This 17 Days Uganda and Rwanda Safari in the ‘Heart of Africa’ takes you on a magical adventure in the ‘Heart of Africa’. During these 17 days Uganda and Rwanda Safari you will get to experience unique wildlife encounters and sceneries such as rhino trekking and the shoebill trek at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, lion tracking experience in Queen Elizabeth National Park, gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Dian Fossey hike and golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park, a visit to Gisenyi and Kibuye and as well as Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Highlights for 17 Days Uganda and Rwanda Safari in the ‘Heart of Africa’
Day 1: Pickup and Drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for Rhino Trekking.
Day 2: Shoebill Trek and Drive to Lake Albert
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 4: Lion Tracking & Afternoon boat Cruise
Day 5: Morning Game Drive and Coffee Tour at Omwani Women’s Cooperative
Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi National Park and Batwa Community Tour
Day 7: First Gorilla Trekking (Buhoma Sector)
Day 8: Drive to Rushaga Sector Bwindi
Day 9: Second Gorilla Trek- Rushaga sector
Day 10: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park – Rwanda and Ibyi’wacu Village Tour
Day 11: Dian Fossey Hike
Day 12: Golden Monkey Trek and Visit Ellen DeGeneres Campus
Day 13: Transfer to Lake Kivu-Gisenyi and visit Rosamond Carr’s Cottage/Gardens
Day 14: Drive to Kibuye and Visit Bisesero Genocide Museum
Day 15: Transfer to Nyungwe National Park- Optional visit to Gisakura Tea Estate
Day 16: Hiking in Nyungwe Forest and Optional Zip lining
Day 17: Coffee tour in Huye and Transfer to Kigali- (Stopover at King’s Palace Nyanza and National Museum Butare)
Detailed Itinerary for 17 Days Uganda and Rwanda Safari in the ‘Heart of Africa’
Day 1: Pickup and Drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for Rhino Trekking.
Today, after breakfast, your guide will pick you up from the hotel and drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary. You will visit Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, where you will go for rhino trekking with an experienced ranger, which gives you a unique opportunity to view the rhinos from a close distance. Have lunch and proceed with your drive to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Shoebill Trek and Drive to Lake Albert
Have your breakfast on time. You will head out on a birding tour in search for the rare Shoebill in Ziwa sanctuary, which starts at 6 am and takes approximately 4 hours. Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary hosts over 300 bird species including both swamp and woodland species.
Have lunch and then drive to your Lake Albert Safari Lodge, where you will check in and spend the rest of your evening at leisure. Dinner and overnight stay at your booked accommodation.
Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
You will have breakfast, and then continue your journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park which will be a day’s drive. You will have a stopover for lunch and at the equator again in Kasese if time allows.
Queen Elizabeth National Park is Uganda’s second largest park, located at the base of the majestic Rwenzori Mountain range, adjacent to Lake Edward and Lake George. The park has game including Uganda Kob, warthog and waterbuck. Lions are often sighted both in and at the entrance to the park. Be ready to see huge numbers of hippos and elephants, and keep your eyes on the lookout for a leopard lazing in the sunshine.
Upon your arrival in the park, drive to your lodge and check in. Later, have dinner and an overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 4: Lion Tracking & Afternoon Boat Cruise
After breakfast, you will set off for an early lion tracking experience which is conducted in the Kasenyi sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The activity, which starts as early as 5 am, takes between 3-4 hours, depending on the location of the lions in the park. You will be accompanied by a team of expert lion researchers and a park guide. After your lion tracking experience, you will then embark on a short game drive in Kasenyi plains. Expect lots of animals including elephants, Lions, buffalo, waterbucks, warthogs, Uganda Kobs, among others. Head back to your lodge for lunch.
Afternoon boat cruise
After lunch you will go for a boat cruise on Kazinga channel, a water channel that connects lake Edward and lake George. During the boat cruise which takes about 2 to 3 hours, you will be able to view large
herds of hippos and Nile crocodiles in water, view buffaloes, elephants, warthogs, waterbucks drinking water along the shores, view water birds like hornbills, cormorants, fish eagles, kingfishers
among others. After the boat ride you will return to the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Day 5: Morning Game Drive and Coffee Tour at Omwani Women’s Cooperative
After breakfast, you will set off for an early morning breakfast to catch up with your driver guide for a morning game drive safari. Expect lots of animals including elephants, Lions, buffalo, waterbucks, warthogs, Uganda Kobs, among others.
Later return to your lodge for lunch and relax for a bit. Later in the afternoon, you will drive to Omwani Women’s Coffee Cooperative for a coffee plantation tour and learn about the different stages of coffee processing in Uganda and later drive to view the crater lakes if you wish before heading back to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 6: Transfer to Bwindi National Park and Batwa Community Tour
Have breakfast early morning and check out of your lodge. You will then embark on a 4-6 hours’ drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via Ishasha with a stopover for lunch en route to the park.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park boasts both mountain gorillas and chimpanzees – the only forest in Africa that can make this claim. It also hosts five other species of primates, 113 species of mammals, over 200 species of butterflies and 360 species of birds. The gorillas you track are habituated and can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period of time, every day.
