Mbarara.

Your fantastic 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari tour starts in Entebbe a town in central Uganda situated on a beautiful peninsula in Lake Victoria.

At 6.30 am, our safari driver guide will pick up you from your place of stay. After loading your bags into a comfortable 4×4 safari car, you’ll take a beautiful drive of about 7 hours southwest to Uganda’s leading game park, Queen Elizabeth National Park. You’ll travel through the outskirts of Uganda’s capital, Kampala.

You’ll have a stopover at the Equator, Kayabwe. Uganda is one of the 13 countries on Earth where you can cross this imaginary geographical line on land. Take some photos and observe how water swirls in opposite directions on either side of the equator. Continue your drive, making a lunch stop in Mbarara at Igongo Cultural Centre, which has a top restaurant and one of the best museums in Uganda.

After lunch, proceed on your journey to Queen.

Passing quite rural villages, exchanging waves with friendly locals, and admiring the impressive Ankole cattle (their horns are unusually large) and the beautiful viewing of the fabled Mountains of the Moon – you will begin to understand just why Uganda is called the Pearl of Africa.

You’ll arrive with a game drive at your lodge in the park for relaxation. Then go on an evening game drive, returning to the lodge at sunset.

Accommodation:-

Luxury: – Mweya Safari Lodge/Kyambura Gorge Lodge

Mid-range:- Enganzi Game Lodge/Bush Lodge

Budget: – Pumba Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 417km or 6-7 hours

Activities & Services:-

Uganda Equator Crossing Experience
Transfer to Queen Elizabeth Park
Evening game drive

Optional Activity:-

Night game drive

Day 2: Morning Game Drive in Kasenyi Plains & Afternoon Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Queen Elizabeth National Park encompasses 1978km² of beautiful lakes, rolling savannah, lush rainforests, and fertile wetlands making it a haven for classic African animals like Giant forest hogs, Uganda Kobs, Hippos, Elephants, Buffalos, Leopards, Warthogs, Waterbucks, Hyenas, and tree-climbing lions.

The park also has 10 primate species, including chimpanzees and over 600 species of birds! After early breakfast on day two of your 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari tour, head out for the game drive in the park’s Kasenyi savannah plains for a chance to spot some impressive African big game species and birds. You will return to the resort for lunch and relaxation after your wildlife drive.

In the afternoon take a relaxing two-hour boat trip on the Kazinga Channel between George and Edward Lakes. The channel hosts some of Africa’s densest concentration of hippo, as well as Crocodiles, Elephants, Buffalos, and waterbirds like Pelicans. Following your boat tour, have a game viewing drive along the channel track as you return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation:-

Luxury: – Mweya Safari Lodge/Kyambura Gorge Lodge

Mid-range:- Enganzi Game Lodge/Bush Lodge

Budget: – Pumba Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities & Services:-

Morning game drive in Kasenyi
Afternoon boat cruise on Kazinga Channel

Optional Activities:-

Night game drive
Visit Katwe Salt Lake Community
Coffee tour around Kyambura
Lion tracking

Day 3: Chimpanzee Trekking In Kalinzu Forest. Transfer to the Southern Ishasha Sector, the Home Tree-Climbing Lions.

Kalinzu Forest is a natural habitat for over 300 chimpanzees, 6 different monkey species, 378 bird species, 262 butterfly species, 97 months, and 414 plant species.

Another early start takes you to this lush rainforest to track the forest’s most remarkable residents and our closest relatives: chimpanzees.

Trekking the chimps takes 2-5 hours and these great apes are incredibly fun to watch as they squabble and play in fruiting trees. Your expert local guides will introduce you to the members of the chimp communities that inhabit the forest.

After your one-hour encounter with them, enjoy a bush picnic lunch and game viewing up to your lodge in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth Park (Ishasha). This region is well known for its tree-climbing lions, but it is also home to incredible birdlife, and vast herds of elephants, buffalo, and topis.

Accommodation:-

Luxury: – Mweya Safari Lodge/Kyambura Gorge Lodge

Mid-range:- Enganzi Game Lodge/Bush Lodge

Budget: – Pumba Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 100 km or 3-4hours

Activities & Services:-

Kalinzu Forest Chimpanzee tracking
Game drive up to Ishasha Sector

Optional Activity:-

Sundowners are arranged by your lodge at a quiet viewing point.

Day 4: Whole Day Game Drive In Search Of Tree-Climbing Lions & Other Wildlife in Ishasha Sector of Queen Elizabeth NP.

