This version of the flagship route adds East Africa’s other great ape experience — chimpanzee trekking in Uganda’s Kibale Forest and Rwanda’s Nyungwe — either side of the gorilla treks, and extends the Tanzania leg to include two nights in the Serengeti itself rather than Ngorongoro alone.
Detailed Itinerary
DAY 1
Your driver-guide meets you at Entebbe International Airport for the drive west to Kibale Forest National Park, Uganda’s premier chimpanzee-trekking destination, through tea plantations and past Fort Portal’s crater lakes.
Arrive Entebbe, Transfer to Kibale Forest
Accommodation Options
BudgetChimpanzee Forest Guest House
Mid-rangeKibale Forest Camp
LuxuryKyaninga Lodge
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
DAY 2
Briefing at Kanyanchu visitor centre, then tracking a habituated chimpanzee community through Kibale’s forest — a gentler walk than the gorilla trek to come, given the terrain’s more forgiving nature — with a strict hour once your group finds them, followed by an optional afternoon at Bigodi Wetland Sanctuary.
Chimpanzee Trekking, Kibale Forest
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 3
A drive south to Bwindi via Queen Elizabeth National Park’s Ishasha sector, your guide slowing right down through the fig and euphorbia trees scanning for the sector’s famous tree-climbing lions.
Transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Accommodation Options
BudgetBuhoma Community Camp
Mid-rangeEngagi Lodge
LuxuryBuhoma Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 4
7:30am briefing at park headquarters, rangers assigning trekking groups based on fitness and tracker reports, then the trek itself through dense rainforest — thirty minutes to six hours — followed by a strict hour with your gorilla family.
Gorilla Trekking, Bwindi
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 5
The drive to the Cyanika border post takes under two hours, a standard land-border process generally under an hour, before a Rwanda-based driver-guide continues you on to Kinigi at the base of the Virunga volcanoes.
Cross Border to Kinigi, Rwanda
Accommodation Options
BudgetKinigi Guest House
Mid-rangeMountain Gorilla View Lodge
LuxuryVirunga Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 6
A 6am wake-up for the 7am briefing at Kinigi park headquarters, opening with a performance by the intore dancers, then the trek itself through increasingly misty forest on the volcanic slopes and the strict hour with your second gorilla family.
Gorilla Trekking, Volcanoes National Park
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 7
A longer drive south through Rwanda’s terraced hill country and past Huye, the country’s old colonial university town, before climbing into Nyungwe’s cooler, wetter montane rainforest — one of the oldest rainforests in Africa.
Transfer to Nyungwe Forest
Accommodation Options
BudgetGisakura Guest House
Mid-rangeNyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
LuxuryNyungwe Forest Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 8
An early start following a habituated chimpanzee community through Nyungwe’s dense montane forest, noticeably more demanding than Kibale’s given the steeper elevation changes, followed in the afternoon by Africa’s highest canopy walkway, a suspended bridge roughly 70 metres above the forest floor.
Chimpanzee Trekking and Canopy Walk, Nyungwe
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 9
A transfer to Kigali International Airport for a flight via Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, connecting on to one of the Maasai Mara’s airstrips for an afternoon game drive on arrival.
Fly Kigali to Nairobi to Maasai Mara
Accommodation Options
BudgetEnchoro Wildlife Camp
Mid-rangeSarova Mara Game Camp
LuxuryAngama Mara
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 10
A full day across the Mara’s plains for lion, leopard and, in season, migrating wildebeest herds, split by a picnic lunch out on the reserve.
Full Day Maasai Mara Game Drives
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 11
A genuinely rare direct option: a light aircraft crossing the Kenya-Tanzania border from the Mara straight onto one of the Serengeti’s northern airstrips, skipping Nairobi and Arusha entirely and cutting what would otherwise be a full day of road transfers and border formalities down to under an hour in the air.
Fly to Serengeti National Park
Accommodation Options
Mid-rangeSerengeti Serena Safari Lodge
LuxuryFour Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 12
A full day across the Serengeti’s endless plains for lion, leopard and, seasonally, the Great Migration.
Full Day Serengeti Game Drives
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 13
The drive to the crater rim via the Serengeti’s southern plains and the Ngorongoro highlands, arriving with time for an afternoon crater floor descent.
Transfer to Ngorongoro Crater
Accommodation Options
Mid-rangeNgorongoro Serena Safari Lodge
LuxuryNgorongoro Crater Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 14
A transfer to Arusha and Kilimanjaro International Airport for your onward international flight.
Departure
Meals: Breakfast
Permits & Costs
| Uganda gorilla permit | $800 per person |
| Rwanda gorilla permit | $1,500 per person |
| Kibale & Nyungwe chimpanzee permits | $200–$100 per person |
| Serengeti park entry | ~$82 per person per day |
| Ngorongoro Conservation Area fee | ~$70 per person per day, plus crater descent |
Who This Itinerary Suits
Serious primate and wildlife enthusiasts who want both great apes — gorillas and chimpanzees — alongside proper time in two of Africa’s most famous savanna ecosystems.Tour Includes
- All ground transport in 4×4 safari vehicles
- Regional flight segments
- Professional English-speaking driver-guides in each country
- All accommodation per itinerary
- Meals as specified
- All permits, park entry & crater descent fees
Tour Excludes
- International flights
- Visas
- Tips & gratuities
- Travel insurance