You will be transferred to Jinja and upon arrival; you prepare yourself for some adventure. Jinja town is one of Uganda’s largest towns and lies about 80 km east of Kampala overlooking the point where the Nile flows out of Lake Victoria and probably it is the Nile that is attracting more people other than the town itself. It was initially the most industrialized town in Uganda with European and Asian settlers who had boosted the economy but with the rise of some turbulent leaders like Idi Amin, the town’s economy collapsed with the expulsion of the mainly Asian foreign investors. However the town is gradually resurrecting to its former glory with the population increasing and so many suburban mansions coming up, good infrastructure and now the town provides some of the most popular and attractive tourist activities. Optional Activities

• Sunset cruise
• Village walk
• Spa activities

Enjoy a free day in Jinja with a couple of optional activities to do. Optional Activities

• Village walk
• Spa activities
• White water rafting
• Kayaking
• Quad biking
• Mountain Biking
• Fishing
• Horseback riding
• Bird watching
• Riverboarding

You will embark on a long drive with incredibly scenic views, passing through tea plantations and the lush green countryside which all characterize so much about Uganda. You will have lunch en route and on arrival, you will enjoy the rest of the evening relaxing at your hotel. Kibale National Park contains one of the loveliest and most varied tracts of tropical forest in Uganda. Forest cover, interspersed with patches of grassland and swamp, dominates the northern and central parts of the park on an elevated plateau. The park is home to a total of 70 mammal species, most famously 13 species of primate including the chimpanzee, and over 375 species of birds.

Today you are to track Chimpanzees, over 5,000 chimpanzees live in the wild here in Uganda and this makes Kibale forest the best place to track chimpanzees in the whole world. You will embark on chimpanzee tracking with an experienced ranger and along you may come across some of the monkey species that live in this forest. No matter the time you locate the chimpanzees, you will only be allowed one hour of eye-to-eye contact with them as you watch their way of life in the wild and after trek back to the lodge. If you don’t feel tired after the chimpanzee tracking, you can have a swamp walk in the Bigodi that can take you 2-3 hours. The walk takes you through small communities where locals may greet you with enthusiastic waves, grassland, and then the swamp where you have a chance to spot different types of monkeys that live in this area.

Enjoy the morning relaxing at the lodge and later you will be transferred to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Queen Elizabeth National Park is understandably Uganda’s most popular tourist destination. The park’s ecosystem which includes sprawling Savannah, shady, humid forests, sparkling lakes, and fertile wetlands makes it the ideal habitat for the classic big game, ten primate species including chimpanzees, and over 600 bird species. Set against the backdrop of the jagged Rwenzori Mountains, the park’s magnificent vistas include dozens of enormous craters carved dramatically into rolling green hills, panoramic views of the Kazinga channel with its banks lined with hippos, buffaloes, elephants, and the endless Ishasha plains, whose fig trees hide lions ready to pounce on unsuspecting Uganda Kobs. You will then have an evening game drive where you will enjoy the prolific wildlife of Queen Elizabeth National Park.

After an early morning breakfast, embark on a wildlife safari drive and catch the morning sun rays in search of wildlife. Keep your eyes peeled for lions, leopards, jackals, hyenas, elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, and birds. In the afternoon, you will take a boat safari on the Kazinga channel that joins Lakes Edward and George. You will see lots of hippos and many more animals that may have come to the waterhole to drink water and bathe. You may see herds of buffaloes, elephants, lots of crocodiles, and beautiful birds perched in marshes and dead plants. You will then drive back to the lodge for an overnight.

On this day we will embark on a whole day’s drive and cross to Rwanda, a country of beautiful people and remarkable scenery. While it is famous for its miraculous recovery from the trauma of the 1994 genocide, Rwanda’s best-kept secret is the beauty of its landscape and a well-preserved culture that has integrated effortlessly with modern customs. There is a good reason why it is called “the land of a thousand hills”.

