Gorillas and Masai Mara Reverse

Our journey begins in Kigali, Rwanda’s capital. At around 6pm, we meet our tour leader and fellow travellers to hear about the adventures ahead, then we share a warm welcome dinner together. If you would like more time to explore or settle in, you can arrange pre–tour hotel nights through your sales representative.

This morning we visit the powerful Kigali museum that reflects on the events of 1994. After lunch, we cross the border into Uganda and drive towards Bwindi Impenetrable National Park – home to wild mountain gorillas.

Today is unforgettable as we spend a precious hour with a family of mountain gorillas. After a safety briefing, we are assigned to a family group and begin our trek, with guides cutting a route through the undergrowth as needed. Expect at least three hours of walking on irregular, often muddy slopes with steep ascents and descents, so strong footwear is essential; we recommend hiring a local porter – arranged and paid for on the day – to help with your bag or camera kit and offer a steady hand. Seeing gorillas in their natural habitat is extraordinary: adult males can weigh up to 195kg, females up to 100kg, and a male can reach about 1.7m tall. They are almost entirely vegetarian and carefully protected due to past conflicts with farming and the threat of poaching. The family groups we visit are habituated to human presence, but our time with them is strictly limited to one hour. If nearby permits are unavailable, we may need to drive farther to the trek start point.

We drive for approximately six to seven hours to Mbarara, well placed for tomorrow’s chimpanzee tracking. Along the way, we pass through villages and communities, glimpsing everyday life.

We venture deep into Kalinzu Forest to track chimpanzees on a three to four hour experience with expert guides, tuning in to the chimps’ distinctive calls. En route, we may spot colobus and vervet monkeys, olive baboons and a wealth of birdlife. The terrain can be steep and occasionally muddy, though the chimpanzees typically keep to flatter areas.

We drive for around seven hours to Jinja, crossing the equator en route where our tour leader demonstrates a few fun experiments. Set on the shores of Lake Victoria, Jinja is Uganda’s adventure capital – renowned for grade IV and V white water rafting and many other adrenaline–fuelled activities.

Today is free for you to choose your adventure. You can go white water rafting – half or full day – tackling everything from calm pools and forested islands to thunderous grade V rapids such as Big Brother, Overtime and Silverback. If rafting does not appeal, you can visit the source of the White Nile, one of the river’s two major tributaries.

We cross into Kenya via the Malaba border, then transfer for about seven hours thirty minutes to Eldoret, watching the scenery – and even the climate – shift as we travel. On arrival, you have the rest of the day to relax.

We bid farewell to Eldoret and transfer for about five hours to Lake Nakuru National Park, admiring Great Rift Valley views on the way, including from the Church Rock viewpoint. An afternoon game drive gets us straight into the action – its length depends on wildlife movement – with the park’s Rift Valley floor hosting lions, leopards, giraffes, zebras and buffalos.

We drive about one hour to Hell’s Gate National Park, a compact reserve home to zebras, giraffes, leopards and more. We also visit a Maasai cultural centre to learn about traditions, and take a game drive in the park. If you wish, you can hire bikes locally to explore on two wheels. This afternoon, you can relax at the beach or by the hotel pool, or stroll into the nearby villages.

We lace up for a three hour hike to Crater Lake, enjoying rich birdlife and sweeping hilltop views over the water, with chances to see giraffes and zebras, frequent visitors to the area. After lunch back at camp, we continue to Elsamere, former home of naturalist and author Joy Adamson, who wrote Born Free. The house now serves as a museum to the Adamsons, with many photos of Elsa the lioness, and later we enjoy high tea in the lakeside grounds.

We visit Lake Naivasha and take a boat onto the water to appreciate the natural beauty and spot abundant wildlife. We also head to a hippo pool for a close look at these magnificent creatures in their element.

We travel into the Masai Mara, stopping in the Loita Hills to visit Tepesua, a Maasai village known for championing women’s health and education. We are welcomed with traditional warrior song and dance, hear about warrior training and take a walk in the village. The Mara’s vast grasslands teem with life – wildebeest, gazelles, topis, zebras and buffalo – with cheetahs, lions and hyenas never far away. Between mid–August and late October, the great migration thunders across the plains. Nothing is guaranteed on safari, but with our excellent guides we should see and learn a great deal as we drive through the park this afternoon.

We enjoy a full day on safari in the Masai Mara, maximising our chances of encountering a variety of wildlife. We pause at a quiet spot inside the reserve to eat lunch by the vehicle, gazing across the open plains.

After breakfast we depart for Nairobi, climbing through the Rift Valley escarpment and savouring classic African vistas with acacia trees scattered across the vast landscape. Our journey ends in the Kenyan capital, where we bid one another farewell and begin our return journeys home. If you would like to stay longer to explore, you can speak to your sales representative about extending your visit.