South Sudan | Uganda | Rwanda | Burundi

Overview

5TH FEBRUARY: ARRIVAL IN JUBA – OVERNIGHT IN MUNDARI
You will arrive by air in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, the youngest country on earth. Obtain, visa upon arrival at the airport. The guide will meet you at the airport, brief about the trip ahead. You will then drive to the Mundari tribal territory. Reaching Terekeka, regional capital, walk around the market to meet the first Mundari tribal people. After having checked with the local authorities, drive to a cattle camp to spend the night. Mundari are a small ethnic group related to the Nilotic people. Mundari together with neighboring Dinka people are sometimes noted for their height. With the Tutsi of Rwanda, they are believed to be the tallest people in Africa.
The traditional Mundari tribal lands are located roughly 75 kilometers North of Juba, the capital of South Sudan and are centered on the town of Terekeka in the state of Central Equatoria. The land like much of South Sudan is predominantly flat and marked by occasional isolated large hills. The low – lying contains many rivers and lakes and provides fertile basis in support of cattle grazing.
Accommodation: Camping
Meal plan – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

6TH FEBRUARY: EXPLORE THE MUNDARI TRIBE CATTLE CAMP
A full day experience with Mundari tribe. The Mundari like the other Nilotic tribes are very cattle – oriented: cattle serves as food, a form of currency and a mark of status. Marriages are arranged by the prospective groom offering cattle to the bride’s family and husbands may take as many wives as they can support.
Mundari have kept alive animistic religion while the neighboring Dinka have lost most of these traditional ways due to war and conversion to Christianity.
In common with other Nilotic tribes in Sudan, the Mundari practice ritual scarification as a rite of passage into adulthood for young men. The typical Mundari scar pattern consists of two sets of three parallel lines, each on either side of the forehead, extending in a downward slope and unconnected in the middle.
Accommodation: Camping
Meal plan – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

7TH FEBRUARY: DRIVE TO LOTUKO
Breakfast and then drive to the Lotuko people. The Lotuko (sometimes “Otuko”) have built their villages on the slopes of the mountains for their defense. Every year the beginning of the cultivation takes place (January / February) a rain dance. The Lotuko actually call themselves Otuko, however the name Lotuko has been bestowed by their neighbors. There are approximately 80,000 people spread over 16 traditional villages and in the city of Torit. They are agro-pastoralists of cows, sheep, goats as the main animals and sorghum, peanuts, sesame, and yams are their main crops. They hunt for fresh meat, since the number of domestic animals is a sign of wealth and prestige. Agriculture is communal.
Their belief system is based on ancestor worship. Folklore and poems are transmitted verbally. There are many ceremonies: the rain dance once a year, every 16 years a fire is made for the ceremony, funerals, marriages. Every town has a magician.
In marriage they practice exogamy, in which they must marry outside their clan. There is a price for the bride that has to be paid to the girl’s father. In the past, war was what marked the lives of men. Elaborate shields and helmets were created. A man was not considered as such, until he killed another in battle and could not marry until then. The Lotuko are famous for their dance and each town has an area created just for dancing. More and more the Lotuko are renouncing their traditional forms of dress and adornment for western clothing. But overall, its economy, religion, and house building remain traditional.
Accommodation: Camping
Meal plan – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

8TH FEBRUARY: DRIVE TO LOPIT
You will have breakfast, bid farewell to the Lotuko and drive to the Lopit community. The Lopit are Eastern Nilotic who inhabit the Lopit hills, they practice agriculture as rearing livestock on the mountain slope and also harvest products such as honey and shea nuts. They practice initiation ceremonies: a naming ceremony for a baby, and a second one as a young adult. Marriage begins with courtship and then the girl elopes with her boyfriend; when they return home the dowry is settled and she goes to her new home. The transfer of power to the younger age-set happens every 25 years in a ceremony called hifira. The village administration and authority over community affairs is handed to the next generation. Their culture is transmitted through songs, poems, dramas and music that express feelings and emotions as well.
Accommodation: Camping
Meal plan – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

9TH FEBRAURY: LOPIT – BACK TO JUBA
Breakfast, bid farewell to the Lopit and then embark on your journey back to Juba for an overnight.
Accommodation: Royal Palace Hotel
Meal plans – Breakfast

10TH FEBRUARY: FLY BACK HOME or Continue to Uganda
You will have breakfast and at the appointed time, drive to Juba international airport for your flight back home.
Passengers are advised to be at the airport for check in 3 hours to their departure time.
This will bring your amazing South Sudan cultural expedition to an end.
OR
DRIVE TO UGANDA – TRANSFER TO MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK
You will have breakfast and after embark on your journey to Uganda through the Elegu border. You will present your passports at the border for visa issuances and after drive to Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda’s largest park and the home to the mighty Murchison Falls Continue to Murchison Falls National Park, arriving in the late afternoon. Enjoy a scenic evening game drive en route to your lodge. Check in and relax.
Accommodation
Meal plan: Breakfast

11TH FEBRUARY: GAME DRIVE & NILE BOAT CRUISE
Wake up early at 6:30 am for an early morning game drive on the northern bank of the Nile to spot lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, and antelopes. The game drive will last about 3 hours, after which you will return to your lodge for breakfast and relaxation.
In the afternoon, embark on a boat cruise on the Nile River, towards to the bottom of the powerful Murchison Falls, where the Nile squeezes through an 8-meter gorge. Here, enjoy sights of hippos, Nile crocodiles, and diverse bird species. Murchison Falls National Park is home to over 76 mammal species and over 451 recorded bird species including the rare shoebill stork. Return to the lodge for dinner and relaxation.
Accommodation:
Meal Plan: Breakfast

