15 Days Best of Uganda and Rwanda
15-Day Best of Uganda & Rwanda Safari
Gorillas in Bwindi and Volcanoes National Park, chimps in Kibale, golden monkeys, Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth and Kigali, in one private 15-day journey.
Tour Overview
This 15-day private safari covers the best of Uganda and Rwanda. You track mountain gorillas in both Bwindi and Volcanoes National Park, chimpanzees in Kibale and golden monkeys in the Virunga. You also see Murchison Falls, Queen Elizabeth's tree-climbing lions and Kigali. It starts in Entebbe and ends at Kigali airport, with one border crossing.
Trip Highlights
Two Gorilla Treks
One hour with gorilla families in Bwindi and Volcanoes National Park.
Chimps & Golden Monkeys
Chimpanzee tracking in Kibale and golden monkeys in the Virunga bamboo.
Murchison & Queen Elizabeth
The Nile falls, the Kazinga Channel and Ishasha's tree-climbing lions.
Kigali & Culture
The Genocide Memorial, Nyamirambo, a Bakiga village and a Batwa trail option.
Ziwa Rhinos
A guided walk to see white rhinos on foot.
One Private Trip
One itinerary with a driver-guide throughout and permits included.
Plan Your Uganda & Rwanda Safari
Tell us your dates and group size. We'll check permit availability and send you a quote.
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Arrive in Entebbe & Kampala
Your driver-guide meets you at Entebbe International Airport and drives you along Lake Victoria into Kampala, about 45 minutes. Depending on your arrival time, you take a relaxed city orientation: the Gaddafi National Mosque, the view from Kololo Hill and a craft cooperative where artisans make bark cloth, beadwork and carvings.
Over a welcome dinner your guide walks you through the 15 days: permits, packing, border logistics and what to expect. Go to bed early, because the long drive north starts at first light.
- Airport pickup
- Kampala orientation
- Welcome dinner and trip briefing
Kampala → Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary → Murchison Falls
You leave Kampala by 7:00 am and drive north. About two hours out you stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for a guided walk to see the resident southern white rhinos on foot. After a packed lunch you continue into Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda's largest.
You cross the Nile on the Paraa ferry, with hippos surfacing beside the boat, and reach your lodge on the north bank in the late afternoon.
- Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary walk
- Paraa ferry crossing
- Lodge arrival
Murchison Falls: Nile Cruise & Falls Hike
You begin with a sunrise game drive on the Buligi circuit, looking for Uganda kob, Jackson's hartebeest, Rothschild's giraffe, buffalo and lions. After breakfast you board the park launch for the three-hour upstream cruise to the base of the falls. You pass hippos, crocodiles basking on the banks, elephants and plenty of waterbirds.
Then there's a 45-minute climb to the top of the falls, where the Nile squeezes through a narrow rock gap and rainbows hang in the spray. An afternoon game drive finishes the day.
- Game drive
- Nile cruise to the falls
- Hike to the top of the falls
Murchison Falls: Delta & Plains
A second full day shows you more of the park. In the morning you drive the Buligi and Albert Delta circuits. The delta track runs through riverine forest where the Nile meets Lake Albert, with grey-cheeked mangabeys, red-tailed monkeys and, with luck, the shoebill stork in the papyrus beds. Large elephant bulls come to the shallows here.
After lunch at the lodge you drive the open plains east of Paraa, where lions and large buffalo herds are often found.
- Delta circuit and shoebill search
- Afternoon plains game drive
Murchison Falls → Kibale Forest
After an early breakfast you drive south, from northern savannah through the central plateau and up into the Fort Portal crater lake region, where round volcanic lakes lie among tea estates. You stop at viewpoints for photos.
You reach your lodge near Kibale Forest in the late afternoon, where it's cooler and more humid. A short guided walk at the forest edge introduces the primates, and your guide briefs you on tomorrow's chimp tracking.
