20 Days Ultimate East African Safari

Pick up at your hotel at 9am, start historical-minded exploration of Kigali city with visits to landmarks from colonial, post-independence, genocide and post-genocide times.
Start with a visit at Nyamirambo Women’s center, where you will do the cooking class and walk. On arrival you will meet women at the shop, get the briefing before starting the tour. Your cooking lesson will be started by a walk to the local market, where you buy different fresh ingredients to use while cooking, learn how to bargain, etc.

That is why the whole experience is called “From market to meal”, every step of the process of cooking is shared by one of the women and participants in this tour. After buying produce and ingredients at several markets the group walks just around the corner from the Center to a local home.

There you get to work at a wooden table in her courtyard, chopping countless vegetables and starting the charcoal stoves. Under the guidance of the women, six traditional, delicious, and gratifying dishes are prepared and then shared by all involved. As the food cooks, you will go for Nyamirambo walk where you will learn a lot about Kigali especially Nyamirambo,. After the tour you will then return to the house where you cooked your lunch and get to taste the results, the food that you have spent hours cooking.

Later after eating, you will get time for comments about what you liked most, what was the easiest dish to cook, what takes longer than others, etc.

ALTERNATIVELY, you’d Kigali neighborhood tour in Nyamirambo, Kigali’s oldest and vibrant town. Visits to historical places, local markets, etc. You will end a tour with a delicious local meal at our local host.

Later be transferred to Kandt museum where you will learn more about the country’s history and culture. This museum has an outdoor side where guests visit reptiles. After this museum you will head to Kigali Genocide memorial site where over 250,000 genocide victims were put to rest in mass graves.

Pick up at 8am and transfer to Nyungwe National Park via Butare and visit the King’s palace and the Ethnographic Museum. You will have lunch in Butare before we proceed to Nyungwe forest. The drive will take 6 hours from Kigali but it’s a great drive through the villages of Rwanda as you enjoy local lifestyles and an amazing landscape.

Early breakfast After breakfast, you will transfer to the park for a waterfall visit. As you hike through beautifully designed trails you will be seeing different species of fauna and flora.

After lunch in the afternoon, you will check in again at the park reception at 1pm, briefing followed by a walk to the famous canopy walk way. A 70 m high and 160m long artificial bridge which allows you to views beautiful views of the old forest from the top. You will also get chance to see some birds at the tree crowns.

After your return from the park, you will be transferred Kibuye at Lake Kivu. Kibuye is Rwanda’s most attractive of lake ports, nestled in a series of interwoven and undulating hills and offering visitors spectacular views of the lake, its islands and the stunning surrounding countryside. It is considered one of Rwanda’s hidden treasures, with its lush green hills and peaceful breeze.

After breakfast at 9am, your guide will transfer you to Volcanoes in the North. On arrival, you will transfer to the hotel for check -in and lunch and later go canoeing.

You will discover this special way to journey through the countryside in our modern canoes! Soak up impressive views, spot abundant birds, look out for the otters and meet friendly communities. This river is mostly very gentle and flat with one short, easy rapid and one section where the water goes quite fast.

This activity will give you a great sense of the countryside, meet friendly locals along the way and enjoy views of the volcano range in this area.

After breakfast we transfer to the park. Completing our park formalities later drive to the edge of the park to see the Golden Monkeys. It is now believed that they are the only feasible population of Golden Monkeys residing in Volcanoes National Park. They are beautiful and endangered primates which have become quite habituated to humans, making it possible to observe them closely.

At noon, you will have lunch later drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Nkuringo sector.

Arise early today and prepare for the highlight of your safari, an unforgettable encounter with the Gentle Giants!

Following breakfast, transfer to the national park offices where you will be allocated a gorilla family in groups of 8 as well as a gorilla tracking guide. After a pre-tracking briefing by your guide touching on the gorillas generally, your assigned gorilla family as well as appropriate safety precautions, you drive to the trailhead for the start of a thrilling adventure. Expect to walk between 2 and 8 hours in steep and sometimes muddy conditions with rain overhead, which can be tough and require a degree of (average) fitness. However, the thrill of coming face to face with a giant Mountain Gorilla silverback completely makes up for the effort!

Upon sighting the gorillas, you spend the allowed one hour with them as they go about their daily life; feeding, moving, playing, raising their young and sometimes wrestling with the juveniles – it is a totally unique and unforgettable experience!

Return to the base and transfer to the lodge for lunch and refreshment. Transfer back to Kigali.

Check out in the morning, transfer to the airport for the flight to Nairobi. On arrival you will be welcomed by our team at the airport.

Lunch at a recommended restaurant in town, then start a city tout of Nairobi before transferring back to the hotel in the evening.

In the evening, transfer to the famous Carnivore Restaurant for a Beast of a feast dinner inclusive of their Famous 40-Year-old Signature “Dawa” Cocktail. Thereafter transfer back to your hotel for an overnight stay.

