The Great Migration& Gorilla Trek
10 Days Great Migration and Gorilla Trek Itinerary:
Day 1 – Arrive Kilimanjaro Airport
Upon arrival at Kilimanjaro International airport, After clearing immigrations and collecting your luggage you will be met by your driver who will be waiting for you at arrivals. Drive to Arusha for check in and overnight on Bed and Breakfast at Four Points Arusha
Day 2 – Arusha City to Karatu
Breakfast at the city hotel. Depart and head to lake Manyara national park. It’s a small park but one of Tanzania’s most dramatically located wildlife areas, home to a clear blue shallow soda lake dotted with hippos lying below the dramatic hills of the Great Rift Valley escarpment. It’s an excellent birding destination and the only place in Tanzania where you may see tree-climbing lions. Enjoy a picnic lunch and later transfer to Karatu for dinner and overnight at Budget Ngorongoro Farm House Comfort – Laba Ngorongoro – Luxury Gibbs Farm House
Day 3 –Karatu to Ngorongoro Crater
Breakfast at the lodge and depart with picnic lunch boxes for a full-day safari in the Ngorongoro Crater. Your day starts with views over the largest intact volcanic caldera in the world. At 259 sq km (160 sq miles), the sheer size of the crater makes it difficult to comprehend the height of the towering walls, but the wind and clouds up here give you a hint. The rim of the crater sits around 610 m (2,001 ft) above the crater floor, and you’ll begin your descent to a naturally contained ecosystem home to zebra, wildebeest, buffalo, lion, hyena, jackal and even critically endangered black rhino. Later in the evening you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight at Budget Nyikani Migration Camp Comfort FB– Lemala Mara camp FB– Sanctuary Kichakani Migration camp FB
Day 4 – Ngorongoro Crater to Serengeti
Today you will depart Karatu and drive to the Serengeti through local villages on the way. The park is covered with flat or gently rolling grasslands and occasionally dotted with rock kopjes, home to good populations of resident wildlife. Big cats love to have a good vantage point, and the kopjes provide that. Massive herds of wildebeest call this southern section home when they’re birthing before moving farther north. Dinner and overnight at Budget Nyikani Migration Camp Comfort FB– Lemala Mara camp FB– Sanctuary Kichakani Migration camp FB
Day 5 – Full day Serengeti
Every year, two million wildebeest and zebra migrate from the plains of the Serengeti to the grasslands of the Masai Mara in Kenya in search of ground to feed. The most sought-after time to see this natural spectacle is from July to October, when the herds congregate on the banks of the Mara River, their final obstacle before reaching fertile ground. Driven by instinct and the smell of rain, the wildebeests and zebras take the dangerous plunge into the river. Those who escape the surging waters and gigantic crocodiles must stay alert enough to avoid the big cats waiting on the far side. The herds will graze in the Masai Mara for a time, splitting into groups that cross and re-cross the Mara River. Eventually, they will wander back south through the Serengeti. The migration can be seen every month of the year, starting with the calving season in the southern Serengeti from January to March, and planning your safari will depend on your interests and your budget. Dinner and overnight at Budget Nyikani Migration Camp Comfort FB– Lemala Mara camp FB– Sanctuary Kichakani Migration camp FB
Day 6 – Full day Serengeti
Al meals will be at the camp with game drives. Big cats are territorial and do not migrate with the millions of wildebeest and will often live in one area throughout their lives. Elephants like to stay as far away from the chaos of the migration as they can get. While the migration is a natural phenomenon that wildlife lovers dream of seeing, there are isolated, quiet areas of the Serengeti waiting for you as well. Return later to the camp for dinner and overnight at Budget Nyikani Migration Camp Comfort FB– Lemala Mara camp FB– Sanctuary Kichakani Migration camp FB
Day 7 – Serengeti to Kigali City
Breakfast at the camp and enjoy one last game drive enroute this morning on your way to the airstrip, where you’ll depart from the Serengeti via light aircraft, giving you a bird’s eye view of the land that you’ve been exploring over the past few days. After a few hours and more than likely a few stops to pick up passengers, you’ll arrive in the capital and largest city of Rwanda, Kigali. You will be met on arrival at Kigali International Airport and be transferred to your Hotel for check in. Overnight at your Hotel on bed and breakfast basis
The Court Boutique Hotel BB. Comfort – Zaria Court Hotel BB Luxury – Kigali Serena Hotel BB
Day 8 – Kigali City to Volcanoes National Park
Breakfast and check out. Your Guide will be waiting for you at the Lobby, ready with a full briefing of your Rwanda visits.
The Kigali city tours welcome you to this "Land of a Thousand Hills". You will start with the Kigali Genocide memorial Centre and thereafter proceed on to the City Centre visiting the main streets and lunch. Thereafter start your 2-hr drive to Volcanoes NP. Dinner and overnight at either;
Budget – Best View Hotel
Comfort – Tiloreza Volcanoes Ecolodge FB Luxury – Virunga Inn Resort FB
Day 9 – Rwanda Gorilla Trekking
Early breakfast and proceed to the National Park headquarters for a Gorilla tracking experience in the Volcanoes National Park. Once you spot them, you are allowed to spend an hour watching them. This is perhaps one of the most breathtaking wildlife experiences on earth! You get so close to these awesome giant primates. Tracking the gorillas through the light mountain forest on the slopes of Virunga is a magical experience. After Gorilla tracking return to your Lodge for lunch and afternoon at leisure around the lodge or find enough time to admire your photos on the Gorilla tracking activities or visit the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village and mingle with the local community in the cultural activities and traditional Rwandan dances... And thereafter dinner and overnight either at;
Budget – Best View Hotel
Comfort – Tiloreza Volcanoes Ecolodge FB Luxury – Virunga Inn Resort FB
Day 10 – Golden Monkey Trek
Another early breakfast at the lodge and return to Volcanoes NP, this time for Golden Monkeys trek. Entering dense stands of bamboo interspersed with open glades; you will make your way deep into golden monkey territory. Guides lead visitors to the habitat of groups of ‘habituated’ golden monkeys – monkeys used to human presence. Though viewing is kept to a maximum of one hour, travellers can get an up-close look at the golden monkey in its natural habitat. Back to the lodge for an early lunch before winding your way back to Kigali for your evening departure flight.