18 Days Best of Uganda & Rwanda Tour

You depart today for your overnight flight from home to Entebbe, Uganda.

Upon arrival in Entebbe, Uganda, our representative will meet you at the airport and escort you to your hotel in Kampala via minibus—a transfer of about 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on traffic. Upon arrival, you will check in and receive your room assignment. Depending on where we stay, we’ll likely be located at a hotel situated atop one of Kampala’s famous seven hills. Typical amenities include a restaurant, swimming pool, and a rooftop bar with sweeping views of the city; rooms are likely to feature air conditioning, satellite TV, minibar, wireless Internet, and private bath with hair dryer.

At about 10am, we’ll gather for a Welcome Briefing in the hotel, where we can introduce ourselves and meet our Extension Guide. We will also review our itinerary in more detail (including any changes that may need to occur). Our Extension Guide will also discuss logistics, safety and emergency procedures, and answer any questions we may have. We'll also take a short orientation walk of the area before returning to our hotel.

Then around 10:30am, we’ll take a 1-hour bus ride to visit Kabaka’s Mengo Palace, the official residence of the King of the Kingdom of Buganda. Here, we’ll discover an underground prison built by General-turned-President Idi Amin in the 1970s. Amin is a controversial figure in Uganda: Older citizens who lived through his brutal eight-year reign remember him as a savage dictator who massacred as many as 500,000 civilians, destroyed the economy, and supported terrorists. However, younger generations consider him a nationalist and a hero. We'll discuss this disconnect in detail, and we'll spend about an hour touring the palace grounds to learn about other local leaders. Afterward, we'll take a 5-minute ride to a nearby restaurant.

Lunch: At a local restaurant around 1pm, featuring regional cuisine.

At about 2pm we'll take a 5-minute drive into the heart of Kampala to continue our discoveries of Uganda's bustling capital, which is home to more than 1.6 million people. We'll get a feel for daily life when we visit the central bus station, where tuk-tuks and public buses zig and zag among tens of thousands of commuters. We'll also stop at a local food market, where we'll witness an assortment of local produce, meats, and dry goods. After about 1.5 hours to explore, we'll take another short drive back to our hotel, arriving by around 3:30pm. Then, you're free to explore more of the area on your own, relax in your room, or take advantage of the hotel’s facilities. We'll regroup back in the lobby at 6:30pm for a 15-minute drive to a local restaurant.

At a local restaurant around 6:45pm, featuring regional cuisine.

In the morning after breakfast, you’ll transfer to jinja town you will have a boat ride to the Source of the Nile. There after you will have a city tour of Jinja town. Jinja is the second largest and industrial capital of Uganda. You may visit local markets or some industries. In the afternoon you start your journey to Kapchorwa home to the magnificent Sipi falls. You will camp overnight at Sipi falls lodge.

Today after breakfast you will drive to Moroto town. Along the way you will visit the Nyero rock paintings. They comprise of a three-tiered rock shelter with primitive paintings on the inner surface that dates back to the Iron Age. In Kitgum, you will pitch camp relax and enjoy the beautiful and quiet ambiance at Moroto Hotel.

You will drive to Kidepo National Park with a packed lunch. Upon arrival you will set up camp inside the park and thereafter embark on an evening Game drive. The Park lies in the rugged, semi arid valleys between Uganda’s borders with Sudan and Kenya, some 700km from Kampala. It has a profusion of big game and hosts over 77 mammal species as well as around 475 bird species. Kidepo is Uganda’s most isolated national park, but the few who make the long journey north agree that it is also the most magnificent, and ranks among Africa’s finest wildernesses.

After your breakfast, start your drive through the Narus Valley where you will have a nature walk to the Hot springs. In the afternoon, you will enjoy another game drive Kidepo National Park is a savannah landscape that extends in all directions. It is home to elephant, zebra, giraffe, huge herds of buffalo, warthog, duiker, Jackson’s Hartebeest, lion, leopard, cheetah and hundreds of bird species. Afterwards you will retire to your campsite.

After an early morning breakfast, embark on a morning game that will take you through the park to see herds of buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, zebras and hopefully some lions, leopard and the elusive cheetah. This will also enable you to be in full sight of varieties of birds as well. You will rest until evening where you will go for a cultural tour in the Karimojong community. Here you will spend a wonderful evening with Karamajong people and have an insight of their way of life and beliefs. At the end of the tour you will be able to understand why their pride makes them slow to adapt to globalization.

After breakfast you shall drive south west to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s biggest National Park. You shall have a stop in Gulu town to purchase some items then proceed to the national Park. The Nile Delta has the biggest concentration of wildlife in the park. After identifying your camping ground and setting up camp you will go for an evening Game drive in the park.

