Day 1: KIGALI
Arrival of your night flight at Kigali International airport. Meet and greet assistance.
Hand over to and warmly welcomed by our representative outside customs and immigration hall. Proceed to Radisson Blu Hotel.
Have a tour briefing at the lobby. (we will pre check in the clients so that they we hand over keys at briefing.)
Dinner will follow and overnight stay.
KIGALI RADISSON BLU HOTEL (HB –Dinner, Bed & Breakfast) Room type: standard
Day 2: KIGALI (GUIDED CITY TOUR OF KIGALI) / LAKE KIVU & GISENYI (03h00 drive)
08h30: After breakfast at the hotel, our tour leader will give you briefing at the lobby. Check out and settlement of extras.
You will then depart for a tour of Kigali city that includes The Kigali Genocide Memorial Center and Inema arts center
Highlight; Perhaps the city’s best known landmark, and with good reason, is the very insightful and moving Kigali Genocide Memorial standing amid beautiful rose gardens and fountains. The memorial sets out the history leading up to the genocide in Rwanda and also explains other genocides around the world. It includes poignant displays of victims’ photographs and belongings, bringing the realities of the atrocities to life. While it might seem an unusual tourist attraction and can be upsetting, it does help to put into context how and why the genocide happened and to better appreciate just how far the country has moved on together in the intervening years. It also plays a vital role in educating Rwanda’s new and future generations about the genocide.
Founded in 2012 by brothers and self-taught painters Emmanuel Nkuranga and Innocent Nkurunziza, Inema Arts Center spurs creativity for personal, social, and economic growth. Nkurunziza and Nkuranga started Inema to tap the untapped potential of art in Rwanda. Their objective is to use creative expression to bring the community and country alive. To provide exposure to creative people and create opportunities for Rwanda’s most underserved to use creativity for a productive livelihood.
Early lunch will be at the Heaven Restaurant. 14h30: Have a leisurely scenic drive to GISENYI & LAKE KIVU.
Arrive in the evening and check in at the Lake Kivu Serena Hotel.
Dinner and overnight stay.
LAKE KIVU SERENA HOTEL (FB –Lunch (Heaven Restaurant), Dinner (barbeque), Bed & Breakfast)
Day 3: KIGALI – GISENYI / LAKE KIVU (03h00 drive) CITY TOUR/BORDER TOUR/TEA PLANTATION
08h00: After breakfast at the hotel you will have a city tour and discover the town of Gisenyi. You will also drive to the border post of Rwanda and DRC/ Grand barriere. This is a very busy and colorful town. We will not cross. Lunch will be at the Paradis Malahide Restaurant. 14h30: Visit the Pfunda tea factory.
Rwanda produces some of the world’s best teas, like those from Pfuna Tea Estate and factory. The tea estate lies below the Virunga volcano and the rich volcanic soil helps to contribute to a higher tea quality. Situated 9km from the Gisenyi city centre, the tea plantation can be accessed via a 30-minute drive on the road towards Musanze. The expansive plantation stretches into hundreds of hectares and farmers can be seen planting, tending or harvesting tea depending on the period of visitation. Adventurous tourists can go into the plantation to approach the farmers for a chat and ask to be shown how harvesting is done.
Return to the hotel in the evening. Tonight, you will have a welcome barbeque dinner overlooking lake Kivu with entertainment by a Rwandese cultural troupe. Overnight stay.
LAKE KIVU SERENA HOTEL (FB- Lunch, Dinner, Bed and Breakfast)
Day 4: LAKE KIVU -MUSANZE – CYANIKA BORDER (01h30 drive) – BWINDI (approx. 2 hours drive)
Breakfast at the hotel and check out. 09h00: Transfer to Cyanika border post via Musanze. Customs and immigration procedures. Hand over to your Uganda driver guides and proceed to Bwindi National Park region. Arrive in time for check in and a late hot lunch. The afternoon is at leisure as you prepare for your trek very early on the next day.
It is estimated half of the world’s surviving population of mountain gorillas –300 and more live within Bwindi boundaries. Bwindi National Park offers a dramatic steeply forested landscape and is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourist. Apart from the gorillas, there are a variety of primates to be seen including the blue monkeys, red tailed monkeys, and black & white Columbus monkeys. The great blue turacos are often seen and even for a non-bird watcher they are marvelous sight.
CHAMELEON HILL LODGE (FB –Lunch, Dinner, Bed and breakfast)
Day 5: BWINDI (GORILLA TREK)
06h30: After an early breakfast and briefing from the guides, set off for mountain gorilla tracking inside the Bwindi forest. You will need to carry drinking water, rain jacket and jungle boots while the rangers will provide you with a walking stick.
