Why we love it
- With gorilla permits included in the price of the trip, seek out the rare mountain gorilla on a trek through Uganda's steamy forests and spend an unforgettable hour in their presence.
- Learn about Rwanda's devastating history with a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, and see what life looks like today with a tour of the city’s most vibrant neighbourhoods.
- Get to know the diverse wildlife of Queen Elizabeth National Park on a series of 4x4 game drives and an optional boat cruise around the lake.
- You won’t even have to get out of bed to enjoy wildlife and wonderful views – Safari lodges and Eco Camps deliver epic scenery and wild visitors like elephants, buffalo, and hippos to your doorstep.
- Visit The Gorilla Doctors HQ and learn about how they're saving the species one gorilla patient at a time, knowing that a proportion of your trip cost goes back to supporting the important work they do.
- By travelling on this trip, you’ll directly support our Intrepid Foundation partner, Gorilla Doctors. Donations help them care for injured mountain and Grauer's gorillas – contributing to the long-term sustainability of gorilla populations.
Rwanda and Uganda are often-overlooked travel destinations – but as an intrepid traveller, you won’t want to miss this nine-day journey through their wild landscapes, rich in history and wildlife. Learn about the devastating events that took place in Rwanda, a beautiful country that’s continuously striving to move forward. Combine this with the incredible scenery and diverse animal life of Uganda and an unforgettable adventure searching for mountain gorillas, and you’ll experience the full spectrum of emotions and physical challenges.
Highlights
- With gorilla permits included in the price of the trip, seek out the rare mountain gorilla on a trek through Uganda's steamy forests and spend an unforgettable hour in their presence.
- Learn about Rwanda's devastating history with a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, and see what life looks like today with a tour of the city’s most vibrant neighbourhoods.
- Get to know the diverse wildlife of Queen Elizabeth National Park on a series of 4x4 game drives and an optional boat cruise around the lake.
- You won’t even have to get out of bed to enjoy wildlife and wonderful views – Safari lodges and Eco Camps deliver epic scenery and wild visitors like elephants, buffalo, and hippos to your doorstep.
- Visit The Gorilla Doctors HQ and learn about how they're saving the species one gorilla patient at a time, knowing that a proportion of your trip cost goes back to supporting the important work they do.
- By travelling on this trip, you’ll directly support our Intrepid Foundation partner, Gorilla Doctors. Donations help them care for injured mountain and Grauer's gorillas – contributing to the long-term sustainability of gorilla populations.
Itinerary:
Day 1: Kigali
Welcome to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda since it gained independence in 1962. Most associate Rwanda with the horrific genocide that took place in 1994, but this is a country that has been striving to rebuild its economy for years and offers so much to the intrepid traveller. And though the past won’t, and shouldn’t, be forgotten, the future of Rwanda’s tourism is looking bright thanks to its welcoming people, an abundance of lakes and the beautiful Virunga Mountains. Your adventure begins by meeting your fellow travellers and local leader at 6pm.
Accommodation:
Day 2: Musanze
After breakfast this morning, your tour leader will take you to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, which opened in 2004 to mark the 10th commemoration of the genocide against the Tutsi people. It serves as a museum detailing the history and consequences of Rwanda’s genocide and a place for people to grieve for lost friends and family. This afternoon, you’ll drive to Musanze – the gateway to Volcanoes National Park, home to gorillas and golden monkeys.
This afternoon, you’ll visit The Gorilla Doctors headquaters; the only organisation in the world dedicated to saving the mountain and eastern lowland (Grauer’s) gorilla species one gorilla patient at a time using veterinary medicine and science. They monitor the health of gorilla groups to ensure the early detection of disease and injury, and stage medical interventions when gorillas suffer from human-induced or life-threatening trauma or disease. Meals: Breakfast,Lunch
Accommodation:
Included Activities:
- Kigali - Genocide Memorial Centre
- Musanze - Visit to The Gorilla Doctors HQ
Optional Activities:
- Kigali - Genocide Memorial Audio Guide - 15USD
Day 3: Musanze
Today, you’ll visit the The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. This research centre leads the world in protecting and studying gorillas while helping communities build their conservation capabilities. Learn about Dian Fossey’s life and the conservation of endangered mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
There are heaps of optional activities to do in Musanze, including Golden Monkey Trekking in the Virunga Mountains, the Mount Bisoke trek, or keep it chill with a canoe ride on the Mukungwa River. Maybe visit Redrocks Rwanda, where you’ll learn about the local banana beer production and be treated to some dancing, drumming and basket-weaving demonstrations.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation:
Optional Activities:
- Musanze - Visit ’Twin Lakes’ Burera & Ruhondo - 40USD
- Musanze - Redrocks Rwanda Visit (Banana Beer & Cultural Activities) - 50USD
- Musanze - Mount Bisoke Hike - 75USD
- Musanze - Canoeing on River Mukungwa - 80USD
- Musanze - Golden Monkey Tracking in Volcanoes National Park - 100USD
- Musanze - Guardian Village - Iby’Iwachu Cultural Village - 30USD
Day 4: Queen Elizabeth NP
Today, you’ll leave Rwanda as we cross the border into Uganda, making our way to Queen Elizabeth National Park. This park is home to 618 bird species, 10 species of primates - including chimpanzees, and 95 different types of mammals. The route to your accommodation may feel like an unofficial safari. Keep a look out for African elephants, buffalo, hippos, warthogs, Nile crocodiles, leopards, spotted hyenas, lions and chimpanzees. Tonight, stay in a simple safari lodge within the park overlooking the Kazinga Channel.