Offsite dinner: Carnivore Restaurant (or another restaurant if we have vegetarian)

Everyone who comes to Kenya must try the Carnivore Restaurant Nairobi if they are true Meat Eaters! Every type of meat imaginable is roasted on traditional Masai swords (skewers) over a huge, visually spectacular charcoal pit that dominates the entrance of the restaurant.

The Carnivore Restaurant Nairobi is a unique experience. This open-air meat specialty restaurant has become a standard stop on the safari trail. Every type of meat imaginable, including four choices of wild game, is roasted on traditional Masai swords (skewers) over a huge, visually spectacular charcoal pit that dominates the entrance of the restaurant.

Normally waiters welcome you for starters with a delicious hot soup, and then carry the meat swords around the restaurant, carving unlimited amounts of the prime meats onto sizzling, cast iron plates in front of you. A wide selection of salads, vegetable side dishes, and a variety of exotic sauces accompany the meat feast.

After this meal, dessert and coffee follow. The famous Carnivore Dawa cocktail was introduced to Kenya at the Carnivore. Dawa in Swahili means medicine or a health revival potion. The Carnivore ”Dawa” is the drink chosen to hydrate, refresh and sharpen the taste buds.

Enjoy an early morning breakfast and begin your journey for a Kenya safari adventure to Nakuru. Drive through the stunning & scenic Great Rift Valley with a brief stopover to admire the breathtaking views and optional shopping at the curio shops. Check in at the lodge, have lunch served and day at leisure to enjoy the facilities the Lodge has to offer. In the evening, thrill up your day by enjoying a ‘Spice’ game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park which has a spectacular landscape of bush land; housing a huge diversity of wildlife not forgetting the famous white Rhino and the Panoramic views of the beautiful sceneries along the shores of the lake offering you an opportunity of seeing millions of migratory birds and huge numbers of flamingo (Depending on the season). In the evening transfer back to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay

Lake Nakuru National Park

Lake Nakuru National Park is plentiful and the magnificent, the Park is a home to stunning flocks of lesser and Greater flamingos, which literally turn the lakeshores in to a magnificent pink stretch (Depending on the Season). The bird life here is world renowned and over 400 birds’ species exist here, White Pelicans, Plovers, Egrets and Marabou Stork. It is also one of the very few places in Africa to see the White Rhino and rare Rothschild Giraffe

Early morning breakfast and game drive in Nakuru in search of wildlife not seen on the previous game drive. You will have a packed lunch box for the day.

You will proceed to Lake Naivasha National Park, this park is located in the Northwest part of Nairobi along the great Rift Valley region. The park is located in the fresh water and is famous as a birding destination.

On arrival you will check in, and spend the rest of the day at Leisure to enjoy the facilities.

In the afternoon, you’ll do a boat ride on the Lake.

Early morning breakfast and game drive in Nakuru in search of wildlife not seen on the previous game drive. You will have a packed lunch box for the day.

Head to the Hells Gate National Park where you will trek to the Gorges which takes about 2 hours and visit the Geothermal Spa

After breakfast you will transfer from Nairobi to Masai Mara, the world famous Masai Mara game reserve. Enjoy a brief stop-over in Narok Town for refreshments and to use the rest rooms before continuing your journey to Masai Mara with a short game drive enroute before reaching the lodge.

On arrival you will check in, and spend the rest of the day at Leisure to enjoy the facilities the lodge has to offer before heading out for a thrilling introductory evening game drive in the Magnificent Masai Mara. Return to the Lodge for Dinner and Overnight Stay

Masai Mara Game Reserve

The Maasai Mara (also known as the Masai Mara, and locally simply as The Mara) is a large game reserve in Narok County, Kenya, contiguous with the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. It is named in honor of the Maasai people (the ancestral inhabitants of the area) and their description of the area when looked at from afar: ”Mara” means ”spotted” in the local Maasai language of Maa, due to the many trees which dot the landscape. It is world-renowned for its exceptional populations of lions, leopards, cheetahs and elephant, and the annual migration of wildebeest, zebra, Thomson’s gazelle and other antelope, to and from the Serengeti every year known as the Great Migration. The Masai Mara “Big Five” are the Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and Rhino.

The Greater Mara Ecosystem encompasses areas known as the Maasai Mara National

Reserve, the Mara Triangle, and several Maasai Conservancies, including: Koiyaki, Lemek,

Ol Chorro Oirowua, Olkinyei, Siana, Maji Moto, Naikara, Ol Derkesi, Kerinkani, Oloirien, and Kimintet.

Masai Mara Wildebeest Migration

Every year, around 1.5 million wildebeest; 350,000 Thomson’s gazelle; 200,000 zebra; and thousands of eland and other ungulates (hoofed animals) participate in ‘the greatest show on Earth’, The Great Wildebeest Migration when the grassy plains of the southernmost Serengeti begin to dry out and the ever-moving columns of wildebeest follow an age-old route in search of grazing and water that takes them across the plains of the Masai Mara in Kenya from between Mid-June and Early September (however the dry seasons may change due to global warming)

The three groups of migrant grazers take advantage of different heights of grass, which means they stick to their own kind with only a small overlap in their distributions. The grasses of the plains have the highest protein content in the whole of the Serengeti, as well as being high in calcium.

