Itinerary

African Primate Expeditions Safari - Rwenzori Treks

Day 1: Arrival in the pearl of Africa’s International Airport

On this day, you will be welcomed and picked from Entebbe international airport to the accommodation of your booking in Entebbe or Kampala. You will have some relaxation as you prepare for a long drive the next day to Murchison falls national park.

Day 2: Transfer to Murchison falls national park

Have your breakfast at the lodge and meet your guide for your transfer to Murchison falls national park in northern region. Enjoy the en route views during the drive and have a stopover for lunch in Masindi. Continue with the drive to the park and check in at the lodge of your booking for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge

Day 3: Have a game drive and a boat launch on the Nile

Wake up early for your early sunrise game drive in Nyamsika plateau where you will see various wild animals including the cape buffalos, waterbucks, hartebeests, Uganda kob and others. The park also has different large carnivores like lions, leopards, spotted hyenas and many others.

From there, you will return to the lodge for lunch and prepare for an afternoon boat cruise on Victoria Nile. Here, expect to spot various water birds and animals including the rare shoebill stock, hippos, crocodiles, and many others.

Accommodation: Pakuba Safari lodge

Day 4:  Chimpanzee tracking in Budongo forest and transfer to Bugoma forest

After your breakfast, meet your guide for your transfer to the park headquarters for briefing about the dos and don’ts of chimpanzee tracking experience in Budongo forest. The encounter involves hiking through the park rainforests in search of the shy and playful apes and once found, you will be allowed to spend some good time in their presence. After, drive back to the lodge for lunch and then checkout for your transfer to Bugoma forest for a nature walk where you watch different bird species and some small primate species. The walk will take about 2-3 hours and later drive back to the lodge for refreshment, dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Transfer to Kibale forest national park

Wake up for your breakfast at the lodge and meet your guide for the transfer to Kibale forest national park. The park is known as a home to the highest population of primates that can be seen during nature walks and treks. Expect to arrive at the lodge in the late afternoon hours, check in at the lodge for lunch and later proceed for Bigodi nature walk. The walk takes about 2 to 3 hours and it gives you a chance of seeing various birds and monkey species. Later, drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 6: Chimpanzee habituation

Wake up early for your breakfast and report to Kanyanchu Tourist Center at 8:00am for a pre-nature walk briefing where you will know the rules and regulations of chimpanzee habituation experience. The encounter involves walking through the park rainforests in search of the shy apes and once found, you will be allowed to spend half day in their presence as you learn more about their daily lifestyles. After, you will return to the lodge for lunch and proceed to Rwenzori mountains national park

Accommodation: Snow Height lodge

Day 7: Nyakalengijja (1615m) to Omuka Kiiza Camp (2,977m)

Have your early morning breakfast at the lodge in Kasese and proceed to the headquarters of Rwenzori mountains national park – Nyakalengijja. You will be briefed about the hike and more information concerning different attractions in the park like vegetation, bird species, water sources like rivers and others will be narrated to you. After the briefing, you start the hike through the breathtaking vegetation of bamboo forests, lush forests as you cross different rivers like River Mubuku.

Dinner and overnight at Omuka Kiiza Camp

Day 8: Omuka Kiiza Camp to Lake Mahoma Camp (3,515meters)

Wake up for your tasty breakfast at the camp as you prepare for your transfer to Lake Mahoma. The lake features bamboo and heather vegetation zones and during the trek, you will walk through the footmarks of the elephants. As you continue with the hike, you will be able to sight amazing everlasting flowers, the giant lobelia and many others.

Dinner and overnight at Lake Mahoma Camp

Day 9: Descend from Lake Mahoma Camp to Nyakalengijja gate

From Lake Mahoma, you will take different photographs of the lakes and later set off to Nyabitaba Camp for your breakfast. After, you will move through the Rwenzori Central Circuit trail to the starting point of the mountain – Nyakalengijja gate. You will descend through the heather and bamboo forests and then in Mubuku valley up to the park gate where you will meet your safari guide for your transfer to the lodge/hotel of your own for dinner and overnight.

Stay at Snow height lodge

Day 10: Chimpanzee trekking at Kalinzu and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable national park

After early morning breakfast, drive to the Kalinzu Forest to trek the chimpanzees in their forest home. On a lucky day, you might encounter other species of monkeys in the forest like; the colobus monkey, olive baboon, and red-tailed monkey. Kalinzu Forest Reserve is a haven for trekking chimps in Uganda. Given the Kalinzu forest’s proximity to Bwindi and Queen Elizabeth national park, Kalinzu forest is a recommended area to trek chimpanzees, especially for clients who want to fit chimp trekking into a short gorilla trek. After the the trek, drive to Bwindi Impenetrable national park vis Ishasha sector.

