9 Days Uganda safari from Kigali
9 Days Uganda safari from Kigali
The 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali is an interesting holiday that starts from Kigali Rwanda and ends in Uganda. The safari will take you to Bwindi impenetrable national park which is famously known for harboring the mountain gorillas, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kibale Forest National Park also known as the primate capital and Murchison falls national park. During the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, you will be able to engage in an adventurous gorilla and chimpanzee trekking where you will spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas and chimpanzees in their habitat. You will also be able to engage in game drives and boat cruise where you will be able to spot different animals like buffaloes, Elephants, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, lions, leopards, hyenas, giraffes, hippos among others.
Highlights of the 9 Days Uganda safari from Kigali
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
Day 4: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 5: Morning game drive and transfer to Kibale forest national park
Day 6: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Day 7: Transfer to Murchison falls national park
Day 8: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Day 9: Departure to Kampala via Ziwa rhino sanctuary
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Depending on your location on the first day of the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, you will be welcomed by a driver guide from Achieve Global Safaris who will brief you about the safari and then go for a short city tour in Kigali where you will be able to visit the Kigali Genocide memorial Centre, Kimironko market, art centers among others. After the Kigali city tour, you will start the journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park passing via Cyanika border in Kisoro or Katuna border in Kabale. On the way, you will have en-route lunch and then continue to Bwindi national park and upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Gorilla trekking experience,
After an early breakfast on the second day of the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, you will carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking. After the briefing you will start trekking in the jungle with an experienced park guide who is well conversant with gorilla trekking trails. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park takes about 2 to 7 hours depending on where the gorillas are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking you will be able to view other primate species, bird species, mammals, different plant and tree species among others.
Once the gorilla family is located you will be able to spend one hour with the gorillas where you will get an opportunity to watch them carry out their daily activities, learn about their behaviours, habits, take photos and record the breath-taking moments to show people back home. After the one-hour experience, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide and return back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park
After breakfast on the third day of the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park via Ishasha sector where you will be able to view the tree climbing lions lazily laying up in tree branches during the game drive if you are lucky. After the game drive, you will have lunch and then continue to Queen Elizabeth national park and upon arrival you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Morning game drive/ lion tracking experience and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on the fourth day of the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive or lion tracking experience in Kasenyi plains. During the game drive you will have great views of animals like buffaloes, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, giant forest hog, elephants, bushbucks, lions, leopards, hyenas, views of different bird species among others. After the fascinating game drive you will return to the lodge for lunch.
Afternoon boat cruise,
After lunch you will go for an exciting boat cruise which is carried out on Kazinga channel a 40km long channel that connects Lake Edward and Lake Gorge. The boat ride starts at around 2:00 pm and rewards you will breath-taking views of large concentrations of hippos and crocodiles in water, views of elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, antelopes along the shores, water birds like kingfishers, fish eagles, hornbills, cormorants, bee-eaters among others. After the boat cruise which takes about 2 hours you will drive back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Morning game drive and transfer to Kibale national park
On the fifth day of the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, you will have breakfast and your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for another morning game drive in the park where you will be able to view some of the animals that you might have missed the previous day.
After the game drive, you will return to the lodge for lunch where after you will check out and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kibale national park in western Uganda. On the way you will enjoy stunning views of the beautiful scenery, Rwenzori Mountains, crater lakes, tea plantations among others. Upon arrival in the park you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk
Chimpanzee trekking,
After an early breakfast on the sixth day of the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a chimpanzee trekking briefing. After the briefing you will be grouped into 6 people, allocated a chimpanzee family to trek and a park guide who will lead you into the forest during trekking. Chimpanzee trekking is an interesting activity that starts at 8:00am and takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food especially during the dry season.
During trekking you will be able to see other primates like red tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey, vervet monkeys, view some bird species, mammals, plants species among others. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn about their behaviors, habits, watch them feed, play, fight, hunt, mate, take photos and record the moments. After the one hour with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch, you will go for an interesting nature walk in Bigodi swamp where you will be able to view different primates, birds, plant and tree species among others. After the swamp walk, you will drive back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Transfer to Murchison falls national park
After an early breakfast on the seventh day of the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Murchison Falls National Park. On the way you will have en-route lunch and great views of the beautiful scenery, landscape, farmlands among others. Upon arrival, you will drive directly to the top of the falls where you will enjoy views of the waterfall, beautiful scenery, water splashes, listen to roars of the waterfall among others. From the top of the falls, you will drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Morning game drive,
After an early breakfast on the eighth day of the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for a morning game drive where you will be able to see animals like buffaloes, Uganda kobs, warthogs, elephants, Jacksons hartebeest, giraffes, waterbucks among others grazing in the open savannah plains, view predators like lions, leopards, hyenas before they go back to their hiding areas, view different birds among others. After the game drive you will return back to the lodge for lunch.
Afternoon boat cruise,
After lunch you will drive to Paraa jetty landing site for an exciting boat cruise to the bottom of the falls. During the boat ride which takes about 2 hours you will have spectacular views of the beautiful scenery, hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, elephants, buffaloes, warthogs, antelopes along the shores, water birds like kingfishers, bee-eaters, cormorants, fish eagles among others. After the boat cruise you will meet up with your driver guide and return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Departure to Kampala via Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
On the last day of the 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali, you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kampala. On your way you will have a stopover at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for rhino tracking.
After rhino tracking, you will continue the journey with another stopover for en-route lunch. Upon arrival in Kampala, your driver guide will drop you off at Entebbe International Airport for your departure flight/ drop of at your hotel depending on your schedule.
End of 9 days Uganda safari from Kigali
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Park entrance fees/game drives
- Boat cruise
- Bigodi swamp walk
- Kigali city tour
- Rhino tracking
- Lion tracking experience
- Professional English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Ground transfers (in a 4WD vehicle)
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled drinking water
Tour excludes
- International air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Life insurance
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, tipping among others.
