Luxury east African safari will take you to Tanzania Rwanda tour for mountain gorillas and wildlife encounter respectively. You will be in full use of the luxury lodges in Rwanda specifically in volcanoes national park which is the base for mountain gorillas.
On arrival in Kigali, you will be welcomed by our experienced driver/guide who will transfer you to Heaven Retreat – Kigali where he will take you through the entire programme then dinner and overnight stay. On a new day, the driver/guide with the Kigali city tour will transfer you to Volcanoes National Park where you will encounter mountain gorilla experience and golden monkey tracking in the tropical rain forest so don’t forget the hiking boot and the rain gear, insect repellent, hut and then the backpack to protect your camera and other documents while trekking and it is possible to receive rain anytime in the day.
You will start with a city tour in Kigali giving you the opportunity to visit Kigali genocide memorial grounds giving all the history of the 1994 genocide which claimed great number of people’s lives. If interested in the machine interactions, you will pay a small fee for you to use them to give that massacre information. You will be able to see the remains displayed in the museum and a lot of written information pinned on the walls. You will then take lunch in the city centre and then embark on your journey.
The drive will take two hours to reach Volcanoes National Park and once you are there, if you are not staying with the Singita Lodges another option you can check in at Wilderness Bisate Lodge where you will be served dinner and overnight stay. This six luxurious roomed lodge situated in the truly dramatic natural setting at the heart of an Amphitheatre formed by eroded volcano cones, has got all its rooms en-suite with bathrooms, water, and toilets inside. It has also got verandas which provide beautiful stunning views of the surrounding peaks. The lodge has got well trained staff and a restaurant which provides all the types of meals depending on your choice.
Very early in the morning, take breakfast and head to the park headquarters for briefing. You will check in with all you required documents including the gorilla permit of $1500 which is the main requirement for you to go gorilla trekking in the park. The less fit hikers are assigned groups which are closer to the park offices and the ones fully fit will go for the higher hikes. At 8:00am, the park rangers lead the group to search for the gorillas.
You will take hours in search for them and once located, you will take one hour with them. While with the gorillas, it’s important to listen to instructions from your trackers and to always stay calm. Never make sudden movements. Take photos of your choice and once the one hour is done, you descend to the park offices to pick your gorilla trekking certificate then back to lodge for the hot lunch, refresh and then relax in your room or at the decker of your room mid bed.
After lunch, you will head to IbyI’wacu cultural centre for yet another encounter. Here you a guided community walk to visit different sites and experience the everyday lives of the local people. The cultural guide will take you to see the king’s house with all the houses interpretation of all parts and stories attached to this cultural treasure. Be enthroned and become a king for some time while exercising king’s powers as presented to you by a village elder through a village ceremony.
You will enjoy traditional dances like Intore dance and famous songs of the gorillas sang by the famous Ngayabatema while listening to the melody produced by traditional musical instruments including African drums. You will also learn about traditional medicine from a local traditional healer and get to know how medicinal trees, shrubs, grass are used to cure local patients. Head back to lodge for dinner and overnight.
There is yet another activity not to be missed while in Volcanoes National Park. This is golden monkey tracking which is also done early in the morning. The permit costs US$100 for international tourists. The monkeys will be easily found as they live at the bottom of the volcano mountains in the bamboo forest, and by following clues of fresh leftovers from eaten bamboo shoot and leaves the trackers are able to locate them in less than an hour.
Visitors spend a maximum of one hour watching closely these incredibly beautiful monkeys as they skillfully pick bamboo shoots and young bamboo leaves while making huge jumps from one bamboo tree to another which is enabled by their extra long tails that provide great balance.
You will then take a domestic flight to Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park where you will be welcome by our driver/guide and then transfer you to Singita Mara Tented Camp or Lemala Ewanjan Tented Camp in central Serengeti. The 14 en-suite tents are spacious and comfortable, and have an outside deck offering beautiful views over the area.
Each tent is fitted with two queen-size beds with warm duvets, a flush toilet, large safari-style shower, wooden storage cabinets and flooring, 24-hour solar lighting and outside loungers from which to enjoy early morning teas and coffees and refreshing afternoon gin and tonics. The mess tent with its separate bar, sitting and dining areas is beautifully decorated with leather sofas, side cabinets, rugs and chests. You will check in for dinner and overnight.
The central Serengeti has a huge number of permanent residents so game viewing is impeccable here year-round. From big mammals like elephants, buffaloes, and giraffes browsing in the area to small shiny reptiles and insects crawling about in trees and rocks call this region their home. Herbivores such as impalas, elands, and topis in the area also attract predators like hyenas, wild dogs, wildcats, caracals, and of course the three big cats: Lions, Cheetahs, and Leopards. All these are available for you to enjoy in the all-day game drive where by you will move with packed lunch.
You will then transfer to the northern Serengeti to witness the annual migration session. Over 1.2 million wildebeest and 300,000 zebras along with Topi and other gazelle move in a constant cycle through the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in search of nutritious grass and water. Guided by survival instinct, each wildebeest will cover 800 to 1,000km on its individual journey along age-old migration routes. Hungry predators including lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, wild dog and crocs make sure only the strongest survive in this natural spectacle also known as ‘the greatest show on Earth.’
The show is beset with danger to involved members since young calves are snatched by predators, the slow are brought down by prides of lion, brave beasts break legs on steep river slopes, crocodiles take their share of the stragglers, and the weak and exhausted drown.
All the above are worth for the show and you can not miss just to be told. You will take two or more days witnessing this and every show you witness is extra ordinary and more memorable. Therefore, I conclude by saying that if you are interested in gorilla migration safari on a mid-range price quote we are here to help you customize whatever experience that you are looking at in East Africa.