Upon your arrival in Bwindi, you will visit one of the neighboring Batwa local communities, where you will be taken on a cultural expedition around the local homesteads and get a chance to interact with the local people and watch dance and singing performances from the local dance troupe. Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 7: First Gorilla Trekking (Buhoma Sector)
You will wake up early for breakfast and you will drive to the park headquarters, where you will have a briefing about the gorilla trek in Bwindi National Park. You will proceed into the Bwindi Impenetrable forest, where you will enjoy seeing the gorillas in their natural habitat.
You will spend 1 hour with the gorillas before returning to the briefing point where you will meet your guide and return to your lodge. Spend the rest of your evening relaxing at your lodge.
Day 8: Drive to Rushaga Sector Bwindi
Wake up in time to have breakfast at your lodge. You will then check out of your lodge and embark on your journey to Rushaga sector in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Arrive at your lodge and have lunch then relax for the rest of your after as you prepare for your second gorilla trek the next day.
Day 9: Second Gorilla Trek- Rushaga sector
Today you will be doing your second gorilla trek. Have your breakfast on time and drive to the park’s briefing point. Trekking mountain gorillas in Rushaga sector offers you a unique experience as the terrains and gorilla groups are different from those in the Buhoma sector. Also, kindly note that Rushaga sector in Bwindi is the only sector in the park that offers visitors an opportunity for a gorilla habituation experience, where you get to spend up to 4 hours with the gorillas. (Gorilla habituation experience costs $1500 per person in case you are interested).
Day 10: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park – Rwanda and Ibyi’wacu Village Tour
After having your breakfast, meet up with your driver guide and drive to Volcanoes National Park via the Cyanika border. Upon your arrival in Volcanoes, you will check into your hotel/lodge for lunch and later in the afternoon, you will head out to visit Ibyi’wacu village, which is situated near the national park. Take a tour of the locally made grass-thatched huts and also be entertained by dance and singing performances from the local intore dance troupe. Later return back to the hotel/lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 11: Dian Fossey Hike
Wake up energetic enough for this hike heading out to the research center of the much celebrated but fallen primatologist Dian Fossey, and further to her tomb where her body was laid to rest. Dian Fossey was a primatologist and conservationist who studied and protected the mountain gorillas from poachers, which could have claimed her life.
After this 6 hour to and from hike, you will connect back to your hotel for dinner and a night stay as before.
Day 12: Golden Monkey Trek and Visit Ellen DeGeneres’ Campus
Breakfast will be served early and drive back to the park headquarters for briefing and Golden Monkey trekking. The procedure is the same as Gorilla trekking but lasts only 3 to 5 hours and then drive to Ellen DeGeneres Campus for a visit of the campus. You will be taken on a tour to the classrooms, laboratories, and museum where you will learn more about the late Diana Fossey’s conservation work. return to the lodge to have lunch and relax for the rest of the evening.
Dinner and overnight at your accommodation.
Day 13: Transfer to Lake Kivu-Gisenyi and visit Rosamond Carr’s Cottage/Gardens
Wake up at leisure for breakfast and check out of your hotel and drive towards Gisenyi for your Lake Kivu visit. This is about 1-2-hour road transfer, with a stopover visit at Rosamond Carr’s beautiful flower gardens. You will have lunch at your lodge and relax at leisure.
Day 14: Drive to Kibuye and Visit Bisesero Genocide Museum
After having breakfast, you will check out off your lodge and embark on a 2-hour drive to Kibuye, where you will visit Bisesero genocide museum. Later drive to your lodge for lunch and dinner. In case you wish to do other optional activities in the area, please feel free to inform your driver guide in advance for easy organization with the local service providers/site managers.
Day 15: Transfer to Nyungwe National Park- Optional visit to Gisakura Tea Estate
Wake up to a tasty breakfast, check out of your hotel, and embark on your transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park, arriving in time for lunch. Later, you can opt for a visit to Gisakura tea estate, where you will be taken on a tour of the beautifully terraced tea estate and learn more about tea growing, harvesting, and processing. Do feel free to purchase a few tea bags as a show of support to the local community.
Spend the rest of your afternoon relaxing at your hotel/lodge.
Day 16: Hiking in Nyungwe Forest and Optional Zip Lining
After having breakfast, drive to the park for a briefing. Today, you will be hiking one of the 19 nature trails in Nyungwe Forest National Park. Each trail offers a unique experience and views, hence we recommend that you check out the link below for a detailed guide on the trails that you can explore in Nyungwe. (Do let us know which trail you wish to explore when booking this tour.) After your hike, if you still wish to do an activity in the park, you can do the optional zip-lining experience in Nyungwe Forest.
Dinner and overnight stay at lodge/hotel.
Day 17: Coffee tour in Huye and Transfer to Kigali- (Stopover at King’s Palace Nyanza and National Museum Butare)
Wake up at leisure and have a relaxed breakfast meal at your lodge. You will then check out and meet up with your driver guide. If you wish, you may head out for a coffee tour to Huye Mountain Coffee Cooperative and get to tour coffee plantations. You will also be taken through the entire process of how coffee is made in Rwanda and conclude your tour with a nice cup of Rwanda-made coffee.
After lunch, you will then embark on your journey back to Kigali city with a stopover at the King’s Palace in Nyanza and the National Museum in Butare. Drop will be at any hotel of your choice in Kigali city or at Kigali International Airport if you have an evening flight to catch back home.
End of the 17 Days Uganda and Rwanda Safari in the ‘Heart of Africa’
