20 Days East Africa Tour : This safari takes you to Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania for gorilla trekking, wildlife viewing, and bird watching in the most spectacular East African safari parks.
Day 1: Arrival at Kigali Airport.
When you arrive at Kigali International Airport, our driver/guide will pick you up and transport you to Parc Nationale De Volcanoes. You will stay in Mountain Gorilla Nest or Kinigi Guest House. Where you will be collected up the following morning for gorilla tracking.
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking
After breakfast, you will go out on your Rwanda Gorilla walk through the light alpine forest on the Virunga slopes. After a briefing by ranger guides at 7:30am and 8:30am, with a packed lunch, you will begin the hike to discover the gorillas, which will take no more than an hour. This hike can last 4-5 hours, depending on where you meet the gorillas. The park is steep; it is a true hiking experience, and physical fitness is essential. After tracking, return to the hotel/lodge for some relaxation, dinner, and sleep.
Day 3: Nyungwe Forest.
Early after breakfast, you leave the guest house with your packed lunch for Nyungwe Forest, one of Rwanda’s largest woods. The forest is noted for its primate population, which includes 13 different monkey species, including chimps. You will trek into the forest in search of monkeys and birds, see waterfalls, and track chimps. Late in the evening, you’ll return to the guest home for dinner and the night.
Day 4: Depart for Bunyonyi.
Our driver/guide will pick you up from the guest home early in the morning after breakfast, with your packed lunch. You will begin your journey from the Katuna border to Kabale town. After reaching the town centre on the main road to Kisoro, turn left at the Y junction 0.5 km outside the town (towards Kisoro). At the intersection, there is a yellow sign that says “BUNYONYI RESORT”. A spectacular view of Lake Bunyonyi awaits you at the summit of the hill, some 4 miles ahead. Continue down to the lake, where Bunyonyi Overland Resort provides a base for exploring the lake or a fantastic stopover on your route to track gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Western Uganda.
Our guides collaborate directly with local guides, who will accompany you to the community for village walks where you will learn about the local population’s life skills, farming activities, and how community tourism benefits locals directly. For those who enjoy walking, the final 14 kilometres are a stunningly lovely stroll along the shoreline and up into the hills. Lake Bunyonyi is famed for its birds, otters, and excellent crayfish. We will spend the rest of the day here; it is possible to swim and try a canoe, but you should do so at your own risk because a number of people have died while doing so. This lake is well known as Africa’s second deepest lake, so you should bring swimming gear. Over 300 bird species can be viewed from the veranda (bring binoculars). Enjoy the delicious meals and snacks on their menu by trying the native crayfish straight from the lake.
Day 5: Journey to Bwindi National Park.
After breakfast, you will go to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park via Kabale-Kisoro branch off to Ruhija community and then to Buhoma community to the lodge of your choosing for supper and overnight.
Budget Accommodation: Buhoma community bandas and Bwindi View bandas.
Luxury accommodations include gorilla jungle camps and gorilla safari lodges.
Day 6: Gorilla Tracking in Bwindi.
The day begins early in the morning, after breakfast, with gorilla tracking. You will be able to track the Mubare, Habinyanja, Rushegura, Bitukura, or Nshongi gorilla families, depending on your preference. Then, at 7:30 a.m., you will be briefed by ranger guides, and at 8:30 a.m., with your packed lunch, you will begin your hike to discover the gorillas, where you will spend no more than an hour. This trek can last 3-4 hours, depending on which group you’re tracking and where you encounter the gorillas. It’s a real walk, therefore being physically fit is recommended. After tracking, return to the hotel/lodge for some relaxation, dinner, and sleep.
Budget Accommodation: Buhoma community bandas and Bwindi View bandas.
Luxury Accommodation: – Gorilla Forest Camp/Gorilla Safari Lodge
Day 7: Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park via Ishasha Sector.
After breakfast, leave for Ishasha Game Reserve via Kanungu District to see lions and Uganda kobs. The secluded Ishasha Sector is known for its tree-climbing lions and high population of Uganda kobs. Then proceed to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Arrive at Mweya Safari Lodge late in the evening for dinner and stay.
Budget Accommodation: – Queen Elizabeth Bush Camp with Eco System Self-Contained Tents
Luxury accommodations include Mweya Safari Lodge and Jacana Safari Lodge.
Day 8: Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park.
After breakfast, go on a game drive in thatch for the nearly 100 mammal species and remarkable 606 bird species that call this superb safari territory home, with elephants, hippos, the elusive giant forest hog, and handsome Uganda kobs all regularly spotted around the tourist village on the Mweya peninsula. After lunch, visit Kyambura Gorge, which is home to habituated chimps, the Maramagambo Forest, which is home to an enticing variety of forest monkeys and birds, and flocks of flamingos that live on the crater lakes at Jacana Lodge. Return to your hotel late in the evening for dinner and overnight.
Budget Accommodation: – Queen Elizabeth Bush Camp with Eco System Self-Contained Tents
Luxury accommodations include Mweya Safari Lodge and Jacana Safari Lodge.
Day 9: Journey to Kampala.
You will depart for Kampala early in the morning, following breakfast. Make a stop at the equator in Masaka for souvenir buying, photo opportunities, and even a tea/coffee break or lunch. If you depart in the evening, we will transport you to Entebbe International Airport for check-in; if you depart in the morning, we will take you to the hotel of your choosing for the night and then pick you up at the airport the next morning for check-in.
Day 10: Depart for Tanzania.
