11 Days Masai Mara and Mgahinga Gorillas | Perfect Itinerary

This 11-day Masai Mara and Mgahinga gorillas safari starts in Mombasa and ends in Kigali. The first day of the adventure will take you to Masai Mara National Reserve for a full-day game dive and a great time meeting the famous wild beasts and wildlife. The safari will continue to Lake Nakuru National Park which is famously known as “A beautiful wildlife haven” While there, you will enjoy the wide ecological diversity and varied habitats that range from Lake Nakuru itself to the surrounding escarpment and picturesque ridges.

The safari will continue to Amboseli National Park which is crowned by Mount Kilimanjaro and also known as “Home of the African Elephant” Amboseli is one of the best places in Africa to view large herds of elephants up close. While at Amboseli, you can also visit the Masai local community for African authentic culture and traditional dance performances. This trip will also take you to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and while there, you will have fun meeting the mountain gorillas that share 99% DNA with humans. During the gorilla trek, you will have a great time meeting the gentle giants. Finally, you will transfer to Volcanoes National Park where you will have a wonderful time meeting the golden monkeys.

Itinerary at a Glance: 11 Days Masai Mara and Mgahinga Gorillas

• Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Masai Mara
• Day 2: Morning and evening game drives
• Day 3: Transfer to Lake Nakuru
• Day 4: Game drive at Lake Nakuru
• Day 5: Transfer to Amboseli
• Day 6: Full-day game drive
• Day 7: Transfer to the airport for the flight
• Day 8: City tour & transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park
• Day 10: Gorilla trekking at Mgahinga
• Day 11: Golden monkey trekking and transfer to Kigali

Detailed Itinerary: 11 Days Masai Mara and Mgahinga Gorillas

Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Masai Mara

Upon arrival at the airport, you will be met and greeted by the driver guide. The driver guide will briefly take you through the trip plan. He will transfer you to Masai Mara with a brief stop over at the Rift Valley viewpoint. Upon arrival at Masai Mara, you will check in at the lodge for lunch. After lunch and a few hours of relaxation, you will depart for the evening game drive. Masai Mara is a fascinating ecosphere occupying Savannah, grassland, woodlands, and marshy forests. The national reserve harbors the “Big Five“, on top of a diversity of other plain game and a wealthy diversity of bird life. Transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Accommodation: Sanctuary Olonana Camp (Luxury)/ Sarova Mara Camp (Midrange)

Day 2: Morning and evening game drives

After an early breakfast, with the help of your guide, you will depart for a full-day game drive and explore Masai Mara in search of the wild animals found here. You will also visit the river to witness the great wildebeest migration as they cross the river. The Wildebeest are not the only tenants of the land. The Mara is also home to other animals namely; zebra, elephants, and giraffes, and to the big cats; cheetahs, lions, and leopards. Hyena, jackal, buffalo, eland, topi, impala, gazelle, and warthog add to this huge diversity of wildlife. After the game drives, you will be driven back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner, and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Sanctuary Olonana camp (Luxury)/ Sarova Mara Camp (Midrange)

Day 3: Transfer to Lake Nakuru

After breakfast, you will check out of the lodge with the help of your guide. He will then transfer you to Lake Nakuru where you will have the afternoon at leisure.

Accommodation: Lake Nakuru Sopa lodge (Luxury)/ Lake Nakuru lodge (Midrange)

Day 4: Game drive at Lake Nakuru

After breakfast, you will depart to the park for the game drive. Lake Nakuru is a tinny park with eye-catching rare white rhinos that form part of the Big Five animals. During the game drive, there are high chances of seeing the pink flamingos. The game drive at Lake Nakuru lasts between 3-4 hours. After the game drive, you will return to the lodge for lunch and have the entire afternoon at leisure.

Accommodation: Lake Nakuru Sopa lodge (Luxury)/ Lake Nakuru lodge (Midrange)

Day 5: Transfer to Amboseli

After an early breakfast, you will check out of the hotel for your drive to Amboseli National Park. Amboseli National Park is famous for its beautiful and eye-catching scenery with the support of snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro which influences the landscape, and open plains. Upon arrival, you will check in at the lodge for relaxation in preparation for the evening game drive. You will then set out for an evening game drive with beautiful views.

Accommodation: Ol Tukai Lodge (Luxury)/ AA Lodges Amboseli (Midrange)

Day 6: Full-day game drive

After breakfast, you will set out to the lodge for the game drive with a packed lunch. You will spend the whole day in the park searching for Amboseli’s popular residents like the well-known predators and their opponents like Zebra, giraffes, wildebeests, and hippos, among others with beautiful views of mountain Kilimanjaro. Later, you will return to the lodge for relaxation, dinner, and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Ol Tukai Lodge (Luxury)/ AA Lodges Amboseli (Midrange)

Day 7: Transfer to the airport for the flight

After breakfast, depending on your flight schedule you will check out of the lodge for the transfer to the airport for your flight to Kigali. Upon arrival at Kigali, the driver guide will transfer you to the hotel for relaxation, dinner, and an overnight stay.

Accommodation: Kigali Marriot (Luxury)/ Governor’s residence (Midrange)

Day 8: City tour & transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

At 7:00 am you will have breakfast and transfer to Kigali for the city tour. You will visit Ntarama church where you will learn more about the 1994 genocide memorial. From Nyamata church, crown the genocide history with a visit to Gisozi genocide memorial museum where you will learn more about what transpired during the April 1994 genocide and how it went throughout the country. After lunch, you will visit the firehouse which is the area where the plane that was carrying President Habyarima was brought down, that late sparked the famous 1994 Rwanda genocide. You will then visit the Belgium Museum and learn more about Rwanda’s culture.  After the city tour, you will have lunch and then transfer to Mgahinga Gorilla National Park with beautiful views of the countryside.

Accommodation: Mount Gahinga lodge (Luxury)/ Ikoro hotel (Midrange)

Day 10: Gorilla trekking at Mgahinga

On this day, you will have a great time encountering the mountain gorillas of Volcanoes National Park! After a tasty breakfast, your guide will pick you up from the lodge and transfer you to the briefing point for a briefing by ranger guides at 7:30 and 8:30 am about the dos and don’ts of gorilla trekking. With a packed lunch, you will start the trek to track the gorillas and after locating them, you will only spend a maximum of 1 hour. This walk can take approximately 4-5 hours depending on where the gorillas slept the previous night. After the trek, you hike back out of the park for lunch. After lunch, you will be transferred to Volcanoes National Park.

Accommodation: One & Only Gorilla’s nest (Luxury)/ Five volcanoes boutique hotel (Midrange)

Day 11: Golden monkey trekking and transfer to Kigali

This will take us through the edges of the forest via potato fields and the briefing will be conducted in the same place where the usual Kinigi park office is located this means the trekking will take us 3-4 hours after the trekking, we shall return to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, you will transfer back to Kigali International Airport for your flight back home.

End of 11 Days Masai Mara and Mgahinga gorillas

Inclusions

• Accommodation
• Meals
• Gorilla permit
• Golden monkey permit
• Park entrance fees
• City tour
• Game drives
• All entrance fees
• Transportation
• English speaking guide
• All transfers
• All activities mentioned above

Exclusions

• Visa fees
• Air ticket
• Activities that are not mentioned
• Tips & gratuities
• Personal expenses