Rwanda & Uganda – 9-day Low-Key Pearl of Africa Safari – Tailored Driven

Upon arrival as per your international flight details, clear immigration, collect your luggage with assistance from our Meet & Greet service, who will lead you to arrivals to meet our representative and driver and transfer to the hotel driving for approximately 10 minutes upon exiting the airport.

Depart Kigali and travel over Cyanika border. Have lunch in Kisoro and meet the walking safari guides for your next activity. Join our walking safari guide in Kisoro Town for a community walk, a canoeing excursion on Lake Mutanda, and a nature hike through local communities & cultivated garden trails. It is an immersive walking adventure connecting you with the local people and environments. Guests can decide on ground for guides to plan the stopping point. Meet the vehicle and drive to Nkuringo for lunch (30 min drive) or have a picnic lunch instead and continue walking to Rubuguri junction (approximately 2 hours), meet the vehicle and drive to Nkuringo for 30 mins. Transfer time: ~5-6 hours

After breakfast, at around 7:30 am, with packed lunch and drinking water you will be transferred to the briefing point for the briefing on the do’s and the don’ts while with the gorillas. You then continue to the forest for the start of the actual gorilla tracking in a group of 8 participants accompanied by escorts/ guides and rangers from Uganda wildlife Authority. The duration of the trek is only determined by the location of the primates on the day of tracking, and the time taken to find the gorillas can take from an hour to a full day, after spotting them, spend 1 hour of viewing and hike back, meet the vehicle and drive back to the lodge. The beauty of this rainforest is spectacular. The area offers a dramatic, steeply forested landscape and is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails, allowing access to tourists. The time taken and the terrain vary as per the movements of these great primates. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting experience to be long savoured. Many find it to be a rare and moving opportunity.

This morning after an early breakfast, you will be transferred by the lodge driver to Nteko Ridge for about 30 mins to embark on a guided walk through the forest walking from South to North of Bwindi impenetrable forest (with a packed lunch from the lodge). There are 2 options for this walk, the shorter route of 13KM taking about 4 hours which is recommended. The other alternative is walking the longer trail of 17km which starts from the lodge without driving to Nteko Ridge. Upon reaching Buhoma, meet the vehicle and drive to Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park renowned for tree climbing lions that can be spotted in fig trees on lucky days. The drive takes about 2 hours. If you prefer to be driven to Bwindi, please let us know, as that can, of course, also be arranged.

This morning you’ll head into the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park, spending the day on game drives across its open savannah in search of the famous tree-climbing lions, elephants, buffalo, and abundant birdlife, before winding down with a sundowner in the park as the African sunset paints the horizon a perfect close to a day of adventure and discovery.

This morning, after breakfast, with an en route game drive, continue to the lodge for lunch and after lunch head out for a private boat trip on Kazinga channel - the 36 km waterway which connects Lake George and Lake Edward, and allows special viewings of game and birds on the riverbanks, as the boat passes through pods of hippos. Crocodiles have only recently been seen in the Channel; they disappeared 8,000 years after they were eliminated from Lake Edward by toxic ash from local volcanoes. The boat takes about 2-3 hour round trip depending on the sightings. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

This morning, after an early breakfast, head out for a lion tracking experience in the Kasenyi plains, joining researchers who use radio telemetry to locate collared lions and sharing fascinating insights into their behaviour and conservation. Along the way, enjoy sightings of Uganda kobs, elephants, buffalo, and other wildlife that thrive in the grasslands. Afterwards, continue with a scenic drive to Kibale Forest National Park, where you’ll check in at the lodge for lunch and spend the rest of the day at leisure, unwinding in preparation for the adventures ahead. Transfer time: ~2-3 hours

This morning after breakfast, transfer to the visitor’s Information Centre for a briefing on the conduct while in the park. After the short briefing and group allocation, start off the trek in search of the chimpanzees accompanied by rangers and guides from Uganda wildlife Authority. The duration of the trek depends on the day’s location of the Chimps, but you are allowed 1 hour of viewing. Afternoon excursion to the Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary, a great example of a community-based approach to natural resources management which can be of good economic benefit to the local residents living within the area and to the tourism industry. This sanctuary is a paradise for bird watchers - skilled birders can spot up to 50 new species on a bird list. At today 138 species of birds have been recognized within the sanctuary, among which the Great Blue Turaco. Bigodi is also regularly visited by a diverse number of primate species from the nearby national park. Drive to the community to interact with locals, understand local coffee making, banana Gin cultural performances. Return to the lodge for dinner & overnight.

Check-out from Turaco Treetops Transfer from Turaco Treetops to Kasese Airport [KSE] Charter Flight from Kasese Airport [KSE] to Entebbe International Airport [EBB]