3 Days Golden Monkey Tracking & Lake Bunyonyi safari
3 Days Golden Monkey Tracking & Lake Bunyonyi: This 3 day safari starts and ends in Kigali city in Rwanda. The main highlights of this 3 day Uganda safari from Kigali include golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and a boat ride on one of the traditional canoes as you explore the stunning beauty of Lake Bunyonyi in Kabale district in southwestern Uganda.
Summary of the 3 Days Golden Monkey Tracking & Lake Bunyonyi Safari.
Day 1: Pickup from Kigali and Transfer to Mgahinga National Park.
Day 2: Golden Monkey Tracking in Mgahinga.
Day 3: Morning Boat Ride on Lake Bunyonyi & Transfer back to Kigali.
Detailed Itinerary for the 3 Days Golden Monkey Tracking & Lake Bunyonyi Safari.
Day 1: Pickup from Kigali and Transfer to Mgahinga National Park.
Pickup & Transfer to Mgahinga: Today marks the first day of your 3 days golden monkey tracking & Lake Bunyonyi safari. Your Uganda safari guide from Explore Rwanda Tours will pick you up from your designated hotel in Kigali City. Have breakfast early in the morning and transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. It takes about 2⅟₂ hours driving to the park from Kigali via the Cyanika border in Kisoro district. You will have a stopover at Lake Mutanda a boat ride in one of the traditional canoes/boats. Have lunch by the lake side, with stunning views of the lake and its surroundings.
Evening Cultural Expedition: After your lunch, you will proceed to embark on a cultural tour to the neighboring Batwa communities. These Batwa communities live on the outskirts of Mgahinga national park and have a rich cultural history. Learn more about their interesting culture, and also get to watch traditional music and dance performances from the local dance groups. This cultural expedition will also give you an opportunity to interact with the local Batwa people, also known as pygmies.
Later drive to your designated lodge for dinner and accommodation at Gorilla Resort/Travelers Rest Hotel/Mutanda Lake Resort.
Day 2: Golden Monkey Tracking in Mgahinga.
Golden Monkey Tracking: Have breakfast early today morning and drive to the park headquarters in Ntebeko where your golden monkey tracking activity will commence. This activity starts exactly 8am in the morning, so make sure that you get to the park by 7am in time to sign into the visitors’ register and a briefing from the head ranger or warden at the national park. Golden monkeys are a special primate species that can be found inhabiting areas where mountain gorillas live, which include montane rain forests. Trekking can take between one to six hours, inclusive of an hour that is spent with the monkeys once they have been located. After your primate experience, you can have your packed lunch in case you carried some, or alternatively, drive back to your lodge for lunch and relax for the rest of the evening.
Garama Cave Expedition: In case you do not wish to the afternoon at your lodge, you can have an optional tour of Garama caves which are located approximately 3 kilometers from the park’s headquarters in Ntebeko. The caves used to act as a home for the Batwa people for quite a long time until the park was gazetted as a protected area and the Batwa where evicted from the caves. The caves are 342 meters long and lie beneath a plateau on the northern edge of the national park. Learn a lot about the history of the cave and its cultural significance to the Batwa people.
Later drive back to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 3: Morning Boat Ride on Lake Bunyonyi & Transfer back to Kigali.
Morning Boat Cruise: Once you get to Lake Bunyonyi, you will embark on a morning boat cruise on the lake using a boat or one of the traditional canoes and explore some of the popular islands on the lake such as ‘the punishment island,’ where young women long ago were abandoned to in isolation when they got pregnant out of wedlock. The lake is also rich with a variety of bird species, which you can get to view during your tour.
Transfer back to Kigali: After having lunch at Lake Bunyonyi Overland Resort, you will transfer back to Kigali city where your guide/driver will drop you off at any designated hotel of your choice or preferably at Kigali International Airport. End of Tour.
