Expedition to the rainforests of Equatorial Africa: volcano, gorillas, pygmies, world's best white water rafting

DR CONGO + UGANDA


October 30 to November 8, 2020
Tour Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda

tour to Congo DRC Uganda Rwanda expedition to Democratic Republic Congo gorillas Nyiragongo volcano Batwa pygmies White Nile rafting

tour to Congo, tours to Africa, trekking gorillas
Have you ever stand face to face with the giant 2-meter height alpha male of mountain gorilla? Have you ever look into the crater of active volcano with 600 meter lava lake? You might play football with pigmy people or raft on the White Nile?
You'll discover all these in Zaire and Uganda, situated in the very heart of the Black continent. This destination is truly one of the biggest adventures that you ever took part in!

Tour to Democratic Republic Congo, Uganda, Rwanda. Have you ever stand face to face with the giant 2-meter height alpha male of mountain gorilla? Have you ever look into the crater of active volcano with 600 meter lava lake? You might play football with pigmy people or raft on the White Nile?
You'll discover all these in Zaire and Uganda, situated in the very heart of the Black continent. This destination is truly one of the biggest adventures that you ever took part in!

SCHEDULE AND COST:


Dates: October 30 to November 8, 2020

Duration: 10 days / 9 nights

Number of participants: 6 – 12

TEAM RECRUITED



TRAVEL PROGRAM: TOUR TO DR CONGO AND UGANDA


Day 1. October 30, 2020. Arrival to Rwanda

Departure to Kigali.
Arrival to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Rest.
Overnight stay at Five to Five Hotel or similar.
* Recommended departure by Turkish Airlines on October 31 with an arrival in Kigali at night from October 30 to 31 (at 1:25 on October 31)
Accommodation included: Five to Five Hotel or similar
Meals included: no



Day 2. October 31, 2020. Lake Kivu

After breakfast we drive along the picturesque roads of Rwanda with its mountain slopes covered with coniferous forest and tea plantations. We move to the suburb of Gisenyi, on the border with DR Congo.
Check-in at the hotel, located on the shore of Lake Kivu, which is one of the lakes of the Great Rift Valley chain. In the clean water of the lake you can swim, restoring energy before an intensive expedition program. Overnight at the Paradise Malahide Hotel.
Accommodation included: Paradise Malahide Hotel
Meals included: breakfast



Day 3. November 1, 2020. Ascent to Nyiragongo volcano

After breakfast, we cross the border in Gisenyi and move to Goma, the capital of the province of North Kivu of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ascent to Nyiragongo (3470 m above sea level), the most active volcano of the continent which has one of the five, and at the same time the world's largest, active lava lake on Earth. Ascent does not require special training and takes 6 – 7 hours. Distance is 10 km long, elevation gaining is 1500 meters.
Sunset and late evening at the crater, contemplating the bizarre view of Nyiragongo magma – one of the most liquid in the world.
Overnight in cozy mountain shelter on the edge of Nyiragongo caldera.
Accommodation included: mountain shelter
Meals included: breakfast, lunch, dinner



Day 4. November 2, 2020. Descent from the volcano and transfer to Uganda

Sunrise near the lava lake. After breakfast at the caldera we make a descent from the volcano, passing through several climatic zones.
Moving to Rwanda and crossing the border with Uganda. Transfer to Kisoro, accommodation in a hotel in the town of Kisoro, near the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Overnight in Kisoro Tourist Hotel or similar one near Bwindi National Park.
Accommodation included: Kisoro Tourist Hotel or similar
Meals included: breakfast



Day 5. November 3, 2020. Gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After breakfast at the hotel, we go to one of the most exciting adventures, the quintessence of any expedition to Central Africa – visiting one of the families of gorillas living in Bwindi National Park. Eastern gorillas are the largest primates living on Earth, reaching a height of about 2 meters and weighing more than 200 kg, and, at the same time, some of the rarest. Their population is slightly more than 700, with more than half currently living in Uganda, in the Bwindi forest. Mountain Eastern Gorillas are the endemics of Central Africa, with tiny populations also in Virunga NP in the DRC and Volcanoes Park in Rwanda, the visit costs a lot of money, but it's worth it!
Trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable is a thing in itself, and the name of the national park speaks for itself. In addition to a large number of herbivores and forest elephants, here you can find a huge number of other primates, including chimpanzees.
Those who want to take a day rest, can spend it in a lodge in the vicinity of the park.
Evening and overnight in the The Crested Crane Bwindi Hotel or similar one near Bwindi NP.
Accommodation included: The Crested Crane Bwindi Hotel or similar
Meals included: breakfast



