10-Day Private Uganda & Rwanda Gorilla Safari

Overview

This itinerary is your starting point. Every detail — pace, lodges, add-on days — is built around you. All in Africa Safaris USA (Utah) handles your booking and payment in US dollars, while our partner team on the ground handles your guide, vehicle, and permits. Your journey is private; the wildlife encounter is shared.

This 10-day private Uganda Rwanda gorilla safari pairs the two best primate-trekking countries in Africa: chimpanzee tracking in Kibale Forest, mountain gorilla trekking in both Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, golden monkey tracking, and game drives and a boat cruise in Queen Elizabeth National Park along the way. It's the itinerary for travelers who don't want to choose between Uganda and Rwanda.

Safari Highlights

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival and Transfer to Kibale Forest
Your private driver-guide meets you at Kigali International Airport or your Kigali hotel and drives you into Uganda toward Kibale Forest National Park, a journey of about six hours through changing landscapes and rural countryside. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 2: Chimpanzee Tracking and Transfer to Queen Elizabeth National Park
An early briefing at Kibale's park headquarters, then a 3 to 5 hour trek through the forest to find a habituated chimpanzee community, with good chances of spotting other primates along the way. After lunch, drive roughly two hours to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 3: Morning Game Drive and Kazinga Channel Boat Cruise
An early game drive to catch predators and early risers, followed by lunch and rest at your lodge. In the afternoon, a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, one of Africa's best wildlife-viewing waterways for hippos, elephants, and birdlife. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 4: Ishasha Game Drive and Transfer to Bwindi
A game drive through the Ishasha sector, known for its tree-climbing lions, before continuing to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to roughly half the world's remaining mountain gorillas. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 5: Gorilla Trekking and Batwa Community Visit
An early briefing at Bwindi's park headquarters, then a trek through dense forest to spend an hour with a habituated gorilla family. In the afternoon, a visit to the Batwa community, the forest's original inhabitants, for traditional song, dance, and stories. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 6: Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi
Drive to Lake Bunyonyi, ringed by 29 islands and known as one of Uganda's most scenic spots. A boat tour of the lake in the afternoon offers a genuine change of pace after two days of trekking. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 7: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
A relaxed morning at Lake Bunyonyi before the roughly four-hour drive to Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, crossing the border along the way. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 8: Gorilla Trekking and Iby'iwacu Cultural Village
A second gorilla trek, this time in Rwanda, with terrain that runs steeper and rockier than Bwindi. In the afternoon, visit the Iby'iwacu Cultural Village, also known as the Gorilla Guardians Village, for traditional Rwandan dance, music, and storytelling. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 9: Golden Monkey Tracking and Twin Lakes
A morning tracking golden monkeys in the Volcanoes bamboo forest, a livelier and more playful encounter than gorilla trekking. In the afternoon, visit the twin lakes of Ruhondo and Burera. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 10: Return to Kigali, Departure
After breakfast, drive back to Kigali for drop-off at your hotel or Kigali International Airport.