7 days Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari from Kigali

The 7 days Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari from Kigali makes for an interesting safari, which starts and ends in Kigali Rwanda, and starts and ends in the world’s oldest city. During the safari, you will be taken to the Bwindi impenetrable national park, located in the southwestern region of Uganda, where you will be able to see and spend an hour with the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.

As a part of the seven-day Uganda gorillas and wildlife safari from Kigali, you will also be able to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park where you can observe elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, Uganda kobs, waterbucks, bushbucks, warthogs, hippos, and many others during the game drive and the boat cruise on the Kazinga channel as well as the chimpanzees in their natural habitat at Kibale forest national park.

Highlights of the 7 days Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari from Kigali

Day 1: Pick up from Kigali airport 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: Departure to Kigali

Detailed itinerary

Day 1: Pick up from Kigali and transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park,

As soon as you arrive in Kigali on the first day of the 7 days Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari from Kigali, you will be greeted by one of our representatives who will brief you about the safari before taking you on the journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park in the north of the country.

The journey takes between 3 and 4 hours, passing through the Cyanka border in Kisoro or the Katuna border in Kabale as you proceed. As you travel along, you will be able to enjoy beautiful views of the rolling hills, countryside, terraced farmlands, and much more. Upon arrival in the park, you will continue to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

After an early breakfast on the second day of the 7 days Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari from Kigali, you will carry a packed lunch and your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge and transfer you to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of trekking the gorillas.

Upon completion of the briefing, you will be paired up with a gorilla family to trek with, and a park guide who knows everything there is to know about gorillas and is well-versed in the jungle trails.

Depending on the area of the Bwindi impenetrable national park where the gorillas are located, a trek to the Bwindi impenetrable forest typically takes 30 minutes to 7 hours. This is because the gorillas are notorious for moving from one place to another in search of food.

During the trekking trip, you will be able to view animals, other primates such as l’hoest monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, chimpanzees, and a variety of bird species among others.

Once the gorillas are located you will have the opportunity to spend one hour with them in their habitat after they have been found. This will allow you to observe them in action as they feed, breastfeed, play, observe their behaviors, take amazing photos and record the breathtaking moments for you to show people back home when they get back home.

After the one hour encounter with the gentle giants you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking, meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Transfer to Queen Elizabeth national park

During the third day of your 7-day Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari from Kigali, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide for your transfer to the Queen Elizabeth National Park, where you will spend your night.

In the way, you will pass through the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth national park which is located in the southern part of the park. Here, you will have a chance to spot tree climbing lions which will be lying up in branches of fig trees along the way.

As soon as you have completed the game drive in the Ishasha sector, you will have lunch before continuing your journey to the Queen Elizabeth national park, where, upon arrival, you will check into your lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight stay.

Day 4: Morning game drive/ lion tracking and afternoon boat cruise

Morning game drive/lion tracking,

In the morning of the fourth day of the 7 days Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari, you will have breakfast and then meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive or an opportunity to track lions in the Kasenyi plains.

Tree Climbing Lions in Queen Elizabeth N.P

The game drive will allow you to witness large herds of elephants, buffaloes, Uganda kobs, bushbucks, waterbucks, warthogs, which will be grazing on the open savannah plains. You will also be able to spot predators, such as lions and leopards, if you are lucky. A variety of bird species will also be seen on the game drive. After the game drive you will drive to the lodge for lunch.

Boat cruise,

After lunch, you will have the chance to cruise on Kazinga channel, an important waterbody that connects Lake George and Lake Edward, for an exciting boat ride.

A boat cruise of about two hours will give you the opportunity to see elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, warthogs and other creatures drinking water along the shoreline, as well as large amounts of hippos and Nile crocodiles, as well as water birds such as the martial eagle and papyrus gonolek as well as pelicans, hornbills, African spoonbills, cormorants, fish eagles, king fishers, among others. Additionally, along the water banks, fishermen are able to organize their fishing nets. After the boat ride you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Morning game drive and transfer to Kibale forest national park

In the morning of day 5 of your 7 day Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari from Kigali, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to take you for another game drive in the park, where you will have the opportunity to see animals that might have been missed on the previous game drive.

The game drive will be followed by a lunch at the lodge, after which you will check out of the lodge and begin the journey to Kibale Forest National Park, after which you will return to the lodge.

While on the way you will enjoy great views of the landscape, crater lakes, tea plantations among other things, and upon your arrival you will check into your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6: Chimpanzee trekking and Bigodi swamp walk

After an early breakfast on the seventh day of your 7-day Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari from Kigali, you will meet up with your driver guide so that you can take the short transfer to Kanyachu Visitors Center where you will receive a briefing about the chimpanzee trekking experience.

The briefing will be followed by an assignment of a family of chimpanzees to trek with, along with a park guide who is familiar with the trails in the forest.

When trekking to see chimpanzees in Kibale forest national park, it takes about 30-45 minutes to 4 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located, as they like to move from one place to another in search of food.

In addition to the primates that you will see during the trekking adventure, there are other species of animals and plants that you will be able to observe such as gray cheeked mangabeys, black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, some bird species and plants.

After finding the chimpanzees, you will be able to spend up to one hour with them in their natural habitat, which will enable you to learn more about their behaviors, watch them feed, nurse, fight, hunt, enjoy the juveniles playing up in the trees, take photos and record the moments of their lives.

Once you have experienced the primal nature of chimpanzees up close, you will trek back to the park headquarters where your driver guide will meet you and take you back to the lodge for lunch after your encounter with the chimpanzees.

After lunch you will go for an interesting swamp walk in Bigodi swamp where you will be able to view different bird species, animals like sitatungas, view different plant and tree species among others. After the swamp walk, you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Departure to Kigali

On the last day of the 7-day Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari from Kigali, you will have a relaxing breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to begin the journey back to Kigali after the safari.

In the course of the journey, you will have a stopover for lunch before continuing the journey to Kigali. Upon arrival in Kigali, your driver guide will drop you off at the Kigali international airport for your departure flight or at any place you specify with your driver guide.

End of 7 days Uganda gorilla and wildlife safari from Kigali.

Tour includes                                  

• Gorilla trekking permit
• Chimpanzee trekking
• Park entrance fees/ game drives
• Boat cruise fees
• Bigodi swamp walk
• 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, tips among others.