16 days Gorilla trekking source of the River Nile Masai Mara safari
16 days Gorilla trekking source of the River Nile Masai Mara safari overview
16 days Gorilla trekking source of the River Nile Masai Mara safari is a multi-national safari experience that grants you a full Africa’s big 5 and wildlife show along with the last great apes on the planet for example mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, lakes and rivers, birds on various activities on these Africa safaris such as game drives, chimpanzee tracking gorilla trekking, birding, photography among others.
16 days Gorilla trekking source of the River Nile Masai Mara safari highlights
Arrival & departure: Kigali/Entebbe – Nairobi
Day 1- arrive, travel to Bwindi
Day 2- gorilla trekking and Batwa community
Day 3-4- Queen Elizabeth N.P wilderness
Day 5- Kibale forest chimpanzee tracking
Day 6-7- Murchison falls N.P
Day 8- Kampala city tour and night life
Day 9-10- source of the River Nile
Day 11- transfer to Nakuru
Day 12- l. Nakuru, Ol Pajete
Day 13- Nairobi np, city tour
Day 14-16- masai mara to departure
Detailed 16 days Gorilla trekking source of the River Nile Masai Mara safari itinerary
On arrival on this day, you will embark on a road trip heading to Bwindi impenetrable national park for one of the world’s greatest expedition of endangered species. along the way, you will still experience many natural geographical features, mammals, birds and the different african cultural setups of the local people.
Accommodation: Buhoma lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Beginning the second day with a briefing on the gorilla behaviors, livelihoods and how to handle their reactions to the human presence. The trek into the tropical montane forests will last between 30 to 1 hour before meeting the gorilla family you are assigned to and you will be allowed to follow and spend an hour with that gorilla family. Getting to find the mountain gorillas on a trek in Uganda is a 99% chance backed up by the gorilla population in this region. After the trek, you will have an experience with the Batwa people who have for all their life time co-existed with the forest and its species. During this nature walk you will experience numerous bird species with particularly 23 albertine endemics that are habitats to only the albertine region.
Accommodation: Buhoma safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
With the Kazinga channel (a river connecting lakes Edward and George) for a morning boat cruise through queen Elizabeth national park, this experience you will have a glance at the world’s largest concentration of hippos which are numbered above 5,000 at the Kazinga channel, Nile crocodiles, buffaloes, highest concentration of birds per square km on the African continent, elephants, lions and other land wild game like water bucks, giraffes, kobs, kudus among others also coming in onto the banks of the Kazinga channel to quench their thirst. After the boat cruise, you will embark on a game drive around this channel and beyond into the vast savannah grassland to enjoy more game viewing at more lion and elephant families, ostriches, cheetahs, leopards, raptors and vultures, reptiles, monkeys, wild dogs among other creatures, scenery views of the ice capped mountain Rwenzori and its slopes. On this day, you will also once again come across the equator landmark as it crosses through queen Elizabeth national game park.
Accommodation: Mweya safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Kibale national park is known for chimpanzee tracking and for having the highest population & concentration of chimpanzees in world numbering above 1,500 individuals in the park. The afternoon tracking session starts at 14:00 and takes 2-5 hours with a more than 90% chance of meeting the chimpanzees; a forest walk that will come along with numerous sceneries of more than 370 bird species of grassland, forest, swamp and Albertine rift region endemics, 350 tree species and 71 mammal species. other primates in the park include the L’hoest monkeys, colobus monkeys, blue monkey, olive baboon, red tailed monkey, vervet monkeys. Mammal species include leopards, lions, elephants, water bucks, warthogs, giant forest hog, sitatungas, hippos, buffaloes, hyenas, jackals, and other nocturnal species. after the evening tracking you will head out of the park.
Accommodation: Kibale forest lodge
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Game drives in the Murchison falls and walking treks up to view the magnificent Murchison falls from above and watch the strongest falls on the planet, gashing 3,000 cubic litres of water per second through an eight-meter corridor cascading down a 43-meter height into the “the devil’s caldron” forming a white mist and a signature rainbow producing a loud sound from the powerful force of the water of the river Nile. The park also has the highest number of rothschild’s giraffes in the world, more than three- quarter of the total world population and numerous elephant and lion families, waterbucks, impalas, kobs, warthogs, hippos, buffaloes, crocodiles, leopards, hyenas, jackals among other mammals and more than 450 bird species recorded in the park. After lunch you will then head to the banks of the river Nile for a boat cruise towards the face of the Murchison falls. While on the boat cruise, you will have scene of various water birds like the shoebills, raptors, geese among others, hippos and a great number of huge nile crocodiles and many more mammals that approach the river banks to quench their thirst like buffaloes, elephants and the scenes are endless.
Accommodation: Pakuba safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
The Kampala tour will get you to various historical administrative, economic and cultural sites and centers in the city have affected the development of Uganda as a country such as the Kasubi tombs where 3 ancient kings are buried, the Rubaga cathedral; headquarters of the Catholics’ faith, Namirembe cathedral; headquarters of the protestant faith, Kaddafi mosque; headquarters of the Muslim faith, Baha’i temple of the Baha’i faith, fort Laggard the first administrator of Kampala city, the parliament building of Uganda among others. Food and commodity markets around Kampala are so interesting and have a great reflection of how the county’s population survives; these will get you have some taste on fresh fruits, vegetables grown in the country and street food delicacies like the rolex (an egg omelet rolled in chapatti). Later on in the evening, you will have a nightlife experience in the bars and lounges of Kampala city till resting time as you wait for the next day.
