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This 8 Day 7nights Maasai Mara Wildlife Safari & Uganda Gorilla Trekking Tour Package in Bwindi Forest or Mgahinga National Park brings you the best that Africa has to offer in terms of wildlife and primates. You will have an opportunity to see 6 of Africa’s famous creatures – mountain gorillas, lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos and buffaloes. Uganda is home to half of the overall population of the endangered mountain gorillas. They can be found in two national parks – Bwindi and Mgahinga. Uganda is also the best place in the world to track chimpanzees in the wild. The Democratic Republic of Congo may threaten Uganda’s position in the future.
One of the striking things about Uganda in comparison to Kenya is the amazing scenery and landscape. Uganda is relatively greener and with greater biodiversity and you will notice that while traveling to western parts of Uganda. Whereas Kenya is not a primate’s destination, she is one of the three best places to go for wildlife safari in Africa. In the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the country has one of the most famous wildlife conservation sites in the world. The Masai Mara is the seventh wonder of the World and is the fourth most visited national park in the world. It is the leading top most tourist attractions Kenya has to offer – home to various mammals including buffaloes, crocodiles, elephants, giraffes, hippos, hyenas, jackals, leopards, lions, rhinos, warthogs, wild dogs, wildebeests and zebras. When one thinks of the Maasai Mara national reserve, the first thing that comes to mind is the great wildebeest migration. During this migration, the herbivores are trailed by predators like wild dogs, jackals, hyenas, lions, cheetahs and vultures from Tanzania Serengeti National Park to the Masai Mara and back. This wildlife spectacle attracts over 100,000 tourists to Kenya and Tanzania during the months of July all the way to October.
It is important to note that this 8 Day 7nights Maasai Mara Wildlife Safari & Uganda Gorilla Trekking Tour Package in Bwindi Forest or Mgahinga National Park also includes tracking chimpanzees in Kibale national park. Known as the primate’s capital of the world, Kibale forest is the best place to track wild chimpanzees in Africa. While tracking the chimps, tourists also get an opportunity to spot over 6 other smaller primates including Colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, baboons and Vervet monkeys. By the end of this 8 Day 7nights Maasai Mara Wildlife Safari & Uganda Gorilla Trekking Tour Package in Bwindi Forest or Mgahinga National Park, you would have had amazing encounters with Africa’s wildlife, people and toured the city of Kampala. If you prefer to visit the gorillas in Rwanda, then you will find our 7 day 6nights Rwanda gorilla trekking tour & Maasai Mara wildlife safari tour package of interest. We also have an amazing 3 Day 2 nights Maasai Mara Wildlife Safari tour package in Kenya for those who want to see only the big five mammals of Africa. For those who are interested in Tanzania and the gorillas in Rwanda, feel free to check out our 6 Day 5nights Rwanda Gorilla trekking Tour and Serengeti Wildlife safari tour in Tanzania.
Our Guide/Driver will pick you up from your hotel or airport in Entebbe to start the journey to Kibale National Park on your 8 Day 7nights Maasai Mara Wildlife Safari & Uganda Gorilla Trekking Tour Package. You pass through beautiful Ugandan countryside and watch peasants in their gardens, markets along the roadside and changing landscape. Lunch will be in the beautiful town of Fort Portal. After lunch, the Guide will continue to the park and take you to your hotel for check-in. After resting for a while you will go for a nature walk in Bigodi swamp and Crater Lakes. The Bigodi Swamp is one of the top birding areas in Uganda. It is also a habitat for smaller primates and antelopes like the Sitatunga. The crater lakes are an amazing natural creation that resulted from the formation of the East African Rift Valley. You will be taken on a guided tour to discover these amazing places. Later retire to the lodge for overnight and dinner
Wake up at 6:30 and take breakfast. You should ask your hotel to provide you with light snacks to take with you for the activity in case you get hungry. The Guide will pick you up and drive to the park offices for briefing. Kibale National Park has a population of over 1500 chimpanzees. It is the best place for tracking wild chimpanzees in the world. The chances of seeing chimpanzees in Kibale forest is almost 100%. The Guides will take you through the briefing notes and advice you on how to act around the chimps. Chimps behave very differently from mountain gorillas. They are more active, stubborn and vocal. They live in larger groups and their loyalty to the dominant alpha male is not as firm as it is in the case of mountain gorillas. Chimps also love to stay on top of trees for longer periods and meat unlike mountain gorillas that are vegetarians. You will also observe that individual chimps have more distinct characters than it is with mountain gorillas. Chimps can also be more aggressive than mountain gorillas. You will have only one hour with the primates to learn about their behavior. Take this time to observe the group closely. You will notice the group dynamics, adults grooming, mothers feeding the young and much more. After the one hour, our Guide will pick you up and take you for lunch before starting the journey to Bwindi Impenetrable forest. Later retire at the lodge for dinner and overnight
You will wake up early, take breakfast and wait for the Guide to take you to the park office for briefing. We recommend that you request the hotel chef to prepare for you packed snack just in case you get hungry while tracking the gorillas. The briefing is led by the park Guides who will share information about Mountain gorillas, their current status and conservation. They will let you know about the rules of gorilla tracking and what to take along with you during the trek. During the briefing, 8 people are assigned one gorilla group. You will be led by the Rangers to track the gorillas through thick forest, valleys and hills. Gorilla trekking in Bwindi takes between two to six hours on average. You will encounter other forest creatures including small primates, birds, butterflies and rare plants. You will know that the family is close when you begin hearing grunts from the dominant Silverback as he keeps group members in check. Take the one hour with the gorillas to observe their behavior. You will realize that Mountain gorillas behave just like we humans. After time with the gorillas and taking enough photos, you will be led back to the pack offices to get your certificate of completion. The Guide will take you back to the hotel for lunch and refreshments.
