16-Day Uganda Rwanda Safari

Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Golden Monkeys & Wildlife – The Ultimate Primate & Wilderness Adventure

Offered By: Usoke Explorers

Short Tour Description

16 Days – Uganda & Rwanda: Gorillas, Chimps, Golden Monkeys & Wildlife

This comprehensive 16-day safari takes you through the best of Uganda and Rwanda – tracking mountain gorillas three times, trekking chimpanzees in Kibale Forest, hiking the foothills of the Rwenzori Mountains, searching for tree-climbing lions in Ishasha, and exploring the diverse wildlife of Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Parks. Includes golden monkey tracking in both Uganda and Rwanda, cultural encounters with the Batwa, and scenic transfers through the stunning landscapes of the Pearl of Africa and the Land of a Thousand Hills.

Why This Safari is Worth Taking

• Three Gorilla Treks – Track mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest (Nkuringo and Rushaga sectors)

• Golden Monkey Tracking – Trek the rare golden monkeys in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park (Uganda) and Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda)

• Chimpanzee Tracking – Trek chimpanzees in Kibale Forest, Uganda’s primate capital

• Murchison Falls – Game drives, Nile boat cruise, and rhino tracking at Ziwa Sanctuary

• Queen Elizabeth National Park – Game drives, Kazinga Channel boat cruise, and Ishasha tree-climbing lions

• Mount Rwenzori Hike – One-day trek in the legendary “Mountains of the Moon”

• Batwa Cultural Experience – Meet the original forest dwellers of Bwindi

• Iby’iwacu Cultural Village – Experience Rwandan cultural entertainment

• Seamless Logistics – Cross-border transfers between Uganda and Rwanda, with all park fees and permits included

Brief Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe International Airport

Day 2: Full Day Relaxation at the Hotel

Day 3: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park – Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

Day 4: Game Drive & Launch Cruise

Day 5: Drive to Kibale National Park

Day 6: Chimpanzee Tracking & Bigodi Wetland Walk

Day 7: Mount Rwenzori Hike – Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Day 8: Game Drive & Launch Cruise on the Kazinga Channel

Day 9: Full Day Queen Elizabeth National Park – Transfer to Ishasha

Day 10: Transfer to Bwindi National Park – Nkuringo Sector – Batwa Experience

Day 11: Gorilla Trekking – Transfer to Kisoro

Day 12: Golden Monkey Tracking – Relaxation

Day 13: Gorilla Trekking – Transfer to Rushaga Sector

Day 14: Gorilla Trekking

Day 15: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park – Iby’iwacu Cultural Village

Day 16: Golden Monkey Tracking – Transfer to Kigali

Day 17: Reserved for Departure

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival at Entebbe International Airport

Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport, you will be welcomed by a representative from Usoke Explorers. After a brief safari orientation, you will be transferred to your hotel for an overnight stay. This day is for relaxation and preparing for the journey ahead.

Meals: No meals included

Day 2: Full Day Relaxation at the Hotel

This day is reserved for relaxation. Recover from your international flight and get ready to start the trip the following day. Enjoy the hotel’s facilities, take a gentle walk around Entebbe, or simply rest.

Meals: Breakfast included

Day 3: Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park – Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary

After breakfast, you will depart for Murchison Falls National Park (approx. 5 hours’ drive).

En Route: Stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary in Nakasongola – the proud home of the only white rhinos in Uganda. Here you will embark on a rhino trekking experience on foot, walking within metres of these magnificent prehistoric creatures. The sanctuary also offers birding tours, nature hikes, and opportunities to spot the elusive shoebill stork (with luck).

Enjoy lunch en route, then proceed to the park. Arrive at your lodge in the evening for dinner and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Game Drive & Launch Cruise

Wake up early for breakfast at 6:30 AM. Your driver-guide and a ranger guide will pick you up to start your game drive at 7:00 AM. Explore the northern plains of Murchison Falls, where you will see lions, buffaloes, giraffes, elephants, antelopes, waterbucks, and a variety of bird species.

