East Africa Game Parks and Gorillas

Tour Code: GAG28

Take Zanzibar with its beaches, fabulous seafood and historical sites. Add the best game reserves in Africa. Mix in the world's longest river, Africa's largest lake and a trek to view the magnificent gorillas. Stir it up with wild adventure activities - and you have the perfect cocktail for the ultimate east African safari!

Lake Nakuru National Park & Great Rift Valley Close encounters with rare Mountain Gorillas, walking with the Masai in rural village, safaris in the Serengeti NP, Masai Mara National Reserve and Ngorongoro Crater, laying back on the white sands of Zanzibar

+44 (0) 207 706 4700

Itinerary / Highlights

Day 1 - 2 Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret

Kenya is East Africa’s most popular destination and has a long tradition of tourism and of welcoming visitors. Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, has seen rapid growth in recent years but still has a comparatively small city centre and interesting city market, numerous craft shops, book shops and plenty of cafes and restaurants. We recommend you arrive the day before the tour departure in order to relax and overcome any jetlag.

We depart Nairobi early on Day One and descend into the ‘Great Rift Valley’, an enormous cleft in the Earth’s surface stretching from the Red Sea to Madagascar but with particularly marked escarpments here in Kenya.

Our first stop is Lake Nakuru National Park, a relatively small park (by African standards) on the Rift Valley floor. The shallow soda lake attracts a huge variety of birdlife – especially flamingos, which may gather in such numbers that (when viewed from above) they form a strikingly pink ‘fringe’ around the lake-shore. However Lake Nakuru is not simply a bird sanctuary, it is also home to buffalo, lion, rhino, leopard, warthog, baboon, antelope, and a variety of smaller animals. A delightful introduction to East Africa’s wildlife diversity. From Nakuru we continue northwest to Eldoret, and the Uganda frontier.

Day 3 - 5 Kampala, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Lake Bunyonyi

We cross into Uganda, Winston Churchill’s ‘Pearl of Africa’ and to the capital, Kampala. This is an attractive hilly city, bustling with roadside traders, markets and busy matatu (mini-bus taxi) stands.

From Kampala, we travel west to Queen Elizabeth National Park. Uganda is a wonderfully fertile country of green terraced hillsides, lush banana plantations, steep mountains and tangled forests.

We enter the QENP, with a view (further to the west) of the mountains that separate Uganda from central Africa. We gamedrive in the morning in search of the Uganda Kob (a type of antelope) as well as elephant, lion, buffalo, hyena and hippo. Nearby the park we visit the Kyambura Gorge for the trek to see the chimpanzees. Unlike the larger gorilla, chimps live mostly in the trees and so our viewing is necessarily at some distance. However the experience of seeing man’s closest relative in the wild is a memorable one.

Continuing deep into the Kigezi Highlands we come to the picturesque Lake Bunyoni, an ancient flooded valley, where we usually base ourselves for the gorilla trekking.

Day 6 - 9 Gorilla Trek, Kampala

This region of Africa is home to the world’s remaining 700 mountain gorillas, many of which inhabit the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. [Occasionally we may travel into neighbouring Rwanda to trek for the gorillas.]

On the day of our trek we gather in the early morning to meet our local guide and tracker. Walking in small groups we trek into the thick rainforest. The trek can be demanding at times with uneven terrain and hilly rainforest but the privilege of spending time with a family of these gentle primates makes the effort well worthwhile. To many people, even those who stay in Africa longer than this two week tour, the day’s trek and time with the gorillas remains their most exciting wildlife encounter in Africa.

The usual procedure, once we have located the gorilla ‘family’, is to squat or sit down and simply observe them for around an hour – the time set by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (the national body charged with controlling and maintaining the gorillas in Uganda). Gorillas are sociable creatures, living in groups between 12 and 20 individuals, usually led by an ‘alpha male’ (the ‘silverback’ - so called because of the silver hair on his back which grows once the male gorilla attains maturity). Most people find that the gorillas are remarkably human-like at close quarters – particularly in the social interaction between family members and in ‘play’ activity in which the young engage. Photography is permitted (although not with a flash and there are restrictions for those who wish to use a video camera.)

Your permit allows you one trek and gorilla viewing (time limited to one hour). However because the authorities maintain strict limits on the number of visitors allowed to view the gorillas each day we may spend several days in the area while all passengers in our group complete the trek and viewing.

Day 10 - 14 Kampala, Jinja, Nairobi

When all members of the group have completed the gorilla trek we pack up and make our way back to Kampala. Pausing for the night we continue on to Jinja and our camp on the grassy banks of the River Nile. It was in 1862 that the British explorer John Hanning Speke recognised Lake Victoria as the ‘source of the Nile’ settling a long running dispute about Africa’s (and the world’s) longest river. From this modest monument the Nile begins its 4132 mile course through Uganda, Sudan and eventually Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea.

