Enjoy the Tanzania migration safari & gorilla trek in Rwanda. The amazing East Africa safari will take you to Serengeti and Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. This migration gorilla tour – 08 Day starts from Arusha and fly to Northern Serengeti and enjoy the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara River, drive to the Central Serengeti and then to the Ngorongoro Crater. Fly to Rwanda and experience the gorilla trekking safari in the mist of the Virunga Massifs.
Arrival to Arusha
Day1: Fly Arusha – Northern Serengeti
Day2: Northern Serengeti
Day3: Northern – Central Serengeti
Day4: Central Serengeti – Ngorongoro
Day5: Ngorongoro Crater – Kilimanjaro – Fly Kigali
Day6: Kigali – Volcanoes National Park
Day7: Gorilla Trekking Experience & Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village
Day8: Golden Monkey Tracking – Kigali – Departure
Upon arrival time at Kilimanjaro International Airport, our driver-guide will be waiting for you with a warm welcoming smile. Kick back and relax in your comfortable vehicle as he takes you to your hotel in Arusha, Tanzania’s self-styled ‘safari capital.’ On your journey to the hotel, you will get a brief impression of this large, bustling, commercial city. Meal Plan Dinner at Kibo Palace Hotel
Day1: Fly Arusha – Northern Serengeti
Have breakfast and transfer to Kilimanjaro Airport and today on our trip-of-a-lifetime we turn north, flying to the very northern edge of the Serengeti, our world-famous national park and – of course – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Day’s Highlight
The changing landscapes of Northern Serengeti and the wildlife surprises it will almost certainly provide. There are no guarantees, but a rhino sighting cannot be ruled out!
Afternoon game-Drive in Northern Serengeti National Park
The Northern Serengeti is a land of open woodland, extending from the Seronera in the south to the Mara river in the north, marking the frontier with neighboring Kenya. During your time here, you can get to grips with a whole new set of exotic names: Bolongonja, Kogatende, Lamai and of course, the legendary Mara river.
We are now following in the footsteps of the Great Migration, great herds of thousands of zebra and wildebeest getting ready to cross the Mara into Kenya, and back again. On a daily basis, crossings cannot be guaranteed, but our driver-guides know the most likely places to witness them, one of Nature’s most awe-inspiring sights. Patience is required! And if you’re not lucky enough to witness a crossing, there’s always tomorrow; and in Northern Serengeti, plenty more to see today.
Meal plan
Breakfast is enjoyed at the Kibo Palace Hotel, Arusha. Lunch will be a nutritious and balanced meal, also provided by the Serengeti River camp for you to take out on safari. Your dinner will be a full, cooked meal provided by the Serengeti River Camp. Meal plan: F/B
Day2: Northern Serengeti
Day’s Highlight – If you’re lucky today, perhaps a rare, black rhino might cross your path…
Morning Safari (Game Drive) in Northern Serengeti
As you awake for a second day in Northern Serengeti, you can contemplate that parts of this northern area can easily match the Southern Serengeti for the abundance of wildlife viewing, especially between July and October. After your breakfast, you will embark with your driver-guide on a full-day game drive, looking out for elephant and buffalo, eland and gazelle. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to spot something really special: perhaps a cheetah, or even a rare black rhino, of which a small population are resident here.
Afternoon Safari (Game Drive) in Northern Serengeti
Depending on what your driver-guide found for you yesterday and this morning, this afternoon we’ll set out to see something new. If a Mara River crossing has escaped you, perhaps the conditions this afternoon will suggest that a crossing could take place. Our driver-guides have intimate knowledge of where and when they might occur. As well as the migrating herds, the Northern Serengeti is an area where you might easily see giraffe, elephant and dik – dik: with many resident species, there’s never a dull moment.
Meal plan
Breakfast will be provided by your Northern Serengeti accommodation. Lunch will be provided by the accommodation, to be enjoyed while out on safari. Your evening meal will be a full, cooked dinner, to be enjoyed at Serengeti River Camp.
Day3: Northern – Central Serengeti
After breakfast, and a morning game-drive in the north, we set off back to our next destination, the Central Serengeti, a journey of around 115km with an expected time of around 5 hours. There will be plenty to see on the way. On arrival, we take lunch and have an afternoon game drive.
Day’s Highlight
As we reach the Central Serengeti, you will soon realize why this is often known as the ‘wildlife hub’ of the Serengeti. There are animals everywhere, graceful, quirky, dangerous. Safe inside your vehicle, you will see them all here. Your driver-guide will find you a highlight.
