You can actually combine a Uganda gorilla safari with a Kenya migration safari to have an experience worth telling. This is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that involves encountering the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat and the Great Migration. Your tour takes you to Masai Mara National Reserve and Bwindi/Mgahinga National Park.
The tour could start from either Kenya or Uganda, depending on your preference. This is an exciting adventure which offers a unique chance to explore 2 of the most popular UNESCO World Heritage sites. These are Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Masai Mara National Reserve, where you can enjoy the rich natural wonders of East Africa.
Great Migration in Kenya
Masai Mara National Reserve is settled on 1,510 square kilometers of land in the Great Rift Valley region of southwestern Kenya. This offers great wildebeest migration spectacles along with Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania. Other angulates that migrate along with the wildebeests include zebras and gazelles and all of them combined can number over a million.
While on a 4X4 safari land cruiser, you will see through the pop-up roof the angulates crossing the Mara River from northern Tanzania. Witnessing them is best done from July to August as they look for better pasture and water in the Masai Mara National Reserve. The short rainy season in Masai Mara Reserve at that time offers the right conditions for them to thrive.
This journey though entertaining to us is instead perilous to the angulates. This is because they must try their best to survive their predators that include crocodiles, lions, cheetahs and leopards. They must also brave through the exhaustion and the risks of being injured/killed in the stampede. You will also learn that they migrate by instinct and this is an annual event.
While on the guided tour in Masai Mara National Reserve, you also have the chance of going for a game drive to view the big five (lions, leopards, African elephants, rhinos and African buffaloes). Cultural encounters with the Maasai are also there. This is an additional opportunity to interact and be entertained by one of Africa’s most famous and charismatic tribe.
Gorilla tours in Uganda
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are found in the Albertine Rift Valley region in southwestern Uganda. They are destinations for gorilla safaris in the wild in Uganda. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park occupies 321 square kilometers. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park occupies only 33.7 square kilometers in Virunga region.
Uganda alone shelters a half of the total population of mountain gorillas. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park alone is where around 459 mountain gorillas stay. At least 23 mountain gorilla families have been habituated in Uganda for trekking. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park has only one habituated gorilla family and the rest are found in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
In either Bwindi or Mgahinga, a gorilla trek starts in the morning, as early as 7:30 AM. You will first assemble for briefing. Then you will be assigned a habituated gorilla family to track. A ranger guide and armed ranger will accompany you into the forest to find the gorilla family. When found, you will spend an hour watching the gorillas and taking their photos.
For more extended and immersive gorilla tours, you should choose a gorilla habituation experience. This is only experienced in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The gorilla habituation experience involves tracking a semi habituated gorilla family with researchers and armed ranger to spend at least 4 hours in their presence.
Gorilla trekking tours are best done during the dry season. The dry season in either Bwindi National Park or Mgahinga National Park runs from June to August and December to February. The forests are less dense, gorilla trails are drier and less slippery and rainfall amounts are at minimum. These mentioned conditions offer continuous and comfortable trekking experiences.
Besides gorilla trekking tours, you can also do birding tours, hiking tours and photography. An encounter with the Batwa people is also an unmissable opportunity. This is a chance to encounter the former stewards of the forest who had lived inside for centuries. These are hunter-gatherers and will demonstrate some of these skills to you. The Batwa are also entertaining people with plenty of nice songs and dances and folklore to tell you.
How to travel?
From Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, you can reach Masai Mara through Entebbe and Kisumu for immigration by flight. This journey starts from either Kisoro airstrip or Kihihi airstrip. AeroLink is the service provider for the scheduled flight to or from Masai Mara. Reserve your flight tickets with registered tour operators such as us to enjoy smooth transfers.
Besides transportation, your tour package will be custom-made along with you. This ensures that accommodation, meals, guides and more tour activities are included to make your experience perfect. We are locally based and have the experience to explore the whole of East Africa with you. This includes trips to Tanzania, Rwanda, DRC and South Sudan.