2 Days Akagera National Park safari
- 4x4 Car Rental Rwanda
- 2 Days Akagera National Park safari
5 Days Budget Chimpanzees & Gorillas Experience
Not every gorilla trip needs to be a two-week circuit. This five-day itinerary strips the classic Rwanda-Uganda safari down to its two essentials one gorilla trek and one chimpanzee trek routed as efficiently as possible from Kigali so neither the schedule nor the budget runs away from you. It skips Rwanda’s pricier Volcanoes permit in favor of Uganda’s lower-cost Bwindi trek, and swaps a detour to Kibale for chimpanzee tracking at Kyambura Gorge, which sits directly on the return route instead of adding an extra day and a costlier permit. Self-driving the loop rather than hiring a chauffeur-driven package keeps costs down further, while still covering two of East Africa’s signature wildlife encounters in under a week.
Trip Highlights
- One mountain gorilla trek in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- One chimpanzee trek at Kyambura Gorge, Queen Elizabeth National Park
- A single border crossing loop no backtracking, no wasted driving days
- Optional low-cost add-on: Kazinga Channel boat cruise for USD 30
- Self-drive 4×4 throughout, keeping the trip firmly in budget territory
Full Itinerary
Depart Kigali and cross into Uganda at the Cyanika border, continuing on to Bwindi's Rushaga sector, roughly four to five hours in total. Settle into a budget guesthouse near the park headquarters and use the afternoon to rest ahead of tomorrow's early start.
An early briefing at Rushaga leads into your gorilla trek, tracking one of Bwindi's habituated families through dense forest for a full hour once you find them. Treks vary from two to six hours round trip depending on where the family is feeding. Overnight again near Bwindi.
The drive north passes directly through the Ishasha sector, home to Africa's tree-climbing lions worth a slow drive-through even without a dedicated game drive booked. Continue on to a budget lodge near Queen Elizabeth's central area for the night.
A morning trek into the steep, forested Kyambura Gorge brings you to a habituated chimpanzee community, a sharply different setting from the open savanna surrounding it. Chimp permits here cost less than half of Kibale's, without sacrificing the experience itself. Add an afternoon Kazinga Channel boat cruise if your schedule and budget allow at USD 30, it's an easy low-cost way to round out the day with hippos, elephants, and birdlife along the water.
Retrace the route south via Ishasha and the Cyanika border, arriving back in Kigali by early evening. Drop off the vehicle or continue on to your onward travel.
What's Included
- All applicable park entrance fees on trekking days
- Daily breafast at each accommodation.
- Bottled drinking water in the vehicle throughout the trip
- Kigali airport pickup and drop-off for the rental vehicle
- 4 nights’ budget accommodation on a bed-and-breakfast basis (2 nights Bwindi area, 2 nights Queen Elizabeth area)
What's Excluded
- Rwanda and Uganda visa fees, including the East Africa Tourist Visa where applicable
- Fuel for the self-drive vehicle
- Alcoholic beverages and other drinks beyond bottled water
- Personal travel insurance
- International or regional flights to and from Kigali
- Lunches and dinners (available for purchase at each accommodation or en route).