12-Day Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari

Pickup : Entebbe Airport
Drop-off : Kigali Airport

Tour Overview

On this 12-Day Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari, you come face to face with mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in thick forests, watch lions resting in fig trees, and cruise past hippos and crocodiles on open water. From the open plains of Queen Elizabeth National Park and Akagera National Park to the misty hills of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Volcanoes National Park, every single day of this Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari brings a brand new adventure you will never forget.

Cost Includes

Transportation (Car, Fuel, Driver Guide)
Meals & Accommodation as mentioned
Gorilla Trekking Permit
Park Entarnce Fees
Chimpanzee Trekking Permit
Boat Cruises
Bottled Drinking Water
Government Taxes

Cost Excludes

International Flights
Accommodation Before and After your Trip
Optional Batwa Cultural Experience
Optional Canopy Walk
Sourvenirs
Tips & Porter Hiring

Travel Plan

Day 1: Fly into Kasese and Afternoon Game Drive, Queen Elizabeth National Park

Your adventure begins with a short 1 hour flight from Entebbe International Airport to Kasese Airstrip, saving you 5 to 6 hours of driving and getting you into the wild much faster. On arrival, your driver guide meets you and transfers you to your lodge for check in, a short rest, and a relaxed lunch.

Later that afternoon, you head into the park for your first game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park, one of Uganda’s most loved parks, and for good reason. Keep your eyes open for elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, topis, impalas, waterbucks, and warthogs. The soft late afternoon light makes this a wonderful time to spot animals as they come out to feed before sunset, and on a lucky day, a leopard may even show itself along the road.

Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge | Super Deluxe Cottage (Luxury)
Meals: Lunch and Dinner

Day 2: Morning Game Drive and Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise

Wake up to the sounds of the African bush. After breakfast, you set out for another morning game drive, a chance to find animals you may have missed the day before or spend more time with the ones that impressed you most. The park’s wide savannah offers great views for spotting the Big 4, lion, elephant, buffalo, and leopard, alongside antelopes and birds.

In the afternoon, after a relaxed lunch at the lodge, you board a boat for a cruise along the Kazinga Channel, a 40 kilometer natural waterway connecting Lake George and Lake Edward, and truly one of Uganda’s most spectacular experiences. Hippos gather in large numbers along the banks, crocodiles bask in the sun, and elephants and buffaloes come down to drink at the water’s edge. The channel is also home to an incredible variety of water birds, including pelicans, African fish eagles, kingfishers, herons, and cormorants, and you will be amazed at how close the boat gets to all of this wildlife.

Accommodation: Buffalo Safari Lodge (Luxury)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 3: Ishasha Sector Game Drive and Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

This morning, you drive to the Ishasha sector in the southern part of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Ishasha is world famous for 1 very special reason, its tree climbing lions. These lions have developed the unusual habit of climbing and resting in the branches of large fig trees, watching over the plains below and scanning for prey such as topis, kobs, and buffaloes. Very few places in the world offer this experience, which makes it truly special.

After about 2 hours in this sector, the drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park begins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most biologically diverse forests on the planet. The drive takes around 4 to 5 hours and passes through beautiful countryside, small towns, and green rolling hills. You arrive at your lodge in the evening, check in, enjoy dinner, and get a good rest, since tomorrow is the big day.

Accommodation: Gorilla Safari Lodge (Luxury)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 4: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

This is the day most people dream about for years, and the heart of any Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari. Wake up at 5:30am for an early breakfast to fuel your body for the adventure ahead. Your driver guide then takes you to the Uganda Wildlife Authority park headquarters in time for the 7:30am briefing.

During the briefing, UWA rangers explain the rules and guidelines for being in the presence of mountain gorillas. You are then divided into small groups of 8 people per gorilla family, with your group chosen based on your fitness level and age so that everyone has the best possible experience. This is also the right moment to hire a community porter, a local person in uniform who carries your bag and helps steady you on the steep, slippery forest terrain. Porters earn between $15 and $20 per day, and hiring one is a great way to support the local community.

At around 8:00am, you set off into the forest with armed rangers and trackers, who use machetes to cut through thick vegetation and clear a path. The hike can last anywhere from 1 to 6 hours, depending on where the gorillas have moved that morning. Once the rangers locate the gorilla family, they signal for silence.

You then spend 1 full hour watching the gorillas up close, feeding on leaves and stems, playing, grooming each other, and caring for their young. The powerful silverback moves slowly and confidently through the group, always watching, always protecting. It is a deeply moving experience that stays with you forever.

After descending back to the starting point, you receive a gorilla trekking certificate, a proud souvenir of your achievement, before returning to the lodge for lunch and a well earned rest.

In the evening, if you still have energy, you can arrange a Batwa Cultural Experience with your driver guide. The Batwa are the original forest dwelling people of Bwindi, and during this visit you learn about their traditional forest life, watch their dances, listen to storytelling, and discover their hunting and survival techniques. It is a rich and respectful cultural experience.

