SHORT UGANDA GORILLA TOURS FROM KIGALI TO KIGALI

These thrilling Gorilla Tour Options focus on tracking Gorillas 1 or 2 times in Uganda.
Can be booked as well as combined Gorilla- and Golden Monkey Tracking.

The tour can start at any date of your choice and includes transfer from Kigali to Kigali and Gorilla Tracking(s) and optional Golden Monkey Tracking.

This trip is fully customisable to your preferences and works as group trip as well as individual, private trip.
Our Pricing contains the options to book the short version with 1 Gorilla Tracking or the extended with 2 Gorilla trackings or 1 Gorilla- and 1 Golden Monkey tracking.
In the months April, May and November the Primate Permits are reduced. Each package price is 200$ less per Gorilla Tracking and person in these months.

PRICES for both packages and for 1 to 6 travellers, you find in the menu in the upper right corner.

Highlights

Gorilla Tracking in Mgahinga or Bwindi

Optional Second Gorilla Tracking or Golden Monkey Tracking

Map

Rwanda

Start Point: Kigali International Airport

Day 1

Kigali The Manor Hotel

Uganda

Day 2

Bwindi Impenetrable NP Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge

Day 3 - 4

Mgahinga Gorilla NP Imbogo Safari Lodge

Rwanda

Day 5

Kigali (No accommodation)

End Point: Kigali International Airport

Day 1

Day 1 Kigali

Kigali, nestled in Rwanda's green hills, offers a clean and easy-to-navigate experience. At the heart of the country, it's a half-day drive from major attractions. The center buzzes with modern African life, and markets sell colorful fabrics and crafts. Quieter leafy suburbs have garden restaurants with global cuisine. Museums and memorials share Rwanda's story with honesty and hope. The arts scene is growing, showcasing contemporary African creativity. Kigali's hills offer views of green valleys and ridges stretching to the horizon.

If you arrive before 2 pm, you might even skip the first night in Kigali. In this case, we pick you at the airport and transfer you directly to your Gorilla Tracking Area in Uganda.

Activities Day 1

After arrival

Transfer by Road, Kigali International Airport to The Manor Hotel
Transfer time; about 20 Minutes

Optional

During the day optional

Kigali City Tour, Kigali
Depending on your departure time, there might be time enough for a Kigali City Tour. Your Hotel can organise this for you.

If you arrive before 2 pm, you might even skip the first night in Kigali. In this case, we pick you at the airport and transfer you directly to your Gorilla Tracking Area in Uganda.

Evening optional

Visit Kigali Convention Center, Kigali
If you have time enough on your first or last evening we recommend to visit the Kigali Convention Center and enjoy the illumination.

Between 9 am and 2 pm optional

Genocide Memorial, Kigali Genocide Memorial
The Genocide memorial opens from 9 am to 4 pm. If you have time enough in Kigali you might consider to visit it. You should start latest at 2pm.
The entrance is free, but you need to get an electronic guide and headset, which is about 15$ pp.

Accommodation – Day 1

The Manor Hotel

Located in Kigali, within close proximity to Kigali's most exclusive addresses. A two minute walking distance from the golf club, ten minute walk from the Kigali Convention Center (enjoy the light show in the evening) and a five minute drive to the Genocide Memorial Center. Whether it be for business or leisure our team will help you get any where that you need to go within Rwanda and East Africa. At The Manor Hotel, the magnificent décor and the contemporary design of the lobby welcomes you to an experience to remember.
The Restaurant has an abundant choice of fresh flavours and seasonal specialties to suit every palate. Open 24 hours a day - every day, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Enjoy sumptuous international cuisine that is focused on a different geography either to eat indoors or outdoors on the terrace by the pool – side.
The Manor Hotel has three gourmet restaurants and a roof top Bar. Choose from mouth-watering Indian cuisine at Shere Sardar Restaurant or a quintessentially English tradition of afternoon tea at Marcos Restaurant & Lounge where you can find Italian and continental cuisine to choose from. If that is not enough to choose from why not try our famous Chinese cuisine at Silk Restaurant.
Other facilities are a pool, a gym and a sauna.

The Manor is a standard midrange hotel.
If you want luxurious accommodation, we recommend the Marriott or the Radisson Blue Convention Centre. Please contact us for the prices of these options.

Alternative Accommodations

View 2 Alternative Accommodations

Meal Plan Breakfast & Dinner

Day 2

Day 2 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Supporting almost half the world's mountain gorillas, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is arguably the best place anywhere in the world to track these charismatic gentle giants through their misty forest home. But there is far more to this Unesco World Heritage Site than just gorillas. The lush forest interior is also home to a diversity of other mammals, ranging from L’Hoest’s monkey and chimpanzee to elephant and the yellow-backed duiker. A total of 350 bird species, 23 of which are unique to the Albertine Rift Valley, ensure that Bwindi ranks among East Africa's most rewarding bird-watching destinations.
The fees for gorilla tracking are largely used to preserve the mountain gorillas' habitat - to finance the staff, the gorilla doctors, research projects, and support for the local population to prevent further forest clearing for their needs. A small portion goes to wildlife conservation in other national parks that receive few visitors and therefore hardly any income.

