Premium Uganda, Rwanda & Kenya

Murakaza neza! Welcome to Kigali, Rwanda’s capital city. You’ll be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel, where you’ll have a welcome meeting at 6 pm. If you arrive in Kigali early, maybe start exploring at your own pace. Head to Nyamirambo, the Muslim quarter, to try some giant grilled tilapia, or stop by a local cafe and discover why Rwandan coffee is considered some of the world’s best. Tonight, you’ll join your leader for dinner at an East African restaurant popular with the locals. Enjoy live music, cocktails, great views and an authentic shared dining experience full of regional flavour.

This morning, take a tour of the city and Kimironko market with your trip leader, where you can try traditional Rwandan and Ugandan dishes for lunch. Then, head out of the city for a sobering visit to Ntarama Church. Your local guide will explain how this memorial marks the site of a significant event during the genocide and provides an important reminder of lives lost. Continue to the Nyamata Genocide Memorial Centre, where you’ll learn how the Tutsis sought refuge in churches during harrowing times. Then, visit the Genocide Museum – a powerful yet confronting experience and important in understanding the tragedy and the resilience of the Rwandan people. The evening is then free for you to explore at your own pace.

After breakfast, depart Kigali and head across the border to Bwindi National Park in Uganda. Break up the journey with a guided, gentle 4 km (2.4 mi) walk along the shore of Lake Ruhondo, with great birdlife and scenic views. Then, take a calm boat ride before moving on to Bwindi. Arrive at the Gorilla Heights Lodge – your Feature Stay accommodation for the next three nights. Sitting high on the Nteko Ridge, the lodge offers excellent views of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, which is home to half of the world’s 800 mountain gorillas. Gaze out from your solar-powered cottage balcony across the jagged Virunga Mountains that straddle Uganda’s border with Congo and Rwanda. This evening, during a Premium Experience, a field veterinarian from the Gorilla Doctors will join you at the lodge for a behind-the-scenes look at their work. This organisation is dedicated to saving the mountain and eastern lowland (Grauer’s) gorilla species through medical interventions that protect the animals from human-induced or life-threatening trauma or disease.

Rise early and head to the park headquarters where the Uganda Wildlife Authorities will brief you on today’s gorilla trek. The hike can be strenuous, wet and uncomfortable at times, but the incredible biodiversity of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the chance to see rare mountain gorillas make it worthwhile. It’s recommended that you invest in the help of local porters who can carry your pack and provide expert, local, one-on-one assistance along the way. Not only does it make for a more comfortable trek, but it also provides valuable employment opportunities to locals. Gorilla trekking is highly controlled. When you encounter a group of gorillas, you’ll be able to stay with them for one hour – watch them swing from trees, groom each other and play, all under the watchful eye of a giant silverback. Have a picnic lunch in the wilderness of the rainforest, then return to your accommodation.

After breakfast today, you’ll experience the Buniga Batwa Cultural Trail. The indigenous Batwa tribes, once forest-dwelling hunter-gatherers, were displaced in 1991 when the forests were designated as protected national parks, leaving them conservation refugees. The trail offers a glimpse into their traditional way of life. Walk through the forest with your local guide and translator, as they teach you how they used to forage for food, trap animals with snares made from branches and make tools and medicines from nature. Watch as they demonstrate their traditional hunting and fire-making techniques and learn how they built their huts and ‘nests’ in trees to protect children from dangerous animals. This afternoon, take another memorable walk, this time to the ‘Top of the World’ viewpoint in the Nkuringo Sector. From here, you can look out over the dense canopy of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to the Virunga Mountains, the distant Rwenzori Mountains and even small towns across the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Enjoy a sundowner and light snacks as the sun sets over the forest.

After breakfast, we'll depart the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and begin the journey to cross back over the border into Kigali (approximately 4 hours). After arriving at the capital, your afternoon is free to relax or explore.