Return to the lodge at around 11:40 AM for relaxation and lunch.

Afternoon: Embark on a launch cruise along the Victoria Nile to the base of Murchison Falls. From the boat, you will see Nile crocodiles, hippos, buffaloes, and elephants along the banks. Birdwatchers will delight in bee-eaters, kingfishers, and the elusive shoebill stork.

Optional activity: Hike to the top of the falls (1.5 hours) a strenuous but rewarding climb where you will witness the Nile exploding through a 7-metre gap. Your driver-guide will meet you at the top and drive you back to the lodge.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Drive to Kibale National Park

After breakfast, depart for Kibale National Park (approx. 5–6 hours’ drive). The journey takes you through the scenic countryside, past tea plantations and traditional homesteads.

Arrive in the afternoon. Spend the rest of the day relaxing and preparing for tomorrow’s chimpanzee trek.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Chimpanzee Tracking & Bigodi Wetland Walk

After breakfast (6:30–7:00 AM), transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing. Then embark on a chimpanzee tracking experience in Kibale Forest – home to the highest density of primates in East Africa.

The trek lasts approximately 4 hours. Once you locate a chimp troop, you will spend one hour observing them in their natural habitat.

Afternoon: Return to the lodge for lunch, then visit Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary a 4.5-kilometre walk through an important wildlife corridor. This is a birdwatcher’s paradise, with over 200 bird species including hornbills, turacos, parrots, and cranes. The sanctuary is also home to 8 primate species, including black and white colobus, red colobus, red-tailed monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, olive baboons, L’Hoest’s monkeys, vervet monkeys, and blue monkeys. Other mammals such as sitatungas, bushbucks, and otters may also be spotted.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Mount Rwenzori Hike – Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Very early in the morning (6:00–7:00 AM), your guide will pick you up and drive to the Rwenzori Mountains – the legendary “Mountains of the Moon.”

Enjoy breakfast before starting your one-day Rwenzori trekking safari, beginning at 1,450 metres above sea level. The trek takes you through montane forest with thick trees, primates, and various bird species. Climb steep ridges, cross small streams and rivers, and reach the highest walking point at Samalira (2,373 metres). Along the way, you may see bush pigs, chimpanzee nests, black and white colobus monkeys, and blue monkeys.

Descend the mountain and return to the starting point.

Afternoon: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park (approx. 2 hours). Check in, enjoy dinner, then go for a night game drive (8:00–10:00 PM). This unique experience allows you to see hippos grazing on land, antelopes, elephants, buffaloes, and if you are lucky, a pride of lions walking around your vehicle.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8: Game Drive & Launch Cruise on the Kazinga Channel

Wake early at 5:30 AM for a morning game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park (approx. 4 hours). Return to the lodge for breakfast and lunch.

Afternoon: Enjoy a launch cruise on the Kazinga Channel a 36-kilometre waterway connecting Lakes George and Edward. This is one of Africa’s most wildlife-dense waterways, with opportunities to see Cape buffaloes, African elephants, monitor lizards, Uganda kobs, Defassa waterbucks, common elands, topis, hippos, and crocodiles. Birdwatchers will spot fish eagles, pelicans, storks, and kingfishers.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9: Full Day Queen Elizabeth National Park – Transfer to Ishasha

Enjoy a full day in Queen Elizabeth National Park with both morning and afternoon game drives. Exact timings will be advised by your guide.

Afternoon: Transfer to the Ishasha sector, famous for its tree-climbing lions. Dinner and overnight in Ishasha.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 10: Transfer to Bwindi National Park – Nkuringo Sector – Batwa Experience

After breakfast, go for a game drive in the Ishasha sector to search for tree-climbing lions before setting off for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Enjoy lunch at Ishasha, then continue to Bwindi, arriving in the afternoon.

