Day 1:

Arrive in Uganda

Arrive through Entebbe International Airport where after visa clearance you will be welcomed by our experienced driver guide who will transfer you to Kampala Serena Hotel. It is an oasis of cool and green, within a peaceful neighborhood that hosts some of Uganda’s hallmark structures-like the Parliament. This five star hotel boasts of 17 acres of beautifully manicured gardens and a sensational pond—that overlooks its Olympic size swimming pool. This and the other luxurious amenities of the hotel will reward you with the utmost comfort.

Day 2:

Transfer to Kibale Forest National Park.

After breakfast, drive to Kibale Forest National Park through Uganda’s western lush highlands decorated with tea, coffee and banana plantations and enjoy breathtaking landscapes in the shadows of Rwenzori Mountains. You will be checked in at Primate Lodge as located in the heart of Kibale rainforest National Park. It is within five minutes’ walk from the visitor information center where the forest activities begin from.  From the comfort of your Luxury Cottage, you can unwind and listen to the chattering of the red-tailed monkeys in the dense branches.

Day 3:

Chimpanzee Trekking

Take an early breakfast and be transferred to the nearby briefing area where you will be welcomed by the park ranger guide. He will give you a detailed brief on dos and don’ts before leading you into the forest to look out for man’s closest relatives, chimpanzees. Kibale Forest National Park harbours the greatest variety and concentration of primates found in East Africa with over 13 different species. These include the Black-and-white Colobus Monkey, Blue Monkey, Red-tailed Monkey, Grey-cheeked Mangabey and Bushbaby. The dense forest hosts a population of more than 1,000 wild chimpanzees. Your guide will draw your attention to an evocative pant-hoot call that marks your proximity to the delightful apes.  Spend a full hour watching them feed, socialize and rest before trekking back to your lodge for a hot lunch that tickles the taste buds.

 Later in the afternoon, drive to the nearby Bigodi Community for a signature swamp walk that has been featured on international media as the best community conservation model. The local guide will take you through a wetland sanctuary with more than 100 species of birds and primates including the red colobus, black-and-white colobus and other monkeys. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 4:

Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park

After breakfast, drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park via the crater lakes and banana plantations where you will not miss the locals pushing huge bunches of banana on bicycles to the nearby markets. Proceed along the western Rift Valley that leads you to Mweya Safari Lodge, your home for the night. This luxurious lodge hovers on a peninsula protruding into the Kazinga Channel. At night, you will hear and see hippos and warthogs grazing around your room.

After lunch, you will be transferred to the nearby docking area for a boat cruise on Kazinga channel for great wildlife views including elephants, crocodiles, hippos, buffalos and hundreds of birds

Day 5:

Transfer to Ishasha for tree-climbing Lions

After breakfast, checkout and head to Kasenyi for a game drive to chance with hunting lions and elusive leopard that hang around the mating grounds of Uganda kobs. Proceed to Ishasha sector, home to the famous tree-climbing lions. This is the second known population that climb trees as part of their day-to-day behavior (the other is found in Lake Manyara National Park in Tanzania). Several theories have been advanced for this behavior of lions including a speculation that these lions climb trees to protect themselves against the biting tsetse flies. Others claim that they seek shelter in the tree branches from the heat.

After the experience, proceed to the nearby Ishasha wilderness lodge, check in your room and have a hot lunch. In the evening, take another game drive or relax at your lodge.

Day 6:

Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

 Take a relaxed breakfast, checkout of your room and embark on the last game drive for the last chance with the lions. Thereafter, exit Ishasha and drive to Bwindi through the village of Kigezi, the scenery gradually changes from open savanna to mountain slopes covered in dense green rain forest. You will be checked in at Mahogany Springs, a small luxury lodge facing the dense Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, the home to half the world’s endangered mountain gorillas.