Day 6. November 4, 2020. Queen Elizabeth Park and Twa Pygmy village

After breakfast at the hotel, a short drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, located on the border with DR Congo, around Lake Edward, which, along with Tanganyika and Kivu, is part of the East African Rift Valley.
Safari in the Queen Elizabeth Park, where besides large herbivores - elephants, buffaloes, hippos and giraffes, you can meet lions and leopards.
Transfer to the Semliki National Park area, to the village of Twa (Batwa) Pygmies tribe. Ethnic evening in the village of Pygmies by the fire and overnight in tents.
Accommodation included: tents
Meals included: breakfast



Day 7. November 5, 2020. Football with Pygmies


After breakfast in the outdoor, we play a football game Russia vs Twa Pygmies in the vicinity of Semliki NP to take revenge for the defeat from another pygmy people - Mbuti in Ituri Forest 6 years ago. Football with the locals is usually a real show, regardless of whether you are fans of this game or not. On this occasion, the whole village comes to look at the outlandish football players (that is, at us).
In the afternoon, a long drive (about 300 km) to Masindi, a town near the Murchison Falls National Park and the Budongo Forest inhabited by chimpanzees. Check-in at the Kabalega Resort.
Accommodation: Hotel Kabalega Resort
Meals included: breakfast


Day 8. November 6, 2020. Walking safaris with chimpanzees and rhinos

In the morning we set off for the Budongo Forest National Reserve, where we will go on foot safari with chimpanzees. We will stroll through the amazing rain forest, where we will certainly find several chimpanzee families. Chimpanzees are social animals who live in communities and are constantly moving. They are not as easy to shoot as gorillas, but believe me, not less interesting. Chimpanzee is the primate closest to humans; our DNA is 98% identical.
In the afternoon, transfer to the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary (90 km). The reserve was created in 2005 for the reproduction of black rhino and southern white rhino. Starting with 6 individuals, today in the park there are more than 20 animals. This is the only place in Uganda where rhinos live in the wild. We take a walk and take the best shots of these giants.
In the evening, moving (280 km) to Jinja, a place on the White Nile, famous for its rafting. Overnight at Brisk Hotel Triangle overlooking Lake Victoria.
Accommodation: hotel Brisk Hotel Triangle
Meals included: breakfast


Day 9. November 7, 2020. Rafting on White Nile


After breakfast with a view of Lake Victoria, we are going for the whole day on the most interesting rafting in the upper White Nile. Rafting in Jinja is pretending to be the best in the world: we have to pass about a dozen rapids of 4 and 5 levels of difficulty and, most likely, wet the feet :) Experienced local instructors, who perfectly know the river and have various regalia, will accompany us.
In the evening transfer to Entebbe, the satellite city of Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
Overnight at hotel 4 Pinguins overlooking Lake Victoria. (Or a flight home from Entebbe airport if tickets for KLM flight are purchased).
Accommodation included: 4 Pinguins Hotel or similar
Meals included: breakfast



Day 10. November 8, 2020. Lake Victoria and return home

Transfer to the airport, flight home.
If time allows, a walk in the botanical garden and Lake Victoria: the largest lake on the African continent, its area is twice bigger than the area of Lake Baikal, and here the longest river in the world, the Nile, originates.
* Depart early in the morning at 4:55 by Turkish Airlines (recommended flight) or in the afternoon (at 18:15) by Qatar Airways. Also departure on 7 November at 23:30 by KLM airlines is possible, without an overnight in Entebbe.
Accommodation included: no
Meals included: breakfast




* If Virunga National Park in DR Congo is not open for visitors as of the dates of our expedition,
days 2 – 4 will be performed according to the following alternative program
(the cost of the alternative program is lower by USD 250):



Day 2. October 31, 2020. Getting into acquaintance with Rwanda

After a good night's sleep and breakfast, we leave our hotel before noon and visit the Genocide Museum in Kigali. We learn about the tragic events of 1994, when in more than 3 months the Hutu massacred almost a million Tutsi people, reducing the population of the country by 20%.
We will drive with stops along the scenic roads of Rwanda with its mountain slopes overgrown with pine forests and tea plantations. Moving to Kinigi, located in close proximity to the Volcanoes National Park. Check in at the Muhabura hotel, where the famous Diane Fossey lived and worked, who has devoted almost 20 years to studying the mountain gorillas of Virunga. After Diana's death, a film "Gorillas in the Fog" with Sigourney Weaver was shot, based on her book.
Overnight at the Muhabura hotel.
Accommodation: Hotel Muhabura
Meals included: breakfast


