7 Day Rwanda Uganda Gorilla and Chimp Safari

Arrival in Kigali, City Tour and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

On arrival at Kigali International Airport, or following pickup from your hotel in Kigali, meet your private safari driver guide for a short introduction to Rwanda's capital. If you arrive in the morning or early afternoon, begin with a guided city tour before travelling north towards Volcanoes National Park.

One of the most meaningful places to visit is the Kigali Genocide Memorial, dedicated to remembering the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. The memorial offers important historical context, although it deserves an unhurried visit. Depending on your arrival time, you may also explore Kimironko Market or visit the Kandt House Museum, which introduces aspects of Rwanda's history.

After lunch, leave Kigali and begin the scenic drive to Musanze, the main gateway to Volcanoes National Park. Allow approximately 2.5 to 3 hours or longer for the transfer, depending on traffic and your lodge location. Along the way, enjoy views of Rwanda's rolling hills, cultivated valleys and small towns.

As you approach Musanze, the Virunga volcanoes rise above the surrounding countryside. Continue to your lodge for check-in, dinner and overnight. Your guide will confirm the golden monkey trekking arrangements for the next morning.

Travellers arriving later in the day will travel directly to Volcanoes National Park, with the Kigali city tour shortened or omitted to allow a safe arrival.

Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel

Mid-range: Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge

Budget: Hotel Muhabura

Golden Monkey Trekking and Gorilla Guardians Cultural Village

Wake up early and enjoy breakfast before travelling to Volcanoes National Park headquarters in Kinigi. After a briefing from the park rangers, you will be allocated to a golden monkey tracking group and transferred to the appropriate forest starting point.

Golden monkeys live mainly in the bamboo forests on the lower slopes of the Virunga Mountains. These attractive primates are recognised by their striking golden-orange coats and energetic behaviour. Your ranger guide will lead you through the bamboo in search of a habituated group, listening for movement and watching for monkeys feeding among the stems.

The activity may take approximately 1 to 5 hours, depending on the location of the monkeys and conditions on the trails. Once the group is found, you will spend one hour watching the animals as they feed, move through the vegetation and interact with one another. Their fast movements make them especially interesting for photographers.

After the trek, return to your lodge for lunch and a short rest. If time allows, you may visit the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Musanze to learn more about gorilla research and conservation. This is an additional activity and requires advance confirmation.

In the afternoon, continue to Gorilla Guardians Village, formerly known as Iby'Iwacu Cultural Village. Here, local community guides introduce visitors to Rwandan cultural traditions through Intore dancing, music, storytelling and other activities. The visit also gives you a closer understanding of how conservation tourism supports communities living near the park.

Return to your lodge for dinner and your second overnight in the Volcanoes National Park region.

Accommodation: Same selected lodge as Day 1

Cross from Rwanda to Uganda, Lake Bunyonyi Boat Trip and Transfer to Bwindi

After breakfast, check out and leave Musanze for the Cyanika border crossing between Rwanda and Uganda. The drive passes through the green countryside around the Virunga Mountains before you reach the immigration offices.

Your driver guide will assist with border formalities, but all travellers must carry the appropriate entry documents for their nationality. An East Africa Tourist Visa can cover travel between Rwanda and Uganda for eligible visitors, but valid individual visas or applicable exemptions may also be used. Your documents should be arranged and checked before the journey begins.

After entering Uganda, travel through Kisoro and the Kigezi Highlands towards Lake Bunyonyi, a scenic highland lake surrounded by terraced hills and small islands. The journey offers beautiful views of cultivated valleys, villages and mountain landscapes.

If you arrive at the lake with sufficient time, join a local boat guide for a trip around selected islands. Learn about the lake's cultural history, enjoy the quiet surroundings and take photographs of the steep hills that rise from the shoreline. The boat ride must be coordinated with the remaining drive to Bwindi so that you reach your lodge before it becomes too late.

After lunch, continue towards the Ruhija sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The final approach winds through remote highland countryside and forest-edge communities. This is a substantial travel day involving border formalities, the lake visit and a mountain road transfer, so your guide will adjust stops around actual progress.

Arrive at your lodge in the Ruhija area for check-in, dinner and overnight. Your gorilla trekking permit must be allocated to the Ruhija sector to match these accommodation choices.

Luxury: Kiho Gorilla Safari Lodge

Mid-range: Gorilla Mist Camp

Budget: Broadbill Forest Camp

Mountain Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi and Batwa Cultural Experience

Today is one of the great highlights of your safari. Wake up early for breakfast and carry your packed lunch, drinking water and trekking equipment to the Ruhija gorilla trekking briefing point. Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers will explain the rules before allocating you to a habituated mountain gorilla family.

Enter the forest with your ranger guides and trackers, following narrow trails through dense vegetation. Ruhija lies on the eastern side of Bwindi, where the mountainous terrain can be steep, muddy and physically demanding. The time required to find your assigned family depends on the gorillas' location, forest conditions and the pace of the group.

