Premium Rwanda & Gorillas of Uganda
Premium Rwanda & Gorillas of Uganda
Premium Rwanda & Gorillas of Uganda
6 Days Starting and ending in Kigali
Visiting: Kigali, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Tour operator:
Tour code:
YGPU
Guide Type:
Fully Guided
Group size:
1 - 12
Age range:
15-99 years
Tour operated in:
EnglishTrip Styles:
Tour Overview
Come face to face with heartbreaking history and incredible wildlife on a six-day Premium journey through Rwanda and Uganda. See sombre reminders of Kigali’s devastating past, watch local life play out on the streets and witness a beautiful country that's continuously striving to move forward. Enter the world of rare mountain gorillas in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and spend a day tracking and observing these creatures, overlooked by a rare silverback gorilla. Stay in memorable accommodation, including your Feature Stay surrounded by forest canopy, and sit down for amazing Exclusive Experiences like a fireside chat a field veterinarian from The Gorilla Doctors.
Highlights
Itinerary
Day 1: Kigali
Location: Kigali
Accommodation: Hotel Des Mille Collines or similar
Meals Included: dinner
Murakaza neza! Welcome to Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city. You’ll be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel, where you’ll have a welcome meeting at 6 pm tonight. Your accommodation for the next two nights is no ordinary hotel – the Hotel des Mille Collines is famous for sheltering and consequently saving more than 1000 people during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. If you arrive in Kigali early, maybe start exploring at your own pace. Head to Nyamirambo, the Muslim quarter, to try some giant grilled tilapia, or stop by a local cafe and discover why Rwandan coffee is considered some of the world’s best. Tonight, you’ll join your leader for dinner at an East African restaurant popular with the locals. Enjoy live music, cocktails, great views and an authentic shared dining experience full of regional flavour.
Included Activities:
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Day 2: Kigali
Location: Kigali
Accommodation: Hotel Des Mille Collines or similar
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch
This morning, head out of the city for a sobering visit to the Ntarama Church. Your leader will explain how this memorial marks the spot where 5000 people were tragically slaughtered during the genocide. Reminders of lives lost remain in the church, including clothes and even bones. Continue to the Nyamata Genocide Memorial Centre – a former church where an incomprehensible 50,000 people were murdered. Your leader will discuss how the Tutsis sought refuge in churches, only for them to turn into death traps. Then, visit the Genocide Museum – a powerful yet confronting experience and important in understanding the tragedy and the resilience of the Rwandan people. This afternoon, re-energise with some local Ugandan treats before taking a tour of the city and its market with your leader. The evening is then free for you to explore at your own pace.
Included Activities:
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Day 3: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Location: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Accommodation: Gorilla Heights Lodge (Feature Stay) or Similar
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
After breakfast, depart Kigali and head across the border to the Bwindi National Park in Uganda. Arrive at the Gorilla Heights Lodge – your Feature Stay accommodation for the next three nights. Sitting high on the Nteko Ridge, the lodge offers great views of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, which is home to half of the world’s 800 mountain gorillas. Gaze out across the jagged Virunga Mountains that straddle Uganda's border with Congo and Rwanda. Each cottage has a private balcony overlooking the forest canopy and is solar-powered. This evening, a field veterinarian from the Gorilla Doctors will join you for a fireside chat. This organisation is dedicated to saving the mountain and eastern lowland (Grauer's) gorilla species using veterinary medicine and science. They provide medical interventions to protect the animals from human-induced or life-threatening trauma or disease. You'll learn more about their fascinating work during this exclusive experience.
Included Activities:
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Day 4: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Location: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Accommodation: Gorilla Heights Lodge (Feature Stay) or Similar
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Rise early and take a short walk to the park headquarters where you’ll be briefed on today's gorilla trek by the Uganda Wildlife Authorities. The trek can be strenuous, wet and uncomfortable at times but the incredible biodiversity of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the chance to see rare mountain gorillas makes it worthwhile. It’s recommended that you invest in the help of local porters who can carry your pack and provide expert, local one-on-one assistance along the trek. Not only does it make for a more comfortable trek, but it also provides valuable employment opportunities to locals. Gorilla trekking is highly controlled, with only 24 gorilla trekking permits available each day. When you encounter a group of gorillas, you’ll be able to stay with them for one hour – watch them swing from trees, groom each other and play, all under the watchful eye of a giant silverback. Have a picnic lunch in the wilderness of the rainforest.
Included Activities:
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Day 5: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Location: Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
Accommodation: Gorilla Heights Lodge (Feature Stay) or Similar
Meals Included: breaksfast, lunch, dinner
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast on the terrace overlooking the forest. Today is free for you to do as little or as much as you like. For those seeking another encounter with the mountain gorillas, there’s the option for a second day of trekking. You might like to take The Buniga Batwa Cultural Trail – a cultural experience led by the Batwa community (the indigenous people of Uganda). With your local guide and a local translator, you’ll walk through the forest as they teach you how they used to forage for food, trap animals with snares made from branches, and make tools and medicines from nature. Watch as they demonstrate their traditional hunting and fire-making techniques and learn how they built their huts and ‘nests’ in trees, to protect children from dangerous animals. Tonight, join your group and leader for dinner at the terraced restaurant surrounded by mountains.
Optional Activities:
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Day 6: Kigali
Location: Kigali
Meals Included: breaksfast
After breakfast today, depart the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and begin the journey back over the border into Kigali. After arriving at the capital, your adventure will come to an end at around 1 pm.