After breakfast on day four of your 11 days Uganda and Rwanda safari trip, enjoy a morning game viewing drive in Ishasha, looking out for huge herds of buffalo, elephants, and of course, the famous tree-climbing lion that usually reside in the area.

After the morning game drive, you return to your lodge for lunch and some time to rest in the heat of the day. You will then continue with an evening game viewing drive and catch up with a sundowner, before heading back to your lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

Accommodation

Luxury: – Ishasha Wilderness Camp

Mid-range:- Enjojo Safari Lodge

Budget: – Enjojo Safari Lodge-Tents

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities & Services

Game drive in Ishasha

Day 5: Bush Breakfast & Travel to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Evening Community Cultural Experience.

We invite you to a bush breakfast in the wilderness, complete with a dining set-up and a personal chef before you say goodbye to the savannah and continue south to the rainforest. Enjoy your coffee in the morning as the sun’s first rays lay on the plains. Even though you won’t want to leave this beautiful palace, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a World Heritage site, awaits.

Bwindi is one of Africa’s richest ecosystems, hosting more than 120 mammal species, 345 bird species, 200 butterfly species, and 160 tree species. The park is home to about 50% of the world’s population of the endangered Mountain Gorilla, making it an exceptionally valuable conservation site.

You will be introduced to the local communities that live on the fringes of the forest here and you can support the locally founded and managed women’s empowerment initiative Ride 4 A Woman.

You can join these local women as they go about their daily lives and learn how to weave baskets, sew with traditional fabrics or cook a delicious Ugandan meal.

Accommodation

Luxury: – Haven Lodge Buhoma /Gorilla Forest camp/Buhoma Lodge

Mid-range:- Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge/Gorilla Mist Camp.

Budget: – Trekkers Tavern Ruhija

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive distance & time: Approx. 60- 127 or 2-4 hours

Activities & Services

Bush breakfast
Transfer to Bwindi
Community tour

Day 6: Gorilla Trekking & Optional Evening Community Walk.

On day six of your 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari tour, you enjoy one of the world’s most humbling and captivating wildlife experiences.

You will enjoy your breakfast at 6.00 am and transfer to the park offices for a briefing from local park ranger guides which starts at 8:00 am.

Next, make a walk deep into this 25,000-year-old rainforest to look for endangered Mountain gorillas. The Uganda gorilla safari trek takes two to eight hours and is no walk in the park –the area is known as Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for a reason. But coming face to face with a family of the rare mountain gorilla is something words cannot aptly describe. There’s just pure awe and worth the effort.

After your 1 unforgettable hour with gorillas, have a picnic lunch and return to the park offices to receive a Gorilla trekking certificate. Return to your lodge for relaxation after your trek, or explore the surrounding community. Forest walks, visits to a local school or orphanage or Batwa pygmy village, and curio shopping are all optional activities that can be enjoyed around the park.

Accommodation

Luxury: – Haven Lodge Buhoma /Gorilla Forest camp/Buhoma Lodge

Mid-range:- Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge/Gorilla Mist Camp.

Budget: – Trekkers Tavern Ruhija

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities & Services

Gorilla trekking

Day 7: Travel to Rwanda & Volcanoes National Park. Tour Iby’iwacu Cultural Village

Today, you will have a fairly relaxed breakfast.

Then, leave Bwindi and embark on a 2-hour drive through the Little Switzerland of Africa along winding mountain roads and through rural villages, to the border of Rwanda. Crossing into Rwanda, and continue on a drive of about 1-2 to your lodge in Ruhengeri near the jungles of Volcanoes National Park.

Have lunch and a siesta. In the evening, take a fascinating cultural tour to Iby’iwacu Village, a replica village of what traditional life was like back in the day in Rwanda. Iby’Iwacu was created after local villagers persuaded a group of ex-poachers to start a traditional dance group that would perform for visitors.

In addition to learning a little bit about traditional architecture, clothing, and cuisine, you’ll get the chance to watch and engage in a variety of cultural activities like the traditional Intore dance, hunting techniques, weaving, and carpentry.

Accommodation

Luxury: – Bisate Lodge/One & Only Gorilla Nest/Mountain Gorilla View Lodge

Mid-range:- Da Vinci Lodge

Budget: – Muhabura Hotel

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive distance & time: Approx.l20km or 4-5 hours

Activities & Services

Transfer to Volcanoes
Visit Iby’Iwacu Village

Day 8: Gorilla Trekking In Volcanoes & Drive to Gisenyi, Lake Kivu for Relaxation.