Our camp overlooks a dramatic set of rapids known as Bujagali Falls. It is here that we usually have the option to try rafting - an exciting day out for those enjoying the thrill of ‘white water’. There is also the opportunity to make some difference to local children at a local school project: ‘Softpower’ is a locally run voluntary programme aimed at building and improving schools in the Jinja area to which your contribution of a few hours of painting or plastering is always most welcome. Other activities at Jinja include quad biking, village walks and even bungy jumping! From Jinja, we move on to Uganda’s capital Kampala.

We make our way back into Kenya, passing through Eldoret and the Rift Valley once again to the lights and bustle of Nairobi.

DAY 15 – 18
Nairobi – Masai Mara National Reserve
We switch to smaller and more suitable safari vehicles and cross the Rift Valley once again to spend two nights camping on the edge of the world-renowned Masai Mara National Reserve. We spend our days exploring the sweeping grassy plains, open horizons, low slung Acacia trees and dramatic outcrops of rock on game drives. The Mara’s plains are crossed every year from July to October by large herds of wildebeest, zebra and other hoofed animals that migrate from the adjoining Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, on a continuous circular migration. Predators (lion, cheetah) and scavengers (hyena, vultures) follow the huge herds and together form a spectacular sight. But the Mara is excellent for game viewing at any time of year and with luck we hope to spot an inspiring array of animals and birdlife. From the Mara, we spend another night in Nairobi on our way south into Tanzania.

DAY 19 – 23
Arusha, Serengeti National Park, Olduvai Gorge, Ngorongoro Crater
Arusha is situated mid-way between Cape Town and Cairo, and is very much Tanzania’s ‘safari capital’, with busy streets and colourful markets, all nestling in the shadow of the brooding Mt Meru (4556m). After exploring the curio markets, we head to our camp where there is the opportunity to walk (or ride a camel) to one of the local Masai villages, visit a local school or clinic, the small Masai Museum, and the Meserani Snake Park.

Switching to smaller 4x4 vehicles, we drive west and enter the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. After driving around the Crater rim and stopping at the Olduvai Gorge - made famous by Drs Louis and Mary Leakey for archaeological explorations - we descend onto the open plains and wide horizons of the Serengeti. Green after the rains, brown and burnt in the dry, this is home to an enormous variety of grazing animals, predators, and birdlife. Game viewing here can be superb and camping out in the designated (but unfenced) campsite where lion and hyena roam nearby is an unforgettable experience.

The following day we ascend the outer wall of the Ngorongoro Crater again where we spend the night camping on the rim (you may need a jacket; it can be cold at night). At 326 square kilometres, the Ngorongoro Crater is Africa’s largest intact caldera and is a World Heritage Site. If the view from the rim (2400 metres above sea level) is spectacular, the site from the Crater floor (some 600 metres below) is equally enjoyable. All the major mammals are present, and we descend the steep access road for an early morning game-drive, before we retrace our steps to Arusha and our camp for the evening.

DAY 24 – 28
Dar es Salaam - Zanzibar
After driving in the shadow of Mt Kilimanjaro (Africa’s highest peak at 5895m), we camp for the night next to the beach in Dar es Salaam; Tanzania’s lively capital and main port on the Indian Ocean coast. We take the ferry to the ‘Spice Island’ of Zanzibar: evocative and exotic, the island is world-renowned for its idyllic, sandy, palm-fringed beaches, romantic winding cobbled alleys and lush tropical forests. It also has an intriguing history, and Zanzibar was the base for the great 19th century explorers such as Speke, Burton and Livingstone, and was once a major trading centre for spices.

Our time on the island is at leisure. The best way to explore the bazaars, shops, mosques, palaces, courtyards and alleyways of Stone Town is on foot. Spices are grown in plantations nearby and you can take day-tours to visit some and have your senses dazzled by the tastes and scents. If it’s white sand, sparkling ocean and hot sun you prefer, head for the northern beaches and enjoy the Indian Ocean at its best. Try snorkelling and diving, indulge in some sumptuous seafood, or simply relax beneath a coconut palm with a cocktail and a good book.

After three nights we cross back by ferry to the African mainland and Dar es Salaam, where our tour ends.

NB Depending on the availability of gorilla permits the tour itinerary may vary from the above, which is based on the brochure itinerary. From time to time we may trek outside Uganda in neighbouring countries, such as Rwanda, and this may entail extra visa requirements and fees, although we shall endeavour to advise you before departure of any significant change to the tour itinerary.

NB2 Accommodation in Nairobi on nights 14 & 15 is not included in the tour price or your Local Payment. Please put aside between US$25-35 per night for meals and accommodation here.

Other Details

Accommodation Details

Camping (2 Person Dome Tent)

Departure Dates, Options & Prices

Start: Nairobi, Kenya
Finish: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

+44 (0) 207 706 4700