12TH FEBRUARY: DRIVE TO ZIWA RHINO SANCTURAY AND LATER PROCEED TO KAMPALA
You will after breakfast drive to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary for an exciting two-hour rhino trekking experience, the only place in Uganda where you can see rhinos in the wild. You will enjoy birding too and later embark on your journey to Kampala
Accommodation:
Meal plan: Breakfast

13TH FEBRAURY: SHOE BILL WATCHING
A dedicated birding excursion to Mabamba Swamp, a Ramsar-listed wetland on the northern shore of Lake Victoria near Entebbe and one of the most reliable places in Africa to see the shoebill stork in the wild. From a landing site near Entebbe, transfer by motorised canoe onto the lake before switching to a smaller paddled canoe to glide silently through the papyrus channels.
Accommodation:
Meal plan: Breakfast

14TH FEBRUARY: TRANSFER TO BWINDI NATIONAL PARK.
After having your breakfast, you will set off for Rushaga, the gateway to gorilla tracking in Bwindi National Park. The drive takes approximately eight hours. Enjoy the scenic journey with a stop at the equator for pictorial moments. Upon arrival in Rushaga, check into your accommodation and take some time to relax. The area is known for its beautiful landscapes and local culture. As the sun sets, enjoy dinner at your lodge and prepare for the exciting gorilla tracking experience the following day.
Accommodation:
Meal plan: Breakfast

15TH FEBRUARY: GORILLA TREKKING AND TRANSFER TO RUHENGERI (Gorilla permits and trekking is an optional activity)
Prepare for one of the most profound wildlife encounters as you trek through Mgahinga in search of mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking in Mgahinga starts at 8 am, with a briefing at the park headquarters from the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Here, you will also be assigned a gorilla group to trek and the experience will start. Guided by expert guides, embark on the search for the gentle giants while learning and gaining insight into Mgahinga’s unique flora and fauna. Gorilla trekking can take anywhere between 1 to 6 hours, depending on the location of your assigned gorilla family. Once you locate them, spend an hour observing these magnificent creatures as they on about their daily lives. After this unforgettable experience, you will drive to Ruhengeri through the Cyanika border.
Accommodation:
Meal Plan: Breakfast

16TH FEBRUARY: HIKE BISOKE
After breakfast, head into Volcanoes National Park to climb Mount Bisoke (3,711m), one of the eight Virunga volcanoes straddling the Rwanda–DRC border. The ascent to the crater rim, roughly 3–4 hours each way through bamboo forest and alpine vegetation depending on conditions underfoot, is rewarded with views over a striking crater lake and, on a clear day, across to neighboring Karisimbi, Sabyinyo and Mikeno. You will make your way back to the base and drive back to the lodge for the evening.
Accommodation:
Meal plan: Breakfast

17TH FEBRUARY: DRIVE TO KINGS PALACE – PROCEED TO KIGALI
You will have breakfast and after drive to Nyanza, to visit the King’s Palace Museum. The site preserves a reconstructed traditional royal residence alongside the modern palace built for King Mutara III Rudahigwa in 1930–33, and is best known for its herd of long-horned Inyambo cattle – prized descendants of the Ankole breed and a living symbol of royal prestige, whose keepers still sing to them as part of an old court tradition. From Nyanza, proceed to Kigali.
Accommodation:
Meal plan: Breakfast

18TH FEBRUARY: CITY TOUR
Breakfast and later go for a city tour starting at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, a sobering yet inspiring site commemorating the victims of the 1994 genocide. This visit offers a profound understanding of Rwanda’s journey toward unity and reconciliation. Afterwards, explore the bustling craft markets, where you can purchase unique souvenirs, and visit cultural landmarks to learn more about Rwanda’s vibrant traditions.
Accommodation:
Meal plan: Breakfast

19TH FEBRUARY: DRIVE TO KIRUNDO
After breakfast, you will drive to Burundi through the Tanzanian border into Burundi’s Kirundo Province a hilly, lake-studded structure region known locally as the country’s “bread basket.” Kirundo town, the provincial capital, sits amid a cluster of small lakes.
Accommodation:
Meal plan: Breakfast

20TH FEBRUARY: VISIT LAKE RWIHINDA AND WARRIOR DANCERS
Breakfast and the visit Lake Rwihinda, also known locally as Lac aux Oiseaux (“Bird Lake”). It is a protected wetland reserve covering approximately 425 hectares and one of eight lakes in the Kirundo Lake system. A boat outing on the lake is the highlight of the morning, with excellent birdwatching among the papyrus fringes around 60 bird species have been recorded here.
In the afternoon, enjoy a performance of traditional warrior dance by a local troupe, a display of the drumming, footwork and choreography that runs through Burundian ceremonial culture.
Accommodation:
Meal plan: Breakfast

21ST FEBRUARY: DRIVE TO GITEGA – VISIT GISHORA AND LATER DRIVE TO BUJUMBURA
After breakfast, you will drive to Gitega and visit Gishora for the sacred drums. Visitors can witness electrifying drumming performances by skilled drummers dressed in traditional attire, visitors can also learn about the rituals and ceremonies associated with the drums. You will later drive to Bujumbura for an overnight.
Accommodation:
Meal plan: Breakfast

22ND FEBRUARY: CITY TOUR – BOAT CRUISE AND FLY BACK HOME
A final morning exploring Bujumbura, the lakeside markets, colonial-era streets, and Saga Beach on Lake Tanganyika. In the afternoon, take a boat cruise out onto the Lake before transferring to Bujumbura International Airport for your flight back home.

For pricing and other details, please fill out the below questionnaire and we can chat further!

By booking a trip with Endemik Expeditions LLC you implicitly agree to the terms and conditions that are available on this website

What is included? 

What is not included?