There is no other wildlife experience quite like an encounter with mountain gorillas. That precious hour spent in their company watching the group playing, sulking, teasing each other, eating, or dozing just like we do – is extraordinary.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and accessible only on foot, it is one of the richest ecosystems in Africa providing a habitat for over 90 mammals (including 11 primates), 348 species of birds (including 23 highly localized Albertine Rift endemics), 202 species of butterflies, 163 tree species, over 100 species of ferns, 27 species of frogs, chameleons, geckos and other endangered species. Bwindi is however most notable for her 340 Mountain Gorillas, about half the world’s population of this endangered primate.
After tracking, come back to the lodge for late lunch. The afternoon will be at leisure to rest and enjoy the amazing scenery. Dinner and overnight.
CHAMELEON HILL LODGE (FB –Lunch, Dinner, Bed and breakfast)
Day 6: BWINDI – QUEEN ELIZABETH (04 HOURS DRIVE) (GAME VIEWING DRIVE)
07h30: Breakfast at the lodge and check out. Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, a park known to boast the highest bio-diversity ratings of any game park in the worlds with habitats to include; lakes, forest, savannah grassland as well as wetlands. Arrive and check in at the lodge, followed by lunch. This afternoon, you will proceed on a game drive in the park.
Return to the lodge before sunset for dinner and overnight stay.
MWEYA SAFARI LODGE (FB – Lunch, Dinner, Bed and breakfast)
Begin your day with a cup of coffee. Early morning game drive along Kasenyi and Queens Mile allows visitors encounter elephants, buffalo, water bucks, warthogs, lions, Uganda Kobs lakes and a variety of birds. Return to the lodge for breakfast. Relax in the mid morning, followed by lunch.
This afternoon, a two hour boat trip along the famous Kazinga channel is worthwhile an opportunity to see Hippo, Buffalo, Kobs, Elephants, war thogs etc.
This trip also enables visitor chance to see spectacular birds. Return to the lodge in the evening, Dinner and overnight.
MWEYA SAFARI LODGE (FB – Lunch, Dinner, Bed and breakfast)
Day 8: QUEEN ELIZABETH – KIBALE NATIONAL PARK (04H00 DRIVE)
Breakfast at the lodge and check out. Depart for Kibale Forest National Park. On the Drive to Kibale National Park you will be able to enjoy an impressive sight of the legendary “Mountains of the Moon” which you will clearly see on the road to Fort Portal.
Arrive and check in at the lodge. Lunch. Afternoon at leisure.
Have dinner and a night at a beautiful area bordering Kibale Forest.
PRIMATES LODGE (FB; Lunch (en route picnic) , Dinner, Bed & Breakfast)
Day 9: KIBALE NATIONAL PARK (CHIMP TREK/BIGOBI SWAMP WALK)
07h00: After an early morning breakfast, you will be transferred to the Chimpanzee tracking information office at 08h00 for a briefing by the park warden and ranger guides, and after, you will be led into the rain forest in search of chimpanzees. These primates are very mobile and viewing them is unpredictable but a forest walk is an enriching activity and takes about 4 to 6 hours. This forest is home to a large number of chimpanzees and other primates including Lhoestes, grey cheeked mangabeys, Red-colobus, Red-tailed, birds, and butterflies.
13h00: You will get back at the lodge in time for lunch and if you have energy in the afternoon, go for a Bigodi swamp walk for yet more primates and bird watching with an optional opportunity to meet and interact with the local communities living here. Return to the lodge in the evening for dinner and overnight stay.
PRIMATES LODGE (FB; Lunch, Dinner, Bed & Breakfast)
Day 10: KIBALE NATIONAL PARK – KAMPALA ( 07H00 DRIVE)
08h00: After breakfast, you will check out and proceed to Kampala. En route, you will stop at the Ziwa Rhino sanctuary for tracking.
Lunch en route. Continue drive. Arrive at the Cassia Lodge and check in. Afternoon at leisure. Dinner and overnight stay.
CASSIA LODGE (FB: Lunch, Dinner, Bed and breakfast)
Day 11 : KAMPALA – ENTEBBE ✈ DEPART
Early breakfast at the hotel and check out. Settle all extras. Depart for a morning birding tour to Mabamba swamp in the outskirts of Uganda.
The Swamp is located just outside of Kampala city about 1hr:20minutes of drive time with access on Masaka or Entebbe Rd. Mabamba swamp is an arm of lake Victoria connecting the main fishing village of Busi Island. Most of the visitors to the Mabamba papyrus swamp will board the wooden boats in search of mainly the Shoebill Stork which usually hides in the water weed to feed on the fish from the moving water in the swamp. The Shoebill stays in the papyrus but will also rarely stay on land overlooking water. Some other birds of interest in the swamp are the African and lesser Jacannas, Pied Kingfishers, the African Pygmie goose and the blue breasted bea eaters. Each wooden boat at Mabamba Swamp will carry atleast 3-persons for easy bird watching with a birding guide and a boat captain and each session will take atleast 3hrs depending on the luck of the day but a full day birding excursion is also done.
Return to the hotel for lunch. Proceed to Entebbe Airport for your outbound flight based on schedule.
Wishing you an excellent trip.