- Scenic drive south
- Crater lakes viewpoints
- Forest-edge walk
Chimpanzee Tracking in Kibale
After an early breakfast you go to the Kanyanchu Visitor Centre for the 7:30 am ranger briefing. Groups are small and trackers have already found the chimps. You walk through the forest, which can take from 30 minutes to a couple of hours, and spend up to an hour with a habituated chimpanzee community. Expect pant-hoots, tree-drumming and fast movement through the canopy.
After a packed lunch at the forest edge, you walk through the community-run Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for monkeys and swamp birds. The fees go to the surrounding villages.
- Chimpanzee tracking
- Bigodi Wetland walk
Kibale → Queen Elizabeth National Park
After breakfast you drive south past the crater lakes and down into the Albertine Rift valley. On a clear day the Rwenzori Mountains show on the horizon. After lunch you check in at your lodge on the Mweya Peninsula, where Lake Edward meets the Kazinga Channel and hippos wallow below the terrace.
In the afternoon you drive the Kasenyi plains, where lions, elephants, buffalo and possibly leopard can be seen in the golden light.
- Drive to Queen Elizabeth
- Kasenyi afternoon game drive
Kazinga Channel & Ishasha Tree-Climbing Lions
You start with a sunrise game drive on the Kasenyi plains, then have breakfast and board the launch for the two-hour Kazinga Channel cruise. Hippos and crocodiles are close to the boat, elephants and buffalo come to the water's edge, and the shallows are busy with pelicans, herons and kingfishers.
After a packed lunch you drive south to the Ishasha sector and spend two to three hours searching the big fig trees for the lions that climb them. You sleep at a lodge in the Ishasha area.
- Sunrise game drive
- Kazinga Channel cruise
- Ishasha tree-climbing lion search
Ishasha → Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
You can take an optional dawn drive through the Ishasha fig trees before breakfast. The drive east then climbs from the rift valley into the Kigezi highlands, where the Bakiga people have terraced every hillside. At the forest boundary the farmland stops and the wall of Bwindi's canopy begins.
You reach your forest-edge lodge in the early afternoon. After lunch there's a full gorilla trekking briefing covering etiquette, the 7-metre distance rule, the physical demands and what to wear.
- Drive into the Kigezi highlands
- Bwindi lodge arrival
- Gorilla trekking briefing
Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi
After an early breakfast you go to the park briefing, where rangers assign you to a gorilla family. A porter, which is included, helps on the steep ground. You trek through dense montane forest while trackers radio the family's position. The trek can take 45 minutes to 6 hours, depending on where the family has moved overnight.
When you find them you spend one hour with the family: mothers with infants, juveniles playing and the silverback resting nearby. Each trekker receives a gorilla trekking certificate. In the afternoon you can take the optional Batwa Cultural Trail with members of the indigenous forest community.
- Gorilla trek with a porter
- One hour with the gorillas
- Optional Batwa Cultural Trail
Bakiga Village & Lake Bunyonyi
In the morning you visit a Bakiga community near Bwindi. You watch women weave baskets, see matoke and banana beer being prepared and see the energetic Ekizino dance. You can buy baskets and beadwork directly from the makers.
After lunch at the lodge you drive east to Lake Bunyonyi, a calm lake ringed by terraced hills. A late-afternoon canoe or boat ride finishes the Bwindi section. Canoe hire is extra.
- Bakiga village visit
- Drive to Lake Bunyonyi
- Canoe or boat ride
Lake Bunyonyi → Rwanda → Kigali
After breakfast by the lake you drive to the Cyanika border, and we handle the paperwork. In Rwanda the hillsides are terraced as far as you can see. You drive east through Ruhengeri (Musanze) to Kigali, which takes about 3–4 hours, and arrive in the mid-afternoon.
Kigali is clean, modern and surrounded by green hills. After check-in, dinner and a Rwanda cultural briefing, get an early night, since tomorrow is a full Kigali day and the gorilla trek starts at 5:00 am the day after.