NOTE:
This tour offers one or two Gorilla Trackings. If you only want one, it can be done either in Bwindi or Mgahinga, depending where we get the permits. The one Gorilla Tracking option can be done as 3 or 4 day trip depending on your flight schedule.

Activities Day 2

TBD

Transfer by Road, Kigali to Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge

Transfer time; about 4-5 hours

During transfer optional

OPTIONAL View Point Lake Bunyonyi
A short detour to the best Lake Bunyonyi View Point is recommendable. The access is only possible inside Arcadia Lodge. Enjoy a coffee or a soda on their terrace and get the best impressions and pictures of the most beautiful lake in East Africa.
If your transfer Kigali to Uganda starts in the morning, we can make a detour to this view point with a break for a refreshment or coffee.
Optional Birdnest Lunch, BirdNest Resort Only possible if your transfer Kigali to Uganda starts in the morning. It is not included in the package price. You can as well decide to buy snacks on the road or have a local lunch. Expect about 15 to 20$ per person for Birdnest Lunch.

Accommodation – Day 2

Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge

Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge is a charming lodge located in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda, one of the best places to visit the famous mountain gorillas. Rushaga Gate is just 5 minutes away.
Free laundry and shoe shine cleaning.
The lodge has a total of 10 luxurious double and family rooms in separate bungalows, all decorated in traditional African style and equipped with modern amenities to ensure guests have a comfortable stay. Each room has a private bathroom, a seating area and a private terrace overlooking the rainforest.
Meals can be taken on the terrace overlooking the garden and rainforest or in the cozy dining room.
The restaurant serves an excellent breakfast in the morning. In the evening, a high-quality 3-course menu is served and for lunch you can choose a selection for your lunch package.

Meal Plan Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 3 & 4

Day 3 & 4 Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park sits on Uganda's southwestern border, where three volcanic peaks rise dramatically from the landscape. The park protects part of the Virunga Mountains, a range that reaches 4,127m at its highest point and stretches across Uganda, Rwanda, and the Congo. This is one of only four places in the world where mountain gorillas roam through dense bamboo forests and rainforest. We might also encounter golden monkeys, a rare primate found only in this region. The park covers just 33 square kilometers, making it Uganda's smallest national park, but the terrain varies significantly from the entrance to the volcanic summits. Buffalo and bushbuck live here too, along with colorful high-altitude birds like the Rwenzori turaco. The views are striking, with volcanic cones visible from miles away and lakes Mutanda and Mulehe below the approach road.
NOTE
If you opt for only one Gorilla Tracking it can be in Bwindi or Mgahinga, depending on the permit availability. If you opt for 2 Gorilla Trackings we recommend to do one in Bwindi and one in Mgahinga, to get a different experience.

Important for gorilla tracking wether you do it in Bwindi or Mgahinga or both:
good waterproof hiking boots, gaiters if necessary, muted colors, long pants and sleeves, gardening gloves, sunscreen, and rain gear.
A briefing by the rangers begins at 7:30 a.m. and includes a cultural performance. Afterwards, visitors are divided into groups of up to eight people, each visiting a gorilla family. Our clients are usually back at the lodge between 1 and 3 a.m. at the latest. The ranger trackers go into the forest early in the morning in groups of three people and begin searching for the gorillas, starting from the sleeping areas where the apes were abandoned the previous evening. A ranger and two security guards set out with their group of visitors after the briefing. There will be frequent breaks along the way, as the trail includes steep uphill and downhill sections, often on the elephant trails, which can be slippery depending on the weather. To ensure a safe and relaxed arrival at the gorillas, we recommend booking a porter/supporter. Young women and men from the surrounding, very poor communities accompany the visitors, carry their backpacks, and provide support in difficult areas. A helping hand on steep, slippery terrain, when balancing over streams, and in muddy areas can be very helpful. The additional $20 paid for each porter, not including tips, is money well spent.
Once you reach "your" gorillas, your magic hour begins. These mighty animals are unbothered by us humans. It is incredibly fascinating to observe the mighty gorillas so closely and in their natural habitat. Their mostly leisurely but powerful movements, their interactions, their facial expressions. You almost feel like you can read their emotions on their faces. What an experience!
After an hour, you must bid a heavy hearted farewell to these impressive great apes.

Activities Day 3

Morning to possibly afternoon

GORILLA TRACKING OPTIONS

Your first or your only gorilla tracking:
This can either be here in Bwindi, staying at Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge after the tracking for a second night or in Mgahinga staying for 2 nights at Imbogo or Ikaze Lodge.
For those who want 2 Gorilla Trackings:
We recommend to start in Bwindi and do the second in Mgahinga. In this case you stay only one night at Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge and move after the tracking to Mgahinga. 2-3 hours transfer time.

After Tracking

Transfer by Road, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
This applies to those who do 2 Gorilla Trackings or 1 Gorilla Tracking and 1 Golden Monkey Tracking.
Transfer time; about 2-3 hours