Gorilla Trekking and the Masai Mara: A Tailor-Made Journey to Rwanda and Kenya

On arrival in Kigali you will be met by your private guide who will assist you with your bags and drive you through the countryside to Ruhengeri (also known as Musanze), the gateway to Volcanoes National Park.  (D)

Set off early this morning for a briefing at the Volcanoes National Park headquarters. Then begin your shared trek through the bamboo zone and into the jungle-covered slopes. The trek will take anywhere between two and five hours, depending on the location of the park’s gorilla families. Once you’ve found them, you’ll have one precious hour to spend observing these fascinating primates at close range. Learn about their behavior from the guide as you watch them interact. (B,L,D)

Return to the park early today to track endemic golden monkeys with a small group. These endangered primates live in troops of around 80 members in the bamboo forests at the base of the volcanoes, and getting to them is an easier trek. Spend some time watching their entertaining antics as they leap among the trees around you. In the afternoon, join your private guide on a walk to a nearby village. Meet residents plying their trades—from weaving mats to brewing banana beer—and enjoy an invitation to a private home to see how traditional Rwandan dishes are prepared. (B,L,D)

Travel back to Kigali and embark on a private city tour, including a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Later, head to the airport for your afternoon flight to Nairobi, where you’ll be picked up and transferred to your hotel in the heart of the city. (B)

Fly by light aircraft out of Nairobi’s domestic airport to the Masai Mara on Kenya’s southwestern border. Here, you’ll spend four nights in a luxury tent at the wonderful Karen Blixen Camp, an eco-friendly safari camp overlooking the Mara River and Olololo escarpment. After lunch and a siesta, set out on a game drive in the vast wilderness of the Mara North Conservancy, a private reserve adjacent to Masai Mara National Park. (B,L,D)

Spend three full days discovering this primordial landscape on morning and afternoon game drives in open vehicles, as well as guided bush walks, birding excursions, and night safaris. You’ll have a chance to see all manner of African wildlife, from “the Big Five” to giraffes, hippos, an array of bird species, and perhaps endangered wild dogs. When you’re not on safari, relax at the spa or pool, enjoy a yoga session, pitch in with a tree-planting program, or pay a visit to a nearby Maasai village to learn about this ancient pastoralist culture—and how it adapting to modern day life. (B,L,D)

Return to Nairobi via light aircraft and transfer to the international airport for your flight home. (B)