10 Days Uganda Rwanda Tour  safari Combo-Overview

Uganda and Rwanda are two countries that complement each other in terms of natural diversity. This 10 days Uganda Rwanda safari starts in Kampala and ends in Kigali. The safari starts from Uganda within Kibale forest national park (also known as the primate capital of the world,) from which you will be taken to the medley of wonders- Queen Elizabeth National Park which is the second largest and one of the most visited national parks offering great views of animals like buffaloes, elephants, bushbucks, warthogs, bird species. This shall be followed by a transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, an activity during which you will have amazing views of tree climbing lions within the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. From Bwindi, you will be taken to the land of a thousand hills- Rwanda, for golden monkey tracking in Volcanoes National Park. Along the way, you will have stunning views of nature and hilly landscapes. On this 10 Day Uganda and Rwanda Tour Combo, you will have a mixture of various activities that range from chimp tracking, game viewing, bird watching, boat cruising, gorilla tracking and golden monkey tracking. You will definitely observe plenty of big game.

The 10 days Uganda Rwanda safari destinations

  1. Entebbe
  2. Kibale Forest National Park
  3. Queen Elizabeth National Park
  4. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
  5. Volcanoes National Park Rwanda
  6. Kigali City

The 10-day Uganda Rwanda Safari Highlights.

Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe International Airport and Transfer to your Hotel in Entebbe Town

Day 2: Transfer from Entebbe to Kibale Forest National Park

Day 3: Chimpanzee Tracking at Kibale Forest and Nature Walk through Bigodi Wetlands

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Evening Game Drive

Day 5: Game Drive and Boat Cruise

Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest via Ishasha Sector for a Game Drive on the Look-Out for the famous Tree-Climbing Lions

Day 7: Gorilla Trekking and community tour

Day 8: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park Rwanda

Day 9: Golden Monkey Tracking at Volcanoes National Park and Cultural Tour

Day 10: Transfer to Kigali, city tour, Airport Transfer & Departure

Activities done at this safari

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe International Airport and Transfer to your Hotel in Entebbe Town

Upon your arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be welcomed by our driver / guide and be transferred to the hotel in Entebbe for relaxation, dinner and overnight stay. Depending on your arrival you can decide to go for a tour at Kampala city the Capital City of Uganda.

Accommodation

  • Serena Lake Victoria Resort
  • Protea hotel Entebbe
  • Best Western Hotel

Meal: Dinner

Activities carried out here

  • Pick up from airport
  • Transfer to the hotel

Optional activities

  • City tour

Day 2: Transfer from Entebbe to Kibale Forest National Park

After early morning breakfast, you shall embark on 4-6hour drive to Kibale Forest National Park via Mityana and Fort Portal highways, after 4 hours of drive the En-route, you will visit Amabere G’anyinamwiru stalagmites site in Fort portal and have lunch. Thereafter continue to Kibale on a drive that shall treat you to wonderful views of the lush landscape. You shall reach Kibale in the late afternoon and transfer to your lodge and spend the rest of the evening and overnight at the lodge.

The national park is famously known for harboring about 13 primates including chimpanzees, baboons, monkeys among others

Accommodation Facilities

  • Ndali lodge
  • Mountains of the moon hotel
  • Rwenzori view guest house
  • Kyaninga Lodge
  • Kibale Forest Camp or Chimpanzee
  • Papaya Lake Lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Activities here

  • Drive to Kibale Forest
  • Visit to cultural site

 

Day 3: Chimpanzee Tracking at Kibale Forest and Nature Walk through Bigodi Wetlands

On day 3, after having an early breakfast, you head to the park’s head office for a briefing about the endangered chimpanzees and guidance from park ranger along with your tracking gears, packed water and snacks. You will be divided into groups and assigned a ranger and thereafter begin the trek into the forest to find the Chimpanzees.

Kibale Forest National Park is one of the best safari destinations in Africa with 13 species of primate where chimpanzees are the most visited, you will see other primates like the Colobus monkeys, grey checked mangabey, red Colobus, blue monkeys, Olive baboons plus more others that make the forest qualify as the primate capital of the world. This tracking takes about 2-5 hours in search of the chimpanzees and you will be allocated one hour to stay with these human brothers.

The Chimpanzees will seduce you in a state of stupefaction as they swing through the branches, make pant hooting calls, play with each other, and imitate your body language along with other features that will make you one full hour with them a lifetime experience of its own. Disembark from the activity to your lodge for relaxation and lunch. After lunch, transfer to Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for an afternoon tour.

The Bigodi wetland walk will expose you to typical eco–tourism encounters in Uganda. The impressive flora and fauna existing along with the local community are indeed rewarding to encounter. The sights of great blue turaco and the Sitatunga may not be missed. Retreat from the activity back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

Activities on this day

  • The Chimpanzees trekking
  • Bigodi community tour

Day 4: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park and Evening Game Drive

After breakfast, check out and depart for Queen Elizabeth National Park most popular tourist destination in Uganda. You will be driven for about 3 hours to reach Queen Elizabeth national park, en route at the Equator and the crater lakes, have a stopover at the equator for photographs to symbolize your crossing the equator. Proceed to the park with a wide game view of animals like Uganda Kobs, Savanna Elephants, and Waterbucks among others. Check in your Lodge for relaxation.

In late afternoon you will go for an evening game drive through Kasenyi Savannah Plains, you will have diverse scenery of wide savannah, shady forests and wetlands, you will watch the classic big game animals: buffalos, elephants, lions, leopards and many more. The Park is also home to 10 primate species including chimpanzees living in the Kyambura Gorge. In the backdrop of the park appears the stunning Rwenzori Mountains which perfects the view over Queen Elizabeth National Park. Be on the look-out for the big cats, which become more active in the evening hours and get prepared for their nights’ hunt. After the game drive head back to your Lodge for the Dinner and overnight.

