Overview

The 14-day Rwanda + Uganda safari is the most extraordinary primate safari available anywhere on Earth — a complete circuit of East Africa’s two greatest gorilla trekking destinations combined with chimpanzee trekking Big Five game drives the world’s most powerful waterfall and the most beautiful lakes in the region.

In fourteen days you will trek face to face with mountain gorillas twice — once in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and once in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. Two completely different gorilla encounters in two completely different forest environments with two different gorilla families — the most complete mountain gorilla experience available to any traveller anywhere in the world.

Between these two extraordinary encounters your 14-day Rwanda + Uganda safari delivers golden monkey trekking in Rwanda’s bamboo forest chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest Big Five game drives in Rwanda’s Akagera National Park tree-climbing lions and the Kazinga Channel boat safari in Queen Elizabeth National Park the thundering power of Murchison Falls and the Nile River and relaxation on the beautiful shores of Lake Kivu and Lake Bunyonyi.

This is not just a safari. This is the greatest wildlife journey East Africa has to offer.

Safari Highlights: Rwanda + Uganda Safari 2026

✅ Two gorilla trekking encounters — Rwanda Volcanoes NP + Uganda Bwindi IF
✅ Golden monkey trekking — Rwanda’s most joyful primate encounter
✅ Chimpanzee trekking — Kibale Forest — East Africa’s finest chimp experience
✅ Big Five game drives — Akagera National Park — lions black rhinos elephants
✅ Akagera boat safari — hippos crocodiles waterbirds on Lake Ihema
✅ Tree-climbing lions — Ishasha sector Queen Elizabeth National Park
✅ Kazinga Channel boat safari — extraordinary hippos and waterbirds
✅ Murchison Falls — the world’s most powerful waterfall
✅ Nile River boat safari — upstream to the base of the falls
✅ Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary — Uganda’s only rhinos tracked on foot
✅ Lake Kivu — swimming kayaking sunset cruise
✅ Lake Bunyonyi — Africa’s most beautiful lake for relaxation
✅ Kigali city tour — Genocide Memorial and Rwanda’s vibrant capital
✅ Private 4×4 safari vehicle and expert driver-guide throughout
✅ All permits included

Day-by-Day Itinerary

Day 1 — Arrive Kigali → City Tour

Your 14-day Rwanda + Uganda safari begins at Kigali International Airport where your Go Safaris Africa driver-guide meets you and transfers you to your Kigali hotel.

After settling in spend the afternoon on a Kigali city tour — the perfect introduction to Rwanda’s extraordinary story of recovery transformation and conservation:

Kigali Genocide Memorial — one of the most important and most moving sites in Africa. The memorial honours the approximately 800,000 people killed during the 1994 genocide and tells the story of Rwanda’s extraordinary journey from tragedy to the confident inspiring nation it has become today. Essential for understanding everything that follows.

Kimironko Market — Rwanda’s largest and most vibrant local market. Fabrics spices crafts and the extraordinary energy of Kigali’s daily life. The best place in Rwanda to buy authentic local crafts at real prices.

Kigali city viewpoints — your guide shows you Kigali from its finest vantage points — a city of rolling hills immaculate streets and remarkable energy that consistently surprises visitors expecting something very different.

Evening dinner at one of Kigali’s excellent restaurants.

• Accommodation: Kigali — Lemigo Hotel / Hotel des Mille Collines / Radisson Blu Kigali (depending on package level)
• Meals: Dinner

Day 2 — Kigali → Akagera National Park → Game Drive

After an early breakfast depart Kigali and drive east to Akagera National Park — approximately 2.5 hours through Rwanda’s rolling eastern hills and past tea plantations and small farming communities.

Arrive at Akagera in time for a full afternoon game drive in Rwanda’s only Big Five safari park — managed by African Parks since 2010 and the site of one of Africa’s most celebrated wildlife recovery stories.

Since the African Parks partnership lions have been reintroduced (2015) black rhinos reintroduced (2017 and 2019) and the park has been transformed from a depleted poaching-affected park into one of East Africa’s most exciting wildlife destinations. Read our Rwanda conservation success story for the full extraordinary narrative.