Enjoy a trek into the Volcanoes National Park with the park guides to view a unique and endangered species, the “Golden Monkeys”. Watch these playful and lively creatures in their natural habitat. It is only in Rwanda that this interesting species has been successfully habituated. “Golden Monkeys” normally and mainly live in the lower parts of the bamboo forest, they are not so socially “tight” as the Gorillas and Chimpanzees and the number in the habituated group can vary on a given day between 20 and up to 80. The species are lively, curious, and “chattery” – and with a bit of luck you may have a close encounter with them – although they are also often seen high up in the trees. Optional Activities

• Iby’iwacu village visit
• Musanze caves

Depart early and transfer to the National Park to meet the Gorilla tracker/guide for orientation. Embark on the trek which can vary in length and difficulty, depending on the location of the gorilla family you will visit. Spend one hour observing these beautiful and endangered creatures, a truly privileged experience. Trek back to the lodge with the rest of the day at leisure or opt to visit the Dian Fossey museum. Approximately 1,000 Mountain Gorillas today exist in the world in the wild. They are found in three different locations DRC, Rwanda & Uganda. In DRC and Rwanda, Gorillas live in similar Ecosystems/areas. The Gorilla species found in these three areas are called the “Highland Gorillas”, the Latin name is “Gorilla Berengei” named after the first European person to see and encounter a Mountain Gorilla. In Rwanda, habituated gorilla families are open to visit – the visit to a gorilla family is done once per day and the duration to visit is limited to only one hour with the gorilla family. The time spent with them is limited due to conservation considerations and to minimize impact on the day-to-day life of the gorilla family you are visiting. It is important to be well prepared to trek – you never know if your total trek will be “short” or “long”. The total duration of the trek can vary and be anything between 3 & 9 hours in length depending on the location of the gorillas, who are constantly moving. Proper hiking attire must be worn – you will be trekking in a forest with lots of vegetation, undergrowth, nestles, and normally a rather muddy terrain. You mainly walk where there are no paths apart from the occasional buffalo or elephant trails. After the trek, drive back to your lodge for a late lunch and probably a much-appreciated shower. Porter fees vary 10 – 20$

After breakfast, we will drive to Akagera National Park in the Eastern part of Rwanda along the border with Tanzania. Akagera National Park is central Africa’s largest protected wetland and the last remaining refuge for Savannah-adapted species in Rwanda. The park boasts of its rich biodiversity and is home to several rare species. In 2017, 18 Eastern black Rhinos were reintroduced from South Africa, after the last individual was seen in 2007. In 2015, lions were reintroduced and the population doubled in the first year with the birth of eleven cubs in 2016. This evening embark on your first wildlife safari in these varied terrain shelters to see the Zebras, giraffes, elephants, antelopes, and hundreds of bird species.

Wake with excitement for yet another early morning wildlife safari in this stunning park in search of the Big Five, hippos, crocodiles, and other mammals like jackals, hyenas, and more antelope species. In the afternoon, you will have a launch cruise on Lake Ihema for more wildlife viewing. In the evening, we will meet with a resident researcher or voluntary worker to engage us more on the ongoing works to conserve these creatures, through an in-depth lecture. Caution: The order of activities with the researcher can change to either day 2 or 3. At all times you must abide by the instructions shared to you by the safari specialist.

Embark on the orientation tour of Kigali and delve into the sombre history of the country by visiting the Dian Fossey museum where we will get a thorough understanding of her works and what is being done, eventually proceed to the capital of Rwanda, where we shall visit the Nyamirambo Women centre see their works and how this lady has empowered women in the slums to earn a living and also educate them. Close the day with a visit to the Kigali Memorial genocide museum built on a site where over 2500 people are buried. It serves as a permanent memorial to all those who fell victim to the genocide in 1994 and remains a place for people to grieve those they lost. The centre is a meaningful tribute to those who perished and forms a powerful educational tool for the next generation.

Murakoze. Urugendo Ruhire!