DAY 1: DRIVE TO QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
A tour guide from AA safaris and tours Ltd will be at the hotel in the morning to pick you up. He will brief you before you proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park passing via the Masaka- Mbarara route. Your stop over points along the journey include places like the Equator or the Mpigi Mpambire drum makers before you proceed. You also have a game drive en route to look out for wildlife and also will have the chance to see the great lakes of Lake Edwards and Lake George as well as the Kazinga channel. Your dinner and overnight will be at the lodge of your choice;
Budget Accommodation: Bush Lodge / Institute of Ecology / Simba safari lodge
Mid-range Accommodation: Marafi safari camp / Hippo Hill Lodge / Ihamba Lodge
Luxury Accommodation: Ishasha wilderness camp / Mweya safari lodge / Jacana safari lodge / Katara Lodge / King Fisher Resort
DAY 2: GAME DRIVE AND BOAT CRUISE ON KAZINGA CHANNEL
You will have to wake up early enough so that you can go for the early morning game drives from where you will see animals like the lions, buffaloes, kobs, the Python, Elephants, hyenas, warthogs, birds’ hippos and many more savannah wildlife. You will then have your breakfast at mid morning when you go back to the lodge, wait for lunch and after that you will go for an afternoon boat trip along the Kazinga channel which is the natural channel between Lake Edward and Lake George. You will see variety of birds as there are so many of them and the highest numbers of hippos in Africa! There is also variety of birds’ species like pink backed pelicans, pied and malachite kingfishers, saddle billed stork and many more. Your dinner will drive back to your lodge for dinner and an over night.
DAY 3: CHIMPANZEE TREKKING AND DRIVE TO BWINDI FOREST
Immediately after your breakfast, you will proceed to Kyambura Gorge in the southern part of Lake George for chimpanzee trekking which might take about 3-4 hours. Kyambura gorge serves as a bumper for the north-eastern part of Queen Elizabeth National park. Kyambura gorge serves as a bumper for the north-eastern part of Queen Elizabeth National park. There is no land connection between the reserve and the park, animals simply crossing the Kyambura River where it is shallowest during the dry seasons to move between the protected areas. The river gorge chains a high-canopy tropical forest which scores to a swamp-forest and papyrus swamp near the river mouth. The eastern border follows Buhindagi river from Lake George, south-east to Kasyoha-Kitomi Forest Reserve where the boundaries of the Forest and Wildlife Reserves adjoin. The reserve is a home both fresh and saline volcanic lakes, in the reserve, the most important of them all are the saline Bagusa, Lakes Nshenyi and Maseche; Lakes Kararo, Kinera, Chibwera and Kyamwiga have fresh water and more to see.
After the chimpanzee trekking, you will have your lunch and then continue to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park passing through Ishasha sector where you will have the opportunity to see variety of tree climbing lions. Bwindi has got variety of bird-life and therefore a good place for the bird lovers to visit, high population of mountain gorillas and other primates species, incredible flora, among so many other unique features. Your dinner will be at the lodge of your choice.
Budget Accommodation: Buhoma Community bandas / Bwindi View bandas / Nkuringo campsite tents / Virunga Hotel / Nkuringo safari centre
Mid-range Accommodation: Gorilla mist lodge / gorilla safari lodge / Chameleon hill / Lake Kitandara camp / Nkuringo camp site / Wagtail Eco lodge.
Luxury Accommodation: Mahogany springs / Engagi lodge / Buhoma lodge / Gorilla Resort camp / Traveler’s rest camp / Silver back lodge / Gorilla Forest Camp / Clouds Lodge / Volcanoes Bwindi safari Lodge.
DAY 4: GORILLA TREKKING | BWINDI IMPENETRABLE FOREST
You will have breakfast very early in the morning and then get to the park headquarter before 8 am for briefing by the ranger, registration will be done too before you start tracking. You will carry your packed lunch you since you can not predict how much time you will spend in the jungle tracking, usually it takes between 4-10 hours. When you meet the gorillas, you be given one hour to spend with the gorillas, listen to them grumble to each other and marvel at the sheer size of the silver back which is the dominant male so as to give you the best memories of the Africa gorilla tour. It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rain-forest knowing you are with a few of the last remaining mountain gorillas in the World. Your dinner will be back at your lodge.
DAY 5: TRANSFER TO RWANDA | VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
You drive to the boarder of Uganda and Rwanda immediately after breakfast and head straight to Musanze best known as Ruhengeri and here you will have clear views of Volcanoes National Park, the Virunga Mountains that have four peaks and the twin lakes namely Burera and Ruhondo. You need to have processed your visa to Rwanda days before you get to the boarder but today, you can use the East African single tourist visa. Dinner will be at the lodge where you will be spending the night;
Budget Accommodation: Muhabura lodge / Virunga hotel / Kinigi guest house.
Standard Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla Nest Lodge / Mountain gorilla View Lodge / Hotel Gorillas
Luxury Accommodation: Volcanoes Lodge / Sabinyo Silver Back lodge
DAY 6: GORILLA SAFARI – RWANDA
You will go for gorilla trekking in Parc National des Volcanoes before 8 am. Have a short briefing about the gorillas and the park then slope and look for the rare mountain gorillas. The rangers will have all the information about the different flora and fauna in the park and he will be telling you about it during the tracking. You have an hour to spend with the gorillas and see how they play and feed each after which you have to go to Kabale where you will send the night and have your dinner at
Budget Accommodation: Bushara Island Camp
Mid-range Accommodation: Arcadia Cottages / White horse Inn / Bunyonyi Overland camp
Luxury Accommodation: Bird nest lodge / Habuharo Island Camp FB
DAY 7: DEPARTURE | KAMPALA
After breakfast, you will go for a canoe ride on Lake Bunyonyi so that you will have an opportunity to see various birds and view the different islands OR you can drive to Kabale museum before drive back to Kampala. All these are optional and also depends on what time your flight is if you are leaving that day. Otherwise, immediately after breakfast, you have to drive back and your only stopover may be in Mbarara to have lunch. End of Uganda and Rwanda Safari
