This 8 Days Gorilla Trekking & Masai Mara Safari takes you on an epic adventure to Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for a magical encounter with mountain gorillas. Then fly to Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya for incredible wildlife migration.
This 8 Days Gorilla Trekking & Masai Mara Safari will start with a visit to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda where you will hike through the dense rainforest looking for mountain gorillas. You will then fly to The Masai Mara for the Wildebeest Migration Safari.
Highlights of 8 Days Gorilla Trekking & Masai Mara Safari
- Day 1: Airport at Entebbe International Airport
- Day 2: Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
- Day 3: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Forest
- Day 4: Transfer back to Entebbe
- Day 5: Transfer to Masai Mara
- Day 6-7: Wildlife Game Drives in Masai Mara
- Day 8: Transfer from Masai Mara to Nairobi
Detailed itinerary of 8 Days Gorilla Trekking & Masai Mara Safari
Day 1: Airport at Entebbe International Airport
As you arrive at Entebbe International Airport you will be warmly welcomed by our guide and then transfer you to your hotel in Kampala or Entebbe for a night overstay.
Accommodation: Best Western Hotel
Day 2: Drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
After breakfast, you will meet your driver and embark on a journey to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Southwestern Uganda. This 8-9 hour journey will take you through the beautiful Uganda countryside with farms, small towns, plantations, and interesting landscapes on your way to Bwindi.
You will have stopovers at the Equator landmark in Kayabwe and in Mbarara for lunch. You will reach your lodge in the evening, check in at your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation: Buhoma Haven Lodge
Day 3: Gorilla Trekking in Bwindi Forest
Today is the highlight of 8 Days Gorilla Trekking & Masai Mara Safari, prepare yourself for an encounter with the gentle giants – the rare mountain gorillas.
Wake up early for breakfast, meet your driver and head to the park headquarters for briefing about the dos and don’ts of gorilla trekking and the rightful way to conduct yourself while in the presence of the gorillas. With an armed ranger and tracker, head into the forest searching for mountain gorillas. The trek takes approximately 30 minutes to 6 hours or more depending on the movement of the gorillas and where they spent their previous night.
Your trek will be an exciting gorilla trekking journey along forested slopes, entwined vines, bushes, and bamboo. Upon find the gorillas, you will spend a maximum of 1 hour with them after which you be led back to the starting point.
Accommodation: Buhoma Haven Lodge
Day 4: Transfer back to Entebbe
After an early breakfast, your driver will drive you back to Kampala. This is a long drive approximately 9 hours with en-route lunch in Mbarara and Equator crossing in Kayabwe for more pictures.
You should reach Kampala in the early evening hours with enough time to freshen up before your flight out of Uganda to Nairobi. On arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be warmly welcomed by our guide and transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation: Best Western Hotel
Day 5: Transfer to Masai Mara
After breakfast, you will meet your guide and embark on a journey to Masai Mara National Reserve. Along the way you will have a stopover at the Rift Valley Viewpoint for amazing views of the Rift Valley Escarpments and in Narok for a meet-up with the local people.
Proceed to Masai Mara arriving in time for lunch after check-in, in the afternoon you will go for a game drive in the endless plains of Masai Mara giving you a thrilling introduction to this iconic reserve. Return to the reserve for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation: Mara Serena Safari Lodge
Day 6-7: Wildlife Game Drives in Masai Mara
Spend these two days dedicated to exploring Masai Mara and witnessing the iconic Wildebeest Migration. Depending on the wildlife migration patterns and the weather, have an early morning breakfast followed by a full day game drives within the reserve.
The Masai Mara is probably one of Kenya’s most visited reserves with an extraordinary density of wildlife including the Big Five and many other varieties of savannah wildlife. The Mara River cutting through the Mara and Serengeti ecosystems giving life to both reserves before finally pouring out into Lake Victoria.
During the game drives, you will encounter impressive and most notable wildlife species including thousands wildebeests, zebras and gazelles instinct-led migration from the Serengeti Plains in Tanzania to the Mara in Kenya.
Accommodation: Mara Serena Safari Lodge
Day 8: Transfer from Masai Mara to Nairobi
Today marks the end of your 8 Days Gorilla Trekking & Masai Mara Safari, after breakfast and checkout, embark on a journey to Nairobi with en-route game viewing. Your driver will drop you off at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to catch your flight back home.