12 Day Gorillas and Big Five Safari

Embark on this 12 Day Gorillas and Big Five Safari in Tanzania traversing Lake Mburo and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the home of Mountain Gorillas and the major parks of Tanzania, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro National Parks.

• This tour starts in Entebbe and ends in Arusha,
• You’ll be visiting Entebbe, Lake Mburo, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Arusha, Lake Manyara, Serengeti, and Ngorongoro National Parks.
• All-inclusive wildlife safari including accommodation, meals, transfers, and entry fees

Tour Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Entebbe

Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport where you will be welcomed by a company representative and taken to your accommodation. Accommodation and Meals at Boma Guest House

Day 2: Lake Mburo National Park

Today your introduction to Uganda begins. With your English-speaking driver/guide you will depart for Lake Mburo National Park. You will have a stopover at the equator, where you can take pictures and possibly visit souvenir stalls.

Lake Mburo is a small but interesting park and the only park in Uganda where impalas can be found. Look out for giraffes, lions, leopards, and klipspringer which also live in the park. 

After lunch, take a boat trip on the lake, where you can observe hippos and birds, Uganda’s national bird, the crowned crane, can also be found here. Optionally, you can also take a night drive in Lake Mburo and try your chances of spotting the leopard. Accommodation and Meals at Rwakobo Rock

 Day 3: Lake Mburo – Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

After breakfast, head to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the habitat of the endangered mountain gorilla arriving in time for lunch, and the rest of the afternoon is free to acclimatize and prepare for the following day’s gorilla tracking.

Alternatively, you may take a guided walk to the Munyaga waterfall, so that you can get used to the terrain of the ‘impenetrable forest’ of Bwindi.  Accommodation and Meals at Rwakobo Rock. 

Day 4: Gorilla Trekking 

In the early morning, head to the park headquarter for the highlight of your safari, an unforgettable encounter with the gentle giants of Bwindi!  Following breakfast, transfer to the national park offices where you will be allocated a gorilla family in groups of 8 as well as a gorilla tracking guide.

After a pre-tracking briefing about the gorillas generally and appropriate safety precautions, you drive to the trailhead for the start of a thrilling adventure – participants can expect to walk long distances in steep and sometimes muddy conditions with rain overhead.  The treks are unpredictable and may take  2 to 6 hrs. 

You will have a packed lunch from the lodge for this hike. Upon sighting the gorillas, you spend the allowed one hour with them as they go about their daily life; feeding, moving, playing, and sometimes wrestling by the juveniles – it is a totally unique and unforgettable experience!

Descend back to the trailhead after this memorable experience! Accommodation and Meals at Gorilla Safari Lodge 

Day 5: Back to Entebbe

During the long drive back to Entebbe you can rest from your physical exertion and reminisce about your special encounter with the gorillas. After the last night in Entebbe, you will fly to neighboring Tanzania on day 6 for a new adventure! Accommodation and Meals at Boma Guest House 

Day 6: Entebbe – Arusha

You fly from Entebbe to Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania. Upon arrival, you will meet your English-speaking Tanzanian private driver-guide. You will be transferred to your hotel in Arusha for relaxation from your flight. Accommodation and Meals at the African Tulip

Day 7: Lake Manyara National Park- Game Safari

After breakfast, head to Lake Manyara National Park, arriving in time for lunch. This park has the highest concentration of monkeys in north Tanzania and is one of Tanzania’s most dramatically located wildlife areas, consisting of a massive but shallow soda lake (covering two-thirds of the park), located at the foot of the Great Rift Valley’s western escarpment.

The park’s habitat attracts a wide variety of animals, including one of Africa’s largest concentrations of elephants, tree-climbing lions, large flocks of flamingos baboons, vervet monkeys, impalas, wildebeest, zebras, hippos, giraffes, and buffaloes. Thereafter proceed to the lodge for relaxation.  Accommodation and Meals at Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp

Day 8:  Lake Manyara – Serengeti National Park

After breakfast, you will head to Serengeti National Park arriving in time for lunch. Later you will head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park attracting vast amounts of Leopards and big cats.  

This is a beautiful drive, along the way you will take in sightings of giraffes, elephants, giraffes, hippos, warthogs, buffalos, and many more. Accommodation and Meals at Serengeti Sopa Lodge 

Day 9:  Game Safari in the Serengeti 

After breakfast, head for a game viewing drive along the Sogore River Circuit, which loops into the plains south of the Seronera River, a great option for viewing lions, gazelles, topis, ostrich, and cheetah sightings.

Enjoy a relaxed picnic lunch before heading to the Kopjes Circuit, around the Maasai Kopjes, which usually attract a number of lions and some formidably large cobras.  Optional: Early morning head out for a Balloon flight. View the Serengeti plains from a hot air balloon followed by a champagne breakfast on the landing site. Accommodation and Meals at Serengeti Sopa Lodge 

Day 10:  Serengeti – Ngorongoro National Park 

After breakfast drive to Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area (NCCA) which is the 8th natural wonder of the world and one of the largest volcanic craters in the world. This park features rolling plains, lakes, craters, mountains, and dormant volcanoes.

With a picnic lunch, you will have a game safari and this will be the best place for you to see the endangered black rhino, almost half of what can still be found in East Africa. There are about 25,000 large mammals residing in the park among which are elephants mainly bulls, females stay out of the park due to it boasting the largest predator population in Africa. Accommodation and Meals at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge 

Day 11: Game Safari in Ngorongoro Crater Area 

Today you will descend into the 600m crater floor and spend the day on game safaris, on the crater floor you can find rhinoceroses, elephants, buffalo, zebras, wildebeest, hyenas, and lions, among others. The crater offers a chance to all members of the Big Five!

The distinctive crater wall dominates the landscape and never seems far away during your game drive. At the end of the day, you will leave the crater and drive to your lodge located in Karatu, at the base of the crater. Accommodation and Meals at Ngorongoro Sopa Lodge 

Day 12:  Departure 

On the morning of day 12, you will drive back to Arusha as you prepare for your departure flight back home at the end of the 12 day of Gorillas and Big Five Safari in Tanzania. 

Included in the 12 Day Gorillas and Big Five Safari

• Ground transportation in a safari customized 4WD with gasoline/fuel,
• Mineral water in the vehicle,
• Services of an English speaking Driver/guide,
• Accommodation as shown at the lodges mentioned in the itinerary,
• Meals as shown (B-breakfast, L-lunch, D-dinner),
• All Park Entrance Fees

Excluded in the 12 Day Gorillas and Big Five Safari

• International Airfares; Excess baggage charges;
• Ugandan Entry Visa Fees
• Beverages, Communications charges (telephone, fax, internet), Laundry, etc.;
• Tips, and Gratuities for your Driver/guide and hotel staff,
• Optional activities unless specified as included,
• Any other services not expressly shown in the itinerary or indicated as included.