Your afternoon game drive explores the open savanna and acacia woodland searching for:

• Lions — multiple prides established since 2015
• Black rhinos — one of East Africa’s most significant populations
• Elephants — large herds in the northern park area
• Buffalos — enormous herds on the open savanna
• Giraffes — Masai giraffes throughout
• Hippos — in the lakes and channels
• Zebras topis elands and abundant plains game

Evening dinner at your Akagera lodge with lions potentially calling across the savanna.

• Accommodation: Akagera — Ruzizi Tented Lodge / Magashi Camp (depending on package level)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 3 — Akagera Full Day — Dawn Game Drive + Boat Safari

A full extraordinary day in Akagera National Park.

Dawn game drive (5:30am–9:00am): The most productive period — predators returning from night hunts. Your guide focuses on the best lion and black rhino zones in the park. The early morning light on the savanna and lakes is outstanding for photography.

Lake Ihema boat safari (9:30am–11:30am): A 2-hour cruise on Akagera’s largest lake — revealing hippo pods at extraordinary close range Nile crocodiles basking on every bank waterbirds in impressive concentrations and occasional elephants at the lake edge.

Afternoon game drive (3:00pm–6:30pm): A second comprehensive game drive focusing on different park zones — the Mutumba Hills for black rhinos the southern savanna for cheetah encounters.

Return to your lodge for dinner and a final evening in Akagera’s extraordinary landscape.

• Accommodation: Akagera (same as Day 2)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 4 — Akagera → Kigali → Volcanoes National Park

After breakfast depart Akagera and drive west through Kigali (brief stop) then continue northwest to Volcanoes National Park — approximately 4.5 hours total.

Arrive at Volcanoes National Park area in the late afternoon. Check into your lodge and attend the evening briefing about tomorrow’s gorilla trek — the gorilla family you will visit the terrain and what to expect.

Optional late afternoon activity — Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village ($15 per person) — meeting former poachers who now protect gorillas through community tourism. One of the most illuminating community conservation experiences in Rwanda. Read our Dian Fossey Rwanda guide to understand the full conservation context.

• Accommodation: Volcanoes National Park — Mountain Gorilla View Lodge / Virunga Lodge / Bisate Lodge (depending on package level)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 5 — Rwanda Gorilla Trekking — Volcanoes National Park

The first of your two extraordinary gorilla encounters.

Transfer to Kinigi Park Headquarters for the 7:00am briefing. Your group of maximum 8 people is assigned to one of Rwanda’s 12 habituated gorilla families and your armed ranger guide leads you into the ancient Virunga rainforest.

Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park has a distinctive character — the volcanic slopes are steep but generally accessible the forest is atmospheric but not impenetrable and the 12 habituated families offer a range of trekking experiences from relatively short encounters to full-day expeditions into the higher mountain zones.

When you find your gorilla family the world stops. A silverback the size of a small car sits metres away — massive calm unhurried completely at ease in his world. Around him mothers nurse infants juveniles wrestle and play adults feed on wild celery and bamboo. Young gorillas occasionally approach to investigate the strange upright visitors with enormous curious eyes.

Your one hour with the gorilla family is the most powerful wildlife encounter available to any traveller anywhere on Earth.

After the trek optional Dian Fossey tomb hike ($75 per person) in the afternoon — walking to the grave of the woman whose work saved the mountain gorillas and whose legacy you are experiencing directly today.

• Rwanda gorilla permit: $1,500 USD — included
• Accommodation: Volcanoes NP (same as Day 4)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 6 — Golden Monkey Trekking + Transfer to Lake Kivu

After breakfast return to Kinigi Park Headquarters for the golden monkey trekking briefing — a completely different and deeply joyful primate encounter to complement yesterday’s profound gorilla experience.

Trek into the bamboo forest zone of the Virunga volcanoes to find one of the park’s habituated golden monkey troops. A troop of 60–80 vivid gold-and-black primates leaping through the bamboo with extraordinary energy speed and acrobatic skill — one of Africa’s most visually spectacular wildlife encounters and extraordinarily photogenic.