The trekking experience can take approximately 2 to 8 hours or longer. Once the gorillas are located, you will spend one hour observing the family under ranger supervision. You may see a powerful silverback watching over the group, mothers caring for infants and younger gorillas feeding, playing or moving through the vegetation.

Your ranger will guide the viewing session, ensuring that visitors maintain the required distance and avoid disturbing the animals. Flash photography is not permitted. Waterproof hiking boots, long trousers, gloves and a rain jacket are useful, and a porter can be hired locally for additional assistance.

After trekking, return to your lodge for rest and refreshments. If the trek finishes early enough, visit a local Batwa community to learn about traditional forest knowledge, music, storytelling and the community's history. This cultural experience is included in the published programme, but the visit may require rescheduling if the gorilla trek takes most of the day.

Return to your lodge for dinner and a second overnight near Bwindi. Standard gorilla trekking is available to visitors aged 15 years and above.

Accommodation: Same selected Ruhija lodge as Day 3

Drive from Bwindi to Kibale Forest via Western Uganda

After an early breakfast, check out and begin the long journey north towards Kibale National Park. The drive takes you out of Bwindi's forested highlands and through the varied landscapes of western Uganda.

Depending on the road chosen by your driver guide and conditions on the day, you may travel through sections of the Queen Elizabeth National Park region. If the route passes through Ishasha, there may be an opportunity to look for wildlife along the way, including the tree-climbing lions for which the area is known. This is a transfer day rather than a dedicated Queen Elizabeth game-drive day, so lion sightings cannot be promised.

Continue through the countryside towards Kasese and the Fort Portal region, passing farming communities, tea plantations and areas of beautiful crater lake scenery. Enjoy lunch along the route before continuing to Kibale Forest.

This is one of the longest days of the safari. Allow much of the day, potentially around 7 to 9 hours or longer depending on road conditions, route and wildlife stops. Your guide will select the most practical route rather than making unnecessary detours that could result in a late arrival.

As you approach Kibale, the landscape becomes greener, with patches of tropical forest and tea estates. Kibale is particularly well known for chimpanzees and other primates living in its mature rainforest.

Arrive at your lodge in the evening, check in and relax. Your guide will confirm the morning chimpanzee trekking briefing at Kanyanchu Visitor Centre.

Luxury: Ndali Lodge

Mid-range: Chimpanzee Forest Lodge

Budget: Rubarika Safari Lodge

Chimpanzee Trekking in Kibale Forest and Bigodi Wetland Walk

After an early breakfast, transfer to Kanyanchu Visitor Centre for your chimpanzee trekking briefing. Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers will explain the rules before guiding you into Kibale Forest to search for a habituated chimpanzee community.

As you walk beneath the tall trees, listen carefully for chimpanzee calls and watch for movement in the canopy. Kibale's forest supports several primate species, and you may also encounter red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobus monkeys or other animals as you follow the trails.

Finding the chimpanzees may take a few hours depending on where they are feeding or travelling. Once the community is located, you will spend up to one hour observing them as they groom one another, feed, climb trees and communicate through calls and gestures.

Chimpanzees are often more active and fast-moving than gorillas, making this a fascinating contrast to your previous forest encounter in Bwindi. Your ranger will guide the viewing session and ensure that the correct safety and conservation rules are followed.

After the trek, return for lunch and a short rest before travelling to Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary for a guided nature walk. The wetland lies near Kibale Forest and is managed through local community conservation initiatives.

The Bigodi walk generally takes around 2 hours and provides opportunities to see wetland birds, butterflies and monkeys. One of the most sought-after birds is the great blue turaco, with its striking blue, green and red plumage. You may also see red-tailed monkeys, black-and-white colobus monkeys and other forest-edge wildlife.

The visit also introduces you to community life around the wetland and the role local people play in protecting the surrounding forest. Return to your lodge for dinner and your final overnight of the safari.

Accommodation: Same selected Kibale lodge as Day 5

Return from Kibale Forest to Kampala or Entebbe for Departure

After breakfast, check out of your lodge and begin the road journey towards Kampala or Entebbe. The drive takes you through the Fort Portal region, past tea plantations and rural towns, before continuing east across Uganda's countryside.

Allow approximately 5 to 7 hours or longer, depending on your lodge location, road conditions, Kampala traffic and the exact final destination. Stop for lunch and refreshments along the route before continuing towards Entebbe.

This is a full travel day, so it is important to leave Kibale early and avoid booking an afternoon international flight. If you are departing Uganda on the same day, a late-evening or night flight offers a more practical schedule and allows extra time for airport check-in.

Your driver guide will drop you at Entebbe International Airport or your confirmed hotel in Kampala or Entebbe, according to your travel arrangements.

This marks the end of your 7 Day Rwanda Uganda Gorilla and Chimp Safari, after tracking golden monkeys in Rwanda, meeting mountain gorillas in Bwindi, visiting Lake Bunyonyi and following chimpanzees through Kibale Forest.