Accommodation: Gorilla Safari Lodge (Luxury)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 5: Drive to Akagera National Park, Rwanda via Kigali City

After breakfast, you pack up and begin the journey into Rwanda, crossing the border at Katuna in Kabale District, Uganda. From the border, it is a 3 to 4 hour drive to Kigali, Rwanda’s clean and well organized capital city.

On arrival in Kigali, you stop for lunch and a short rest. Kigali is known as one of the safest and most orderly cities in Africa, and even a brief visit gives you a feel for Rwanda’s modern, forward looking spirit.

In the afternoon, the drive continues for another 2.5 to 3 hours to reach Akagera National Park in eastern Rwanda. Check in to your lodge, enjoy dinner, and rest up for tomorrow’s game drive on this Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari.

Accommodation: Ruzizi Tented Camp (Luxury)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 6: Morning Game Drive and Afternoon Boat Cruise, Akagera National Park

Rise early for a 6:00am game drive in Akagera, Rwanda’s only savannah national park. This park is a genuine conservation success story, rhinos have been successfully reintroduced here, completing the Big 5, rhino, elephant, buffalo, lion, and leopard. Alongside these iconic animals, you will also find large herds of zebras, giraffes, elands, topis, kobs, impalas, and warthogs. The park is also excellent for bird watching, home to species such as the malachite kingfisher, the rare shoebill stork, and many more along its lakes and wetlands.

In the afternoon, after a relaxed lunch, you head to beautiful Lake Ihema for a boat cruise. The lake is one of the most wildlife rich in the region, with hippos surfacing and grunting just meters from the boat, crocodiles lying silently along the banks, and water birds filling the air and reeds. It is a peaceful and rewarding way to end an exciting day.

Accommodation: Ruzizi Tented Camp (Luxury)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 7: Drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park

This day is mostly a travel day. After breakfast, a 5 to 6 hour scenic drive takes you across Rwanda toward the southwest, where the famous Nyungwe Forest National Park sits high in the mountains. The journey passes through terraced hillsides, tea plantations, and small towns that make for beautiful scenery along the way. On arrival, you check in to your lodge, enjoy dinner, and rest, with another unforgettable wildlife experience waiting tomorrow.

Accommodation: One&Only Nyungwe House (Luxury)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 8: Chimpanzee Trekking and Canopy Walk, Nyungwe Forest

Wake up early for breakfast before heading to the park headquarters for your morning briefing. You are divided into small groups, and at around 8:00am you enter the forest with park rangers to search for habituated chimpanzees, chimps that have been gradually introduced to the presence of humans over many years.

The trek through Nyungwe’s ancient montane forest can last between 2 and 5 hours, with rangers using their knowledge of the chimps’ habits and calls to track them down. When you find the chimpanzees, you may spot them high up in the trees swinging from branch to branch, or down on the ground foraging. You spend 1 hour watching them call loudly, feed on fruits, groom each other, and interact within their complex social groups. It is a loud, lively, and thrilling experience.

After returning for lunch and a short rest, the late afternoon brings another adventure, the Canopy Walk. Nyungwe’s canopy walkway is one of the highest in Africa, stretching 160 meters through the treetops, 70 meters above the forest floor. As you cross the suspended bridge, you look out over a sea of green forest, watching for black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, owl faced monkeys, and rare forest birds such as the Ruwenzori turaco, the great blue turaco, and Grauer’s swamp warbler. It is a magical and peaceful experience.

Accommodation: One&Only Nyungwe House (Luxury)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 9: Drive to Volcanoes National Park

After breakfast, a 5 to 6 hour drive takes you north to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda’s northwestern corner. The park sits at the foot of the Virunga Mountains, a chain of towering volcanoes shared by Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the landscape here is dramatic and beautiful, with green volcanic peaks rising above mist and forest.

Check in to your lodge, enjoy dinner, and prepare for what many call the greatest wildlife experience in Africa, mountain gorilla trekking in the Virungas, the signature highlight of this Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari.

Accommodation: Ingagi Lodge (Luxury)
Meals: Dinner (Breakfast and Lunch are travel meals)

Day 10: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park and Iby'Iwacu Cultural Village

This day brings your second gorilla trekking experience, this time on the Rwandan side of the Virunga Mountains. The format is similar to your Bwindi trek, with an early morning briefing at the park headquarters before splitting into groups of 8 and heading into the forest with rangers and trackers.

The Virunga volcanoes offer a slightly different landscape, steep, misty slopes covered in bamboo and Hagenia forest. The gorilla families here are well habituated, and once found, you spend 1 full magical hour in their presence. Every trekking experience is different, the location, the terrain, and the gorilla family’s mood all change from day to day, making this second trek on your Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari just as exciting and emotional as the first.