Spend one hour with the golden monkey troop then return to your lodge for lunch.

After lunch depart Volcanoes National Park and drive south to Lake Kivu — 1.5 hours through Rwanda’s beautiful northwest highlands with views of the Virunga volcanoes behind you and the lake appearing ahead.

Arrive at your Lake Kivu lodge in the late afternoon for a sunset boat cruise — watching the sun drop behind the DRC mountains turning the lake gold as fishing boats drift past in the evening light.

• Golden monkey permit: $100 USD — included
• Accommodation: Lake Kivu — Lake Kivu Serena Hotel / Cormoran Lodge (depending on package level)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 7 — Lake Kivu → Cross Border → Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

A day of transition — from Rwanda to Uganda crossing one of East Africa’s most scenic and most interesting border crossings.

After a leisurely morning on Lake Kivu — optional kayaking swimming or tea plantation visit — depart and drive north along the lake shore to the Cyanika border crossing — the most direct route between Rwanda’s gorilla trekking area and Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.

Cross into Uganda and continue to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest — just 30 minutes from the Cyanika border. The drive from the Rwanda border through the Kisoro district to Bwindi is one of East Africa’s most beautiful — volcanic peaks rising on all sides terraced hillsides dropping steeply to valley floors and the ancient dark forest of Bwindi filling the landscape ahead.

Arrive at your Bwindi lodge in the afternoon. Your guide briefs you on tomorrow’s gorilla trek — Bwindi’s terrain its gorilla families and what makes the Uganda gorilla trekking experience different from what you experienced in Rwanda.

• Accommodation: Bwindi — Mahogany Springs / Bwindi Lodge / Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge (depending on package level)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 8 — Uganda Gorilla Trekking — Bwindi Impenetrable Forest

The second of your two extraordinary gorilla encounters — and a completely different experience.

Transfer to Uganda Wildlife Authority briefing point for the 8:00am briefing. Bwindi has 19 habituated gorilla families — the largest selection of any gorilla trekking destination in the world — giving you access to a family completely different in character and location from the family you visited in Rwanda.

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is completely different from Volcanoes National Park. The forest is denser darker more ancient — 29 million years of continuous existence have created an ecosystem of extraordinary complexity and biodiversity. The terrain is more demanding — steeper slopes denser undergrowth paths that disappear into the forest floor. Hire a porter ($15–$20) — one of the best investments of your entire safari.

When you find your Bwindi gorilla family the experience has a rawness and intimacy that is different from Rwanda — the ancient forest the difficult terrain the sense of genuine wilderness all combine with the gorilla encounter itself to create something profoundly powerful.

Your second gorilla family encounter in two countries in less than a week. Two completely different families. Two completely different forests. Two experiences that together constitute the greatest primate safari available anywhere on Earth.

After the trek celebrate lunch at your lodge — you have achieved something genuinely extraordinary.

• Uganda gorilla permit: $800 USD — included
• Accommodation: Bwindi (same as Day 7)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 9 — Bwindi → Lake Bunyonyi → Queen Elizabeth National Park

After the physical and emotional intensity of two gorilla encounters Day 9 begins with a morning of complete relaxation at Lake Bunyonyi — one of Africa’s most beautiful lakes just 30 minutes from Bwindi.

Swim kayak or simply sit on your terrace watching the 29 islands and the steep terraced hillsides reflected in the still blue water. Lake Bunyonyi is one of the few lakes in Uganda safe for swimming — no bilharzia no hippos in the main areas warm and clear. The peace after the forest intensity is extraordinary.

After lunch depart Lake Bunyonyi and drive north to Queen Elizabeth National Park — approximately 2.5 hours. Arrive in time for a late afternoon game drive on the Kasenyi Plains — the best lion territory in the northern park.

• Accommodation: Queen Elizabeth — Mweya Safari Lodge / Kyambura Gorge Lodge (depending on package level)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 10 — Queen Elizabeth — Kazinga Channel + Ishasha Tree-Climbing Lions

A full extraordinary day in Queen Elizabeth National Park — Uganda’s most biodiverse national park with 95 mammal species and 612 bird species.

Morning — Kazinga Channel boat safari (8:00am–10:00am):
The Kazinga Channel boat safari is the highlight of Queen Elizabeth National Park — a 2-hour cruise along the 32km waterway connecting Lake George and Lake Edward revealing hippo pods of 40–80 animals at extraordinarily close range enormous Nile crocodiles elephants at the water’s edge African fish eagles and a spectacular diversity of waterbirds.

Drive to Ishasha (after lunch):
The 2-hour drive south to the Ishasha sector is completely worth it — this is the home of Queen Elizabeth National Park’s tree-climbing lions — one of Africa’s most unique and most celebrated wildlife behaviours.

Afternoon Ishasha game drive (3:00pm–7:00pm):
Focus entirely on finding the tree-climbing lion prides in the large fig trees along the Ishasha River. Your guide knows every fig tree in the sector. A lion stretched across the branches of a fig tree with the Ishasha savanna below is one of the most extraordinary wildlife photographs available in Uganda.

Overnight in Ishasha — lions calling through the African night.

• Kazinga Channel boat safari: $30 per person — included
• Accommodation: Ishasha — Ishasha Wilderness Camp (depending on package level)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 11 — Ishasha → Kibale Forest National Park

After an early morning Ishasha game drive — one final opportunity for tree-climbing lion encounters — depart and drive north to Kibale Forest National Park approximately 3–4 hours through the Uganda highlands.

Arrive at Kibale in time for lunch then spend the afternoon on a Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary walk ($10 per person) — a community-managed wetland adjacent to Kibale Forest with extraordinary birding and 8 primate species including red colobus black-and-white colobus and grey-cheeked mangabeys.

Evening briefing from your guide about tomorrow’s chimpanzee trek — what to expect how chimpanzees differ from gorillas and the best photography techniques for fast-moving forest primates.

• Accommodation: Kibale — Primate Lodge Kibale / Kibale Forest Lodge (depending on package level)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 12 — Chimpanzee Trekking — Kibale Forest

Kibale Forest National Park contains the highest density of chimpanzees in East Africa — approximately 1,500 individuals including several fully habituated communities.

Transfer to the UWA briefing point for the 8:00am briefing. Your group of maximum 6 people is assigned to one of Kibale’s habituated chimpanzee communities and your ranger guide leads you into the forest.

Chimpanzee trekking is completely different in character from gorilla trekking — faster more chaotic more entertaining. Chimpanzees move quickly calling to each other with extraordinary vocalisations charging through the trees and occasionally descending to the forest floor. Their intelligence curiosity and social complexity are constantly on display — watching a chimpanzee look directly at you from two metres away in Kibale’s ancient forest is one of the most affecting wildlife encounters in Africa.

After the trek spend the afternoon on a forest birding walk with your guide — targeting Kibale’s extraordinary 375+ bird species including the African pitta green-breasted pitta and Kibale’s famous African dwarf kingfisher.

• Kibale chimpanzee permit: $200 USD — included
• Accommodation: Kibale (same as Day 11)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 13 — Kibale → Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary → Murchison Falls

After breakfast depart Kibale and drive north toward Murchison Falls National Park — approximately 4–5 hours total.

En route the essential stop at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary — Uganda’s only rhino location where southern white rhinos are being reintroduced after being poached to extinction in Uganda in the 1980s.

Rhino tracking on foot with armed rangers — approaching Uganda’s only wild rhinos at close range on foot. The experience of tracking Africa’s second-largest land animal through open bush at 20–30 metres is genuinely thrilling — and as a conservation experience it is as powerful as the gorilla encounter in its own completely different way.

Continue north to Murchison Falls National Park arriving in the late afternoon. Your guide drives through the northern bank savanna on the way to your lodge — first game drive in Uganda’s largest and most dramatic national park with Rothschild’s giraffes often visible immediately from the main track.

• Ziwa rhino tracking: $40 per person — included
• Accommodation: Murchison Falls — Baker’s Lodge / Chobe Safari Lodge (depending on package level)
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch Dinner

Day 14 — Murchison Falls — Dawn Game Drive + Nile Boat Safari + Falls → Entebbe

Your final and most dramatic day — a complete Murchison Falls experience before returning to Entebbe.