Morning Safari in Northern Serengeti/ Afternoon Safari (Game-drive) in Central Serengeti
Before leaving the Northern Serengeti, we take the opportunity this morning to enjoy another game drive in this incredible location. This allows us further time to wonder at the migratory herds and the dangers and challenges they face each year in their battle for survival. As well as the herd animals, you can look to the skies, perhaps finding a majestic martial eagle or one of the other birds that populate this area. As well as the thousands of migrating animals, this area also has a good population of resident wildlife, so you will never be disappointed. In the afternoon, we take the short drive to the central part of Serengeti, where after lunch a game-drive will help us explore further this busy area. Finally, you will go to your chosen accommodation for relaxation and your evening meal.
Meal plan
Breakfast is served at your Northern Serengeti accommodation, which will also prepare your lunch to be enjoyed by you out on safari. Your dinner will be a full, cooked meal created by the team at the Serengeti Tortilis Camp.
Day4: Central Serengeti – Ngorongoro
After a morning game drive and lunch, this afternoon we will head south-east towards Ngorongoro, a distance of 145km which will take us around 3 ½ hours.
Day’s Highlight
Today, we will get our first sight of the spectacular, incomparable Ngorongoro Crater, the world’s largest intact volcanic caldera and the heart of the Conservation Area of the same name. But before that, we have another morning game drive in amazing Serengeti, marveling at its animal inhabitants. Another day of adventure, another day to enjoy the wildlife.
Safari in Serengeti National Park
With its informative visitor centre, the Seronera area of Central Serengeti is the national park’s most popular area. And it is very popular with the wildlife, too. The Seronera river enjoys year-round water flow, so there is always something of interest to observe. Several game drives can be undertaken here and might reveal lions in sizeable prides, hippo or herds of elephants – whose populations in the park have risen in recent times. Depending on other attractions, we may choose to call in at the Serengeti Visitor Centre, where there is an excellent explanation of the park’s eco – system and a chance to understand the history of conservation in this area. In particular, you will find out about the work of Bernhard Grzimek and the Frankfurt Zoological Society who had the foresighted vision of preserving the Serengeti’s eco – system. Even at the center, you may well find wildlife: populations of hyrax and mongoose, as well as many small bird species.
After lunch, we head south-east towards Ngorongoro. If it has not already struck you with its vastness, Serengeti’s ‘endless plains’ will make a deep impression on you as we take the long, straight road which passes Simba Kopjes (famous from ‘The Lion King’) to reach Naabi Hill Gate, close to the divide between Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Here you can gather information at the gate’s visitor center, clamber up the hill for superb views back over the plains, or look out for a colorful agama lizard among the rocks.
Meal plan
Breakfast is served at the camp. Lunch will be a cooked hot lunch prepared by the camp team. Your dinner will be a full, cooked meal created by the team at Ngorongoro Tortilis Camp.
Day5: Ngorongoro Crater – Kilimanjaro – Fly Kigali
After our morning game drive in the crater and our lunch, we will set off in the afternoon through Lodware Gate for Kilimanjaro. Our journey will be around 175km with an estimated travel time of 5 ½ hours.
Day’s Highlight
Even if you didn’t see a single animal, the Ngorongoro Crater would live in your memory forever. But, in fact, the enormous crater floor is simply bursting with life, over 250km2 of diverse environments – forest, lake, swamp – which are home to herds of wildebeest, zebra and buffalo as well as elephants, lions and many more. And a true highlight today would be the black rhino!
Safari in Ngorongoro Crater Floor
From our safari camp, we set off after breakfast, a 6am departure to reach the rim and then descend into the vast crater itself. At one side there’s the Lerai Forest, classic mountain forest landscape with almost tropical characteristics. This is good elephant country, so keep your eyes peeled. By the side of the nearby swampland is what is sometimes called the ‘elephant graveyard’ as the mighty male tuskers at the end of their lives come to chew on the soft, swampland grasses once their teeth have failed them.
The crater has a population of around 120 lions, with well-defined territories; 15,000 wildebeest, 9,000 zebra, 400 hyenas, and around 50 black rhino. Many wildebeest and other herd animals are resident, benefiting from the many sources of year-round waters and are boosted by some migrators in season. Buffalo, Thomson’s gazelle and eland are also present in numbers. Hippos can be found in pools and swampland and highland birdlife is colourful and plentiful around the waters. Flamingos can often be seen in Lake Magadi, which occupies part of the crater floor.