Day 3. November 1, 2020. Climbing Bisoke volcano

After breakfast, early departure to the Volcanoes National Park, which forms a single ecosystem with Virunga Park in the neighboring DR Congo. The team will split into two activities.
Fans of trekking and stunning views will go to the top of the Bisoke volcano. The volcano, 3711 meters high, stands on the very border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but still its main peak belongs to Rwanda. It is surrounded by 8 volcanic cones. In the summit crater there is a beautiful lake with a diameter of 450 meters. The ascent itself is a great adventure! You hike completely wild paths, overcoming a significant slope of the mountain. The gain of altitude is about 1500 meters, the ascent time is 3 - 5 hours. The beautiful view of the crater lake on the summit will reward our efforts. Bisoke volcano is also famous for the fact that mountain eastern gorillas live on its slopes, exactly those were studied here by Diane Fossey. The permit to visit gorillas today in Rwanda costs as much as $ 1,500. On this track, encounters with gorillas are very frequent. Of course, this is a different activity and no one will look for them (their visit is not included in the cost of our trip), but the opportunity to meet giants along the way will make us run at the forefront.
For wildlife fans, as an alternative to climbing Bisoke, we will offer trekking to golden monkeys - an endemic of these forests and a species that is on the verge of extinction. Golden monkeys live in large groups of 80-100 individuals. It's interesting to observe them.
After trekking in the Park National des Volcanos, short drive to the border with Uganda and crossing the border. We drive up to the mountains and reach the second deepest lake in Africa – Bunyoni. By canoe or motor boat we cross over to the greened Bushara Island.
Late dinner and overnight at the Bushara Island Camp tented hotel or cottages on Bushara Island.
Accommodation: Bushara Island Camp on Bushara Island
Meals included: breakfast, lunch


Day 4. November 2, 2020. Lake Bunyoni

After breakfast, we will surely appreciate the uniqueness and exclusivity of this place. It is a stunning green island in the heart of a mountain lake. Bunyoni is one of the lakes of the Great Rift Valley, second deepest in Africa after the famous Lake Tanganyika. The local landscapes resemble either Titicaca or Baikal, but the place is definitely iconic. Swimming in the lake and a trip by canoe or motor boat around the islands, of which there are as many as 28 on Lake Bunyoni. Bird watching, including the crowned crane - the symbol of Uganda. Here we meet the local people – the friendly Bakiga who inhabit the shores of Bunyoni.
Depending on the place we visit the gorillas in Bwindi, drive to Kisoro or Kabale. Accommodation at the hotel in Kisoro or Kabale, near the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Overnight at the Cepha's Inn or Kisoro Tourist Hotel, or similar near NP Bwindi.
Accommodation: Cepha's Inn or Kisoro Tourist Hotel or similar
Meals included: breakfast

TESTIMONIALS OF OUR CLIENTS
FROM PREVIOUS EXPEDITIONS TO PAPUA:

  • Сергей
    отзыв опубликован на сайте
    Не люблю ездить с турфирмами и никогда не езжу - чтобы не зависеть от других людей.
    Но тут особый случай - я не смог бы в одиночку организовать такую поездку, поэтому наплевал на свои принципы и поехал.
    Потому что Ньирагонго, гориллы, рафтинг на Ниле - всё это настоящие жемчужины для путешественника. И как же здорово, что все они оказались нанизанными на одну нить. Алексей, именно за это хочу сказать тебе огромное спасибо: всё лучшее удалось собрать в одной поездке. Великолепно задумано и очень грамотно исполнено! И я понимаю, как это было непросто.
    И сейчас, уже вернувшись, переполненный впечатлениями, хочется просто крикнуть "браво!". Результаты превзошли все мои ожидания.
    И ещё хочу сказать про невероятную атмосферу на протяжении всего тура. Ребята, спасибо вам за компанию, каждому из вас. Это было здорово, ржачно и просто круто.
    Ну вот вроде бы всё.
    Просто захотелось высказаться.
  • Егор Евстигнеев
    отзыв опубликован на сайте
    Сказать, что поездка в Уганду/Конго была лучшей в моей жизни, это не сказать ничего. Всё: вулкан, гориллы, сафари, рафтинг, племена и матч с ними, команда, организация. Всё это было на высшем уровне. Программа более, чем интересная. Эту экспедицию в Африку я запомню на всю жизнь! Отдельное спасибо Алексею за организацию и чуткость в решении любых вопросов во время поездки! Лёха, красава!
Cost includes:

