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A Rwanda- Uganda Primates Safari
Rwanda and Uganda are two countries on the African continent that are blessed with variety of primates than any other country in African. If you are interested in watching different primates like the chimpanzees, different monkey species, gorillas, among others from their natural habitat, Uganda and Rwanda are the places to visit and you can visit most of the places where these primates are found in just a week. AA safaris and tours can draft for you a week’s itinerary and during this week, you can visit Rwanda and Uganda for some primates and a bit of wildlife watching.
Such a trip can begin from Kigali-Rwanda with a Kigali city tour which takes you to the Kigali genocide center where the graves of thousands of people killed during the 1994 genocide are. You can also visit the national museum to learn about the history of Rwanda and then later drive to Ruhengeri where Volcanoes national park is located, spend the night in a hotel of your choice depending on your budget.
Next day is the gorilla tracking day, you must wake up early for your breakfast and carry packed lunch because you can’t be sure what time you will be returning to the hotel. The journey begins with a briefing from the ranger about the gorillas, talk about the dos and don’ts during the trek and when you meet the gorillas. This trek is very rewarding because it’s not only about the gorillas but also other primates like baboons, monkey species, birds, vegetation, among others as nature will provide. At the end of this activity, you will return to the lodge and rest for a while, alternatively you can visit the twin lakes of Bulera and Ruhondo if you still have a few hours before dark.
Day 3 will be for the golden monkey trekking inside the forest. Same rules for gorilla tracking do apply to golden monkey trek and you can expect them in big number because is blessed with a very huge number of them, lots of other primates like the different monkeys, bird species and other attractions. Golden monkey trek takes about 4 hours and by midday you should be out of the forest, have your lunch and then drive to Kabale which is across the border into Uganda. You will have dinner and spend the night in a hotel in Kabale to reduce on the distance to drive the next day.
After breakfast in the morning, you will drive to Queen Elizabeth national park. You will have your lunch at the hotel after check in, you will have rest briefly and then late in the afternoon go for the evening game drive in the park where you will find herds of elephants, lots of Uganda kobs, there are lots of birds that you may see and tree climbing lions are often seen in the Ishasha sector and can be easily accessed if your accommodation is in the Ishasha. Dinner will be provided at the hotel when you return.
You will wake up for breakfast on the 5th day and then drive out into the park for the early morning game drive. This is the only chance you get to see the animals that stay out of sight once it shines, you may be able to see what you may have missed the previous evening or see more in quantity in the morning. By 10 am, you should have visited a number of spot where the wildlife and birds are often found therefore you should then drive back for lunch as and wait for the afternoon activities. A boat cruise after lunch on the Kazinga channel that connect lake Edward and Goerge is very amazing because you get to see schools of hippos, crocodiles in and at the shores, elephants and a few more animals are often see at the shores taking water, there are so many birds species that you will see during the boat ride almost as many as you may see during the game drive and so those that love birds will be amazed. This ride is for about 2 hours and it’s very gratifying in every sense.
On the 6th day, you will drive to Kibale National park after breakfast at the hotel in Queen. You should have your lunch break and then drive to the park at Kanyankyu before 2 pm for a briefing about the chimpanzee trekking in Kibale forest. Chimpanzee trekking takes about 4 hours and it can be done either in the morning or afternoon. so while in the forest, you can expect more than the chimpanzees, there are monkey species like red tailed monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, baboons, L’Hoest, vervet monkeys, to mention but a few and also so many bird species. It may be a tedious walk but will be worthwhile.
On this last day, you will drive from Kibale to Kampala. An early morning activity like Bigodi swamp walk is optional depending on how much time you still have in the country otherwise, the driver guide is required to you to the airport on this day 2 hours before your departure time. What to carry on such a trip are hiking/tracking gears like the tracking shoes, trousers, long sleeved shirts, rain coats, among others as you will be advanced when booking the trip since you will spending a lot of time in tracking primates in the jungle.