Accommodation: Lake Victoria Serena hotel (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
This section of the river Nile has numerous water falls that have become common water sport points to tourists and adventurers from all corners of the world. Some of the falls include Owen falls, Bujagali falls, Ripon falls, Itanda falls, Busowoko falls among others. The clean and white waters of the River Nile at this point are the most entertaining of the river course throughout Africa offering the best bungee jumping point, water rafting, horse riding at the river banks, water surfing, swimming, canoeing, river boarding, quad biking around the river banks among others. The river banks also host numerous bird species that can be experienced on nature walks thus being some of the best birders’ destinations in the region. You will also take a boat to reach the source of the nile where 30% of the water emanates from underground streams and 70% from Lake Victoria. The green sparsely forested areas will provide a chilling breeze for nature walks and relaxations that will grant you a memorable time at the source of the river Nile.
Accommodation: Nile safari lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
On this day, you will embark on a road trip to Lake Nakuru national park across Uganda’s border in Kenya.
Accommodation: Lake Nakuru lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
This day will find you at lake Nakuru which one of the world’s highest bird concentrated areas with more than a million flamingos, storks, geese, ducks among others residing at this shallow lake. The shallowness of lake Nakuru easily exposes algae which acts as food to greater and lesser flamingos and other water birds thus making it a favorite place for them to stay. The pink colored flamingoes flying and settling in huge numbers make this lake one of the most colorful destinations in the world to visit; hottentot teal, bateleur, maccoa duck, pallid harrier, rupell’s vulture, shining sunbird, European roller, great snipe, western reef heron, red-capped lark, Abyssinian thrush, eastern imperial eagle, long crested eagle among others. Along the birds are mammals such as buffaloes, kobs, water bucks, antelopes, giraffes, baboons, monkeys, reptiles among others.
At Ol Pajete conservation area which has the highest number of protected black and white rhinos and also the only 2 remaining northern white rhinos in the world. The park offers both drives and walking safari experiences to its visitors as they interact with rangers sharing with them knowledge about the sanctuary and the animals therein. The conservatory is also a sanctuary to many more rescued species especially from hands of poachers and this is also the only place in Kenya where you can find chimpanzees. The expanse of the sanctuary also harbors lions, giraffes, elephants, warthogs, hyenas, kobs, waterbucks, leopards, cheetahs, wild dogs, hippos, zebras, reptiles, buffaloes, baboons, vervet monkeys among others.
Accommodation: Sweet waters Serena camp (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
On arrival at the airport, you will be picked up by our guide and get you to your booked hotel for a brief rest and there after head out through Nairobi city to Nairobi national park which is just 7km outside the city. You will have an exciting tour of a tour of wild game while gazing at skyscrapers of the city. The park has numerous bird species and numerous migrant species especially during the time between June and August adding to the more than 400 resident species making it a true birding haven in Africa. Along with mammal species such as lions, leopards, giraffes, hippos, ostriches, rhinos, hartebeests, waterbucks, hyenas, buffaloes, kobs, reptiles among others. This park will give you a unique scenery of the existing interdependency of nature and its wild with modernity.
Accommodation: Royal Tulip (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Masai Mara game reserve park offers different safari experiences such as air balloon safaris, game drives, horse riding safaris and walking safaris with the masai people. The park is a vast green grassland anchored by woodland, swamps, forest species, acacia and the mara river that have maintained an effective eco-system that is a habitat to huge number of wild game. The concentration of wild game in this park will give non-stop action packed safari drives all throughout of Africa’s big 5 game; lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, buffaloes, along with rhinos, kobs, hyenas, hartebeests, wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, waterbucks, reptiles, warthogs, monkeys, baboons, crocodiles, hippos, wild dogs, ostriches and numerous bird species all over the park. The most famous and eye catching phenomena of the park is the great migration that occurs around the park between June and august every year championed by the wildebeests and zebras against other predators in the park and residential nile crocodiles in the Mara river for their survival battle. Towards the end of the third day you will head back to Nairobi to catch up with your departure flight.
Accommodation: Mara Simba lodge (or a similar one)
Meals: Breakfast| Lunch| Dinner
Inclusions
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee tracking permits
- Park entry fees
- Domestic flights
- Airport transfers
- Laundry
- Transport 4×4 safari landcruiser
- All excursions indicated in the itinerary
- Driver & guide
- Bottled drinking water/ refreshments
- Government taxes
- Cross border fees
Exclusions
- International flights
- Visa fees & processing
- Travel insurance
- Extra activities, meals, alcohol/ liquor
- Extra luggage on domestic flights
- Tipping & gratitude
- Souvenirs & snacks
- Any changes to the itinerary
- Accommodation after the end of the trip
- Anything not mentioned
Your safari route plan
Other related safaris
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- 10 days source of the Nile- Masai mara safari
- 19 days’ gorilla trek-source of the Nile-Masai mara-Diani safari
- 21 days Gorillas-Source of the Nile-wildlife Uganda safari
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