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Big Five Safari in Kenya Holidays Tours Masai Mara Amboseli Zanzibar

Kenya and Uganda Gorilla Safari Tours & Tailor-Made Holidays - Big Five

Kenya Safari (Masai Mara) + Uganda Gorillas
Kenya and Uganda Gorilla Safari Tours Tailor-Made Holidays Big Five
9 NIGHTS FROM:
$5,295
Per person sharing
Scheduled flights quoted separately
KRP9N
• Kenya and Uganda Gorilla Safari
• Masai Mara Game Reserve
• Big Five Game Drives
• Hot Air Balloon Rides
• Uganda Gorilla Safari Tours
• Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
• Gorilla Trekking
• Golden Monkeys, Mount Mgahinga
• Kigali Genocide Museum
• Tailor-Made Holidays, Big Five

Our thrilling Kenya and Uganda gorilla safari tours & tailor-made holidays combine viewing the Big Five in the Masai Mara Game Reserve, famous for its predators and plains game, with gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impentrable Forest. Also view Golden Monkeys at Mount Mgahinga and visit Kigali Genocide Museum. It is also possible to add on optional chimp tracking in Kibale Rainforest. All transfers included.  

Day 1
You will be met at Nairobi Airport and transferred to your hotel in this bustling city.
 
Check in and relax in your warm and friendly African surroundings.
Day 2
This morning we visit the Giraffe Centre. Founded by Betty & Jock Leslie-Melville to save the endangered Rothschild Giraffe from extinction, this centre plays an important role in educating Kenyan school children on the country's wildlife and environment. It also allows visitors to come into close contact with the world's tallest species, including the opportunity to feed a gorgeous giraffe.
 
We then visit the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage (open only from 11 to 12 noon). It took Daphne Sheldrick 28 years of trial and error to perfect the milk formula and complex husbandry required to rear orphaned African elephants, during the period that her husband was warden of Kenya's largest elephant sanctuary in Tsavo East National Park. Since then this sanctuary has gone on to save the lives of many orphaned elephant calves.
 
Afterwards enjoy a game drive in Nairobi National Park. This was the first national park created in Kenya and, despite its relatively small size and close proximity to the skyscrapers of the city, it boasts a large and varied wildlife population. Animals migrate to this park during the dry season, as it offers them a permanent source of water. You can hope to see lion, buffalo, leopard and rhino - but not elephant as the park is not large enough to sustain them. You can also see giraffe, zebra, eland, impala, Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle, warthog and ostrich in the woodlands and open plains, and hippo in the Mbagathi Athi River which is lined with fever and acacia trees. The park also has a very successful rhino sanctuary. A picnic lunch is included today.
 
Note: Visits to Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage can only be booked 90 days in advance and are subject to availability (maximum 100 visitors per day).
Day 3
Transfer to Wilson Airport in Nairobi for your light aircraft flight to the Masai Mara, named after the Maasai people and the Mara River that divides the park.
 
Masai Mara National Reserve is famous for its exceptional population of game and the annual migration of zebra and wildebeest from the adjoining Serengeti National Park. This phenomenon occurs every year from July to October (although exact timings cannot be guaranteed), when game migrates along a circular route from the plains of the Serengeti to the Masai Mara and back again in search of fresh pastures, followed by hungry predators - most notably lions and hyena. After checking in to your lodge, enjoy a late afternoon game drive.
 
Note: As you will be flying in a light aircraft you must pack soft sports bags only, as rigid suitcases will not fit into the luggage pods. A baggage allowance of 15 kg (which includes your hand luggage) is strictly enforced for safety reasons. Excess baggage can be stored at Wilson Airport.
Days 4 To 5
Today is dedicated to shared game viewing on the open plains of the world famous Masai Mara. Two game drives a day are provided by most safari lodges - one in the morning and another in the afternoon.
 
We set off early, when game viewing conditions are at their best, to view the abundant wildlife of this region. Return to the lodge to rest in the heat of the day, before setting off again in the late afternoon for another game drive.
 
Nestled within the enormous Great Rift Valley, the Masai Mara is famous for its many prides of lions, packs of hyena and other predators - as well as huge herds of wildebeest, which number over one million, zebra and giraffe. All the Big Five can be seen here, as well as numerous other species including the Thomson's gazelle, topi, kongoni, impala, roan antelope and hippo. The nocturnal bat-eared fox, rarely found elsewhere in Kenya, also inhabits this park as well as the endangered cheetah and black rhino.
 
Bird watching is also excellent with over 450 different species. These include the Marabou stork, Secretary bird, Crowned crane, Ostrich, Brown snake eagle, Black-chested snake eagle, Bateleur, Martial eagle, African paradise flycatcher, Red-fronted & White-headed barbet, Black-faced go-away bird, Woodland kingfisher, Violet-backed starling, Black cuckoo-shrike and various species of larks, cisticolas, vultures, hornbills and so much more.
 