Meal plan
Breakfast is served at the camp. Lunch will be a cooked hot lunch prepared by the camp team. drive back to Kilimanjaro Airport and take your evening flight to Kigali – Rwanda. Upon arrival you will meet our safari guide and transfer you to Mille Collines Hotel – Kigali for the dinner and overnight stay. meal plan: F/B
Day6: Kigali – Volcanoes National Park
Have breakfast, visit the Kigali genocide memorial and after embark the safari jeep and take leisurely drive to Volcanoes National Park. Dinner and overnight stay at Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel. Meal plan: F/B
Day7: Gorilla Trekking Experience & Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village
After early breakfast, we shall head for a briefing about gorilla trekking in Rwanda at the Kinigi Station, then head straight to the slopes of the Forest. Gorilla trekking is no-longer quite strenuous, we send an advance team so you can move direct to the spot where the advance team has located the gorillas. Maximum permitted time with the gorillas is 01-hour, return to the lodge for lunch. Visit the Dian Fossey Museum in Musanze and experience the gorilla conservation work that was done by this American primatologist trying to advocate for the rights of these great apes in the wild. Return back to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay at Five Volcanoes Boutique Lodge. Meal plan: F/B
Day8: Golden Monkey Tracking – Kigali – Departure
After breakfast, and then go for the golden monkey trekking into the rain tropical forest and then back to the lodge for lunch. After embark the safari jeep and transfer back to Kigali. Meal plan: Lunch and End of our services!
The parking list for safari include the healthy documents, valid passport and visa, walking shoes, rain gears, sun screen, insect repellent, hut, Vaccination Card among others.
The package includes:
Trip Safety: AMREF Flying Doctor Insurance. A Flying doctor Insurance to Air transfer you before dark from nearest airstrip to hospital during Emergency
Transport: 4X4 Custom built – Toyota Land cruiser
- Pop-up Roof, Opening Sliding windows, Seat Belts, Heavy duty wheels, and Extra Fuel tanks
- Refrigerator for cooling drinks, one pair of binoculars per couple, Eco friendly Trash Bag,
- Wi-Fi on board during safari, Charging Outlets type Plug G for charging Cameras and smart phones
Trip Crew: Professional English-Speaking Driver guide
A Friendly, Experienced and Passionate Driver Guide expert at a wide variety of skills: Flora and Fauna, Tanzania’s cultural and natural history
Treat – A Special Safari Hamper
- Soft drinks, Coffee/tea, and Water during game drives
Transfers:
- Two pick up transfers from Kilimanjaro International airport
- One drop off transfer to Kilimanjaro International airport
Photographic Safari: Experience Wildlife with Tortilis Camps 4X4 Safari Vehicle
Game drive in Serengeti National Park
Game drive in Ngorongoro crater
Park Entrance Fee:
Park fee for Serengeti National Park
Park fee for Ngorongoro crater
01-night stay at De Mille Collines Hotel, Kigali
02 nights stay at Five Volcanoes Boutique Lodge
01 Gorilla Permit
01 Golden monkey permit
Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village
En-route lunch
Full day English speaking guide fees
Mineral water
Excludes:
The air fares, Visa, porter fees while trekking the gorillas, laundry, lodge expensive drinks, and other activities, meal, Covid-19 tests, drinks not mentioned in the itinerary.
What to wear/bring
Dress codes are informal. Daytime temperatures are generally warm, so bring lots of light clothing, supplemented by light sweaters for the cool evenings and heavier clothing for the higher altitudes especially volcanoes. When tracking gorillas layering your clothing is the best idea and we suggest: long sleeved shirts, cotton or gore tex trousers, strong walking shoes with ankle support, socks that you can tuck your trousers into, light gloves to protect your hands from thorns and nettles, a hat and sunglasses to provide protection against the sun and a waterproof jacket in neutral colors may come in handy in the moist mountains.
Travel light and remember that soft-sided luggage is required. One medium sized duffel bag and one small day pack (carry-on) per person should be adequate. Laundry services are available at most accommodations. You should also pack some zip lock bags for spare clothing, cameras, binoculars and film. Please note that you are not allowed to use a flash when photographing Gorillas. It is a good idea to take along several different speeds of film (64 to 1000) as gorillas can be found in open sun or in the dark underbrush of the forest.