ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
8-Day Uganda & Rwanda Primate Trail

Uganda - Rwanda - Fly-in safari

8-Day Uganda & Rwanda Primate Trail

Duration
8 days
Countries
Uganda, Rwanda
Suited to
2-8 guests
Pricing
From USD 16,480

The journey

The great-ape circuit works because of geography that most maps do not make obvious. Bwindi's southern sectors, Rushaga and Nkuringo, sit about two hours from the Cyanika border post, and Cyanika is thirty minutes from Musanze at the foot of Rwanda's Virungas. Cross there and you move from one gorilla population to the next in a single morning, rather than flying back to Entebbe and starting again. So the order is Uganda first. You fly into Queen Elizabeth National Park for chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge, a hundred-metre trench of gallery forest cut into the savannah. A light aircraft then carries you to Kisoro and up onto Nteko Ridge for the Nkuringo gorillas, the family that opened the southern sector in 2004. From there you drive across the border for a second and entirely different trek in Volcanoes National Park, and leave through Kigali. Costs differ sharply either side of that line. Uganda charges USD 800 for a gorilla permit; Rwanda charges USD 1,500. Doing both in one trip is the honest way to understand what the difference buys. June to September and mid-December to February are the drier months, when the trails hold.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Arrival at Entebbe

You land at Entebbe in the evening and are met on the airside walk to the terminal, then driven ten minutes to Karibu Entebbe on the lake shore. Dinner is on the terrace above the garden. Tomorrow's aircraft leaves from the domestic apron a few hundred metres away, which is the whole reason for sleeping here rather than in Kampala.

Stay 2

Into Queen Elizabeth

The Aerolink aircraft leaves Entebbe mid-morning and reaches Kasese in about ninety minutes, running west along the Rwenzori foothills. An hour and a half south through the park brings you to Kyambura Gorge Lodge, a converted coffee store on the escarpment lip. Late afternoon you take the launch along the Kazinga Channel, where hippo pods sit two hundred strong in the shallows.

Stay 3

The Valley of Apes

Kyambura Gorge is a hundred metres deep and sixteen kilometres long, a ribbon of gallery forest sunk below the savannah and cut off from the wider forest belt. About thirty chimpanzees live down there. You descend at seven and walk the riverbed under fig trees and wild palms, listening for pant-hoots. Afternoon game drive on the Kasenyi plains for lion, kob and elephant.

Stay 4

South to Nteko Ridge

A short flight from Kasese puts you down at Kisoro, under the three Virunga cones. Ninety minutes of climbing murram road brings you to Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge on Nteko Ridge at 2,100 metres: eight stone cottages with wood fires and a view dropping straight into Bwindi. The afternoon is for the ridge walk and the Nkuringo community coffee gardens.

Stay 5

Nkuringo Gorillas

Briefing at Nkuringo headquarters at half past seven, then you drop off the ridge into the forest. Nkuringo takes fitness seriously: you descend six hundred metres and have to climb back out at the end of the day. Three families range here, Nkuringo, Bushaho and Christmas. When the trackers stop and point, the clock starts and you have one hour, seven metres back.

Stay 6

Across the Cyanika Border

Two hours of descending road takes you past Lake Mutanda to Cyanika, where Uganda ends and Rwanda begins at a single boom across the tarmac. Formalities take about half an hour and vehicles change sides. Thirty minutes on you reach Musanze, then a short climb to Wilderness Sabyinyo, where the lawn runs out towards Sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhabura.

Stay 7

A Second Family

Everyone gathers at Kinigi headquarters at seven, where rangers allocate families over coffee while the Intore dancers work the courtyard. Rwanda runs twelve habituated groups and issues ninety-six permits a day. The bamboo up here is open and the light is better than in Bwindi, which is a large part of what the extra seven hundred dollars buys. Afternoon at the Dian Fossey campus.

Stay 8

Out Through Kigali

The road to Kigali runs two and a half hours down through terraced hills and pine plantation. You stop at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where more than 250,000 people are buried, and there is time for a last coffee in Nyarutarama before the airport. Most long-haul departures leave Kigali in the evening, so the day does not have to feel rushed.

