Gorillas and Gameparks East Africa

Trek to see Mountain Gorillas & white water raft on the Nile on this awesome overland adventure

Oasis Overland offers overland trips in East Africa that are truly something special. Experience the Great Rift Valley in Kenya, with its soda and fresh water lakes abundant with bird and wildlife, travel Uganda where you'll embark on Mountain Gorilla tours in the impenetrable rain forests of the Virunga Mountains, and white water raft near the source of the Nile River. Travel Uganda and Kenya with Oasis Overland for a truly diverse and action-packed 19 days.

For further details on this and other overland trips in East Africa or other mountain gorilla tours, please request our Pre-Departure Information.

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Itinerary / Highlights

Most of our overland trips in East Africa, including Gorillas & Gameparks, leave from Nairobi on Day One. You should therefore arrange to arrive into Nairobi the day before the trip departure date.

Days 1 - 2
Our tour starts at 9 am driving north out of Nairobi into Africa's greatest natural feature, the Great Rift Valley. Stretching from the Dead Sea in Jordan down to Mozambique in Southern Africa, our first view is from the top of an escarpment. Overland trips to East Africa will allow you to experience absolutely spectacular scenery first hand, and the Great Rift Valley is a definite highlight. The valley floor seems to sweep on forever and is dotted with peaks and shimmering rivers and countless springs. Our journey takes us into the valley to Lake Naivasha. We camp near the lakeshore where Hippos sometimes feed at night! Here you can walk to Elsamere, the house of Joy Adamson of Elsa the Lion and Born Free fame, and enjoy a film of her life - and cream teas! You can also hire mountain bikes and cycle or walk through Hells Gate National Park - the only game reserve in Kenya in which you are allowed to walk.
Or for a less active but equably enjoyable game viewing experience visit the Crater Lake Game Sanctuary. Both offer excellent scenery & opportunities to spot hyrax, abundant bird & plant life along with several types of gazelle, impala and eland.

Days 3 - 4
We then continue west and travel to Uganda. A mountainous drive with spectacular scenery through the Nandi Hills brings us to our next stop at Eldoret. From here we cross the Kenya - Uganda border, and continue to Kampala.

Days 5 - 6
Kampala has had a turbulent past, but these days is a friendly and safe city. We have a free day to spend in local cafes and nightspots and get to know the local people, there is also the opportunity to spend the day visiting a local Chimpanzee Sanctuary and rehabilitation centre on one of the islands on Lake Victoria. The following day we have a long drive as we head west through swamps, patches of forest and fertile green countryside. As we travel through Uganda, we'll visit a number of small towns and villages; Mpigi, where you will see roadside stalls manufacturing and selling traditional musical instruments; Kyazanga, where we can buy fresh rotisserie and roasted meat and vegetables, as well as roasted bananas. We also stop at the spot where our route crosses the equator.

Days 7 - 10
Next is the Virunga range of volcanic mountains and the rainforests on these mountain slopes are home to several families of Mountain Gorillas. Getting up close to these amazing creatures is a truly humbling experience and one of the highlights of the trip. We will visit the gorillas in either Uganda or Rwanda. If we view them from Uganda there is the opportunity to paddle out onto Lake Bunyoni in canoes and visit some of the nearby islands or hire mountain bikes to visit nearby villages & schools. From Rwanda there is also the chance to visit the genocide museum in Kigali, which is a moving and interesting experience.

Days 11 - 15
We then return to Kampala and camp near Jinja. Here, on the edge of Lake Victoria, the Nile begins its 6700km journey to the sea. We spend the next few days at Bujagali Falls, just downstream from the source of the Nile. This is a spectacular area, and with one kilometre of raging water below Bujagali Falls, a superb place to go whitewater rafting. We can also organise quad biking or a visit to a local school.

Days 16 - 19
On our way back to the border if we have time we will stop off at Sipi Falls before re-entering Kenya where we travel through hills covered in tea plantations. A days drive brings us to Lake Nakuru National Park. Nakuru is home to a wide variety of wildlife including Black Rhino, Hippo, Lion, Leopard, Hyena and Giraffe. However, Nakuru is a soda lake and most famous for its pink inhabitants, a flock of almost a million Pink Flamingos. A few hours drive brings us back to Nairobi where we will visit a Giraffe centre before our trip finishes.
Note: Departures in August & September will visit the Maasai Mara Game Reserve instead of Lake Nakuru Nat. Park giving the opportunity to view the amazing spectacle of the Wildebeest migration.

Trek to the Mountain Gorillas
The walk to find the Gorillas can take several hours. For much of the walk you will be in high grass or thick vegetation and it could well rain. So wear protective clothing (to prevent being scratched) and waterproofs as well as good walking boots or shoes. Once your guide has found the Gorilla family you will be allowed to view them for 1 hour. One group of six people per day is allowed to visit each Gorilla family. The trek starts around 0830 and your group will be accompanied by a tracker/guide, and an armed park ranger. You may see a variety of monkeys, chimpanzees and buffalo on the hike as well. While we wait for everybody in our group to see the gorillas, we may well have a spit roast one evening.

Other Details

Accommodation Details

Accommodation is camping - some camp-sites are very basic, others well managed.