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Accommodation:
Day 5: Queen Elizabeth NP
Wake up for another exciting day in Queen Elizabeth National Park with another 4x4 Game Drive. Be on the lookout for any sightings you may have missed yesterday, and if you’re really lucky, you might be able to spot leopards or lions.
This afternoon, you have the opportunity to see the park from a different perspective with an optional cruise down the Kazinga Channel, linking Lake Edward to Lake George. You’ll be joined by local guides who will fill you in on everything you could want to know about the landscape and the animals who live within it – be on the lookout for hippos basking on the shore, as well as crocodiles, herds of elephants and abundant birdlife.
Meals: Breakfast,Dinner
Accommodation:
Optional Activities:
- Queen Elizabeth National Park - Kazinga Channel boat cruise - 30USD
- Kalinzu Forest - Chimpanzee trekking - 50USD
Day 6: Queen Elizabeth NP
This morning we make our way to Ishasha, the southern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. Here you meet some local residents to learn more about rural life in Uganda. Visit a local organic farm, medicine garden and homestead and learn how its owner is tackling human-wildlife conflict with his anti-crop raiding techniques. You’ll also meet a local Mukiga woman who will share her story while showing you how to sort, pound and grind millet to make porridge and other Bakiga meals.
This part of the park is famous for its tree climbing lions, so be on the look out as you make the game drive towards our ecolodge in the northern sector of the park frequented by herds of elephants, buffaloes and antelopes!
Meals: Breakfast,Lunch,Dinner
Accommodation:
Included Activities:
- Ishasha - Community Tourism Project Visit
- Queen Elizabeth National Park - 4x4 Game Drive
Day 7: Kisoro
Today, drive out of the Queen Elizabeth National Park on your way to the southwest tip of Uganda (approximately 6 hours). The journey is like a game drive in itself, with the chance to spot zebras, antelopes, baboons and monkeys out the window. When you arrive at the corner of Uganda, where the border touches Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, you’ll be based in Kisoro, which provides access to seven different gorilla groups located in Mgahinga, Nkuringo, Rushaga and Nshongi. Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation:
Day 8: Kisoro (Gorilla Trek)
Join a local guide and trackers as you climb through the rugged, mountainous terrain of Bwindi National Park in search of mountain gorillas. A quick lock of eyes with these creatures is a truly primal moment and visits are strictly controlled to minimise disturbance. Make no mistake, tracking gorillas is no walk in the park – it’s called Bwinidi Impenetrable National Park for a reason. It can be wet, muddy, strenuous and uncomfortable, but the indescribable elation at coming across a group of gorillas is worth the effort. Spend a mesmerising hour with the gorillas as they eat, sleep, groom and play as the male silverback watches over them, then return to the lodge for dinner and to reflect on this incredible experience.
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation:
Day 9: Kigali
After breakfast this morning, it’s time to make the journey back to Kigali. When you arrive, there are no further activities planned and your adventure comes to an end. If you’d like to spend more time here, just speak to your booking agent. Meals: Breakfast
Included Activities
- Kigali - Genocide Memorial Centre
- Musanze - Visit to The Gorilla Doctors HQ
- Queen Elizabeth National Park - 4x4 Game Drive
- Ishasha - Community Tourism Project Visit
- Queen Elizabeth National Park - 4x4 Game Drive
- Bwindi National Park - Mountain Gorilla Permit & Trek
Physical preparation
You’ll need to be fit enough to trek to the location of your family of mountain gorillas. This may involve up to 5 hours of walking up and down hills, in hot and humid conditions and through tropical (and at times thick) foliage. There may be mud underfoot which will make the trekking slippery. You’ll be expected to carry your own personal needs for this trek including water and a rain jacket as well as your camera equipment.
For the remainder of the safari, you do not need any real fitness besides the ability to get in and out of the safari vehicles. The step up into the overland truck, while not overly high, can become tiring, as can the constant setting and packing up of camp. You need to judge yourself to be physically fit enough to haul yourself up and down at least 8-10 times a day. Please also note that the roads, particularly in Kenya, are in quite poor condition and you may experience a fair amount of bouncing around.
Important information
|
Callback Hotline:
06373 / 8117 36
|
|
