Day 1: Pick up from Kigali and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park and Iby’Iwachu cultural experience.
Your driver guide will pick you up from your hotel or airport. You will then embark on the journey to the Volcanoes National Park. You will pass via the Kigali genocide Memorial center which was built to commemorate the large number of people who lost their lives in 1994 genocide. You will then proceed with the journey to the volcanoes.
Volcanoes National Park was established in 1916, and the area was well known for housing the rare, endemic, and critically endangered Mountain Gorillas. Volcanos National Park Rwanda is the portion of the vast Virunga conservation area, which is shared by the three countries: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda. Volcanoes National Park is the northeastern area of Rwanda. The Virunga Massif , chain of the Volcanoes that make up the region and is heavily defined by the volcanic features. The pick ranges from 3000 to over 4500 meters and the highest being Karisimbi (4507m) and160km2s of land is covered in the bamboo forests and tropical rain forests.
You’ll have lunch on route depending on where it will be convenient. Upon arrival, you’ll check in at the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Golden Monkey trekking and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
You’ll wake up very early morning and after breakfast, head to the park headquarters to join other clients for briefing about the don’ts and dos while with the golden monkeys on your trek. After briefing ,you will start the trek through the forest guided by the researchers and the lead guide. During your trek, you may encounter several bird species, and other animals plus the other primates in the forest. Once you find the golden monkeys, you will spend one hour with them observing their behavior, recording videos and taking pictures. You will the return to the lodge for lunch and relaxation and embark on the journey to Ugandas’ Bwindi Impenetrable National Park via Cyanika border.
Bwindi National Park is located in the south western parts of Uganda on the edge of the great rift valley, is considered the most diverse forest in East Africa. This contains a dense ground cover of herbs, vines, and shrubs and being the home of 120 mammals, 345 bird species, 200 species of butterflies, and 160 species of trees, Bwindi has one of the richest ecosystem in East Africa that contains almost one half of the world’s population of the endangered Mountain Gorillas making it extremely valuable conservation site. Bwindi is also the home of the several endangered bird species with very limited ranges, acts as an important catchment area for many rivers, supplying water for agriculture in the surrounding region.
Upon arrival, you will check in at the lodge for dinner and overnight
Day 3: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and transfer to Queen Elizabeth National park
After breakfast, you will drive to the park headquarter with your packed lunch for briefing about the dos and don’ts of the gorilla trekking experience. You will again meet your ranger guide for a briefing about gorilla tracking in Bwindi forest. This exercise is to prepare you for the great life time experience. After briefing, the ranger will allocate you a gorilla family group name to trek. Then you will be followed by two armed ranger guides for your security purposes in search of that gorilla family with in the forest, in case you come across the African Forest Elephant which is hostile at many times by charging on you. The time it takes to find the gorilla is uncertain ranging from 2-8 hours depending on where the family gorilla is feeding from. After finding the gorilla, you’ll spend an hour in their presence taking pictures, and recording videos for your future memories. After the gorilla trekking activity, you’ll embark on the journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Queen Elizabeth National Park spreads over 1978sq.kms in the western arm of the rift valley and is a home to a wide variety of wildlife including Elephants, lions, Leopards, hippos, Cape Buffalos, Uganda kob, Baboons, and many bird species. With both a riverine and savannah habitant, the park includes the sounthern Ishasha area with its climbing lions and Maramagambo, one of the largest surviving natural forest in Uganda. Upon arrival, you’ll check in at the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 4: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise on Kazinga Channel
After breakfast, you’ll go for the morning game drive in mweya sector, where you will have the chance to see the crater lakes, Animals like Bush bucks, warthogs, leopards, lions, hippos and Elephants in wet areas. The many near by crater lakes and mountain ranges provide beautiful backdrop for your journey. You may have the chance also to visit lake Katwe, the epitome of salt mining in the country and to see the proceess of locally mining salt.
You will have lunch at the lodge and then proceed to the jetty for the afternoon boat cruise on Kazinga channel to sport more animals. The channel has the highest concentration of hippos in the world. You may also encounter herds of elephants buffalos and antelopes, families of warthogs, large group of hippos, and crocodiles basking on the sun shore. Kazinga channel’s shore are a haven for the numerous birds, including many migratory bird species as they mark their way south to warmer climate. The cruise also provides a spectacular view of the beautiful Mweya peninsula and life in thelocal fishing villages set along the banks.
You will return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking in Kalinzu or Kyambura and transfer back to Kigali end of the tour
Today after breakfast, you’ll drive to Kalinzu forest Headquarters to meet your guides for the day and after briefing , you’ll begin the chimpanzee trekking experience.
Kalinzu Central Forest Reserve is situated in Bushenyi District in southwestern Uganda and spreads about137 square kilometres. It is renowned for its rich biodiversity, featuring a dense tropical rainforest vegetation and an impressive variety of wildlife.
Experienced guides, researchers and trackers will accompany your party on the trek into the forest to view the wild Chimpanzee as well as several other species of primates and in their natural habitant. You will also spend 1 hour with them. You’ll have the opportunity to be within meters of these amusing and very social apes for an hour, sharing their daily life experience, day-to-today activities as the guide takes in the whole process. You’ll then have lunch and proceed with the journey back to Kigali for drop off
This will mark the end of the 5-day Uganda-Rwanda primates and wildlife safari.