Volcanoes National Park gorilla trek is similar to the Bwindi gorilla trek – just as challenging, equally remarkable. You can opt not to trek the gorilla today and take a hike to Dian Fossey’s grave or enjoy a forest walk with Golden Monkeys. You’ll only be able to enjoy one of these activities as they all take place in the morning.

From volcanoes, proceed on a 1½-hour drive to Gisenyi Lake Kivu, one of Africa’s Great Lakes – Rwanda’s largest and Africa’s sixth-largest – and a natural border between DR Congo and Rwanda. The lake’s stunning shores contain some of the best inland beaches in Africa. You can choose to relax at the lodge today, take a boat cruise on the lake, or stroll on the long stretch of beach near the lodge.

You can also opt to visit the Dancing Pot project here. The project is carried out by the Batwa people of Rwanda. Currently, only 33,000 Batwa people, or 0.4% of the population, live in Rwanda. The Batwa Pygmy people are especially well known for their skills as musicians, dancers, and potters.

Accommodation:-

Luxury: – Serena Resort Kivu

Midrange: – Hotel Paradise Malahide

Budget: – Paradise Kivu Resort

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 70km or 1.5-2 hours

Activities & Services:-

Gorilla trekking
Transfer to Gisenyi

Day 9: Drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park via the Congo Nile Divide. Afternoon Tea Plantation Experience.

You start day 9 of the 11 days Uganda and Rwanda tour with a relaxed breakfast. Then, embark on a slow drive of about (147km/4-5 hours) to Nyungwe Forest.

You travel along the Congo Nile divide trail with breathtaking views of the water catchment area of the Congo River and River Nile, coupled with the magical views of Lake Kivu. Pass through the scenic tea plantations of the Rwandan countryside and quiet rural villages, with friendly locals.

You can opt to discover the resort life of the local people as you visit the resort towns of Kibuye and Cyangu. The tropical forest jungle will welcome you as you get closer to Nyungwe Forest National Park. You will arrive at your lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

Accommodation

Luxury: – One & Only Nyungwe House/Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel

Midrange: – Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel

Budget: – Gisakura Guesthouse

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 147km or 4-5 hours

Activities & Services:-

Scenic drive to Nyungwe

Day 10: Chimpanzee Tracking & Canopy Walk in Nyungwe Forest.

Your day ten 11 days Uganda Rwanda safari tour begins with an early breakfast. At 5 am you should be at the park’s visitor center to meet with a park ranger guide for a briefing on the chimp trek.

Follow your ranger guide into the forest after the briefing to look for the man’s nearest relative. Along the route, you can also take pleasure in looking for other primates, birds, butterflies, and animals. Chimpanzee trekking takes two to five hours and on find them, you spend 1 hour observing them as they munch fruit, swing in trees, socialize, patrol, and make hooting calls – an incredible experience.

After the encounter, return to your lodge for relaxation and lunch. Following lunch, take a nature walk to the Uwinka visitor center for a forest canopy walk adventure. The walkway offers breathtaking panoramas of the forest and up-close encounters with monkeys and birds in the canopy that are difficult to see from the ground.

Accommodation

Luxury: – One & Only Nyungwe House/Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel

Midrange: – Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel

Budget: – Gisakura Guesthouse

Activities & Services:-

Chimpanzee tracking
Canopy walk

Day 11: Transfer to Kigali for a City Tour.

Depending on the time of your flight departure, you will wake up at 7:00 am, have breakfast, and then start the final leg of this amazing trip as you transfer back to Kigali by driving 230 km, or about 6 hours. This final day of the 11-day Uganda Rwanda safari tour summarizes what has been a journey to remember.

After you arrive, you will be taken on a tour of Kigali before being dropped off at the airport in plenty of time for your flight. Visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, a place of memorialization for the horrible 199 Rwandan Genocide’s 250,000 victims who are buried here in mass graves.

The exhibit is a deeply emotional experience but also an educational one, where you’ll learn about the shadiest hour in Rwanda’s recent history.

End of the 11 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour

11 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Tour – SAFARI INCLUSIONS

All park entrance fees
Gorilla Permit for Bwindi
Golden monkey tracking permit for Volcanoes
Chimpanzee Permit for Kibale
4X4 Safari vehicle with English-speaking local driver/guide throughout. On request, any other foreign language speaking guide can be arranged.
Full Board Accommodation on Safari
Bottled water in a safari vehicle
All included activities fees
Fuel
Airport Transfer