Overview
The 6 Day Uganda and Rwanda safari Holiday, takes you through Volcanoes National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for Gorilla trekking , Queen Elizabeth National Park for game drives , and Lake Mburo National Park
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival Kigali → Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
You will be welcomed by our guide at Kigali International Airport who will give you a short briefing about your safari and then you proceede to Volcanoes National Park. You pass through banana plantations, brick houses, and the landscape keeps rising as you get closer to the Virunga volcanoes .Check into a lodge on the edge of Volcanoes National Park. The air is cool here, about 1,800m elevation. You’ll see the volcanoes from your veranda if clouds lift. Dinner early, briefing for tomorrow. Mount Bisoke is a full day and you start hiking at 7am, so Fuga books lodges 15 minutes from the park office. No long transfers when you’re still adjusting to altitude.
Day 2: Hike Mount Bisoke
Wake up to tea and light breakfast at 6am. Briefing at Kinigi park office, then drive 30 minutes to the trailhead. Mount Bisoke is 3,711m. The hike takes 6-7 hours round trip. First hour is through farmland, then you enter bamboo forest. Porters are available and Fuga tours arranges them — they know every slippery root and will carry your daypack. The trail gets steeper as you climb. You pass lobelia and giant groundsels that look prehistoric. At the summit you reach the crater lake. It’s deep green, still, surrounded by forest. On clear days you see 4 other Virunga volcanoes. You eat packed lunch here, photos, then descend. Legs will feel it, but standing at the crater makes it worth it. Back at lodge by late afternoon. Hot shower, dinner, early sleep. Fuga provides walking sticks and packed lunch. Gumboots if it rained.
Day 3: Golden Monkey Trekking → Transfer to Bwindi, Uganda
Morning is lighter than Bisoke. Golden monkey briefing at 7am, then 30 minutes walk to where they feed. Golden monkeys are rare — only found in Virunga volcanoes. They move fast through bamboo, orange fur flashing. Rangers know their feeding trees. You get 1 hour with them, same rules as gorillas: 7 meters distance, no flash .Out by 10am, back to lodge for checkout. After lunch we drive to the Rwanda-Uganda border at Katuna/Gatuna. Fuga handles the border process. Driver change happens here — Rwanda driver drops you, Uganda driver with Fuga takes you. Passports stamped, you’re in Uganda. From the border it’s 3-4 hours drive to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Rushaga sector. The road climbs into Uganda’s southwest. Terraced hills, small farms, then the forest closes in. Check into a lodge 10 minutes from Rushaga trailhead. Dinner, gorilla briefing for tomorrow. Fuga books Rushaga lodges close because gorilla trekking starts early and the sector is steep.
Day 4: Gorilla Trekking Bwindi Rushaga Sector
Up at 6am. Tea, light breakfast, briefing at Rushaga visitor center. Rangers assign your gorilla family based on fitness. Rushaga has the highest number of habituated gorilla families in Bwindi, which means better permit availability and slightly shorter treks on average.Then you walk into Bwindi. It’s steep, mossy, ancient. You’ll climb, hold roots, duck vines. Rangers cut trail ahead. Then someone stops. Whispers. Through the leaves: a silverback chewing bamboo. Babies tumble on the ground. A female looks at you with eyes that feel human, then goes back to feeding.One hour. No barrier. Just forest and family. A juvenile might sit 3 meters away studying your boots. The ranger tells you the silverback’s story while you watch.After trekking we hike out, legs tired, mind full. Lunch at lodge, then rest. Rushaga is quieter than other Bwindi sectors, so nights are silent except for forest sounds. Fuga books lodges with hot water and good food because you earned both today.
Day 5: Game Drive Through Ishasha Sector
After breakfast we leave Bwindi and drive north through Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Ishasha sector. This is the famous tree-climbing lion area. Ishasha lions sleep in large fig trees during the day to escape tsetse flies and heat. You cruise slowly under big trees, guide scanning branches with binoculars. When you spot a lion draped over a limb, tail hanging down, it looks staged until it shifts. You’ll also see topi antelope, Uganda kob, elephants, and lots of birds. We don’t sleep in Ishasha — it’s a transit game drive. We exit the park mid-afternoon and continue toward the central sector of Queen Elizabeth. Check into a lodge on the edge of Kasenyi plains as sunset turns the grass gold. Dinner with elephant calls in the distance.Fuga times this drive so you get the Ishasha lion experience without adding an extra overnight.
Day 6: Morning Game Drive + Afternoon Boat Cruise Kazinga Channel
Coffee at 6am, then out to Kasenyi plains. This is prime lion territory. Fuga guides follow fresh tracks and listen for hyenas. You’ll see lions, elephants, buffalo, warthogs, and Uganda kob. Leopards hide in fig trees if we’re lucky.Back for late breakfast, then the afternoon belongs to the Kazinga Channel. This 32km waterway connects Lake George to Lake Edward and holds one of Africa’s densest hippo populations. The boat drifts past them by the hundred, mouths open, eyes above water. Crocodiles line muddy banks. Elephants and buffalo come to drink while fish eagles dive for fish.Two hours on deck, camera ready, 10 meters from wild animals. No fence, no glass. Return to lodge as the channel turns pink. Dinner with hippo grunts from the water below.
Day 7: Chimpanzee Trekking Kalinzu Forest → Transfer to Lake Mburo
Early start. 1 hour drive east to Kalinzu Forest Reserve on the edge of Queen Elizabeth. Kalinzu is Queen Elizabeth’s quiet chimp forest — smaller crowds, dense forest, rangers who have time to teach. Briefing at 8am, then walk into the forest. Within 30-40 minutes you’ll hear chimps before you see them. Branches break, soft grunts, movement overhead. Then a female feeds on fruit 15 meters up. A young male swings toward you on a vine and stops to check you out. One hour watching grooming, play, babies learning to climb. After trekking we drive 3 hours to Lake Mburo National Park. The landscape changes from forest to open savannah dotted with acacia trees. Check into a lodge overlooking the lake. Lake Mburo has no elephants or lions, which makes it peaceful. Zebras graze near your cottage. Dinner as hippos grunt in the lake. Fuga books lodges right on the water so you don’t drive after dark.
Day 8: Morning Walking Safari → Transfer Back to Entebbe/Kampala
Last morning, boots on. Lake Mburo is the only park in Uganda where you can walk with wildlife. Armed ranger leads, Fuga guide beside you. You walk with zebras 30 meters away, giraffes watching from distance, impala bounding away. No engine noise, just grass and breath. One hour walking, then back to lodge for breakfast and checkout. From Lake Mburo it’s 4-5 hours drive to Entebbe Airport or Kampala. Fuga times it so you arrive before your flight. Stop for lunch, stop at the Equator line for photos and a cup of coffee. Drop off at Entebbe or Kampala hotel. Eight days, two countries, volcano crater, golden monkeys, gorillas, chimps, lions, hippos, zebras. Fuga handled border crossing, permits, and driver changes so you just lived the trip.
End of Tour
Inclusions
- Park fees
- Gorilla Permit
- Chimp Permit
- All activities
- All accommodation
- A professional driver/guide
- All transportation
- Meals
Excludes
- International flights
- Additional accommodation
- Souvenirs
- Travel Insurance
- Visa Fees
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees