Stephanie Brownell
Sample Itinerary
Day 1
Arrival
Arrive at Kigali International Airport. You will be met by your driver/guide who will transfer you to your accommodation in Entebbe (20-minute drive). Spanning several ridges and valleys, Kigali, with its lush hillsides, flowering trees, winding boulevards, and bustling streets, is arguably one of the most attractive capital cities in Africa, as well as one of the cleanest and safest. Kigali exists as a testament to the peace and order that has defined Rwanda’s trajectory for more than two decades. In recent years, a massive amount of rehabilitation work has restored the city to its former graces.
Ideally located on one of Kigali’s most charming boulevards, the five-star Kigali Serena Hotel is built around a polished granite atrium, which showcases the very best of Rwandese cultural art.
Overnight Kigali Serena Hotel
Day 2
NYAMIRAMBO WOMEN’S CENTER
After breakfast, visit Nyamirambo Women’s Center in Kigali. This Rwandan NGO was founded by 18 women living in Nyamirambo, Kigali. Their project aims to address gender-based violence, gender inequality, and discrimination.
They provide education and vocational training to women who do not have the means to pay for such training on their own, so that they can gain better opportunities for employment. The organization started using tourism as a way to employ and educate women in the community by including them in village tours, cooking classes, and weaving workshops.
Continue on a 2.5-hour drive to Kabale. Upon arrival, enjoy lunch and the rest of the afternoon at leisure.
Overnight Lake Bunyonyi Bird Nest
Day 3
Grace Villa
Spend the day in Kabale visiting the Grace Villa. Grace Villa gives girls a warm, nurturing home and access to education, food, sports, technical skills training, and workshops. Grace Villa supports girls to rise beyond their poverty and environments.
The program is founded on the belief that children deserve the opportunity to overcome their circumstances and support their families, communities, and world. Visit Grace Villa, and see the project’s impact firsthand. Meet some of their children, and hear their stories.
Nearby, Grace Villa also runs a small gift shop, coffee shop, and award-winning cultural museum. Enjoy a good cup of Ugandan coffee and some shopping. Every purchase directly benefits the children in the program.
Overnight Lake Bunyonyi Bird Nest
Day 4
RIDE 4 A WOMAN
Morning at leisure. Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (approximately 4 hours). Check in to Silverback Lodge, and enjoy lunch.
After lunch, visit Ride 4 A Woman — a program designed to economically and socially empower local women in the communities surrounding Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Founded in 2009, the program supports women by training them to rent and repair bicycles and work in the tourism industry. The organization also teaches local women marketable skills, such as sewing, baking, and basket weaving. In 2012, Ride 4 A Woman built a community building — the Bwindi Women’s Community Centre — to house their expanding roster of programs. Today, Ride 4 A Woman empowers many local women by providing them with training in local crafts, textiles, bicycle repair and English instruction.
Return to your accommodation in the late afternoon. Silverback Lodge is located in the Buhoma sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Western Uganda. Silverback Lodge is only a five-minute walk to the National Park and has sweeping views of the valley and forests that surround it. The lodge is perched on high, atop the valley overlooking Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The view is absolutely stunning and the best place to enjoy après-tracking cocktails. Bird watching, and sometimes primate viewing, is possible right from the front door of your room.
Overnight Silverback Lodge
Day 5
Full-Day Gorilla Tracking
Wake up early for a hearty breakfast to give you the energy needed for your gorilla track. By 08:00 AM, report to the ranger station for registration and a talk by one of the rangers. The guides will then take you through the bush, through the undergrowth, to track the gorillas. The track can take from half an hour to seven hours. A good degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes.
Once you are close to the group, the guides will ask you to leave behind your bags as no food items should be carried close to the gorillas. Take only cameras and yourselves, as you are about to meet the gentle giants! Sit in the forest amongst the gorillas, listening to them grumble to each other and marvel at the sheer size of the dominant male: the silverback.
It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rainforest knowing you are with a few of the last remaining mountain gorillas – sadly enough, there are only about 880 of these beautiful creatures left. You are allowed an hour with the gorillas before returning to the base station.
Overnight Silverback Lodge
Day 6
BATWA COMMUNITY AND QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
Enjoy breakfast, and then spend the morning with the Batwa Community in Buhoma. Return to the lodge for lunch, then travel onward to Ishasha (approximately 2 hours). Enjoy an afternoon game drive and sundowner snacks and drinks.
Queen Elizabeth National Park boasts one of the highest biodiversity ratings of any game park or reserve in the world, with almost 100 mammal species and an incredible 606 bird species. To support such biodiversity, the vegetation is hugely varied from open savannah to rainforest, from dense papyrus swamps and crater lakes to the vastness of Lake Edward. The rainforest in the Kyambura Gorge is home to chimpanzees, and the remote Ishasha Sector is famed for its tree-climbing lions, with flamingoes providing a stunning splash of color on the crater lakes. Enjoy game drives, game walks and cultural activities in the area.
Stay in one of ten large, tented rooms with an en-suite bathroom, surrounded by forest and in close range to the river, complete with a hot-water bush shower. The main building allows you to have your dinner either under a cool thatched roof or on the shaded area by the river. Evenings can be spent around the fireplace, where you can exchange your exciting and adventurous stories about the happenings of the day or simply enjoy a relaxing sundowner.
Overnight Ishasha Wilderness Camp
Day 7
QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
Enjoy a light breakfast snack in the early morning. Then go for a sunrise game drive in search of lions. You may see herds of buffalo, elephant, water buck, and Uganda kobs.
Return to the lodge for lunch, and spend some time at leisure. Embark on an afternoon game drive.
Overnight Ishasha Wilderness Camp
Day 8
QUEEN ELIZABETH NATIONAL PARK
After a relaxed breakfast, check out and head towards the northern sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park (approximately two hours).
Check in to your accommodation, and enjoy lunch on the grounds.
In the afternoon, visit the park for a boat ride on Kazinga channel. This will allow you to experience wildlife up close. Hippos huff and spray mere feet away; buffalo linger in the shallows; and a tremendous variety of birds grace the grasses on the river’s edge.
Mazike Valley Lodge is perched on the walls of Queen Elizabeth National Park. The opulent cottages of the lodge offer breathtaking views of the vast park, the Maramagamo Forest, and the Kazinga Channel in the horizons. The Kyambura Gorge — a verdant, rich tropical forest next to the equator crossing — is home to an amazing array of birdlife and wildlife. Primate species include chimps; red-tailed, white, and black colobus; vervet monkeys; and baboons.
Overnight Mazike Lodge
Day 9
Chimpanzee Tracking
Embark a morning game drive among the spectacular array of wildlife. Return to the lodge for lunch, followed by an afternoon visit to the Kyambura Forest for a chimpanzee walk.
Chimpanzee tracking is a fascinating experience. Observe the primates swing from one tree to another, feed, play, or run on the ground right in front of you. The track lasts 3-5 hours, depending on where the chimpanzees are.
Return to the lodge for dinner.
Overnight Mazike Lodge
Day 10
Departure
After breakfast at the lodge, transfer to Kasese Airstrip for your scheduled flight to Entebbe. Upon arrival in Entebbe, a day room will be reserved for you at Boma Guest House. You will be transferred to the airport in time for your international departure.