Dawn game drive — Northern Bank (5:30am–9:00am):
The northern bank savanna is extraordinary — lions leopards Rothschild’s giraffes (fewer than 2,000 remaining in the world) elephants buffalos Uganda kob and exceptional birding. The shoebill stork — one of Africa’s most extraordinary and most sought-after birds — inhabits the Nile delta papyrus and is the holy grail of the Murchison birding experience.

Nile River boat safari (9:30am–12:30pm):
Depart from Paraa jetty on the 3-hour upstream journey to the base of Murchison Falls. The Nile within the park supports approximately 2,000 hippos — you encounter pods continuously throughout the journey at extraordinary close range. Enormous Nile crocodiles bask on every sandbank. As you approach the falls the noise builds from a distant roar to a full thundering crescendo — and then the falls reveal themselves in all their extraordinary power.

Top of the falls (2:00pm–3:00pm):
After the boat safari drive to the top of the falls — standing at the edge of the gorge watching the entire Nile River force itself through a 7-metre crack and explode 43 metres below. The power the spray and the noise are simply unforgettable.

Transfer to Entebbe:
Depart Murchison Falls and fly from Pakuba airstrip to Entebbe (45 minutes — strongly recommended) arriving in time for evening departure flights. Your 14-day Rwanda + Uganda safari is complete.

• Nile boat safari: $30 per person — included
• Meals: Breakfast Lunch

Safari Inclusions

✅ Rwanda gorilla trekking permit ($1,500 per person)
✅ Uganda gorilla trekking permit ($800 per person)
✅ Kibale chimpanzee trekking permit ($200 per person)
✅ Golden monkey trekking permit ($100 per person)
✅ Ziwa rhino tracking ($40 per person)
✅ Kazinga Channel boat safari ($30 per person)
✅ Akagera Lake Ihema boat safari ($30 per person)
✅ Nile River boat safari ($30 per person)
✅ All national park entry fees (Akagera Volcanoes Bwindi Queen Elizabeth Kibale Murchison Lake Mburo)
✅ All accommodation (13 nights as per itinerary)
✅ All meals as specified
✅ Private 4×4 safari vehicle throughout Rwanda and Uganda
✅ Professional English-speaking driver-guide throughout
✅ Cross-border transfer Rwanda → Uganda (Cyanika border)
✅ All park briefing and ranger guide fees
✅ Porter recommendation and arrangement (gorilla treks)
✅ Kigali city tour (Day 1)
✅ Sunset boat cruise Lake Kivu (Day 6)
✅ Bottled water throughout
✅ All airport transfers (Kigali arrival + Entebbe departure)

Safari Exclusions

❌ International flights (into Kigali — out of Entebbe)
❌ Rwanda visa ($50 USD)
❌ Uganda visa ($50 USD) or East African Tourist Visa ($100 — covers both)
❌ Travel insurance (mandatory — not included)
❌ Domestic flight Pakuba → Entebbe Day 14 ($200 — strongly recommended)
❌ Optional Dian Fossey tomb hike ($75 per person)
❌ Optional Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village ($15 per person)
❌ Optional chimpanzee trekking Nyungwe ($90 per person)
❌ Porter fee gorilla treks ($15–$20 per trek — highly recommended)
❌ Personal expenses and souvenirs
❌ Tips for guides rangers and lodge staff
❌ Alcoholic beverages

Visa Tip — Save $30

Instead of buying separate Rwanda ($50) and Uganda ($50) visas buy the East African Tourist Visa ($100) which covers both countries plus Kenya — saving $30 and allowing multiple entries across all three countries. Apply online before travel.

Pricing

Prices per person based on double occupancy. Solo traveller supplement applies. All permits included ($2,700 per person in permits alone). Contact us for a precise quote.

Why Two Gorilla Encounters Are Better Than One

Many travellers ask whether doing two gorilla treks is worth it. Here is our honest answer — from people who have guided hundreds of gorilla treks:

Yes — completely and without question.

