Our leading safari destinations include Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania & DR Congo for gorilla tours and other experiences like primate tracking, game viewing, bird watching, adventure encounters, cultural and historical experiences. We also arrange safaris in Kenya and Tanzania for more wildlife experiences in large Savannah parks like the Serengeti and Masai Mara as well as Burundi for thrilling cultural experiences.
Rwanda safaris
Rwanda is popularly known as “The Land of A thousand Hills“. This is basically due to the very many beautiful rolling hills that are inter-connected throughout the country. But the country has got so much more than just hills to offer to its visitors. Rwanda is blessed with one of the most amazing bio-diversities in Africa which include rare and endemic fauna and flora.
The country offers amazing wildlife experiences including gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park, a home to over 350 endangered mountain gorillas. The park is part of the greater Virunga Mountains, a large ecological system that straddles the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and DR Congo popularly known for protecting the endangered mountain gorillas.
Other experiences in Rwanda include game drives to see amazing game species in Akagera National Park, primate tracking to meet breathtaking species like chimpanzees and golden monkeys in Nyungwe National Park and Volcanoes National Park respectively. Rwanda is also one of the best bird-watching destinations in Africa with a variety of endemic bird species within its parks. Cultural and historical tours are also very prominent in Rwanda featuring visits to the several genocide memorials across the country as well historical sites like the ancient King Palaces.
Gorilla Trekking
Rwanda offers some of the best gorilla safaris in Africa for travelers to trek the endangered mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. A gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda costs $1,500 per person but the money is just worth the experience. The park has about 10 groups or families of habituated mountain gorillas which are visited by trekkers everyday. Each gorilla family is visited once a day by group not exceeding trekkers who are permitted to spend an hour in their presence. This hour spent in the company of gorillas has been described as magical due to their amazing human-like behavior they display before their guests. This justifies the close similarity between the human DNA and that of gorillas of up to 98%.
Game viewing
Rwanda’s game viewing safaris take place in her single Savannah park, the Akagera National Park located in the east of the country. Akagera is home to all the famous Africa “big five” species as well as hundreds of small species and primates. In addition to game viewing, the park also offers other experiences including bird watching and launch cruise on Lake Ihema which found within the park.
Primate tracking
Rwanda is one of the best destinations when it comes to primate tracking. Nyungwe National Park in the south of the country has 12 primate species including chimpanzee, baboons, several monkey species, among others. This forested park is a gem of primates with visitors assured of seeing almost all species that call it home. In addition to tracking primates, visitors at Nyungwe can also enjoy the thrilling canopy walk and view the beautiful surroundings of the park while on top of the forest.
Bird watching
Bird watching is another amazing wildlife experience in Rwanda. The country has over 700 bird species found within several protected areas within its borders. Among these include 29 Albertine Rift endemics and several Lake Victoria Basin endemics. Major birding spots in Rwanda include Nyungwe National Park, Akagera National Park and Gishwati Mukura National Park.
Nature walks
Nature walks in Rwanda are arranged almost in all national parks to guide visitors to see some of the unique flora and fauna species that are rarely seen during regular safaris. These include several small animals like chameleon, frogs, butterflies, insects, birds as well as a variety of vegetation species. Special features like streams, lakes, hills and valleys, among others can all be explored during the nature walks.
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Uganda Safaris
Uganda is one of the most attractive safari destinations in Africa offering a variety of amazing safari experiences to her visitors. Uganda’s leading tourist attractions include the following;
Gorilla Trekking
Gorilla tours in Uganda take place in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, both located in the southwest of the country. Bwindi protects the largest population of the endangered mountain gorillas in the world with about 500 of them living within the park. There are about 17 habituated gorilla families in Bwindi which are visited by trekkers everyday. The park is divided into four different gorilla-trekking sectors which include Nkuringo, Ruhija, Buhoma and Rushaga. Each group of trekkers is assigned a particular sector for trekking and this helps to reduce congestion and limit interference with the animals. Mgahinga
Gorilla National Park on the other hand has one habituated gorilla family which is occasionally visited by trekkers. Visitors to Mgahinga usually combine gorilla trekking with golden monkey tracking, another primate species which is exclusively found in this park. Uganda’s gorilla permit for trekking mountain gorillas in Bwindi and Mgahinga is sold at $700 per person for for foreign non residents, $600 for foreign residents and UGX 250,000 for East African citizens.
Uganda is also the only country that offers the gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Unlike gorilla trekking where visitors are permitted to spend only an hour in the presence of gorillas, here they spend four full hours in their company. During the habituation exercise, visitors join trackers and rangers to follow a gorilla group which they intend to make used to the presence of humans. This is intended to make wild gorilla groups ready to be visited by tourists and this is how other gorilla families have successfully been habituated. The gorilla habituation permit is sold at $1,500 per visitor.
Game Viewing
Uganda has some of the best Savannah parks in the region for game drive experiences. The parks’ flat landscape and vast size allow visitors to enjoy amazing game drives where they see hundreds of game species as well other species like birds and primates. Best Savannah parks for game drives in Uganda include Murchison Falls National Park in the northwest, Queen Elizabeth National Park in the west, Kidepo Valley National Park in the northeast and Lake Mburo National Park in the southwest.
Popular species commonly seen in these parks include large game like lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant, rhino, giraffe and zebra. Others include a variety of antelope species, hyena, warthog, wild dog, hippos, among others. A boat cruise experience along the Nile and Kazinga Channel for those who visit Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Parks is always included. This offers visitors spectacular views of several aquatic species, birds and other game species as well as the beautiful surrounding of the parks. The rare tree-climbing lions found in the Ishasha sector of Queen Elizabeth National Park are one of the major highlights of a Uganda wildlife safari.
Tanzania Safaris
Tanzania is number one safari destination in East Africa. She boasts of 7 world heritage sites: 3 cultural, 3 natural and 1 mixed. Some of these world heritage sites include Kondoa Rock Art Site (cultural), Ngorongoro Conservation Area, The ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani & Songo Mnara (cultural), The Stone Town of Zanzibar (cultural), Kilimanjaro National Park (natural), Selous Game Reserve (natural), Serengeti National Park (natural) and Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Mixed). One can not miss mentioning a very important archeological site – the Olduvai Gorge ( a discovery made by Mary and Louis Leakey in 1959 and referred to the site as ‘The Cradle of mankind‘).
The famous over 1.5 million wildebeest Migration in Serengeti national park; the Ngorongoro Conservation Area – the largest intact and inactive volcanic caldera in the whole world; Mount Kilimanjaro – the world’s highest free standing and African continent’s highest peak at 5,895 meters (19,340 feet) and a snow-capped volcano, and the iconic Lake Manyara national park famous for tree climbing lions and thousands of flamingoes on the shores of the alkaline Lake Manyara.