In the afternoon, you visit the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village, a community run cultural center near the park where you meet former poachers who have transformed their lives and now work as cultural performers and guides. You take part in traditional Rwandan dances, listen to drumming, hear folktales, and learn about the traditional ways of the people who have lived alongside these volcanoes for generations. It is a warm, welcoming, and deeply human experience.

Accommodation: Ingagi Lodge (Luxury)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 11: Golden Monkey Trekking and Dian Fossey's Karisoke Research Center

This day offers two very different but equally rewarding experiences. Start your morning with golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park. Golden monkeys are among Africa’s most endangered primates, found only in the Virunga volcanic region. These bright, energetic monkeys move quickly through the bamboo forests in large, noisy troops, and watching them leap and chase each other is joyful and entertaining.

In the afternoon, you visit the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund’s Karisoke Research Center. Dian Fossey was the pioneering American researcher who dedicated her life to studying and protecting mountain gorillas in the Virungas, work that began in 1967 and changed the way the world understood and cared about gorillas. The hike up to Karisoke takes you through beautiful forest to the site where Fossey lived and worked. You visit her grave and the graves of some of the gorillas she devoted her life to protecting, a moving and inspiring experience that adds deep meaning to everything you have seen on this Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari.

Accommodation: Ingagi Lodge (Luxury)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 11: Kigali City Tour and Departure

After your final breakfast, the drive back to Kigali takes about 2 to 3 hours. On arrival, you enjoy a guided city tour, with highlights including a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which honors the victims of the 1994 genocide and stands as a powerful reminder of Rwanda’s painful past and its remarkable journey toward healing and unity. You also explore the city’s lively markets, modern architecture, and colorful streets.

Enjoy your final lunch in Kigali before being transferred to Kigali International Airport for your departure flight, carrying with you memories of gorillas in the mist, lions in fig trees, chimp calls echoing through ancient forests, and the warmth of the people of Uganda and Rwanda.

Accommodation: Not included (available on request if you need an overnight stay)
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Answered FAQs

How much does this safari cost, and can it be customized?

The total cost of this Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari depends on your group size, the season you travel, and the level of accommodation you choose. Mandatory permit and park fees are included in your trip cost and currently stand at:

Uganda Gorilla Trekking Permit: $800 per person
Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Permit: $1,500 per person
Rwanda Chimpanzee Trekking Permit (Nyungwe Forest): $250 per person
Rwanda Golden Monkey Trekking Permit: $100 per person
Uganda National Park Entry Fees: $40 per person per day (Queen Elizabeth National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest)
Akagera National Park Entry Fees: $100 per person

Let us know your group size and preferred level of accommodation, in case you wish to upgrade from those listed in this itinerary, and we will send you a full cost per person for your Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari.

How physically demanding is this safari?

This Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari suits a wide range of fitness levels. Game drives and boat cruises are relaxed and require no exertion, but gorilla and chimpanzee trekking can be strenuous, involving 1 to 6 hours of hiking on steep, muddy, and uneven forest terrain at altitudes of up to 2,500 meters. A reasonable level of fitness is recommended, and hiring a porter for $15 to $20 per day makes the trek considerably easier. Rangers set the pace to match your group, so most travelers complete the trek comfortably.

What is the best time of year to go on this trip?

The best time for this Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari is during the two dry seasons, June to September and December to February, when trails are less muddy and wildlife viewing is at its best. That said, gorilla and chimpanzee trekking remain possible year round, since both take place in forest habitats that stay active even in the wetter months.

What should I pack for safari?

Pack light, neutral colored clothing (khaki, green, or brown) for game drives and trekking, a waterproof jacket, a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, insect repellent, sturdy waterproof hiking boots, gardening gloves for gripping vegetation, a daypack, a reusable water bottle, binoculars, a camera with extra batteries, and a face mask, which is required at park headquarters and during gorilla and chimpanzee trekking to protect the primates from human diseases. Long trousers and long sleeved shirts are recommended for forest walks to guard against nettles and insects.

Can this itinerary be customized?

Yes. This Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari can be adjusted to fit your travel dates, add or remove destinations, and match your budget and accommodation preferences, from mid range to luxury.

Are the gorilla and chimpanzee permits guaranteed?

Permits are issued in limited numbers by the Uganda Wildlife Authority and the Rwanda Development Board to protect primate populations. Once your booking is confirmed, we secure permit availability and purchase the permits on your behalf, which guarantees your trekking spots. Because demand is high during peak months, you should book this Uganda-Rwanda Gorillas and Game Safari 4 to 6 months in advance, especially for the June to September and December to February peak seasons.

What type of vehicle is used for transportation?

You travel in a customized 4×4 safari Land Cruiser fitted with a pop up roof for wildlife viewing and photography. The vehicle has 4 wheel drive to handle rough park tracks and dirt roads, comes stocked with bottled drinking water, and features an extended chassis so every passenger gets a window seat.