Day 11: Gorilla trekking experience and transfer to Mgahinga national park

Wake up in the morning for your early breakfast and proceed to the park headquarters for registration and pre-trek briefing where you will be given all the rules and regulations to follow during the activity. After, you will be led by the ranger guide to the park and who will help you search for the gentle apes. After allocating them, you will be allowed to spend a maximum of 1 hour with them as you enjoy their lifestyles like feeding, playing and others.

Later, after your lunch, you will make a transfer to Mgahinga gorilla national park, the home to the shy and beautiful golden monkeys.

Day 12: Golden monkey watching in Mgahinga

Our driver guide will pick you from the hotel after an early breakfast and drive you to the park offices for briefing and grouping. After the briefing, each group is led by a ranger guide from Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) into the forest. Golden monkey trekking is not as hard compared to Gorilla or Chimpanzee tracking.

The move through the forest is very adventurous, you get to have a jungle experience with beautiful sights and sound of nature. The trek is also good for bird watcher because of the many bird species in the forest. Upon tracing the Golden monkeys, you will spend some good time with them as you take pictures with flash.

You will then return back to park offices and meet the driver for your transfer to Volcanoes national park of Rwanda after crossing Cyanika border.

Day 13: Mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes

Wake up for your early tasty breakfast, after which your driver guide will take you to the headquarters in the park by 8 am for briefing about the dos and don’ts during gorilla trekking experience. After, you will embark on the amazing adventure which is gorilla tracking which involves hiking through the park rainforests in search of the endangered mountain gorillas. The experience takes about 30 to 6 hours depending on the location of the assigned gorilla group. You will be able to enjoy the apes’ lifestyles like playing, breastfeeding and others. Also, during the experience, trekking hikers will be in line to also see other animals like the golden monkeys, elephants, buffaloes as well as birds.

After gorilla trekking, you will be driven back to the lodge for lunch and refreshments and later go for a community walk where you will visit the twin lakes – Burera and Ruhondo and also enjoy the cultural performances like local dances and songs from the locals. After, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Five Volcanoes lodge

Day 14: Transfer to Bukavu city

Have your breakfast at the lodge and meet your guide for the transfer to Bukavu city of Congo. You will stop at Nyungwe forest lodge for lunch and later continue to cross the border to arrive in Bukavu in evening hours as you go for city tour to view the great shops & market places for Congolese in the area. Later, proceed to the lodge of your booking for refreshment, dinner and overnight.

Day 15: Eastern lowland gorilla habituation experience

Enjoy your tasty breakfast at the lodge and meet your guide for the transfer to Kahuzi Biega national park headquarters for briefing about the gorilla habituation rules and regulations, later enter into the jungle forest to search for the gorillas in the wild which may last for 3-5 hours and once found you will spend 3 hours watching the gorillas playing and feeding the young ones

Later return to the lodge for relaxation and in evening hours visit local communities to clearly understand the Congolese way of life and music.

Day 16: Second gorilla trekking

Like previous day, have your breakfast at the lodge embark on your transfer to Kahuzi Biega national park headquarters for your pre-trek briefing about the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking. The experience involves hiking through the park rainforest in search of the endangered species and once found, you will be allowed to spend an hour in their presence as you learn and enjoy their daily life styles. After, drive back to the lodge for lunch and relaxation as you wait for the delicious dinner.

Day 17: Visit Lwiro Chimpanzee Orphanage Center.

After morning breakfast, meet your guide and proceed to Lwiro Chimpanzee Orphanage sanctuary which is the home to the orphan chimpanzees and it involves watching and feeding the chimpanzee as away of making it a true Congo primate tour. Later, drive back to the lodge for refreshments, dinner and overnight

Day 18: Transfer to Nyungwe national park

Early morning picks up from your hotel and meet the driver to your departure to Nyungwe forest national park of Rwanda after border crossing. Upon the arrival, you’ll retire into your booked accommodation, have lunch and later in the afternoon, head out for a canopy forest walk, a platform that allows safari enthusiasts to view the entire forest from a different angle of alleviation. Afterwards on the walking adventure, you’ll head back to the lodge so that you have your dinner and overnight.

Day 19: Primate watching in Nyungwe forest national park

Upon finishing with your breakfast at 6:00 a.m., get ready with your packed lunch and enough drinking water, you’ll be transferred to the park headquarters. so that you get briefed about Chimpanzee trekking rules and regulation by park rangers, then later be transferred to the starting point of the trek and head into the jungles to search for the primates. When finally found take as much photos as possible because not more than an hour to view and photography them is allowed. Later return at the start point to meet your driver or guide who will return you to the lodge so that you’ll relax and wait for dinner and overnight.

Day 20: Transfer back to Kigali

Have breakfast at the lodge and meet your driver for the transfer back to Kigali for your departure flight.