Note: If your lodge is situated in a private conservancy, you will need to pay an extra $200 pp if you want a game drive that enters the Masai Mara National Reserve. As wildlife ranges freely between the surrounding conservancies and the national park, without any fences to restrict their movement, this is only necessary during the migration season and should be booked in advance to avoid disappointment.
Day 6
Leave the Masai Mara this morning and transfer to the airstrip for your light aircraft flight to Wilson Airport in Nairobi.
 
Here you will be met and transferred to Nairobi International Airport for your onward flight.
 
Note: As you will be flying in a light aircraft you must pack soft sports bags only, as rigid suitcases will not fit into the luggage pods. A baggage allowance of 15 kg (which includes your hand luggage) is strictly enforced for safety reasons.

You will be met at Kigali Airport and transferred to your hotel in this capital city that was originally founded as a German settlement in 1907 and later colonised by Belgium (hence French-speaking), before gaining independence.
 
Check in and relax in your warm African surroundings.
Day 7
This morning your guide will take you to the Genocide Memorial in Kigali to see the inspiring way in which Rwandans have recovered from this horrific chapter in their recent history.
 
We then travel 4.5-hours across the border into Uganda, to your lodge situated near the entrance to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest - home to over 50% of the world's population of critically endangered mountain gorillas, and also a sanctuary for colobus monkeys and chimpanzees.
 
Travel through the beautiful terraced hills and rapidly changing landscapes of Rwanda to the border with Uganda. After completing customs formalities, continue to the slopes of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with its towering trees. This dense equatorial jungle is accessible only on foot and features one of the richest ecosystems in Africa, including 120 species of mammals, 350 bird species including hornbills and turacos, 220 butterfly species, 27 frog species as well as chameleons, geckos and many other endangered species. It also boasts over 1,000 different flowering plants, ferns & trees.
 
Check into your lodge and enjoy the beautiful scenery of your remote forest surroundings.
Day 8
This morning we enter Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park - home to half the world's population of critically endangered mountain gorillas, and also a sanctuary for colobus monkeys and chimpanzees.
 
This dense equatorial rainforest is accessible only on foot and features one of the richest ecosystems in Africa, including 120 species of mammals, 350 bird species including hornbills and turacos, 220 butterfly species, 27 frog species as well as chameleons, geckos and many other endangered species. It also boasts over 1,000 different floral species.
 
After walking (or driving up to 1.5-hours) to your specified gate, rangers will allocate you to a small group of up to 8 people - with each gorilla family graded as a short, medium or long hike, based on their location the previous day. We recommend you ask your guide to request the appropriate category for you, although this cannot be guaranteed as the gorillas may have moved significantly overnight.
 
After a briefing, you will then track a family of endangered Mountain Gorillas, accompanied by two rangers - one at the front and one at the back. The group will walk at the speed of the slowest member, so it is important to proceed at your own pace and enjoy the experience. We strongly recommend hiring a local porter at a cost of around $15 per person, as not only is this an important source of local employment, but they will carry your backpacks and give you a hand up (or a push) where necessary. Expect to walk 1 to 4-hours each way in steep, sometimes muddy and dense tropical jungle conditions to view a family of these enormous primates and observe their behaviour up close - a rare privilege indeed.
 
You must take a copy of your passport with you today, as this will be required to trek. You must be over the age of 15 years to track gorillas and be sufficiently fit to walk for the period indicated. Ensure you arrange a packed lunch with your lodge and carry sufficient water in your backpack (at least 2 litres). You should wear long trousers, long sleeved top, long socks (tucked into your trousers to keep out biting ants), proper walking boots and gardening gloves to protect your hands from nettles and undergrowth. Start off wearing a light fleece, as it is cold in the forest in the morning and pack proper rain gear, including a rain jacket and waterproof trousers, as it can rain at any time. A walking stick to help with the steep ascents will be provided if you don’t have your own.
 
You cannot be sick or have any infectious disease and no eating or drinking is permitted in the vicinity of the gorillas. Only one hour is allowed with the gorillas and you have to keep a distance of at least 7 metres. No flash photography is allowed and no touching the gorillas (although they may decide to touch you)!
Day 9
At leisure to relax and enjoy the natural beauty of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest with your guide.
 
It is possible to participate in another optional gorilla trek today, but this must be booked in advance as gorilla permits are strictly limited. Alternatively you can travel to Mgahinga National Park to search for rare golden monkeys, which should also be pre-booked
 
Other optional activities include a Community Village Walk where you can learn more about the local inhabitants, as well as meet the forest-dwelling Batwa pygmies. You can also enjoy a guided walk to a waterfall in the rainforest, where you can see endemic birds, butterflies and plants.
Day 10
Transfer 4.5-hours across the border into Rwanda and on to Kigali Airport for your flight home.