This 5 Days Double Gorilla Trek Safari in Uganda and Rwanda takes you on a remarkable journey to Uganda and Rwanda where you get to do gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Volcanoes National Park respectively. You will also get to track golden monkeys in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.
Highlights for 5 Double Gorilla Trek Safari in Uganda and Rwanda
Day 1: Kigali City Tour and Transfer to Bwindi Forest National Park
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park and Ibyi’wacu Village Tour
Day 4: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park
Day 5: Golden Monkey Trekking and Transfer Back to Kigali
Detailed Itinerary for 5 Double Gorilla Trek Safari in Uganda and Rwanda
Day 1: Kigali City Tour and Transfer to Bwindi Forest National Park
Our guide will pick you up at your hotel or airport in Kigali and take you on a half-day tour of the city. During the trip, you will see a souvenir shop, the former presidential palace, the genocide memorial center, and the major city market.
Following the city tour, you will begin your 4-hour drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park through Rwanda’s breathtaking countryside. After passing immigration, you will cross into Uganda and arrive at your lodge in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park. Rest and prepare for gorilla tracking the next day.
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Batwa Community Tour
Wake up early to have breakfast and attend a briefing at the park’s headquarters. The head Guide conducts the briefing at 7:00 a.m., which is primarily on how to handle yourself when with the gorillas and what to bring along for gorilla tracking. You will be assigned a gorilla group and have the chance to employ porters. The allotment of gorilla groups is depending on your overall fitness. Some gorilla populations go further into the bush, requiring more hiking hours and hence greater problems.
After you’ve identified your gorilla troop, you should travel to the jungle to seek for the primates. Bring a nice camera to snap shots of yourself and the group. After one hour with the mountain gorillas, return to the starting point to meet our guide, who will transport you back to the resort for lunch and rest.
In the late afternoon, you will be escorted to visit the Batwa pygmy community, which lives near the park. The Batwa were the original occupants of the Bwindi impenetrable forest, but they were transferred outside the park to make way for gorilla conservation efforts. The government’s decision helped gorillas and other park creatures, but not the Batwa. For thousands of years, the Batwa hunted and gathered, preserving their separate from tribal groups beyond the woodlands. Now they must cope with them and learn their ways.
The Batwa have been sidelined, and the most of them live in poverty due to their inability to compete with more aggressive tribes. While with the Batwa, you will learn about their culture and be entertained by traditional dance ensembles.
Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park and Ibyi’wacu Village Tour
After yesterday’s initial meeting with the primates, you should get up at your leisure and eat breakfast while waiting for our driver. Check out and head back to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. Lunch will be served after you arrive at the lodge.
After lunch, you can snooze at the lodge while waiting for the driver to take you to the Gorilla Guardians Village. Originally known as the Iby’iwacu Cultural Village, the Centre began as a site where former poachers sold souvenirs to tourists. The government renovated the property, making it one of the top cultural institutions in East Africa. You will spend the day seeing traditional dance performances or posing in traditional robes for photographs.
Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 4: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park
On the fourth day of your 5 Days Double Gorilla Trek Safari in Uganda and Rwanda, get up to a delicious breakfast amid the misty volcanic forest before driving to the park headquarters for a briefing. Following your briefing, you will begin on a guided journey into the jungle in search of a gorilla family, which might take 3-6 hours or longer depending on their location.
Once you’ve discovered a group of habituated gorilla family, you’ll spend an hour with the gorillas before eating your packed lunch and returning to base. You will then meet up with your driver guide and drive back to your lodge for lunch.
Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 5: Golden Monkey Trekking and Transfer Back to Kigali
Wake up early and go to Volcanoes National Park for a golden monkey tracking briefing at 7:00 a.m. Following the briefing, the Park Rangers/Guide will lead you into the forest in search for a golden monkey family.
Anticipate to pass through a dense bamboo jungle filled with wonderful wildlife. After some trekking, you’ll be rewarded with an hour of viewing the golden monkeys. Follow your guide’s instructions and remain cool, especially if one of the gorillas approaches you. After one hour of viewing the primates, you’ll return to the starting place for lunch. The vehicle will drop you off at your hotel or the Kigali airport for your departure.