Afternoon: Enjoy a Batwa cultural experience. This takes place in an old-growth forest next to Bwindi. The experience begins with a nature walk, seeing the forest through the eyes of the original people of the forest. Learn how the Batwa hunted small animals, gathered food, and used traps and nets.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 11: Gorilla Trekking – Transfer to Kisoro

Early morning breakfast (6:30 AM), then head to the park headquarters for gorilla trekking (briefing at 7:00 AM, trekking starts at 8:00 AM). The time taken depends on the movement of the gorillas. Once located, you will spend one unforgettable hour with them.

Lunch will be either packed or hot lunch at the lodge, depending on when you finish.

Afternoon: Transfer to Kisoro and check into your lodge.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 12: Golden Monkey Tracking – Relaxation

After breakfast (6:30 AM), move to the park headquarters for a briefing on golden monkey trekking rules. Then head into the forest to track the rare golden monkeys – a beautiful primate species endemic to the Virunga massif.

The trek takes 1–4 hours, and you will have one hour with the golden monkeys once found.

Return to the lodge for lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 13: Gorilla Trekking – Transfer to Rushaga Sector

Early morning breakfast (6:30 AM), then head to the park headquarters for briefing and gorilla trekking (briefing at 7:00 AM, trekking starts at 8:00 AM). Time taken depends on the movement of the gorillas. Spend one hour with the gorillas.

Lunch will be either packed or hot lunch at the lodge depending on when you finish.

Afternoon: Transfer to the Rushaga sector of Bwindi for dinner and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 14: Gorilla Trekking

Early morning breakfast (6:30 AM), then head to the park headquarters for briefing and gorilla trekking (briefing at 7:00 AM, trekking starts at 8:00 AM). Time taken depends on the movement of the gorillas. Spend one hour with the gorillas.

Lunch will be either packed or hot lunch at the lodge depending on when you finish.

Afternoon: Relax at the lodge or enjoy Batwa cultural entertainment (if not done earlier).

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 15: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park – Iby’iwacu Cultural Village

After a leisurely breakfast (approx. 10:00 AM), transfer to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda (approx. 4–5 hours including border crossing). Your guide will assist with immigration formalities at the Uganda-Rwanda border.

Afternoon: Enjoy Iby’iwacu Cultural Village entertainment – an immersive experience showcasing Rwandan traditional dances, music, and storytelling.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 16: Golden Monkey Tracking – Transfer to Kigali

After breakfast (7:00 AM), move to the park headquarters for a briefing on golden monkey trekking rules. Then head into the forest to track the rare golden monkeys in Volcanoes National Park.

The trek takes 1–4 hours, and you will have one hour with the golden monkeys once found.

Afternoon: Enjoy lunch, then transfer to Kigali (approx. 3 hours). Check into your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 17: Reserved for Departure

Spend a full day at leisure at your hotel. Relax, explore Kigali’s shops and cafes, or simply prepare for your departure.

Check out at 11:00 PM and transfer to Kigali International Airport for your departure flight.

Meals: Breakfast

End of Safari

Inclusions

• Airport transfers (Entebbe pickup and Kigali drop-off)

• All park entry fees

• Gorilla tracking permits (3 treks: Nkuringo, Rushaga x2)

• Chimpanzee tracking permit (Kibale)

• Golden monkey tracking permits (Mgahinga, Uganda and Volcanoes, Rwanda)

• Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary rhino trekking

• Murchison Falls boat cruise and game drives

• Kazinga Channel boat cruise

• Queen Elizabeth National Park game drives and night game drive

• Ishasha sector game drive (tree-climbing lions)

• Mount Rwenzori one-day hike

• Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary walk

• Batwa cultural experience (Bwindi)

• Iby’iwacu Cultural Village (Rwanda)

• All meals as indicated 

• Private 4×4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof

• Professional English-speaking driver-guide

• Bottled drinking water 

• All relevant government taxes

Exclusions

• International flights

• Uganda and Rwanda visa fees

• Travel and medical insurance

• Porter hire during gorilla and chimpanzee tracking

• Alcoholic and soft drinks

• Tips and gratuities for driver-guide, rangers, and lodge staff

• Personal expenses (souvenirs, laundry, phone calls, etc.)

• Optional activities not mentioned in the itinerary