Enjoy a double gorilla trek in Rwanda and Uganda where you will visit two national parks, i.e. Volcanoes and Bwindi national parks; also visit the nearby communities of Batwa and Iby’Iwachu cultural site. You will have to explore the beauty of these parks through briefing, and trekking where you will meet several mammals, bird species and also tree species. The tour will also have a city excursion in Rwanda and it will be starting from Entebbe Uganda and end in Kigali, Rwanda.
Detailed itinerary
Day one: Pick up at the hotel/Entebbe airport and fly to Bwindi Impenetrable national park and stopover at the Uganda equator
Welcome to Uganda! You will be welcomed by the tour driver guide at the airport or you will meet the driver guide at the hotel after breakfast and then pack your luggage and right away fly to Bwindi NP.
You will have a stopover at the Uganda equator in Kayabwe for photograph and souvenir buying (at your own cost). Then proceed with the journey to Bwindi which covers an area of 321sq.km, and well known for homing up to 400 gorillas, half of the population of the remaining mountain gorillas and it has over 17 habituated gorilla families.
Other attractions in this park are over 350 bird species including 23 Albertine rift valleys, 120 mammal species including several primates like olive baboons, chimpanzees among others. It is also home of both the Batwa and Bakiga people, you will check in the accommodation facility on the arrival.
Day two: Gorilla trekking and Batwa community
Head to search for these great apes after a briefing at the park headquarters where you will be assigned only one gorilla family. You will spend over 2 hours in the forest including an hour of interaction with these gorillas. Trekking is tiresome because it involves walking long distances and hiking, but meeting a family of gorillas is worth it.
After trek back and you will be rewarded a certificate of trekking the remaining endangered mountain gorillas. After lunch, enjoy a walk to the nearby community of the Batwa pygmies, who will entertain you with their traditional dances, visit their caves and taste their traditional meals.
Day three: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda
Transfer to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda for another gorilla experience after your breakfast. The journey is rewarding as you pass through the valleys and hills of Kigezi and then in the city of Kigali.
Volcanoes national park is located in the Virunga conservation area where most of the remaining mountain gorillas can be found. The park is also a home for the famous researcher Dian Fossey who was killed by the poachers but she saved several gorillas and was the only person who introduced gorilla habituation in Rwanda. On arrival, you will check in the safari lodge.
Day four: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes N/Park
Trek the remaining gorillas in this park after breakfast and briefing at the park office. The park ranger will escort you and you will be able to spot several other attractions in this forest such as bird species, other primates like red-tailed monkeys, white and black colobus monkeys, and Vervet monkeys among others.
After 2-3 hours, you will return to the office and be awarded a certificate of appreciation. In the afternoon, you will either head for Dian Fossey graveyard or visit the Iby’Iwachu cultural community and learn more about the Kinyarwanda culture.
Day five: Transfer to Kigali, city tour and drop-off at the airport
Transfer to Kigali the capital city of Rwanda after breakfast and visit some attractions in this city if time allows like the Rwanda genocide memorial centre and see the graveyards of people who perished in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
Visit the presidential museum, craft markets among other historical sites. Then you will be dropped at the international airport which will mark the end of 5 days double gorilla trekking tour.
