14 Days Uganda Rwanda Gorilla Tour — Double Trekking

Welcome at Entebbe International Airport or your Kampala hotel. Transfer to a lakeside hotel on Lake Victoria. Detailed briefing on two gorilla permit days — Bwindi (Day 7) and Volcanoes (Day 10) — with deliberate rest days at Bunyonyi between treks.

Confirm permit dates, porter arrangements and fitness expectations. Both permits are fixed at booking and non-transferable. Your guide explains the difference between Bwindi's montane forest and Volcanoes' bamboo terrain so you pack once for both.

Drive west to Kibale National Park (5–6 hours) via Mubende and Fort Portal. The road crosses the Equator at Kayabwe if routing from Kampala — a photo stop and craft stalls. Optional crater-lake viewpoint near Fort Portal.

Overnight near Kanyanchu trailhead in the primate forest zone. Evening at leisure — tomorrow is chimpanzee trekking day, the first of four primate permit mornings on this itinerary.

07:00 chimp trek at Kanyanchu with UWA rangers. One hour with habituated community. Afternoon crater-lake viewpoint or Bigodi Wetland walk.

Safari activity | Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale

Chimp morning before savannah and two gorilla days — the primate arc opens in mature rainforest.

Transfer to Mweya (2–3 hours). Afternoon Kazinga Channel boat cruise — hippos, elephant and 600+ bird species in Queen Elizabeth.

Safari activity | Kazinga Channel boat safari

Afternoon boat between savannah game drives — classic Queen Elizabeth wildlife density.

Pre-dawn Kasenyi Plains game drive for lion and leopard stalking Uganda kob. Return for breakfast, then transfer south to the Ishasha sector scanning fig trees for tree-climbing lions — behaviour documented in only two places in Africa.

Afternoon Ishasha game drive — buffalo, elephant, topi and the famous lions draped over fig branches. Full savannah day before Bwindi highlands transfer tomorrow. Ishasha Wilderness Camp offers river views if overnighting in sector.

Drive to Bwindi sector lodge through Kigezi highlands (4–5 hours from Ishasha). The road climbs through terraced hillsides with views across the Albertine Rift toward the Virunga volcanoes on the horizon.

Evening first-gorilla-trek briefing with UWA protocols — 10-metre distance rule, no flash photography, voices low. Early night recommended; tomorrow is permit day one of two at approximately USD 800 (Uganda foreign non-resident rate).

07:00 UWA briefing and first gorilla trek in Bwindi montane forest. Trekking 2–8 hours; one hour on contact.

Safari activity | First gorilla trek — Bwindi

Permit day one in montane forest — recovery at Bunyonyi tomorrow is deliberate, not optional.

Afternoon rest at lodge — no strenuous activity. First trek is physically demanding.

Transfer to Lake Bunyonyi (1–2 hours). Full rest day — light dugout canoe among the islands, lodge massage, gentle community walks only. No strenuous hiking before second gorilla trek on Day 10.

Recovery activity | Lake Bunyonyi canoe

Deliberate buffer day between gorilla permits — island paddling at Uganda's deepest bilharzia-free lake.

Bunyonyi's cool highland air aids muscle recovery. Optional Batwa community visit or birding for weavers and kingfishers. Hydrate well before Rwanda second trek.

Cross Cyanika border to Kinigi (3–4 hours). Evening second-trek briefing with RDB rangers — bamboo terrain differs from Bwindi's montane forest.

Confirm tomorrow's Volcanoes sector and porter hire. Rwanda permit USD 1,500.

07:00 RDB briefing at Volcanoes headquarters and second gorilla trek on Virunga bamboo slopes. Trekking often 1–4 hours — compare open bamboo photography with Bwindi's dense montane forest. Certificate ceremony on return.

Safari activity | Second gorilla trek — Volcanoes NP

Permit day two at USD 1,500 — two countries, two terrains, two certificates in one fourteen-day journey.

On contact, one hour with the habituated family. Afternoon rest or gentle twin-lakes drive (Burera and Ruhondo) if energy allows — do not schedule strenuous hiking after second trek.

Flexible primate morning after two gorilla days: golden-monkey trek in bamboo forest (acrobatic groups at close range), Dian Fossey grave hike (4–5 hours steep trail to the Karisoke research site), or lodge spa recovery with massage and pool.

Safari activity | Golden monkey or Dian Fossey hike

Choose one Volcanoes activity — lighter golden-monkey trek or conservation pilgrimage to Fossey's grave above 3,000 metres.

The Fossey hike passes through hagenia forest where gorilla research began; golden-monkey treks suit travellers preferring shorter, less strenuous forest time. One activity included — both available as supplement.

Afternoon at leisure in Musanze. Optional visit to Iby'Iwacu cultural village for traditional dance and banana-beer brewing demonstration.

Drive to Gisenyi on Lake Kivu (1–2 hours) through potato fields and tea plantations. Afternoon boat cruise and lakeside lunch — rift-valley scenery with DRC volcanoes including Nyiragongo visible across the water on clear days.

Safari activity | Lake Kivu boat cruise

Afternoon on one of Africa's Great Lakes — fishermen, islands, and volcano views after two gorilla treks.

Evening waterfront stroll. Deliberate decompression after intensive primate days. Sambaza (small sardines) grilled lakeside is a local speciality worth trying.

Scenic transfer to Kigali (2–3 hours) through rolling hills and tea plantations. City tour — Kigali Genocide Memorial (allow 1.5 hours for the exhibition and gardens), Kimironko market for fabrics and spices, and coffee tastings at Question Coffee or Hingakwa women's cooperative.

Overnight Kigali before departure tomorrow, or late flight transfer same evening. Kigali's clean streets and café culture reward an unhurried final afternoon after two gorilla treks and a week of savannah and forest.

Breakfast and airport transfer to Kigali International Airport. End of the double-gorilla Uganda–Rwanda circuit — two permits, two countries, chimps, savannah and lakes across fourteen memorable days.