Following breakfast, you will leave the hotel with a packed lunch for your journey from Entebbe International Airport to Arusha. You will be picked up and transported to Arusha National Park, the nearest national park to Arusha town and northern Tanzania’s safari capital. Arusha National Park is a multifaceted treasure. Our guide will transport you to Hatari Lodge Africa, operated by Hatari Lodge Africa Game Tracks Ltd, for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 11: Game Drive via Arusha National Park.
Following breakfast, you will depart the lodge with a packed lunch for the game drive. The entrance gate leads you into a shadowy montane forest populated by curious blue monkeys, colourful turacos, and trogons – the only location on the northern safari circuit where the acrobatic black-and-white colobus monkey may be seen. Passing through woody savannah, you will see buffalo, giraffes, and zebras. Although elephants are infrequent in this park, and lions are completely missing, leopards and spotted hyenas can be seen in the morning and afternoon. Late in the evening, you will return to the lodge for some leisure, dinner, and an overnight stay.
Day 12: Departure for Lake Manyara National Park.
After breakfast, you will depart the lodge with your packed lunch by road, charter, or scheduled flight from Arusha, Ngorongoro Crater to Lake Manyara National Park, a scenic gem with a setting extolled by Ernest Hemingway as “the loveliest ever seen in Africa” located in northern Tanzania. The entrance gate is 1.5 hours (126 kilometers/80 miles) west of Arusha on a newly surfaced road near the ethnically diverse market town of Mto wa Mbu. You will arrive at Manyara Tree Lodge, owned by Conservation Corporation Africa, for supper and stay.
Day 13: Game drive at Lake Manyara National Park.
Following breakfast, you will depart the lodge with a packed lunch for the game drive. The game-viewing circuit through Manyara will provide you with a veritable microcosm of the Tanzanian safari experience; as you travel through an area of lush jungle-like riparian forest, you will come across hundreds of baboons lounging casually by the roadside, as well as blue monkeys. Large herds of buffalo, wildebeest, and zebras assemble on these grassy plains, as do giraffes, some of which are so dark that they appear black from a distance. You will also be able to see Manyara’s famous tree-climbing lions and beautifully tusked elephants. Late in the afternoon, you will return to the lodge for a relaxing evening, dinner, and overnight stay.
Day 14: Depart for Serengeti National Park.
After breakfast, you will leave the lodge with a packed lunch for the journey to Serengeti National Park, Tanzania’s oldest and most popular national park, which is also a world heritage site and was recently designated as the seventh wonder of the world. You will drive from Lake Manyara through Tarangire or Ngorongoro Crater. You will arrive at Seronera Wildlife Lodge, which is owned by TAHI Ltd, where you will rest before dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 15: Game Drive across Serengeti National Park.
Following breakfast, you will depart the lodge with a packed lunch for the game drive. A million wildebeest fulfil their instinctive role in the inescapable cycle of life, more than 200,000 zebra and 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle join the wildebeest’s trek for fresh grazing, the spectacle of predator versus prey that dominates the park, the golden-maned lion, solitary leopards lining the Seronera River, a high density of cheetahs in the southeastern plains, alongside the spotted hyena and the beautiful serval cat. You will return to the lodge late in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 16: From Julius Nyerere International Airport to Nairobi Airport.
After breakfast, you will depart from the lodge with a packed lunch for Dar es Salaam- Julius Nyerere International Airport, where you will fly to Nairobi, Kenya. When you arrive at Nairobi Airport, our Safari Representative/driver will pick you up and take you on a city tour of Nairobi. All roads in Kenya lead to Nairobi “Enkare Nyirobi,” the Masai name for the area, which translates as “the place of cool waters” (in fact, many rivers crisscross the city). This is not surprising given that Nairobi is Kenya’s economic and political capital, as well as home to the country’s largest airport. Nairobi is East Africa’s largest and busiest city, and the name “Nairobi” was originally chosen by British colonists. Nairobi City is only a stone’s throw away from Nairobi National Park; nowhere else in the world can you see so many wild creatures in their natural habitat. In reality, after a 15-minute drive, you can see the park’s giraffes, African lions, lepards, rhinos, cheetahs, buffaloes, zebras, and aardvarks against the city’s skyscrapers. Retire late in the evening to your preferred hotel.
Budget accommodations include Panafric Hotel, Jacaranda, and Nairobi Safari Club.
Luxury accommodations include Ngong House, Giraffe Manor, and House of Waine.
Day 17: Visit Masai Mara National Reserve.
After breakfast, begin your journey to Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya’s greatest wildlife reserve and one of the top plains game reserves, where you will experience a live Discovery Channel, a haven for seeing a gathering of all sorts of animals within a five-mile radius. The remainder of the day will be spent at David Livingstone Safari Resort/Mara Serena Lodge, followed by dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 18/19: Game Drive in Masai Mara.
You go on a game drive early in the morning, after breakfast. You will see a pride of lions, some ready to chase prey, cheetahs and their cubs, a pair of ostriches walking in the open savannah, gazelle, herds of shuffling elephants browsing among the rich tree-studded grasslands, a solitary or ill-tempered rhino, and the migratory wildebeest and zebras that populate the Masai Mara plains. Late afternoon, you will retire for lunch, followed by an evening of relaxation at the lodge, dinner, and overnight stay.
Day 20: Departure for Nairobi Airport.
Following breakfast, you will leave the hotel with a packed lunch. Our representative/driver will bring you to Nairobi International Airport for your return flight home. End of the 20-Day East African Safari Tour!
End of 20 Days East Africa Tour
