Your Wildlife Adventure Awaits

Below is our core offering, which is the Ultimate Great Ape and Wildlife Experience in one week. Tell us what your goals and dreams are, and we will add, optimize, and create the perfect trip for you!

the Premier Great Ape Safari

Tour Options:

7 days

USD $ 6995 per person sharing for Uganda, USD $ 10995 for Rwanda

  • Arrive and Depart from Kigali, Rwanda

10 days

USD $ 10995 per person sharing adds Murchison Falls National Park if doing Uganda, or US $14995 and Akagera National Park in Rwanda

  • Arrive in Kigali, Rwanda, depart from Entebbe, Uganda (if doing Uganda)

  • Gorilla Trekking

  • Chimpanzee Trekking

  • Big Cats

  • National Park Safari

  • World Class Birding

DESTINATIONS

  • A mainstay of your tour, we will spend at least two days in one of the Bwindi regions. Region selection is based on your lodging budget (Standard, Comfort, or Luxury), and Gorilla Trekking Permit allocation. All of the areas and lodges are amazing! See the accommodations page for more details :)

  • We tour and stay in Queen Elizabeth en route between Bwindi and Kibale. Q.E. provides beautiful game drives, excellent birding, and a more relaxed safari than the crowded parks of Kenya and Tanzania. Expect to see Elephants, ungulates, Lions, Hippos, and incredible bird life.

  • Chimpanzees! Some of our favorite lodges are in Kibale, along with some of the best birding in Uganda. The Chimp trekking is unforgettable, and we will give you the option to do a full day of habituation if you would like.

  • Arguably the truest Safari experience in Uganda in classical terms, you will see much of Africa's 'Big 5'. Murchison also has an excellent line-up of accommodations and activities.

  • The Gorilla trekking destination if you choose to do your tour in Rwanda. The experience in Volcanoes NP is unbelievable, and offers Gorilla encounters just as excellent as those in Bwindi. Note, the permits in Rwanda are significant more expensive than those in Uganda, and the lodging tends to be higher cost as well.

  • Nyungwe is the Rwanda location for Chimpanzee trekking, and is a remarkable area of biodiversity. Nyungwe is known for local endemic birds and mammals, as well as pristine rainforest. The chimp trekking is excellent, as will be hopeful encounters with up to 12 other primate species.

  • Akagera is unique and amazing relative to all other destinies, featuring savannah, mountain, and swamp habitat. There are abundant hippos, crocs, and other large mammals.

What’s included?

  • Standard meet and greet service at the airport

  • Full board luxury accommodation (three meals per day)

  • Dinner & Breakfast at the arrival hotel if you land in the evening

  • All scheduled road transfers

  • All scheduled regional flights (if needed)

  • Park fees / camping fee (if needed) / concession & conservancy fees

  • Emergency medical evacuation insurance

  • Administration fee

What’s not included?

  • Food purchased outside of the three daily meals.

  • Alcohol

  • Laundry services

  • Souvenirs

  • Gratuity for your guides and local staff

  • International Flights. We can begin your tour in either Entebbe or Kigali

  • Miscellaneous costs such as your personal travel health insurance, vaccinations, travel visas (we can explain this process!), etc.

Day by Day - Uganda

Day 1 - Kigali to Bwindi

Depending on when your flight lands, you will either spend the night in Kigali or head straight to Bwindi with Apollo. The drive itself is exciting, interesting, and most importantly - safe. You’ll see different habitats, cities, towns, and witness the day to day urban and rural lives of Rwandans and Ugandans. Depending on where we have secured your Gorilla trekking permits, you will arrive at your lodge for a casual evening to have dinner and rest before trekking the next day. For the birders, there will be opportunities along the drive and at your lodge to start your bird lists!

Day 2 - Gorilla Trekking

Trekking starts early in the morning, with a morning brief at the ranger station usually around 6 or 7am. The brief is mandatory, covering critical safety items, setting expectations, etc. You will be assigned to a ranger / tracker, and a respective Gorilla family group. You will have options to choose from based on how long and strenuous you would like your hike to be to the Gorillas. You will have one hour to spend with the Gorillas once you reach them. Even the groups that hike the furthest are usually back by mid day, and Apollo will take you back to your lodge to rest and relax for the day. You can spend the afternoon at the lodge, you can visit town to shop, go birding, etc.

Day 3 - Bwindi to Queen Elizabeth

Today will mostly be spent in transit on the roads of Uganda, which is a fun adventure in itself. You will stop for an excellent lunch, and see a few beautiful mountain vistas and lakes along the way. Again, for the birders, there are excellent places to stop for birding and photography. There are also several towns along the way that offer shopping and snacks if you’d like.

You will arrive at your lodge with plenty of time to clean up and relax for dinner. There will be option for evening game drive if you’d like.

Day 4 - Queen Elizabeth National Park

Today is up to you to explore the park! We recommend an early start to get the best wildlife sightings. Chat with your guide about how you’re feeling and how much sleep you’d like :)

You will also have the option to do walking safaris, and visit specific areas for wildlife targets such as Leopards, birds, etc. Dinner at the same lodge.

