Day 1: Arrival in Kigali

Arrival and transfer to your hotel.  If you have some time explore some evening life. Kigali is known for its pleasant, friendly atmosphere.

Accommodation:

• Standard:  Heaven Boutique Hotel
• Comfort: Hotel des Mille Collins

Meals: Breakfast…. included

Day 2: Kigali City Tour

Estimated Driving time: 2-3 hours.

After breakfast, head out for Kigali City Tour. The Kigali City tour offers you the true heartbeat of the city.  The nation’s recovery is incredible and a testimony to a dark past but a bright future.

You will visit Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum at Gisozi. Learn how an estimated one million Rwandans were killed in nearly 100 days of genocide. The memorial museum is where the remains of 250, 000 victims of the 1994 Genocide are buried. It has a cemetery, a genocide exhibition section & a library.  A visit to this memorial center is not only an educational experience that will offer you a thorough insight into the country’s painful past but also provides a truly moving experience.

The memorial is moving – the tour takes two to three hours – It is in memory of the multitudes murdered in Rwanda´s genocide in 1994.

You will visit Nyamirambo Women Centre & immerse yourself with local people, situated in the largest and most vibrant township in Kigali City. The center provides women and girls the opportunity to obtain practical skills to support each other and succeed in life. Enjoy lunch prepared by women employed at the center, allowing us to try local lunch; foods, and popular dishes. You could opt to attend a cooking lesson at an optional extra cost. You could browse through the center’s shop, which features handmade, high-quality crafts, fabrics, and clothes, made by some of the women.  Proceeds from sales help to support skills training programs for this women’s Centre.

Pass by the Hotel des Mille Collines (where the 2004 movie ‘Hotel Rwanda’ was filmed based on events relating to families that took shelter in this 5-star hotel during the genocide) in Kigali. Later we travel to the Volcanoes National Park driving through the stunning scenery of flourishing green hills and valleys.

Accommodation:

• Standard: Heaven Boutique Hotel
• Comfort: Hotel des Mille Collines

Meals: Lunch, Dinner Included

Day 3: Kigali City to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Early morning departure from the hotel drives to Rwanda/ Uganda land border.  After border immigration/ customs, drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Enjoy this scenic route, dotted with impressive landscapes. Approximate driving time: 5 hours, border crossing time: 1 hour.

Accommodation

• Standard: Ichumbi Gorilla lodge or Ride4woman
• Comfort: 4Gorillas lodge or Mahogany springs

Meals: Lunch, Dinner Included

Please note that the final choice of accommodation will be determined by the location of gorilla permits available at the time of booking.

Day 4: In Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – Gorilla Trekking

Activities: Gorilla trekking. A wildlife encounter of a lifetime to meet a family of mountain gorillas up close.

Today is the big day… our guide will pick you up from your hotel, for your mountain gorilla encounter. After a short transfer to the Bwindi National Park office, you will meet up with excellent local rangers and trackers, who will give a talk on the etiquette of gorilla trekking.

An advance party of rangers (known as trackers) will have gone ahead into the forest to locate where the gorillas slept the previous night and will have begun to track their movements. These trackers will keep communicating with your head guide via a radio talkie and the trek into the forest will begin.

The tracking can last from as little as 45 minutes to as much as 10 hours. The activity depends on the location of the gorillas the previous day. Visitors, therefore, are supposed to move along with a packed/ picnic lunch and water, should be equipped with strong water-proof clothing, and must be averagely healthy.  After finding gorillas, you will spend a maximum of 1 hour viewing them. The terrain can get tough and at times muddy.  Although the hike is physically demanding the beauty of the forest and surrounding scenery make the trekking worthwhile. Once the gorillas are located all fatigue is forgotten, as the experience is often described as being the most profound natural history experience in the world. It can rain at a few minutes’ notice; hence waterproof clothing is a good essential including zip lock bags for cameras.  It is important to take plenty of water.

HOT TIP: Hire a porter at the briefing point. Your porter will carry your backpack and help you as you traverse the forest and is so completely worth it. You’ll be supporting a local family and this allows them to continue being part of community gorilla protection cooperation, which is essential in Mountain gorilla conservation. After this exciting experience, it’s time to relax at the lodge and view your photos.

In Bwindi NP (Uganda), there are 23 habituated gorilla families that can be viewed by tourists.

In Mgahinga NP (Uganda), there is 1 habituated gorilla family for tourist viewing.

In order to minimize animal stress and exposure to possible human disease, daily visits are limited to a maximum of 8 people and viewing lasts“only one hour”. This rule still allows you adequate time for photography and viewing these great primates in their natural habitat.

Accommodation

• Standard: Ride4woman or Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge
• Comfort: Mahogany springs or 4Gorillas Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Day 5: Bwindi To Queen Elizabeth National via Ishasha – Boat Cruise Safari

Today morning we transfer to Queen Elizabeth National park via Ishasha. You will drive to Queen Elizabeth. There are chances of finding lions in the trees by the road trail head. Please note that this is not 100% guarantee sighting. You will continue driving north on time for a shared boat cruise safari at 3pm on Kazinga channel (2 hours approx.). Look out for the hippos, great herds of buffalos, and lots of water birds by the channel side. This boat cruise offers an excellent platform for photography, bird watching and game viewing. This park is home to over 95 mammal species and over 600 bird species. After retire to your lodge.

Accommodation:

• Standard: Bush Lodge
• Comfort: Mazike Valley Lodge or Mweya safari lodge.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, and dinner included

Day 6: In Queen Elizabeth National Park – Kalinzu Forest – Kigali Airport

Activities: Chimpanzee tracking & Transfer back to Kigali.

Today early morning you’ll transfer to Kalinzu forest to begin your  trek to see  chimpanzees of Kalinzu forest. Expected activity time; 2-3 hours. Opt to have a ‘Rolex’ Stop! Stop by the street, visit a street stall, and learn how to cook Ugandan street food – ‘Rolex’, freshly done by the roadside by yourself. Thereafter transfer to Kigali airport or Entebbe airport for departure arriving after 18 hours:

Road type: Mostly Paved

Meals: Breakfast, and lunch included

TIP: If you choose Entebbe airport for departure and like bird watching you could add on, one day in Entebbe and go for a shoebill excursion (2-4 hours) in Mabamba bay on Lake Victoria, the following morning at extra cost and transfer (1.5hours) to Entebbe airport thereafter.

If you choose Kigali airport for departure, you could also opt to stay a night in Kigali at an extra cost.

Accommodations:

Heaven Boutique Hotel, Kigali City.

Ichumbi Gorilla lodge, Bwindi NP.

Twin Lake safari Lodge, Queen Elizabeth NP.