• double accommodation in hotels
• accommodation in camping in Semuliki and in a mountain shelter on Nyiragongo volcano
• breakfasts along the route
• the cook and three meals a day during the ascent to Nyiragongo
• transport with experienced drivers along the entire route
• armed rangers on the volcano
• porters during the ascent on the volcano
• all permits for visiting protected areas, National parks, safaris, except for permissions for gorillas
• participation in rafting, equipment, instructors
• experienced English-speaking local driver guide
• Russian-speaking and English-speaking team leader


To be additionally paid:

• medical insurance
• international flight Moscow - Kigali and Entebbe - Moscow
• international medical insurance
• Visas for Democratic Republic of the Congo (purchased in advance by the organizer of the expedition), Uganda and Rwanda (obtained at the border on arrival)
• state permit to visit gorillas in Bwindi NP in Uganda
• lunches and dinners, besides included into the price in the section "Cost includes"
• single accommodation in hotels



To take with:

• Set of clothes fitting weather conditions, including summer wear (shorts, T-shirts)
• one set of warm clothes for climbing the volcano (on the volcano it is about +5/+10 degrees)
• set of clothes with long sleeves,
• repellents,
• mosquito net for sleeping place
• thermal underwear
• buff
• comfortable trekking shoes,
• Trekking socks
• trekking poles (up to you)
• raincoat
• swimsuit
• headlamp,
• big backpack for all stuff (up to 70 l)
• lightweight backpack for climbing the volcano
• sleeping bag for 0/+5 degrees (on the volcano it is about +5/+10 degrees)
• mosquito net
• sun protection: cream, glasses, panama
• personal hygiene items (towel, wet tissues, soap)
• personal medicines (analgesics, sanitizers, antibiotics, your personal medicine, including medicine for altitude sickness prevention)
• antimalarial prophylaxis (up to you to decide)
• yellow fever certificate
• photo and video cameras with batteries
KEY FEATURES:

TOUR TO DR CONGO AND UGANDA
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda

Best season: October – April


A real wild Africa, one of the biggest adventures you can find yourself in: the wild jungles of Congo and Uganda where the great apes, eastern gorillas and chimpanzees, still survive.

Ascend to Nyiragongo volcano (3470 m) - the most active volcano of the continent, which has the world's largest permanent lava lake – and contemplate in the night the bizarre views of magma.

To see with your own eyes the last group on the planet (about 800 individuals) of eastern mountain gorillas in the Virunga NP in the DRC or in the Bwindi Impenetrable in Uganda. Alpha males, reaching a weight of 250 kg, let you come indecently close and make an indelible impression.

Play a football game with the Batwa pygmies - some of the smallest people on Earth, whose height often does not exceed 120 cm.

Take a walking safari in search of chimps in the Budongo forest and take a walk with rhinos in the Ziwa Wildlife Sanctuary

To make a jeep safari in the best National Park of Uganda - Queen Elizabeth NP, where besides large herbivores - elephants, buffaloes, hippos and giraffes, you can meet lions and leopards.

Try yourself on the rapids of the White Nile in Jinja, offering the world's best rafting.
Why with MZUNGU EXPEDITIONS?
  • 1
    UNIQUENESS
    We find the most astonishing places on Earth and speed up to reach them. Our motto is to go ahead of road roller, touch the unique and unknown, before it disappears.
  • 2
    ADVENTURISM
    Wherever we go, we look for challenging activities and adventures, filling the journey with absolutely different spirit and emotions. That is why people join us over and over again.
  • 3
    SAFETY
    In our trips we pay special attention to safety. All our travels are based on personal experience, equipped with the best gear, involving proved providers and experienced local guides who perfectly know local features.
  • 4
    EXPERIENCE
    We have a unique experience of the most offbeat expeditions and ascents, deep knowledge of countries and peoples, and are ready to share it with you. All the expeditions and climbings are guided by Mzungu himself, guaranteeing exciting traveling and your comfort.
  • 5
    LOW PRICE
    All our trips are reach in adventures, with high quality accommodation, transportation and meals included. We do not save on it. Thanks to solid contacts with reliable providers we offer really good prices and high quality.

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