Uganda and Rwanda Combined Tour

Day 1 - Arrive in Entebbe
One of our local team members will meet you on arrival in Entebbe and transfer you to your hotel in Kampala.
Overnight in Kampala

Day 2 - Kampala Sight Seeing
Set off from your hotel late morning and visit the Kasubi cultural tombs and King’s palace which also was once a home of Idi Amin’s torture chambers. The tour includes a lunch in the city. Return to your hotel in time for dinner.
Overnight in Kampala (BLD)

Day 3 - Nile River and Community Tours in Jinja
An early start as you head east for a three-hour journey to Jinja city, home of the source of the Nile. On your way, stop at Namawojolo for a taste of “salty chicken on a stick” a delicacy popular with locals in transit. On arrival in Jinja, take a two-hour boat tour on the Nile. On the boat you can enjoy the serenity of the Nile while witnessing numerous bird species including kingfishers. Learn how the Nile has shaped Uganda’s culture and history before your last stop at a local fishing village. You will disembark from the boat and take a walk through the village to learn about their trade as well as their way of life. After the boat tour, we head for lunch at the home of a Ugandan family in a nearby community and learn how the family has been helped by Abide family centre.   There is then a take a two-hour quad biking tour along the banks of the Nile and neighbouring communities.  Thereafter head back to your hotel in Kampala.
Overnight in Kampala (BLD)

Day 4 - Kampala Walking Tour
Head out early morning for a walking tour of Kampala. All your senses come alive as you make your way through the hustle and bustle of Kampala. The tour includes visiting a local market, the taxi park and Uganda’s oldest food market. We return to your hotel for brunch before setting off for Fort Portal. It’s a five-hour drive from Kampala.
Overnight in Kibale N.P (BLD)

Day 5 - Chimp Tracking
Fort Portal is home to Kibale Forest National Park. We head out early at 7am to the park for a chimp tracking expedition. It’s such an enthralling experience that involves hiking through the forest in search of the chimpanzees. Once you find them, you have an hour to watch and observe before heading out and back to the lodge. Spend the afternoon at leisure. Later in the evening, head to Bigodi swamp for a swamp walk. The swamp is a great way of seeing the 8 different species of monkey found in Kibale National Park. We then return to the lodge for dinner.
Overnight in Kibale N.P (BLD)

Day 6 - Kasese Coffee Tour and Queen Elizabeth National Park
We set off early morning to the foothills of mountain Ruwenzori. Here we will meet the Bakonjo people and get a tour of their coffee gardens on the mountain slopes. Learn how coffee is grown, harvested, processed and brewed. You may even get to make and taste your own cup of coffee.

We continue the journey to Queen Elizabeth National Park and arrive at the lodge in time for lunch. After lunch have an afternoon break and rest after the drive. We will leave at 5pm for a game drive in the park. On the game drive the prominent sightings are Buffalos, Elephants, Warthogs, Antelopes and Lions. Leopards and Hyenas are also occasionally seen.
Overnight in Queen Elizabeth N.P. (BLD)

Day 7 - Queen Elizabeth Lion Tracking and Game Drives
This morning we meetup with local wildlife conservationists for a lion tracking expedition. With the help of GPS technology, you will track and locate a dominant lioness which usually is in the company of its pride. It’s common to encounter other predators and wildlife while lion tracking. We return to the lodge in time for lunch. After lunch, head out for a boat safari on the Kazinga channel. The channel is a 30km stretch of water that connects Lake Edward and Lake George. The channel is also home to hippos and Nile crocodiles, and attracts numerous other wildlife such as Elephants, Antelopes and many species of bird. The boat tour is two hours long and after we will return to the lodge for rest and dinner.
Overnight in Queen Elizabeth N.P. (BLD)

Day 8 - Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Enjoy your breakfast before we take the five hour drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. We should get to the lodge in time for lunch. We will then meet Dr Gladys Kalema Zikusoka or one of her colleagues. Dr Gladys is a leading conservationist and scientist working to save the critically endangered mountain gorillas of Uganda. You will be given a tour of  a nearby village and the work that she is doing to educate locals on how to live harmoniously with these creatures. The tour is also a great way to learn about the traditions and cultures of the Batwa tribe that reside in the Bwindi region. You will return to the lodge in time for dinner.
Overnight in Bwindi N.P. (BLD)

Day 9 - Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi
We start the day at 8am for a full day trekking experience through the thick jungle of Bwindi. Led by Dr. Gladys and/or forest rangers, you will search for a family of mountain gorillas and spend an hour observing and learning about these magnificent creatures. One hour is the maximum time permitted with the gorillas in any encounter. Visiting these enigmatic and beautiful creatures is a life-changing experience for many and be prepared for your view of the natural world to be changed forever.
Return to the lodge later in the afternoon for a much-needed rest, time to reflect and dinner
Overnight in Bwindi N.P. (BLD)

*Please note that this can be a strenuous hike and may take between an hour or three hours each way depending on the location of the gorilla.

Day 10 - Volcanoes National Park
Today it is a three-hour drive through the rolling hills of southern Uganda to the border with Rwanda. You will make your way through immigration with the help of our guide and continue your journey for another hour to your lodge in the town of Kinigi, located on the slopes of the Virunga mountains. Have lunch here and then head out to the Karisoke Exhibit. The Karisoke Research Centre, founded by Dr Diane Fossey almost 50 years ago, has been housed in a variety of facilities over the years and is currently located in a large office building in the Rwandan town of Musanze, just outside Volcanoes National Park. Here you will get to learn about Dr Fossey’s work and legacy as well as the current efforts being done to protect the mountain gorillas of Rwanda.
Overnight near Volcanoes N.P (B)

Day 11 - Transfer to Kigali
You will get to spend the day at leisure and there are no activities planned or included until later in the afternoon when you will travel to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, located 2 hours away.  There are a range of additional activities that we can add in to your Uganda and Rwanda Combined tour. These include Gorilla tracking, hiking to the Diane Fossey Research Camp and Grave Site, Golden Monkey tracking or a visit to the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village.
Overnight in Kigali (B)

Day 12 - Fly from Rwanda
Depending on the time of your onward flight you can take the morning to do some souvenir shopping. Later in the evening transfer to the airport for your flight back home.