It is unclear how the wildebeest know which way to go, but it is generally believed that their journey is dictated primarily by their response to the weather; they follow the rains and the growth of new grass. While there is no scientific proof of it, some experts believe that the animals react to lightning and thunderstorms in the distance. It has even been suggested that wildebeest can locate rain more than 50km away.

Early morning breakfast and depart the lodge with your packed lunch boxes for a full day game viewing across the rich tree studded grassland and rolling hills. At lunchtime, our guide will pick a scenic (and safe) spot where you will enjoy your lunch and hear animals howling, birds chirping and the mighty Mara River flowing across the savannah bringing life to the park.

After watching more of the spectacle that never gets dull, transfer back to your lodge.

*Note*

On this day clients can choose to have AM & PM game drives this need to be organized with our driver guide the day before

Upon arrival at Isebania border, meet and greet with your guide for Tanzania then drive to your camp for dinner and overnight at Tanzania Bush Camp enroute game drive.

After breakfast, depart with picnic lunch boxes for a full day game drive in Serengeti National Park enjoy safari drives within this vast savannah plains enjoying the splendours Serengeti. Dinner and overnight at Tanzania Bush Camp.

Serengeti National Park, what the Maasai refer to as Siringitu – ‘the place where the land moves on forever.’  Here, life’s possibilities seem as infinite as the endless variety of wildlife you will see, such as lion, leopard and cheetah, and their prey – giraffe, topi, buffalo and impala.  The kopjes (prehistoric rock outcroppings) host hyraxes, dwarf mongooses, red-headed agamas and often a sleepy black-maned lion or leopard.  The open grassland is home to large groups of Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles, spotted hyena and jackal.  Each year, more than a million wildebeest, accompanied by thousands of zebras and other herbivores, trek across the Serengeti in search of fertile grasslands.

After breakfast drive to Ndutu with picnic lunch box enroute game drive enjoy safari drives within this vast savannah plains enjoying the splendors Ndutu and later dinner and overnight at Ndutu Tanzania Bush Camp.

After breakfast, depart with picnic lunch boxes for a full day game drive in Ndutu Park enjoy safari drives within this vast savannah plains enjoying the splendours Ndutu. Dinner and overnight at Ndutu Tanzania Bush Camp.

After early breakfast, depart with picnic lunch boxes for game drive in Ngorongoro Crater where you will descend about 500m into the crater. This world heritage site is the biggest intact caldera in the world. Lunch at Picnic site then ascend Crater to head back to your accommodation to enjoy the hotel. Dinner and overnight at Octagon Lodge.

Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro Crater is an extinct volcanic caldera in the Eastern (Great) Rift Valley, northern Tanzania. It lies 75 miles (120 km) west of the town of Arusha. The caldera measures between 10 and 12 miles (16 and 19 km) across and has an area of 102 square miles (264 square km). Its heavily forested rim rises 2,000 feet (610 metres) above the caldera’s floor to an elevation of 7,500 feet (2,286 meters). Ngorongoro is thought to have formed about 2.5 million years ago from a large active volcano whose cone collapsed inward after a major eruption, leaving the present vast, unbroken caldera as its chief remnant.The caldera’s floor is predominantly open grassland. It is home to a diverse array of animals including elephants, black rhinoceroses, leopards, buffalo, zebras, warthogs, gnu (wildebeests), Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, and the densest population of lions in the world. The local Masai people also graze their livestock in the crater. Lake Magadi, a shallow soda lake ringed by extinct volcanoes, is renowned as a habitat for great flocks of pink flamingos.

of 7,500 feet (2,286 meters). Ngorongoro is thought to have formed about 2.5 million years ago from a large active volcano whose cone collapsed inward after a major eruption, leaving the present vast, unbroken caldera as its chief remnant.The caldera’s floor is predominantly open grassland. It is home to a diverse array of animals including elephants, black rhinoceroses, leopards, buffalo, zebras, warthogs, gnu (wildebeests), Grant’s and Thomson’s gazelles, and the densest population of lions in the world. The local Masai people also graze their livestock in the crater. Lake Magadi, a shallow soda lake ringed by extinct volcanoes, is renowned as a habitat for great flocks of pink flamingos.

After breakfast, drive with picnic lunch boxes to Arusha enroute game drive.

On the way pass Snakepark to visit some reptiles such as crocodiles, pythons & other reptiles, plus camel rides, the Maasai Cultural Museum.

You will also visit a craft market and buy souvenirs.

After early morning breakfast depart your hotel, and head to Kilimanjaro International Airport for your return flight back to home. END!