Overview

ITINERARY OF 11 DAYS RWANDA AND UGANDA TOUR

DAY ONE: Arrive in Kigali

Today you start your 11 days Rwanda and Uganda tour. Shalom safaris driver guide will pick you up from Kigali international airport and transferred to your hotel.

Depending on your time of arrival, you can take a Kigali city tour of selected sites before retiring to your hotel later on.

DAY TWO: Kigali -Transfer to Nyungwe forest national park

This morning after an early breakfast, we start journey to Nyungwe forest national park for the chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk experience.

Depending on your interest, we can have a stopover at Nyanza for the Kings Palace experience or an ethnographic museum in Huye for an experience on the history and culture of the Rwandan people.

Notice because of the journey ahead you can only stop at one of them so we arrive before dark. Depending on which site we stop at, we will organize to have lunch in that area before proceeding to your lodge near the nyungwe forest for overnight. end of 2nd day Rwanda and Uganda tour

DAY THREE: Chimpanzee trekking and Canopy walk in Nyungwe National Park

On the 3rd day Rwanda and Uganda tour we will do the Chimpanzee trekking starts early morning, in fact you are expected to be at the briefing place at 5.00 am. This may require that you leave your hotel room as early as 4.30am.

On arrival at the briefing point, you will assemble and listen to the ranger guide. After this, you will be assigned a trekking team to start at either Uwinka or Cyamudongo trail heads.

The canopy walk will be right after the chimp trek or in the afternoon in case you prefer to rest before taking it depending on location of hotel/lodge.

Nyungwe forest is home to 13 primates and they offer colobus monkey trekking as a separate experience. If you are interested in botany, the flora in Nyungwe comes as an added bonus.

You will also have a chance to view the other inhabitants of the forest.

DAY FOUR: Transfer to Volcanoes national park

The 4th day Rwanda and Uganda tour will start In the morning after checking out from the lodge, we leave for volcanoes national park where we prepare for gorilla tracking the next day. The journey to the park is through the winding roads of Rwanda which indeed is a country of a thousand hills.

Enjoy the scenery of Lake Kivu in the back drop as you drive up to volcanoes national park for a date with the gorillas.

DAY FIVE: Gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park

Gorilla trekking is the ultimate bucket list experience for many people that travel to Rwanda. Volcanoes national park protects the steep slopes of this magnificent mountain range where gorilla tracking happens.

After an early breakfast, we leave at 6:30 am for the briefing before beginning the gorilla trek at 7 am. Enjoy the park with its different vegetation from the evergreen and bamboo forest, open grassland, swamp and heath.

The highlight of your hike will be spending an hour with the remarkably peaceful gorillas as they go about their daily life, feeding, playing, resting, and raising their young. Come prepared to get deep in the jungles for an experience of a life time. This will mark the 5th day Rwanda and Uganda tour.

DAY SIX: Transfer to Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable national park

Today we transfer to Uganda through the Cyanika border post to Bwindi impenetrable forest. The drive to the Ugandan border from Musanze is less than an hours drive.

After crossing, we continue our trip through the rolling hills of Kigezi to our lodge for overnight in Bwindi impenetrable national park arriving later that afternoon.

DAY SEVEN: Gorilla trekking in Uganda

The 7th day Rwanda and Uganda tour will start very Early in the morning, the driver guide will pick you up from the camp and drive to the park office at 7 am for briefing and then begin gorilla trekking at 8 am.

The head ranger guide will give general briefing and later distribute into different groups depending on the gorilla group you will track. In your group, you might receive further briefing before setting off with your team of guides and porters.  

Even if you are an experienced hiker, you are advised to take along a porter to help especially on the steep slopes as you hike and also carry your lunch pack.

The trek can take anything from minutes to several hours depending on where the gorillas nested the previous night. The experience is unforgettable spending an hour watching these amazing creatures.

DAY EIGHT: Transfer from Bwindi forest to Queen Elizabeth national park

We leave for Queen Elizabeth national park via the Ishasha sector (depending on Bwindi sector) which is home to the famous tree-climbing lions. We arrive in time for the afternoon boat cruise on Kazinga channel, which connects Lake George and Lake Edward.

Our likely sightings include buffaloes and elephants that come for an afternoon drink together with hippos and crocodiles that make it their home.

There is a bird sanctuary on the channel with several species of birds which will keep you on the look out as your guide describes each of them and some of their characteristics.

After this experience we take a short game drive as we drive to your lodge for over night.

DAY NINE: Transfer from Queen Elizabeth NP to Kibale national park

In the morning after checking out from the lodge, we start the day with an early morning game drive towards the mating ground of the Uganda Kob in the Kasenyi plains in search of the lions.

We look out for Lions, warthogs, elephants, Kobs, water bucks,  buffaloes etc. After this experience, we start journey to Kibale national park. We shall have a stopover for lunch either in Kasese or a picnic with our packed lunch from the lodge. End of 9th day Rwanda and Uganda tour. 

DAY TEN: Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale national park

Kibale national park covers an area of about 795 km2. It is one of Uganda’s most gorgeous tropical forest being home to 12 primates.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Kanyanchu visitor center for a briefing before the chimpanzee trekking. You will then be divided into smaller groups and joined by your ranger guide depending on the chimp community to visit.

While on this trek, you might encounter other primates like the black & white colobus monkey, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkey, etc., and several butterflies.

Lunch will be at the lodge after trekking or Tinka’s homestead that offers traditional local foods. After lunch, visit Bigodi swamp an initiative by the community to conserve the swamp and trees with several primates and birds.

DAY ELEVEN: End of your Rwanda and Uganda Tour

After breakfast, your Shalom safaris Rwanda driver guide will transfer you to Kampala proceeding to Entebbe airport for your outbound flight. This will mark the end of your Rwanda and Uganda tour.

We hope you had an amazing time in the wild watching the various primates, mammals, and birds. You are welcome back to explore these countries. End of service of 11 days Rwanda and Uganda Tour.