8 Days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari
The 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari is an adventurous safari that starts from Kampala Uganda and ends in Nairobi. The safari will take you to the misty forest of Bwindi impenetrable national park in southwestern Uganda where you will be able to spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. The 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari will also take you to Maasai Mara national reserve in Kenya where you will have great views of wildlife including the big five mammals which include elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, rhinos, other animals like elands, gazelle, topi, reedbucks, giraffes, zebras, hyenas, cheetahs among others during the game drives.
Highlights of the 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to the hotel in Entebbe
Day 2: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 3: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park
Day 4: Transfer to Entebbe and fly to Nairobi
Day 5: Transfer to Maasai Mara national park-afternoon game drive
Day 6: Full day game drive in Maasai Mara National Reserve
Day 7: Morning game drive and Maasai village tour
Day 8: Departure to Nairobi
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to a hotel in Entebbe
Depending on your arrival time at Entebbe international airport on the first day of the 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari, you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then transfer to the hotel in Entebbe for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Transfer to Bwindi impenetrable national park
On the second day of the 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel to start the journey to Bwindi impenetrable national park. It’s a whole day journey and on the way you will have a stopover at the Equator where you will buy souvenirs, take photos and then proceed with another stopover for en-route lunch. After lunch, you will continue to Bwindi National Park which offers amazing views of the Kigezi hills, farmlands, and homesteads among others. Upon arrival, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi national park
Gorilla trekking,
After an early breakfast on the third day of the 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari, you will carry your lunch box and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking. After the briefing, you will be divided into groups of 8 people where each group will be allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is knowledgeable about the mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on their location and during trekking you will be able to view forest birds, other primates, plant and tree species among others. Once the mountain gorillas are found you will be able to spend one hour with them which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their lifestyle, behaviors, and habits, take photos, watch them carry out their daily activities and record the fascinating memories to show people back home.
After a breath-taking encounter with the gentle giants, you will trek back to the starting point where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and then meet up with your guide and then meet up with your guide to return to the lodge for an evening relaxation dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Transfer to Entebbe and fly to Nairobi
After breakfast on the fourth day of the 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey back to Kampala. On the way, you will have en-route lunch and then proceed to Kampala arriving early in the evening upon arrival, your driver guide will drop you off at Entebbe International Airport for your flight to Nairobi. Upon arrival, your driver guide will pick you up from the airport and transfer you to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Pick up and transfer to Maasai Mara national reserve, afternoon game drive
After breakfast on the fifth day of the 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel to transfer to Maasai Mara National Reserve with en-route lunch and stunning views of the landscape, scenery, rift valley escarpments among others. Upon arrival, you will go for an afternoon game drive where you will be able to view different animals like elephants, buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, lions, and elands among others. After the game drive, you will drive to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Full day game drive in Maasai Mara
On the sixth day of the 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari, you will have an early breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to go for a full day game drive in the reserve where you will be able to view various animals like buffaloes, rhinos, gazelle, elephants, elands among others grazing in the open savannah plains, view predators like lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs among others. In the middle of the day, you will have a picnic lunch and then continue with the afternoon game drive where you will be able to view other wildlife species. After the game drive, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Morning game drive and Maasai cultural tour
After an early breakfast on the seventh day of the 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to go for another morning game drive where you will be able to view some of the animals that you might have missed the previous day.
After the game drive, you will return to the lodge for lunch where you will go for an interesting Maasai cultural tour where you will be able to interact with the Maasai people, learn about their culture, tradition, way of living, enjoy their traditional performance among others. After the cultural tour, you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Departure to Nairobi
On the last day of the 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari, you will have breakfast at leisure, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Nairobi. Upon arrival, your driver guide will drop you off at the airport for your departure flight or drop you off at any place of advice.
End of 8 days gorilla trekking and Maasai Mara safari
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Park entrance fees/ game drives
- Maasai cultural tour
- All activities included in the itinerary
- Services of a professional English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up from Kampala/ Entebbe and drop off in Nairobi Kenya
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled drinking water
Tour excludes
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Life insurance
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, cigarettes, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, and tips among others.