Day 5 - Queen Elizabeth to Kibale

Another fascinating drive through rural Uganda to Kibale, which is a special place. There are some incredible lodges in this area, as well as some of the best birding in all of Uganda, which we recommend along the way. Plenty of time for dinner and shopping when you arrive, or just relax at the pool!

Day 6 - Chimpanzee Trekking

Another unforgettable day as you wake up early for a safety brief just as with the Gorillas. You will then head out into the forest with your guides to find the Chimps. This is FUN! The Chimps are usually quite a bit more rambunctious than the Gorillas, as you will often hear them before you see them, and they might put on an acrobatic show in the treetops. Back to your lodge by mid day, and you can engage in local activities, or relax at your lodge.

Day 7 - Kibale back to either Entebbe or Kigali for departure

Day by Day - Rwanda

Day 1 - Kigali

Today you start the amazing experience of touring Rwanda, a truly special country. Your guide will pick you up from your hotel or at the Kigali international airport on your arrival. Drive time – 20 minutes - Lodge Marriot Hotel or Serena Kigali

Day 2 - Road to Nyungwe Forest

This morning we depart for Nyungwe forest in southern Rwanda with a stopover for lunch in Huye, formerly known as Butare. Huye hosts the ethnographic museum of Rwanda that was formerly known as the national museum of Rwanda. Here, we will learn about the culture and history of the Rwandan people. We arrive in Nyungwe forest later in the evening. Lodge One and Only

Drive time –  5 hours or Helicopter (Robinson / Augusta) – 45 minutes/ 35 minutes

Day 3 - Chimpanzee Trekking

Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest takes you deep in the forest for an incredible experience. Chimpanzee trekking is done early morning with packed breakfast, unless you want a really early breakfast! You are expected to be at the briefing point as early at 5.30 am, where you will receive safety information, instructions, and the and possible length of your trek. Nyungwe forest is rich in botanical diversity and home to 13 species of primates, like L’Hoest’s monkeys, Rwenzori Colobus monkeys, Red-tailed monkeys, Bervet monkeys, Grey-cheeked Mangabeys etc.  Your ranger guide will lead you to either the Uwinka trail head or the Cyamudongo sector for chimp trekking.

In the afternoon you will be transferred to the Uwinka centre to start your canopy walk as you explore the park even more. Lodge One and Only

Day 4 - Road to Volcanoes National Park

Today is your journey to the Volcanoes National Park in northern Rwanda.

We leave for Volcanoes national park after breakfast, enjoy the sights of Lake Kivu and winding roads in the land of a thousand hills. Lodge Gorilla Nest by One and Only

Drive time –  6 hours Or Helicopter (Robinson) –  35 minutes

Day 5 - Gorilla Trekking

Here you meet the mountain gorillas in the dense jungles of the Virunga Mountains. The trek starts with a briefing at the park headquarters in Kinigi, where you are assigned a ranger and gorilla family to trek. The Rwanda gorilla trek through volcanoes national park is an unforgettable experience. The gorilla trek can last from an hour or less, to several hours later depending on where the gorillas nested the previous night – you need to be relatively fit to enjoy this experience and remember to pace yourself as you trek the gorillas.

Depending on the time the gorilla tracking lasts, you have opportunities for a cultural group performance by visiting a cultural village, or to take a community walk. Gorilla nest by One and Only

Day 6 - Road to Akagera National Park

This morning after breakfast, have a short city tour with a visit to the Kigali genocide memorial if you are history inclined.  After this experience, leave for Akagera national park with short stopovers along the way – for photos and use of washrooms.

Arrive in the park and after a brief time at the park reception, leave for your lodge for check in and lunch. Have lunch and later leave for a boat safari on Lake Ihema. Return to lodge for lunch and take a boat trip on Lake Ihema for Hippos and Crocodiles, you can alternatively spend the afternoon at the lodge enjoying nature as you read a good book.

Optional: Night game drive in search of some nocturnal animals. Lodge Magashi Lodge by Wilderness

Drive time – 2 hours 30 minutes  or Helicopter ( Augusta) – 30 minutes

Day 7 - Explore Akagera

Akagera National Park is a Savannah park located in northeastern Rwanda on the boarder with Tanzania. It is home to several big mammals not found anywhere else in Rwanda. On a morning game drive right after an early breakfast, we will look out for Elephants, Zebras, Giraffes, Buffaloes, Water bucks, Bush bucks and recently introduced Lions. The game drives in Akagera national park usually take place in the the northern sector of the park. The game drives can last for almost an entire day depending on the animal sightings and your interests.

Return to the lodge after this game drive and have a restful time reading a book or simply hanging out taking in the air. Lodge Magashi Lodge by Wilderness

Day 8: End of the Rwanda wildlife Safari

Today is your last day on this Rwanda wildlife safari. Start your day with breakfast and transfer to the airport for your exit flight, in case you have some time before your flight you can have a short Kigali city tour.

Drive time –  three hours and 30 minutes or Helicopter (Robinson) –  35 minutes