Transfer to the airport and fly on an unescorted flight to Nairobi. You will be collected from the airport for a short transfer to your hotel, where you will meet your local leader and small group for a 6 pm welcome meeting. If you arrive before this time, you could spend the afternoon browsing the artistic and cultural displays at Nairobi Gallery, or lounging by the pool at your home for the night – a swish central hotel complete with bold pan-African art, a sauna and steam room, and super friendly staff. After your meeting, head out with your leader and fellow travellers to a colourful local restaurant offering traditional favourites with a modern touch. Sharing food is a big part of the culture here and a great way to get to know your new travel companions – enjoy sharing platters and tasty sides like samosas, fried plantains and tilapia.

Today, you’ll travel to the Great Rift Valley of East Africa. Along the way, you’ll stop in Elsamere – the former home of writer Joy Adamson, whose 1960 book helped bring wildlife conservation into the mainstream. The house is a veritable museum dedicated to the works of Joy and George Adamson, with many photos of Elsa (the lioness that started it all). Then, embark on a boat trip on Lake Naivasha, the highest lake in the Great Rift Valley and home to many hippos. Later, sit down to a high tea lunch on the very grounds Joy cherished for so many years, with the lake as a serene backdrop. After lunch, continue to your Lake Nakuru lodge, arriving in the early evening. From your lodge, take in the magnificent views of Lake Nakuru and the surrounding national park, alive with the call of birds and rich in wildlife.

This morning you’ll visit Lake Nakuru National Park – situated in the heart of the Great Rift Valley. As you explore, look for some of the many birds and wildlife who call this national park home – including waterbuck, Rothschild’s giraffes, gazelles and leopards. After a morning spent learning about this diverse landscape with your knowledgeable local leader, you’ll return to your lodge for lunch, before heading out for a game drive this afternoon. Keep your eyes peeled for one of Africa's most endangered creatures, the elusive black rhinoceros.

Travel to the Maasai Mara this morning – one of the most active and beautiful game reserves in Africa. Today is a bit of a long travel day, so it’s a good idea to get stuck into a book or favourite podcast. Along the way you’ll cross the Great Rift Valley and pass by the remote region of Loita Hills, home of the Maasai people. This is one of the few places where they still practice their traditional way of life with little influence from the western world. Stop at Tepesua Village where you’ll be welcomed by Maasai warriors through traditional song and dance. When you arrive, you’ll meet your Maasai hosts and take a walk to the community village. The village offers support, safety and economic growth through the Tepesua Widows Income Project, where widowed women sew eco-friendly handicrafts to sell to visitors and locals. Learn about village life and be shown around a traditional Maasai home and cattle enclosure. Later, move on to Zebra River Camp – your Feature Stay accommodation for the next three nights. Here, you can watch the sunset and share stories over the bonfire (maybe with a cocktail) before retiring to your room.

Explore more of the park by 4WD today with game drives from morning to afternoon. You’ll drive to the further part of the Maasai Mara National Reserve to look for wildlife including wildebeest, zebra and gazelles. Elephants, giraffes and elands are also commonly sighted, along with plenty of bird life. The area is known for its green plains and riverine woodlands. As the sun starts to set, stop and take a moment to soak it all in with a drink in hand – which is just what you’ll do during your Premium Experience. Set against the backdrop of the open wilderness, indulge in canapes, light bites and a sundowner as the atmosphere comes alive with traditional Maasai dance performances and a cosy bonfire. As dusk falls, a variety of animals might be visible in the vicinity of your camp.

This morning, maybe take an optional hot balloon ride over Maasai Mara at sunrise. If you’ve pre-booked this activity, you’ll be picked up before dawn and driven to the launch site for a safety briefing from your pilot. You’ll then glide through the skies, sometimes at tree height, for some amazing photo opportunities. After landing, you’ll sit down to a bush breakfast before meeting up with the rest of your group. Today you’ll venture into the Maasai Mara National Reserve with expert local driver guides for a day-long 4WD safari. Explore this diverse environment and look for roaming wildlife like lions and cheetahs along the way.

Say goodbye to the Maasai Mara as you travel back to Nairobi today. When you arrive this afternoon, your adventure will come to an end. If you would like to extend your stay in Nairobi, just speak to your booking agent ahead of time.