10 Days Uganda and Rwanda Gorilla and Wildlife Safari

About this safari

This route runs through four parks over ten days. You track chimpanzees in Kibale, search for lions in Queen Elizabeth, and visit mountain gorillas twice, first in Bwindi and then in Volcanoes National Park. It ends with golden monkeys and a tour of Kigali. The order can also be reversed to start in Kigali, depending on your flights.

The pace is steady rather than rushed. Gorilla days can take between five and nine hours in total, so plan your energy around them.

Day by day

Day 1: Arrive in Entebbe

Your driver-guide meets you at the airport and takes you to your hotel in Entebbe. Bed and breakfast.

Day 2: Entebbe to Kibale Forest National Park

Today is a 6 to 7 hour drive west, across the Albertine Escarpment and through the Bunyoro and Toro kingdoms. If the sky is clear, you can see the Rwenzori Mountains, known as the Mountains of the Moon, from Fort Portal.

After you check in, take an afternoon nature and bird walk in Bigodi Swamp, run by a community organisation called KAFRED. Full board.

Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking, then Queen Elizabeth National Park

You begin with a briefing at Kanyanchu park headquarters and then walk into the forest. Tracking takes about 3 hours on average, and you spend one hour with the chimpanzees once you find them. The minimum age is 12.

After lunch you transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park, which has more than 600 bird species and 95 mammal species. Full board.

Day 4: Game drive and Kazinga Channel cruise

Start with a morning game drive on the Kasenyi plains, looking for lions, leopards, elephants and buffalo.

In the afternoon you take a boat cruise of about 3 hours along the Kazinga Channel, which links Lake Edward and Lake George and holds one of Africa's biggest hippo populations.

Day 5: Ishasha sector, then Bwindi

A morning game drive in Ishasha looks for the sector's famous tree-climbing lions. In the afternoon you drive about 5 hours to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Full board.

Day 6: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi

After a briefing at park headquarters you enter the forest. Finding the gorillas takes 2 to 5 hours, depending on where they were last seen, and then you have one hour with the family. The whole activity runs 5 to 9 hours.

Bring a packed lunch and consider a porter. If time allows, stop at the Ride 4 a Woman project in Buhoma, where local women make baskets and other crafts by hand. Full board.

Day 7: Community walk, border crossing, Volcanoes National Park

The morning starts with a community walk and a Batwa cultural experience. You then cross into Rwanda at Cyanika or Katuna and transfer to Volcanoes National Park. Full board.

Day 8: Gorilla trekking in Rwanda

After the briefing at park headquarters, you hike to your assigned gorilla family. Time in the forest is hard to predict, so carry lunch and water and hire a porter. If the hike is not for you, a sedan chair can be arranged. Once you find the gorillas, you have one hour with them.

In the evening you visit Ibwachu Cultural Village, also called the ex-poachers' village. Full board.

Day 9: Golden monkey tracking, then Kigali

Golden monkey tracking takes place in the morning. It is shorter and easier than a gorilla trek. After an early lunch, you transfer to Kigali in the afternoon. Full board.

Day 10: Kigali city tour and departure

A half-day tour takes in the Kigali Genocide Memorial Site and Museum, the Nyamata Genocide Church and the local markets. You are then taken to the airport for your flight. Breakfast and lunch.

Where you stay

These are the lodges we usually book for this route. If one is full on your dates, we will use a similar lodge nearby.

• Entebbe: Papyrus Guest House, Boma Guest House, 2 Friends Guest House or Best Western Hotel. Bed and breakfast.
• Kibale Forest: Kibale Guest Cottages (budget), Turaco Tree Tops (mid-range) or Primates Lodge (luxury). Full board.
• Queen Elizabeth National Park and Ishasha: Enjojo Lodge or Ishasha Wilderness Camp. Full board.
• Bwindi: Bakiga Lodge up to Mahogany Springs Lodge, depending on your budget. Full board.
• Volcanoes National Park: Davinci Lodge up to Bisate Lodge or One&Only Gorilla Nest, depending on your budget. Full board.
• Kigali: Scheba Hotel or ChezLando (budget); Heaven Boutique, Mille Collines or Lemigo (mid-range); Kigali Serena or The Retreat (luxury). Bed and breakfast.