7 Day Rwanda and Uganda Wildlife, Hiking and Gorilla Safari

Your safari begins in Kigali with a guided city tour. Depending on your interests and arrival time, visit some of the city’s important landmarks, explore local neighbourhoods and learn about Rwanda’s history, culture and development.

You may also visit a local market or stop at a viewpoint to see Kigali’s hills and expanding urban landscape. The city tour will be arranged according to your arrival time and the planned departure for Akagera National Park.

After lunch, leave Kigali and travel east toward Akagera. The landscape changes from the busy streets and surrounding hills of the capital to open farmland, rural communities and greener countryside as you approach the park.

On arrival, check in at your lodge before heading out for an evening game drive. The cooler hours can be productive for wildlife viewing, with opportunities to search for elephants, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, antelopes and other animals moving through the savannah.

As the light begins to fade, your guide will continue looking for wildlife along the park tracks before returning to the lodge for dinner.

Begin the day with an early morning game drive through Akagera National Park. The morning hours provide favourable conditions for wildlife viewing, particularly before the heat of the day becomes intense.

Explore the park’s grasslands, woodland and wetland areas while searching for elephants, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, impalas and other antelope species. Depending on wildlife movements, you may also encounter lions, leopards or other predators.

Akagera’s scenery changes throughout the drive, with open plains giving way to wooded areas and lakes surrounded by papyrus and other wetland vegetation. Your guide will help identify animals, tracks and bird species along the route.

Return to the lodge for breakfast or lunch, depending on the timing of the game drive. Later, travel to Lake Ihema for a boat safari.

The boat ride offers a different view of Akagera’s wildlife. Cruise along the shoreline in search of hippos, Nile crocodiles and waterbirds. Elephants and buffalo may be seen approaching the water, while African fish eagles, herons, egrets, kingfishers and other birds can be observed around the lake.

After the boat safari, return to the lodge for some time to rest and have dinner.

Later in the evening, head out for a night game drive. With the help of a spotlight, search for animals that become active after dark, including genets, bushbuck, civets, hares, hippos and other nocturnal species. There may also be opportunities to encounter predators moving through the park at night.

After breakfast, leave Akagera National Park and begin the journey toward northern Rwanda. This is a substantial transfer day, taking you across changing landscapes and through rural communities, cultivated hills and small towns.

Enjoy lunch along the way before continuing toward the Volcanoes region. As you approach the northern part of the country, the landscape becomes more mountainous, with views of cultivated slopes and the volcanic peaks surrounding Volcanoes National Park.

Depending on your arrival time, visit the Iby'iwacu cultural and community tourism project. The visit offers an opportunity to learn about local livelihoods, traditional practices, music, dance, crafts and the community’s connection with the surrounding conservation area.

Continue with a visit to the Dian Fossey Museum, which explores the life and work of Dian Fossey and her contribution to mountain gorilla research and conservation. The exhibits provide background to her time in the Virunga Mountains and the continuing importance of protecting the region’s mountain gorillas.

After the visits, continue to your lodge near Volcanoes National Park. Enjoy dinner and prepare for the following day’s hike.

After an early breakfast, travel to the starting point for the hike to the Dian Fossey tomb and former research site in the Virunga Mountains.

The trail passes through montane forest and can be steep in places. Your guide will lead you along the route while explaining the forest environment, local conservation efforts and the history of Dian Fossey’s work with mountain gorillas.

The hike leads to the area where Dian Fossey carried out much of her research. Visit her gravesite and the nearby resting places of some of the gorillas she studied and protected. The site provides an opportunity to reflect on the history of mountain gorilla conservation and the challenges involved in protecting these animals.

The duration of the hike depends on trail conditions, walking pace and the time spent at the research site. After returning from the mountains, transfer back to the lodge for lunch and relaxation.

The remainder of the afternoon can be spent resting, enjoying views of the volcanoes or exploring the area around the lodge.

Begin the day with an early breakfast before travelling to the park headquarters for registration and a briefing for golden monkey tracking.

Enter the bamboo and montane forests of the Volcanoes region in search of the endangered golden monkey. These active primates often move quickly through the vegetation and may be seen feeding, climbing, jumping between branches or moving through the bamboo.

The trek can involve uneven ground and steep sections, depending on where the troop is located. Once the golden monkeys are found, follow the guidance of the trackers while observing their behaviour and photographing them from an appropriate distance.

After the activity, return for lunch before beginning the journey toward the Rwanda–Uganda border. Complete the border formalities and continue into southwestern Uganda.

Drive toward Lake Mutanda, a highland lake surrounded by volcanic peaks, cultivated hills and small rural communities. Arrive at your lodge later in the day and settle into the peaceful lakeside setting.

This evening is reserved for rest after the morning trek and border crossing. Enjoy views across the lake and prepare for the following day’s gorilla trekking experience.

Rise early for breakfast before travelling to the appropriate gorilla trekking centre in Uganda. The exact departure time and trekking location will depend on the gorilla sector assigned for your permit.

At the park headquarters, meet the ranger guides for registration and a briefing. The team will explain the trekking procedures, forest conditions and rules for spending time near the gorillas.

Enter Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and follow the trails through dense vegetation, steep slopes and sections of montane forest. Trekking time varies according to the location and movements of the gorilla family and may take several hours.

Once the gorillas are located, spend the permitted viewing time observing them in their natural environment. You may see adults feeding, grooming and resting, young gorillas playing, or the dominant silverback monitoring the group.

The experience is conducted under strict conservation guidelines to protect both the gorillas and visitors. Your ranger guides will explain the behaviour of the family and help you make the most of the encounter.

After the trek, return to the starting point and transfer back toward Lake Mutanda. Depending on the length of the trek, arrive at the lodge in the afternoon or later in the day.