Accommodation

  • Kyambura Gorge Lodge
  • Katara Lodge
  • Marafiki Safari Lodge
  • Mweya safari lodge
  • Enganzi lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Activities

  • An evening game drive
  • Photo shoot at Equator
  • Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Day 5: Game Drive and Boat Cruise

After an early breakfast on the fifth day of your 10 days Uganda-Rwanda safari you will meet up with your driver guide and go for a morning game drive/lion tracking experience in Kasenyi plains. During the game drive you will be able to view various animal species such as the leopards, lions, elephants, kobs, waterbucks, buffaloes, bushbucks, warthogs, hyenas, bush pigs, and various bird species such as the papyrus gonolek, white backed night heron, yellow throated cuckoo, red chested sunbird, white winged warbler among others. After the game drive, return to your Lodge for lunch and relaxation.

After lunch you will go for an afternoon boat cruise at Kazinga channel which joins Lake George and Lake Edward. The boat cruise on Kazinga channel is an exciting activity that starts at around 2:00pm. The channel hosts many Hippos and Crocodiles. Plenty of other animals come to drink and cool off such as Elephants, Buffaloes, and Antelopes. Hundreds of bird species congregate along the river bank. Thereafter, return back to your lodge for dinner and overnight

Activities

  • Boat cruise
  • Morning game drive

Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest via Ishasha Sector for a Game Drive on the Look-Out for the famous Tree-Climbing Lions

In the morning after breakfast, you will continue your 10 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari by embarking on a 5-6hour drive to Bwindi impenetrable forest via Ishasha sector that gives a chance of seeing the tree climbing lions at a closer range. You will have en-route Lunch. Afterwards continue the drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, a dense tropical rain forest located in south-western Uganda and home of the endangered mountain gorillas. Transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation

  • Clouds Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
  • Bwindi Lodge
  • Buhoma Lodge
  • Mahogany Springs
  • Gorilla mist camp
  • Bakiga lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Activities

  • Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
  • En-route game drive

Day 7: Gorilla Trekking and Community tour

You will have an early breakfast, meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for the briefing about the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking. After the briefing you will be grouped into 8 people, allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is experienced and well conversant with the trails in the forest. The time taken to trek the gorilla family depends on their location and varies between 3 to 7 hours. Once you have located them, you will have one hour time to observe and admire these gentle giants, take photos – a surely fascinating experience. Afterwards, return to the lodge for relaxation.

Late in the afternoon, you will then head out with your local guide for an optional community tour visiting the nearby villages, explore their culture and more items that they may have to showcase. Thereafter be back at the hotel for dinner and the night.

Activities

  • Gorilla trekking
  • Community tour

Day 8: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park Rwanda

After breakfast, check out and depart for Volcanoes National Park Rwanda crossing via the Cyanika or Katuna border. Volcanoes National Park is home to the endangered mountain gorilla. We will cross Kabale and Kisoro where we will stop for lunch at Traveler’s Rest (where Dian Fossey used to stay, resting from the long periods spent observing the mountain gorillas in the Virunga Volcanoes). Then we proceed to Cyanika´s border post, and after clearing we will continue to Ruhengeri and Kinigi, at the base of Sabinyo mountain (one of the Virunga Volcanoes). The journey lasts for about 3-5 hours, check in the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation Options on 10 Days Uganda Rwanda

  • Mountain Gorilla View
  • Le Palme
  • Muhabura Hotel
  • Garden Place Hotel
  • Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge
  • Virunga Lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Activities

  • Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
  • Stop over at Dian Fossey

Day 9: Golden Monkey Tracking at Volcanoes National Park and cultural tour

Have early breakfast and transfer to the park offices in Kinigi by 7am to meet the rangers for briefing. After the briefing you will be allocated a park guide and then start trekking in the jungle which takes 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the location of the golden monkeys. Once they are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habit learning about their behaviors, habits, lifestyle, watching them play up in the trees as you take plenty of photos and record videos. After the one-hour encounter with the golden monkeys you will trek back to the park headquarters meet up with your driver guide and drive back to the lodge for lunch.

10 Days Uganda Rwanda, After lunch you will go for a cultural tour in the neighboring community where you will visit Ibyi’wacu culture village. During the cultural tour you will get an opportunity of tasting Kinyarwanda local food, drink locally brewed beer from bananas, participate in their traditional performances for example Kinyarwanda dance, be entertained through music, drama, storytelling among others. After the cultural tour you will transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 10: Transfer to Kigali, city tour, Airport Transfer & Departure

After breakfast, check out and depart for Kigali city, go for city tour, during the city tour you will visit Kigali genocide memorial site where you will learn more about the blood shading of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, visit the art and craft markets where they make paintings, sculptures, visit Kimironko local market where you will interact with the market vendors selling fruits, vegetables, handmade crafts like mats, baskets among others. Afterwards your driver or guide will transfer you to Kigali International Airport depending on the schedule of your flight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Activities

  • Transfer to Kigali City
  • Kigali City tour
  • Transfer to the Airport or hotel

10 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Inclusion

  • Gorilla trekking permit
  • Chimpanzee trekking permit
  • Golden monkey trekking permit
  • Park entrance fees
  • Boat cruise fees
  • Cultural tour
  • Kigali city tour
  • An English-speaking driver
  • Full board accommodation
  • Pick up and drop off
  • Vehicle and fuel
  • Bottled water

10 Days Uganda Rwanda Safari Exclusions

International Flights

Items of Personal Nature

Tips and Gratuity