Day 7:

Mountain Gorilla Tracking Experience

This is a big day; you will have a rare encounter with the hairy gentle giants of Africa; mountain gorillas. This is no doubt the absolute highlight of a tour to Africa for most visitors. It is a humbling experience to stand meters from the gentle giants as they eat rest, play and bond with their young ones. After a briefing by park authorities, you will embark on a forest trek lasting from one-five hours, depending on the location of the gorillas in the thick forest. There are 10 habituated gorilla families and you will be privileged to encounter. You will spend time with one of the families. A maximum of eight tourists are allowed to visit a gorilla family. You will enjoy an exciting journey along forested slopes, bushes and bamboo before you ultimately reach the gorilla family. Coming face-to-face with a mountain gorilla is a truly awesome and emotional experience. You will return to the lodge relax and in the evening go for a short community visit to interact with the Batwa. They are a tribe of pygmies that was evicted from the park to pave way for conservation. They will demonstrate how they used to live in the forest. Get back to the hotel for dinner.

Day 8:

Fly to Entebbe and Depart

Today marks the end of your safari. After breakfast, your guide will transfer you to Kihihi airstrip that is 1.5hours away from Bwindi for a pre-arranged charter flight to Entebbe. You will be transferred to Boma Hotel for a day room to relax and refresh as you wait for your departing flight. Have a farewell meal complementary meal with our director before transferring to the airport.

Day 1:

Kigali, Rwanda 

Arrive in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, check in at the Kigali Serena Hotel, a relaxed yet elegant hotel that is ideally located in one of Kigali’s most charming avenues. It is built around a polished granite atrium that showcases the very best of Rwanda’s cultural art. You will receive a full briefing ahead of your safari from our guide. After this you will be left alone to relax and enjoy this splendid five star hotel, you enjoy their swimming pool, health club or relax in your room.

Day 2:

Kigali City Tour and Transfer to Kinigi Town

After breakfast, visit the Kigali Genocide memorial museum, one of the museums that were established to commemorate the victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide. This is the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi tribe in Rwanda. It honors the memory of the more than one million Rwandans killed in 1994. This dark tour will make you appreciate how this relatively small country has quickly recovered from its painful history.

After this sobering moment, go for lunch at Hotel Des Mille Collines, that was featured in the Hollywood movie ’Hotel Rwanda’ in 2004. After lunch, drive on a smooth road that meanders through the rolling hills to Kinigi Town, gateway to the Virunga Mountains. You will be checked in at the most luxurious camp- Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. It is set in serene gardens, with stunning views of the Virungas, a collection of active and dormant volcanoes. This cozy lodge is built out of stone and tile and consists of a main cottage and 8 sleeping rooms. The main lodge, with mustard colored walls, large Mediterranean style tiling and beautiful windows. Fixed to the walls, looking out over the slopes, are giant sized masks, which add a real sense of mystery to the experience. Inside, and characterized by beautifully maintained wooden floors, white walls, low slatted ceilings, a mix of slumber seating, open log fires and African prints, the shared areas include a bar, library, games room, verandah, dining room and seating areas.

Days 3:

Mountain Gorilla Trekking

The Parc National des Volcans is the Rwandan ecosystem that is part of the Virungas which are shared between Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo; the only habitat to less than 1000 surviving mountain gorillas. Make a short drive to park headquarters this morning where you’ll meet your gorilla trekking guides. Ranger guides to be exact. They will give you a brief talk on the procedures and etiquette of gorilla tracking before you set off to the dense rain forest. In an effort to give you an 80% probability of seeing these majestic primates, a team of trackers will be in the forest ahead of your departure. Their task is identifying where the gorillas were seen the night before and pursuing them to a point/climax—where you will be able to connect. Although the hike can be physically demanding, the beauty of the forest and surrounding scenery makes the effort worthwhile in addition to the ultimate reward of getting a close-up with the gorillas; a profoundly moving wildlife encounter. Return to the lodge and relax as you watch the sun burry itself over the horizons; Virunga volcanoes.

Day 4:

Golden Monkey Trekking, Transfer to Kigali and Depart

Have an early breakfast and return to the park headquarters where you will meet the park guide ahead of a guided trek to the forest—to observe rare golden monkeys. These old world monkeys are active throughout the day and mostly live in the bamboo zone of this mountainous park, not so far from its foot. A golden monkey trek operates similarly to the early morning gorilla treks. Groups are limited to eight travelers, and once you meet up with the golden monkeys, you will have one hour to spend with them and return to the lodge for lunch, refresh and transfer to the airport for departing flight.