What's Included
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Accommodation
Hotel (2 night), Feature Stay Eco-Lodge (3 nights) -
Kigali - Welcome Dinner
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Kigali - Genocide Memorial Centre
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Kigali - City Tour
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Kigali - Rolex Streetfood Lunch
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Bwindi National Park - Mountain Gorilla Permit & Trek
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Meals
5 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners
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Kigali - Traditional Ugandan Lunch
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Bwindi - Gorilla Doctors Veterinarian Educational Talk
What's Not Included
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Tipping and Gratuities
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International Travel
Transport
- On this trip we use 8 seater 4x4 safari vehicles. For smaller groups of up to 6 travellers we will use 1 safari vehicle and for larger groups between 7-12 we will use 2 vehicles.
- There are many early starts with long hours spent driving on rough roads on all African itineraries. While most people love the chance to watch the changing landscape and daily village life, feedback shows that long periods of inactivity does not appeal to all clients. We provide the approximate distance covered each day and how many hours this normally takes to drive so that you can choose the safari experience that is right for you.
- African conditions are extremely tough on vehicles. While we fastidiously maintain our vehicles at our workshops, you should not expect Africa to be your traditional touring experience. While it's certainly our aim to avoid them, it's important that you set off on your trip knowing that the occasional breakdown can happen and are best treated as part of the African adventure. Due to wet weather there may be times when we have to take an alternative route which will mean longer travel times.
Accommodation
- The style of accommodation indicated in the day-to-day itinerary is a guideline only and may change. On some occasions, alternative arrangements may need to be made due to the lack of availability of rooms in our preferred accommodation. In these cases, we will use a similar standard of accommodation.
- Throughout the trip, we request that our properties prepare rooms in time for our arrival, especially if we're arriving prior to normal check-in time. However, this isn't always possible which means we won't be able to check-in immediately on arrival at some hotels. Instead, we can store our luggage and explore our new destination or on some trips, have use of shared day rooms until all rooms are available.
Important Information
- 1. This trip requires a higher non-refundable deposit (AUD1000, USD1000, EUR800, NZD1250, GBP650, CAD1000, ZAR8000, CHF900) in order to secure the included gorilla permit. Please note that we need to confirm availability of a gorilla permit if you are booking within 45 days of departure. The additional deposit paid at time of booking will be credited to the final balance of your booking.
- 2. A single supplement is available if you’d prefer not to share a room?on this trip. The single supplement applies to all nights of your trip?and is subject to availability. Please speak to your booking agent for further information.
- 3. This trip ends in Kigali on arrival on the afternoon of Day 6. Please do not book International flights departing before 6pm this evening.
- 4. Please note that the Gorilla Permit included is only valid for one day on Day 4. For those who are interested for a second trek, please consult your booking agent about purchasing the second Gorilla Permit.
- 5. Travel is always an adventure and, as destinations reopen, there are a few challenges as everyone gets back up to speed and adjusts to the new normal. Our leaders are experts when it comes to dealing with anything unexpected along the journey, so pack your understanding and flexibility, sit back and relax while they take care of the rest.
Mode of Transport
- On this trip we use 8 seater 4x4 safari vehicles. For smaller groups of up to 6 travellers we will use 1 safari vehicle and for larger groups between 7-12 we will use 2 vehicles.
- There are many early starts with long hours spent driving on rough roads on all African itineraries. While most people love the chance to watch the changing landscape and daily village life, feedback shows that long periods of inactivity does not appeal to all clients. We provide the approximate distance covered each day and how many hours this normally takes to drive so that you can choose the safari experience that is right for you.
- African conditions are extremely tough on vehicles. While we fastidiously maintain our vehicles at our workshops, you should not expect Africa to be your traditional touring experience. While it's certainly our aim to avoid them, it's important that you set off on your trip knowing that the occasional breakdown can happen and are best treated as part of the African adventure. Due to wet weather there may be times when we have to take an alternative route which will mean longer travel times.
Check out our Q&As
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Is this trip right for you
Tracking gorillas in the dense forest can sometimes be wet, humid, muddy and uncomfortable. The terrain is by no means easy either, so it can be pretty strenuous walking. You need to be prepared and fit enough to walk up to 4 hours up and down hills (perhaps pack some gardening gloves to assist in any up-hill climbs). But the sheer thrill of coming across a habituated group of gorillas, dominated by a great male silverback, more than outweighs any difficulty.
The gorilla trek is a shared activity. You may be split into different groups according to fitness level, and be accompanied by other travellers on your trek. However there will only be a maximum of 8 people per gorilla family, plus a local Uganda Wildlife Ranger and trackers. -
What policies are in place for Covid-19?
Please contact us for latest COVID-19 policies
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How long has the tour company been trading?
Intrepid Travel has been taking travellers around the world for over 30 years
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Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?
Yes
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What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?
Since 2002, The Intrepid Foundation has supported over 130 organisations across the world. We’re creating positive impact through the joy of travel, community and connection.
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Do you operate a “single share” option and how does it work?
Over 50% of traveller travel solo with Intrepid. You can choose to share a room with another solo travelle of the same sex for no additional charge, or choose to pay a single supplement if you’d like your own room. Please request this when booking, and we will secure you a single supplement wherever possible. Please note, if you are booking a last-minute trip, it may be harder for us to secure a single room
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Free Date Changes
Intrepid Travel allows you to make 10 free date changes, as long as the change is made at least 56 days before the start of the tour.
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Transfer as credit to Future Tours
Intrepid Travel allows you to transfer existing payments to a future tour to avoid cancellation fees if you can't travel and inform intrepid travel, 56 days before departure.
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Low Deposit
Intrepid Travel requires a minimum deposit of 400 USD per person or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 56 days before departure.
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Cancellation Policy
We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of intrepid travel charges.
Up to 56 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.
At 55 days before tour starts: Forfeit 30% of booking price.
At 30 days before tour starts: Forfeit 60% of booking price.
At 14 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.
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Terms and Conditions