- Cyanika border crossing
- Drive through the Rwandan hills
- Kigali arrival and briefing
Kigali Cultural Day
You start at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which documents the 1994 genocide and honours its victims. Allow at least 90 minutes. It's sobering and gives important context for modern Rwanda. Entry isn't included, and we recommend you go.
A guided walk through Nyamirambo, one of Kigali's oldest neighbourhoods, takes you past tailors' workshops, mosques and street food. After a Rwandan lunch of brochettes and isombe you visit the Inema Arts Centre for contemporary Rwandan art, then Kimironko Market for imigongo panels and agaseke peace baskets. Get an early night, since tomorrow's departure is at 5:00 am.
- Kigali Genocide Memorial
- Nyamirambo walk
- Inema Arts Centre and Kimironko Market
Volcanoes National Park Gorilla Trek
You leave Kigali at 5:00 am and drive northwest toward Musanze, reaching the briefing at Kinigi by 7:00 am. Rangers check your permit, assign your gorilla family and hand out walking sticks. You climb through farmland and bamboo forest to the misty upper slopes of the Virunga volcanoes.
The forest is more open than Bwindi, with bamboo, giant lobelias and moss-draped trees. Treks here are often shorter than in Bwindi, but the upper slopes are steep. You get one hour with a habituated family, and each trekker receives a Rwanda Development Board certificate. After a celebratory lunch near Musanze you drive back to Kigali.
- Drive to Kinigi
- Gorilla trek
- One hour with the gorillas
Golden Monkeys → Kigali Airport
You return early to Volcanoes National Park to track golden monkeys, a lighter finish after the gorillas. They live in the bamboo forest and move quickly through the stems, feeding on shoots and curiously watching visitors. You get one hour with a habituated group.
After a farewell lunch near Musanze, you drive about two hours to Kigali International Airport for your flight home.
- Golden monkey tracking
- Farewell lunch near Musanze
- Transfer to Kigali airport
What's Included
Included
- Gorilla permits: Uganda ($800 pp) and Rwanda ($1,500 pp)
- Kibale chimpanzee permit and golden monkey permit ($100 pp)
- Private 4×4 safari vehicle and expert English-speaking driver-guide
- 14 nights in lodges and hotels, full board
- All national park and reserve entry fees
- Porter during the Bwindi gorilla trek
- Murchison Falls Nile cruise and Kazinga Channel cruise
- Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary walk, Bigodi Wetland walk and Bakiga village visit
- Kigali cultural day guide and transport
- Uganda–Rwanda border crossing assistance
- Bottled drinking water
Excluded
- International flights (Entebbe in, Kigali out)
- Visa fees for Uganda and Rwanda (the East Africa Tourist Visa covers both)
- Travel and medical insurance
- Tips for guides and lodge staff
- Alcohol and premium drinks
- Optional Batwa Cultural Trail fee
- Kigali Genocide Memorial and Inema Arts Centre entry
- Lake Bunyonyi canoe hire
- Souvenirs and personal shopping
Get Your Price
The price depends on your group size, and travel dates. Send us a message and we'll reply with a quote that includes your gorilla, chimp and golden monkey permits.
Before You Book
Good to Know
- Permits: Gorilla permits are limited and sell out, so book well ahead. We confirm your permits and dates when you book.
- Fitness: Moderate. The gorilla treks are steep and can last from under an hour to most of the day, and there are long drives on several days. Early starts are needed on Days 2, 14 and 15.
- Flights: Fly into Entebbe and out of Kigali. Both flights are your own and aren't included.
- Visas: You need visas for Uganda and Rwanda, or an East Africa Tourist Visa that covers both. Requirements depend on your nationality, so check before you travel.
- Wildlife: Sightings can't be guaranteed.
- Health: Yellow fever vaccination is required for entry to Uganda. Malaria prophylaxis is recommended, so see a travel clinic before you go. Anyone with cold or flu symptoms may be asked not to trek, to protect the gorillas.
- Insurance: Comprehensive travel and medical insurance is strongly advised.