11-Days Great Beast Migration and Gorilla Safari

Leave Kampala after breakfast and travel west to Fort Portal town. The drive for this Uganda chimpanzee and gorilla-trekking safari is approximately 4 to 5 hours, including a lunch break in Fort Portal town. Afterward, proceed to Kibale Forest National Park and check into your pre-booked lodge for some rest. Later, embark on a community walk in Bigodi Wetland or explore the stunning crater lakes region for its scenic views. Enjoy dinner and spend the night at your lodge.

After breakfast, you are to report to the Kanyanchu Tourist Centre (park headquarters) by 08:00 am for a briefing on the chimpanzee tracking regulations. Kibale Forest National Park boasts the richest diversity and highest density of primates in East Africa. The 2 to 3-hour trek offers a chance to observe a range of other primates, wildlife, and birds.

Following lunch and a brief rest, you will be transported to Queen Elizabeth National Park. You will arrive in the late evening and check into your pre-arranged lodge.

Following breakfast, embark on an early-morning safari drive to spot lions, leopards, giant forest hogs, Cape buffaloes, elephants, defassa waterbucks, Uganda kobs, topis, and bushbucks, among others. Afterward, return to your lodge for lunch, then enjoy a 2-hour boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel in the afternoon.

Following breakfast, you will proceed to the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park. This park is renowned for its tree-climbing lions that rest in the branches, vigilantly watching over the herds of Uganda kob, which are their preferred prey. Additionally, the park provides a habitat for numerous buffalo and elephants, as well as the uncommon shoebill.

You will start your day with an early "Uganda chimpanzee and gorilla-trekking safari breakfast," then proceed to the park headquarters to join other trackers for a briefing on the gorilla trekking rules at 7:45 am. Following the briefing, you will embark on the trek through dense creepers and undergrowth alongside your guides to locate the gorillas, which could take anywhere from 1 to 8 hours. The landscape is steep and heavily forested yet intersected by numerous animal trails that provide access for tourists. Upon locating the gorillas, you will have the opportunity to spend an hour with them, watching closely as they eat, play, communicate, and interact with their young.

After completing the activities, you will be transferred to the beautiful Lake Bunyonyi for dinner and an overnight stay.

Depart for Kampala with a stop at the equator, where you can stand in both hemispheres simultaneously and capture the moment with photographs.

You will reach Kampala for a relaxed evenning and get ready for your flight to Serengeti for the mighty beast migration experience

Upon arrival at Kogatende Airstrip, you will welcomed by our professional driver guide. Enjoy a full day of game drives in the Kogatende and Bologonja areas, with a special focus on the Great Migration. Recent updates indicate that the Great Migration has reached the Kogatende region of the Northern Serengeti, preparing for the dramatic crossing of the Mara River. The herds are assembling along the riverbank, stretching from Gardenia Valley to the Nyamalumbwa Plains and the Sand River. The Great Wildebeest Migration, an annual event where over two million wildebeest, zebras, and gazelles traverse the ecosystems of the Serengeti and Masai Mara in search of fresh grazing grounds, is an awe-inspiring sight.

After an early breakfast, we embark on a game drive. The Northern Serengeti is a haven for those looking to avoid the crowds. Tucked between the Central Serengeti and Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve to the north, this part of the park is remote and less accessible, attracting fewer visitors. Those who venture to this region are greeted with stunning landscapes. The 800-kilometer journey of the vast wildebeest herd is the largest mammal migration on the planet. The migration's timing aligns with the wet season when the short-grass plains become lush with nutritious grasses, providing a safer environment for calving due to the visibility of predators. As the plains dry out, the wildebeest migrate in search of greener pastures along the western corridor. Although the northern extension of the ecosystem receives the most rainfall, its grasses are the least nutritious.

After breakfast, embark on a full-day game drive in search of the migration crossing the Mara River in Northern Serengeti National Park. If you're planning a safari in the Northern Serengeti, you're in for a treat. The park is home to a diverse array of wildlife, including the 'Big Five': elephants, lions, rhinos, buffaloes, and leopards, which are considered the most challenging species to track on foot. Other wildlife species which can be seen during a safari around Serengeti national park include wildebeests, zebras, cheetahs, hippos, antelopes, impalas, waterbuck The annual migration of two million ungulates, wildebeest through Serengeti National Park is the greatest wildlife spectacle of its type in Africa, and perhaps the world. Although variations occur from year to year, the Serengeti migration follows a reasonably predictable annual cycle, dictated by local rainfall patterns. The Great Migration cycle breaks up into the following periods.

Early morning game drive towards the Central Serengeti for game drive. The great migration is suppose to be in this area from late July to mid-October crossing the famous Mara river to Maasai Mara reserve in Kenya and back to Serengeti. You will have high opportunity to see them crossing while in the river attack them. Our guides will choose the best spotting locations for the possibility of watching a big pride of lions, be in the middle of the migration, sometimes surrounded by wildebeest as well as hippo’s pools, sometimes by zebras, which travel with the wildebeest. We journey from the wide-open plains to the kopjes: these volcanic rocky outcrops provide protection and shelter for a wide variety of animals and from the top we can look out across the vast grasslands. After game drive you will be transfer to Farm of Dream Lodge in Karatu 4 to 5 Hours.

After breakfast you will find your driver guide ready to pick you up and start your safari The Ngorongoro Crater is home to a diverse range of wildlife, including the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo)Other animals that can be found in the crater include wildebeest, zebras, gazelles, hyenas, jackals, hippos, and antelopes 12. The crater is also home to the world’s densest lion population and the highest density of lions in the world Additionally, the crater hosts the rare black rhino. It is important to note that giraffes are not found inside the crater, as the steep walls of the crater form a natural barrier for them After game drive you will be transferred to Arusha Airport for the flight back home as you bid farewell to Africa