After an early breakfast, proceed for a game drive. This is a beautiful drive across savannah, Borassus Palm Forest and grassland down to Lake Albert where the Albert Nile heads north. Drive in the open African savanna in search for Lions, Leopard, Hyena, Buffalo, Elephant, Jackson Hartebeest. Oribi, Waterbucks, Uganda Kobs, and enjoy spotting various Bird species such as the Secretary Bird, Black Chested Snake Eagle, Tawny and Marshal Eagles Carmine and Swallow-Tailed Bee-Eaters and many more. In the evening, you will have another game drive to catch another glimpse of the animals.

Today you will drive to Fort Portal to Kibale National Park. Along the way you will stop by a tea plantation if time permits. You will stop in Fort portal town to do shopping and there after proceed to Kibale Forest national park. You will pitch camp inside the park.

Today you will track the most famous inhabitants of Kibale National Park, the chimpanzees. With over 1,450 individuals protected within the park, Kibale forest is home to the largest number of the endangered chimpanzees in Uganda, as well as the threatened red colobus monkey and the rare L’Hoest’s monkey. The forest has one of the highest diversity and density of primates in Africa totaling 13 species. In the afternoon after tracking, you have the opportunity for a guided walk through the swamps of Bigodi swamps.

Today you will drive to the world-famous Queen Elizabeth National Park, passing the equator along the way. You will visit the Katwe Salt Lake and see how the lacal extract rock salt. This is a major economic activity in this area. You will proceed to the park and have an evening game drive. You will also camp overnight inside the park.

Have an Early Morning Game Drive. There are over 100 mammal species that include Lions, Hippos, Buffaloes, Leopard, Spotted Hyena, Elephants and the elusive Giant Forest Hog in this park. The Primates include Chimps, Black and White Colobus Monkeys, Blue, Black faced Red Colobus, and Red tailed monkeys and Olive Baboons. In the afternoon, you shall have a boat ride on Kazinga Channel. Queen Elizabeth boasts one of the highest bio diversity ratings of any game park, from the open Savannah to Rain Forest, dense Papyrus Swamps and Crater Lakes to the vastness of Lake Edward.

After breakfast you will have a morning game drive in Ishasha discovering other hiding spots that the tree climbing lions enjoy. Afterwards you will proceed to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The park is home to the endangered mountain gorillas. This fascinating mountain forest hosts chimpanzees and spectacular birds. You shall lodge at Ichumbi Hotel Kisoro and rest in preparation for gorilla trekking.

This morning you will get up very early for gorilla trekking. Trekking the Mountain Gorilla is one of the most exciting wildlife experiences on earth. The trek will take between 2 and 6 hours, but is well worth the effort. You will be led by an experienced ranger who will tell you interesting facts about flora and fauna and the lifestyle of the Gorillas. After trekking you will drive to Lake Mutanda where you will camp overnight at your campsite.

You shall have an exciting visit to Lake Ruhondo and Burera usually referred to as the Twin lakes are the hidden gems of Rwanda and a must stop if you are in Musanze or transiting. The scenic lake cruise offers magnificent views of the thousand hills of Rwanda and the Virunga Mountains. The tour also gives you a chance to explore different beautiful bird species and watch the local fishermen at work. Later we proceed to Kigali arriving late in the afternoon.

After breakfast, you will meet with your driver guide at the reception for a short briefing before proceeding to Kigali Genocide Memorial. Kigali Genocide memorial experience is extremely moving, challenging, educational and ultimately inspiring. The tour is very transparent and educational but very somber and humbling when you realize that over 25,000 deceased are buried on the site of the memorial. Guaranteed you will feel every emotion during this visit.

Get to visit other interesting spots that may include:

Camp Kigali: commemorates the massacre of 10 Belgium UN Blue Berets on the first of the day of the genocide
Campaign Against Genocide Museum: This new museum documents the heroics of the RPA (Rwanda Patriotic Army) led by President Kagame that fought to stop the genocide and has built Rwanda from the ashes into one of the most progressive countries in Africa.
The Nyamirambo Women’s Centre:  a cooperative by local women which offers skills to other women in the area as a way of uplifting them economically and socially. The centre teaches basket weaving, handcraft making, cooking, computer literacy, sewing, etc…
Kimironko Market: This is the biggest and busiest market in Kigali where almost everything is sold from foodstuffs, fabrics to clothing.
Kaplaki Handicraft Market: This is a large crafts market and it is the place to visit if you are looking to purchase your handcraft souvenirs
Old and New Kigali: Kigali has a plan of what they want the city to look, and there is already a new Kigali that is developing to take the old Kigali. So, crossing between the new and old Kigali gives you a picture of what Kigali has been and what it will be in the next decade.
Art galleries: For the art lovers, Kigali has a range of art galleries for you to savor. Inema Art gallery is the most popular and if you are to include an art gallery in your Kigali day tour then this is one of the highly recommended galleries

Later depending on your flight departure timing, you’ll be transferred to the airport to catch your flight back home.