Safari highlights

  • Chimpanzee tracking in Kyambura Gorge, 100 metres below the plain
  • Gorilla trek at Nkuringo, southern Bwindi's steepest sector
  • A second gorilla family in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park
  • Cyanika border crossing, two hours from Bwindi to the Virungas
  • Wilderness Sabyinyo, community-owned below Mount Sabyinyo
  • Both permits included: USD 800 in Uganda, USD 1,500 in Rwanda

What is included

Included

  • 7 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • One Uganda Wildlife Authority gorilla permit at USD 800 for the Nkuringo sector, and one Rwanda Development Board gorilla permit at USD 1,500 for Volcanoes National Park
  • One Kyambura Gorge chimpanzee tracking permit and Queen Elizabeth National Park entry fees
  • Aerolink light aircraft, Entebbe to Kasese on day two and Kasese to Kisoro on day four
  • Private 4x4 and driver-guide for Kasese airstrip to Kyambura, all Queen Elizabeth game drives, and Kisoro airstrip to Nkuringo
  • Cross-border road transfer, Nkuringo to Cyanika to Volcanoes National Park, with assistance through immigration on both sides
  • Road transfer Volcanoes National Park to Kigali International Airport, and a guided visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial
  • All meals, house and premium drinks, laundry and lodge activities at Kyambura Gorge Lodge, Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge and Wilderness Sabyinyo; bed, breakfast and dinner in Entebbe
  • Kazinga Channel boat safari, a trekking porter in Bwindi, and emergency medical evacuation cover

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • East Africa Tourist Visa, or single-country visas for Uganda and Rwanda
  • Travel and medical insurance, which is compulsory on this programme
  • Champagne, reserve wines and imported spirits
  • Gratuities for guides, trackers, porters, drivers and lodge staff
  • Golden monkey permits, gorilla habituation permits and the hike to the Dian Fossey tomb
  • Items of a personal nature, including curios, spa treatments and telephone calls

Frequently asked questions

Why does a gorilla permit cost $1,500 in Rwanda and $800 in Uganda?

The two countries price the same hour differently on purpose. Rwanda charges USD 1,500 and caps the park at ninety-six permits a day across twelve habituated families, deliberately restricting numbers. Uganda charges USD 800 for Bwindi and Mgahinga and sells roughly twice as many permits daily across more than twenty families. Rwanda's park is closer to its capital and the terrain is gentler; Uganda's forest is denser, cheaper and harder to reach.

How much does an 8-day Uganda and Rwanda gorilla safari cost?

This programme starts at USD 16,480 per person sharing in shoulder season and runs to about USD 17,880 in peak months. That covers seven nights, the USD 800 Uganda gorilla permit, the USD 1,500 Rwanda permit, a Kyambura chimpanzee permit, both light aircraft sectors, every road transfer including the border crossing, park fees, all meals and drinks at the three safari lodges, and evacuation cover.

Are international flights included in the price?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded, so you book your own long-haul into Entebbe and out of Kigali. Everything inside the region is included: the Aerolink sectors from Entebbe to Kasese and Kasese to Kisoro, all road transfers, and the cross-border run to Volcanoes National Park. Budget roughly USD 1,000 to 1,600 return from Europe and USD 1,400 to 2,200 from North America for an open-jaw ticket.

Can you cross from Uganda to Rwanda by road for gorilla trekking?

Yes, and on this route it is the sensible way to do it. Nkuringo in southern Bwindi is about two hours from the Cyanika border post via Kisoro, Cyanika sits thirty minutes from Musanze, and Volcanoes National Park is another half hour on. Immigration formalities take around thirty minutes. Vehicles change at the boom, so your Ugandan guide hands you to a Rwandan one.

Does the East Africa Tourist Visa cover Uganda and Rwanda?

Yes. The East Africa Tourist Visa costs USD 100, is valid for ninety days and allows multiple entries between Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya, so one visa covers this whole route including the Cyanika crossing. You must enter the region through the country that issued it, so apply through Uganda for this itinerary. Separate visas cost USD 50 each, which makes the joint visa the cheaper option here.

How much is a chimpanzee trekking permit in Uganda?

Kyambura Gorge in Queen Elizabeth National Park charges USD 100, which is what this trip uses. Kibale Forest, which holds about 1,500 chimpanzees, charges USD 250, and its four-hour habituation experience costs USD 300. Kyambura's community is small, roughly thirty animals in an isolated gorge, so sightings run at about sixty percent against ninety percent at Kibale. The gorge walk stands on its own.

When is the best time to trek gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda?

June to September and mid-December to February are the drier months in both countries, when the forest floor is firmer and the climbs are shorter. March to May is the long rains and October to November the short rains, when lodges are quieter and Uganda sells discounted permits in April, May and November. Both parks are montane rainforest, so rain is possible in any week of the year.