This 10-Day safari takes you through memorable wildlife and primate experiences. It covers East Africa’s top destinations including Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Uganda), Volcanoes National Park (Rwanda), Maasai Mara National Reserve (Kenya) and Serengeti National Park (Tanzania). Safari highlights of this memorable East African trip include gorilla trekking experience, game drives to watch the big 5 game and wildebeest migration experience.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Hotel pick up & connect to Bwindi NP
Get briefed by your safari leader and at 8:00 am, you will set off for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It will be a long day drive expected to go for 8-9 hours’ drive along the Kampala-Mbarara-Kabale route. Before getting to Bwindi Forest NP, stopovers will be made including at the Equator crossing and Igongo cultural centre for lunch. You will arrive at the park late in the evening and check in at the lodges your tour operator booked for you.
Day 2: Gorilla trekking
After breakfast you will be expected to be part of a briefing session at Bwindi N/Park offices. Before leaving the lodge, ensure that you some energy giving snacks, bottled drinking water and wear the right attire. After briefing and allocation of gorilla families, you will be accompanied by an experienced park ranger guide for an actual search for mountain gorillas –this will go for 2-6 hours inclusive of one hour of a close encounter.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park contains 20 (twenty) habituated families distributed in the 4 sectors. The park’s gorilla trekking sectors include Rushaga, Nkuringo, Ruhija, and Buhoma region. You will trek back to the lodge for relaxation and in the evening; expect to visit the Batwa pygmies’ community for a cultural experience.
Day 3: Bwindi-Volcanoes NP (Rwanda)
Enjoy a hefty breakfast early in the morning and later, meet your driver guide for transfer to Volcanoes National Park. You will connect to Volcanoes NP via Chanika/Katuna border. The rest of the evening will be for relaxation at the lodge where you will have an overnight stay.
Day 4: Golden monkey tracking
Golden monkey tracking adventure begins at Kinigi after briefing. The park ranger guide will lead your group to search for golden monkeys and today’s trek will take about 2-4 hours. This includes one hour of observing how these beautiful primates behave and taking photos. After, start walking back to your lodge for lunch and relaxation. In the evening, proceed to Iby’Iwacu cultural village to enjoy great dances, music performances and also explore unique cultures and traditions of Rwandese.
Day 5: Transfer to Kenya
At leisure enjoy your hot cup of tea or coffee and after, you will leave Volcanoes NP for Kigali. You may have a short Kigali city tour and proceed to the airport where you will fly to Nairobi in Kenya.
Day 6: Nairobi-Maasai Mara National Reserve (Narok county)
Leave the hotel in Nairobi for Maasai Mara National Reserve, 6 hours’ drive. The Maasai Mara is Kenya’s most popular destination and it is located in an area with breathtaking rift valley escarpments.
Day 7: Explore Maasai Mara (Big 5 game & wildebeests)
A full day wildlife expedition in Maasai Mara National Reserve includes the morning game drive and you leave with a pack of lunch and bottled water. This 1510 sq.km nature reserve contains diversity of wildlife and a huge of concentration of them will be viewed today including zebras, elephants, hartebeest, buffaloes, cheetahs, rhinos, Maasai giraffes and birds. If you happen to visit Maasai Mara around June to July, you will also watch wildebeests as they migrate in the sweeping savanna plains or drive to the Mara River to observe the river migration.
Day 8: Travel to Serengeti (Northern Safari Circuit)
Check out of your safari lodge in Maasai Mara and start your road trip connecting to Serengeti National Park. Drive from West of the Maasai Mara to Serengeti via Isebania border post.
Day 9: Full Day wildlife expedition in Serengeti
With a pack of lunch and enough drinking water, set off for a long day game drive through Serengeti National Park. A variety of wildlife will be viewed during the guided game drive including leopards, elephants, zebras, wildebeest, elands, impalas, waterbucks, rhinos, buffaloes, and birds. Settle for a picnic lunch and continue with a game drive in the afternoon to explore of the park’s animal species and birds.
Day 10: Departure
Have breakfast and after, check out of the lodge then proceed to Arusha. As you exit Serengeti National Park, you will be viewing more wildlife species. At Arusha, you will be dropped off at the hotel or airport for departure.