In the afternoon, the Driver/Guide will take you to visit the Batwa pygmies. The Batwa pygmies lived in the forests of Bwindi for thousands of years before they were evicted for better management of the park and its creatures. The Batwa had lived as forest gatherers and hunters with no knowledge about how to survive in a competitive world. They could avoid hostility from other tribal groups by simply retreating to the forest. After their eviction, they had to learn how to deal with a challenging world. Some see their eviction from the forest without adequate preparation or compensation as one of the negative effects of wildlife conservation. Moreover, the Batwa have failed to adapt to a competitive world. Their sudden eviction did not give them time to learn farming or business. The Batwa also have to deal with marginalization from the tribes they had avoided for thousands of years. Later retire to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Wake up at your leisure and wait for the Guide, Driver to start the journey back to Kampala. You will be using a different route while traveling back to Kampala. This route goes to Kabale and Kisoro. The scenery is amazing and has been described as the Switzerland of Africa for the beautiful forests, highlands and valleys. Lunch will be in Mbarara (Igongo Cultural Centre) or at Equator crossing in Kayabwe (Masaka District). The stop at the equator is a must and will offer you an opportunity to take photos at a point where the earth’s northern and southern hemispheres meet.
On reaching Kampala, the Guide/Driver will take you to your hotel for relaxation, shower and refreshment. He will then take you for an evening tour of Kampala city to buy some souvenir and see a few of the landmarks. Dinner and overnight at the lodge in Kampala or Entebbe
Wake up early and take breakfast before beginning the journey to Jinja. Jinja is known for having some of the best adrenaline raising activities in Africa. It is also a perfect place for relaxation after a long tour of Uganda. While in Jinja, you will be taken to town tour and visit to the source of the Nile. After visiting the source of the Nile, you will head for white water rafting in Jinja (optional). After completing all your activities in Jinja, the Driver will take start the journey back to Kampala in the afternoon for Kampala city tour. Later after the city tour, you will be driven to airport in Entebbe to catch your flight to Nairobi Kenya. On arrival in Kenya you will have late Dinner and Overnight
Wake up early and start the journey from Nairobi to the western part of Kenya. You will arrive at the Masai Mara Game Reserve in time to check-in to your hotel, have lunch and prepare for the afternoon or evening game drive. The Maasai Mara Game Reserve is Kenya’s most visited wildlife reserve. It is home to all of the big five mammals of Africa as well as dik dik, hartebeest, wildebeest, Masai giraffe, and the Thompson’s gazelle among many other species. The game drive ends at sunset after which you will go back to the lodge for rest and dinner.
Wake up at 6:30 and take breakfast as you prepare for a long day of activities. The driver will pick you up from your lodge to take you deep into the reserve. The Masai Mara is a relatively well organized reserve with good road networks which allow for close viewing of animals and taking good photos. You will start with morning game drive and then float over the beautiful savanna on a hot air balloon. You will spot all of the big five mammals – lions, leopards (If you are lucky), Rhinos, elephants and buffaloes. You should also see foxes, Jackals, Zebras, impala, cheetahs and hyenas among many other great creatures. During the middle of the day, you will have picnic lunch at the hippo pool while observing crocodiles and hippos. Later retire to the lodge for Dinner and overnight
Wake up at your leisure and take breakfast as you prepare to leave the hotel. The driver will take you to visit the Masai warriors and nomadic herdsmen. The Masai are one of Africa’s most famous tribes. They live within and outside the reserve taking care of their domestic animals for survival. While with the Masai, you can learn about their cultural heritage from the elders. You may be taken to the crawls to see the animals and learn why they are so important to the tribe. After spending time with the Masai, you will start the journey back to Nairobi where you are will be dropped at the airport or at your hotel.
If you have already visited the Mara, you might consider our 3day 2 nights Serengeti wildlife safari tour package in Tanzania. For those who have little time to spare while in Kenya, our 2 Day 1night Masai Mara Short Wildlife Safari Tour in Magical Kenya may be more suitable for you.
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