Explore the beautiful wildlife in Africa as you take this 7days Bwindi & Masai Mara NP Safari where you will have a chance to take a gorilla trekking tour in Bwindi national Park that is located in southwestern Uganda with almost half of the remaining endangered mountain gorillas.
Also, visit the Batwa pygmies and learn about their culture through music, dances, and fire-making. As you head to Bwindi national park have a chance to explore the Uganda equator and this gives you a great opportunity. Game drives and ballooning safaris in Masai Mara national park will be the main activities and this will expose you to the wildebeest migration, big five animals, big cats, big savannah birds among others. We hope that you will enjoy this tour.
Day by day safari.
Day 1: Arrive at Entebbe airport and transfer to a hotel with a visit to Uganda wildlife education Centre.
Arrive at Entebbe International Airport where you will meet your assigned driver-guide with your name on a chest. Quickly go through a briefing about the movements of this safari and then start by visiting the Uganda Wildlife Educational Centre (former Entebbe zoo). This place holds different wildlife in captivity and among others include the lions, buffalos, elephants, rhinos, leopards, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, chimpanzees, impalas, ostriches, and peacocks among others. Visiting UWEC will depend on the arrival time and after transfer to a hotel in Kampala.
Day 2: Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Make a transfer to Bwindi national park passing via Masaka and this gives you a chance to explore the Uganda equator in Kayabwe. At this point, you will take photos and maybe buy some souvenirs in terms of handmade crafts. Proceed and have your lunch in Mbarara Town and maybe you have an option of touring the Igongo Cultural Centre with the Ankole-Kigezi museum.
Proceed as you pass through the Kigezi highlands that are well terraced hence eye-catching. On arrival at the home of gorillas, you will head to the lodge booked for your accommodation. You need to know that Bwindi national Park is among a few national parks where you can trek mountain gorillas in Africa and is located in the Virunga ranges. The park hosts almost half of the mountain gorillas and visiting this park guarantees you to have the best gorilla trekking experience.
Day 3: Gorilla trekking and Batwa community experience.
Have a fabulous breakfast and head to the park offices in Bwindi where you will meet other trekkers and park guides. Go through briefing exercises that will cover different aspects like trekking rules and regulations such as not feeding animals, not using flashlight cameras, not making noise while trekking among others, checking of gorilla permits, assignment of the park ranger guide, and much more.
Thereafter, enter the impenetrable forest and start the search where you will be able to meet other attractions like the different primates, forest elephants if you are lucky enough among others. On setting your eyes on them, you will take memorable photos; watch them keenly as they walk, feed, groom young ones among others.
The silverback (leader of the group/family) will be exercising its duties. After an hour while in their presence, you will trek back to the office and be handed over a certificate and this will be the end of the trekking experience.
After lunch, take a Batwa community experience where you will learn more about their unique culture, through the traditional dances and music, fire making experience and craft work. There is an option of supporting the local community by making a donation or purchasing some souvenirs-hand-made crafts. The day will end after taking dinner at the lodge.
Day 4: Transfer to Kigali and fly to Nairobi, Kenya.
On this 4th day, transfer to Kigali airport in Rwanda since it’s easier to connect to the airport than in Entebbe airport of Uganda. This will be done after breakfast and you will later cross to the land of a thousand hills and in case time allows, you might have a chance to visit the Rwanda genocide memorial center where thousands of local people were buried in open graves. Later on, fly to Nairobi Kenya where you will meet our Kenyan safari representative that will take you to a booked hotel and spend a night.
Day 5: Transfer to Masai Mara national reserve and afternoon game drive.
Check out of your hotel and transfer to Masai Mara after breakfast and the journey into this reserve rewards you with beautiful scenery accompanied by a rift valley. The journey can take about 5 hours depending on the speed and stopovers. Masai Mara got its name from the local people Masai and the Mara tree that normally occupies the reserve. It’s managed by both the government and the local people and this is why you will find the cattle grazing in the plains of the reserve.
This reserve is a renowned host to millions of wildebeests and therefore you have a chance to witness the unique great migration together with zebras and gazelles depending on the time/month of your safari. Wildlife that will be spotted here includes birds like ostriches, pelicans, cormorants, Darters, herons, egrets, hammerkops, shoebills among others, and animals like the lions, elephants, buffalos, leopards, zebras, warthogs, gazelles, rhinos among others.
Day 6: Full day Masai Mara adventure.
Masai Mara national reserve offers the best wildlife viewing and on this day, you will explore different wildlife through game drives that normally take you through different spotting points that are full of abundant wildlife. You have an option of taking a morning ballooning safari in Masai plains where you will have the best aerial view of the available animals.
Another option is to visit the Masai people where you learn about their unique culture of cattle keeping and nomadism. While on this day you have a chance to spot the big five animals (lion, leopard, buffalo, rhino and elephant) big cats, savannah birds and most exciting comes when you meet the wildebeest migration while you are in the middle in case your safari is carried out during the period of migration.
Day 7: Transfer to Nairobi and fly back home.
On this colorful last day of your safari, you will be served with a cup of tea or coffee, check out of your room, and then have a short game drive in Masai Mara plains where you will have another chance of spotting the African wildlife.
Proceed with the journey to Nairobi, you will then be dropped at the airport and this will mark the end of your safari.