The two encounters are entirely different:

The contrast between the two experiences — different forests different families different atmospheres — means the second trek is not a repeat of the first. It is a completely different encounter that adds depth and richness to your understanding of mountain gorillas that a single encounter cannot provide.

Travellers who do both consistently say they are glad they did. Travellers who only do one consistently wish they had done both.

What Our Clients Say

“Fourteen days was perfect. The two gorilla encounters were not repetitive — they were completely different experiences in completely different forests with completely different families. Rwanda felt polished and beautiful. Uganda felt raw and wild. Both were extraordinary. This is the safari of a lifetime.”
— Robert and Susan M. United Kingdom

“We almost didn’t do the second gorilla trek in Uganda — we thought one would be enough. Our guide convinced us and he was absolutely right. The Bwindi encounter was darker wilder and in some ways even more powerful than Rwanda. Do both. Always do both.”
— François and Marie-Claire D. France

“I have done safaris in Kenya Tanzania and South Africa. Nothing — absolutely nothing — comes close to the gorilla encounters on this Rwanda + Uganda safari. The chimpanzees in Kibale and the tree-climbing lions in Ishasha were extraordinary bonuses. Go Safaris Africa delivered the greatest safari experience of my life.”
— Thomas K. Germany

Combine Your 14-Day Rwanda + Uganda Safari With

Add Tanzania Serengeti + Zanzibar (+7 days)
Fly Entebbe → Kilimanjaro → Serengeti for the Great Migration then Zanzibar beach. The ultimate 21-day East Africa grand safari. Read our Serengeti complete guide and Zanzibar travel guide.

Add Kenya Maasai Mara (+4 days)
Fly Entebbe → Nairobi → Maasai Mara for lions cheetahs and the Great Migration. Read our Maasai Mara complete guide.

Contact us to customise your 14-day Rwanda + Uganda safari →

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do both Rwanda and Uganda for gorilla trekking?
Two completely different gorilla encounters in two completely different forest environments. Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest offer experiences that contrast and complement each other perfectly. Read our complete Rwanda vs Uganda gorilla trekking comparison.

Are both gorilla permits included?
Yes — Rwanda gorilla permit ($1,500) and Uganda gorilla permit ($800) are both included — $2,300 in gorilla permits alone plus all other activity permits totalling $2,700 per person in permits included in the package.

Which gorilla encounter is better — Rwanda or Uganda?
Neither is better — they are completely different. Rwanda is more polished and accessible. Uganda is rawer and more adventurous. Most travellers who do both say the contrast between the two is exactly what makes this safari extraordinary. Read our Rwanda vs Uganda gorilla trekking guide.

Do I need separate visas for Rwanda and Uganda?
The East African Tourist Visa ($100) covers both Rwanda and Uganda (plus Kenya) — much better value than separate visas. Apply online before travel.

How fit do I need to be?
Moderate fitness for Rwanda gorilla trekking. Good fitness recommended for Bwindi — Uganda’s terrain is more demanding. Porters are strongly recommended for both treks ($15–$20 per trek). Read our gorilla trekking packing guide.

When is the best time for this safari?
June–September and December–February offer the best conditions across both countries. The safari operates year-round. Read our best time to visit Rwanda guide and Uganda travel guide.

Can this itinerary be customised?
Absolutely — we tailor every itinerary to your specific dates budget and interests. Some clients start in Uganda and end in Rwanda. Others add Nyungwe Forest or swap Lake Mburo for more time in Bwindi. Contact us to design your perfect safari.

How do I book?
Contact us by WhatsApp email or phone. We check gorilla permit availability in both Rwanda and Uganda for your dates — confirm Rwanda first as permits sell out faster — then send a personalised quote and handle all bookings. Read our How It Works page.

Book Your 14-Day Rwanda + Uganda Safari Today

📞 Call or WhatsApp: +250 788 365 595
📧 Email: info@gosafarisafrica.com
👉 Contact us for availability and pricing

Go Safaris Africa Ltd — Licensed safari operator based in Kigali Rwanda
📍 Prince House Second Floor Office #5 Kigali Rwanda