17 Days Uganda and Rwanda Safari
Spend this 17 days Uganda and Rwanda safari discovering the natural beauty and parallel wildlife experiences in two of Africa’s most visited wildlife and primate destinations. If you are an avid wildlife or primate enthusiast, then this 17 days Uganda and Rwanda Safari is perfect for you. This tour begins in Uganda, Entebbe, and ends in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali.
Highlights for 17 Days Uganda and Rwanda Safari
Day 1: Visit Ngamba Island
Day 2: Pickup and Drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for Rhino Trekking.
Day 3: Shoebill Trek and Drive to Budongo Forest (Birding along the Royal Mile)
Day 4: Birding and Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park- Visit Boomu Women’s Community
Day 5: Morning game drive and Afternoon boat cruise
Day 6: Nile Delta Boat Cruise and Transfer to Fort Portal
Day 7: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
Day 8: Optional Lion Tracking/ Morning Game drive & Afternoon boat Cruise
Day 9: Transfer to Bwindi National Park and Batwa Community Tour
Day 10: Gorilla Trekking
Day 11: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park – Rwanda and Ibyi’wacu Village Tour
Day 12: Mount Bisoke Hike
Day 13: Golden Monkey Trek and Optional Tour of Musanze Caves
Day 14: Transfer to Lake Kivu and Afternoon Boat Cruise
Day 15: Transfer to Nyungwe National Park
Day 16: Hiking in Nyungwe Forest and Optional Zip lining
Day 17: Coffee tour in Huye and Transfer to Kigali-
Detailed for 17 Days Uganda and Rwanda Safari
Day 1: Visit Ngamba Island
Pickup from your hotel and transfer to the docking area in Entebbe next to the zoo where you will be boarding a boat to Ngamba Island. Spend half a day on the island with the chimpanzees and later have lunch before heading back to the mainland.
Drive back to your hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 2: 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 3: Shoebill Trek and Drive to Budongo Forest (Birding along the Royal Mile)
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 venture into Budongo Forest Reserve, a birding paradise that spans across areas of Uganda. Over two days explore trails and sections of this remarkable forest as you search for unique species like Puvels Illadopsis, Paradise Flycatcher, Chocolate-backed Kingfisher and the iconic African Grey Parrot.
Dinner and overnight stay at your accommodation.
Day 4: Birding and Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park- Visit Boomu Women’s Community
Have your breakfast on time and check out of your lodge. Embark on a morning birding session as you drive out of Budongo forest to Murchison Falls National Park. Utilize this time to look out for any bird species that you might not have seen the previous day.
En route to Murchison Falls National Park, you will have a stopover visit at the Boomu Women’s Community/Village. This community is found 13 miles from Masindi within Kigaragara Village outside Murchison Falls National Park. Activities that you can engage in during your visit include basket-weaving lessons, village walks, folk dance classes, and many others.
Have lunch en route to the park. Upon entering the park, you will drive to the top of the falls and experience the thunderous roar with impressive views. Later transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 5: Morning game drive and Afternoon boat cruise
Today after breakfast, you will depart for an early morning game drive across the rolling plains of Uganda’s largest National Park. The 3,893 sq. km park is home to a range of animals, and you will have a chance of viewing some of the Park’s residents including lions, giraffes, hartebeest, buffalo, and elephants. For the birders amongst you, these areas support the secretary bird and the black chested snake eagle, to name a few.
In the afternoon, go for a boat trip to the base of Murchison Falls, where the Nile thunders through a small 7-meter gap plunging 43 meters into the Nile on the way to Lake Albert. The banks of the Nile are densely populated with crocodiles, hippopotamus, and a range of other wildlife that come to the river to drink.
Day 6: Nile Delta Boat Cruise and Transfer to Fort Portal
Have your breakfast early in the morning. The Nile Delta boat cruise in Murchison Falls National Park takes approximately 4-5 hours and take you on an incredible cruise along the Victoria Nile Delta, which is a 20km voyage downstream from the Paara jetty. This boat cruise is great for birding enthusiasts with sightings of the rare Shoebill and papyrus endemic species among others.
After your boat cruise, have lunch at your lodge and then embark on your journey to Fort Portal, where you will arrive in the evening and check into your hotel for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 7: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
You will have breakfast, and then continue your journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park with a visit to the crater lakes and stalagmites site in Fort portal town. You will cross the equator again in Kasese.
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.
In the late afternoon you will relax at the lodge. You will stay in a nice lodge, overlooking the Lake George.
Day 8: Optional Lion Tracking/ Morning Game drive & Afternoon boat Cruise
After breakfast, you will set off for an early morning game drive/optional lion tracking experience, which is conducted in Kasenyi sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The activity 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 game drive in Kasenyi plains. Expect lots of animals including; elephants, Lions, buffaloes, 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 the 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 9: 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 enroute 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 an 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 10: Gorilla Trekking
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 11: 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 to dance and singing performances from the local intore dance troupe. Later return back to hotel/lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 12: Mount Bisoke Hike
You will enjoy breakfast and set out for Mt. Bisoke hike which is part of Volcanoes National Park; home to Rwanda gorillas. On reaching the summit, you will discover a beautiful crater lake and the whole experience is overwhelming! Along the trail, you will discover a lot of birdlife and captivating scenery – the reason Rwanda is referred to as the “land of a thousand hills”.
Meet your driver / guide and transfer back to the lodge for lunch. If you feel strong, you may opt for a village walk. Dinner and overnight stay at as above.
Day 13: Golden Monkey Trek and Optional Tour of Musanze Caves
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 return to the lodge to have lunch and spend the rest of your evening resting at your lodge. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.
Day 14: Transfer to Lake Kivu and Afternoon Boat Cruise
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. You will drive straight to Lake Kivu for a boat trip and have lunch at the lake shores. Spend the day enjoying the breeze and scenery while reading a book or swimming.
You will later connect to check into your hotel at Gisenyi where you will have dinner and spend the night. Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 15: Transfer to Nyungwe National Park
Wake up to a tasty breakfast, check out of your hotel and embark on your transfer to Nyungwe forest national arriving in time for lunch. Spend the rest of your afternoon relaxing at your hotel/lodge. Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 16: Hiking in Nyungwe Forest and Optional Zip lining
After having breakfast, drive to the park for 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. 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 your accommodation.
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 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 National Museum in Butare. Drop will be at any hotel of your choice in Kigali city or at Kigali International Airport in case you have an evening flight to catch back home.
End of the 17 Days Uganda and Rwanda Safari.
