14-Day Kenya and Uganda Wildlife and Gorilla Safari

You'll land at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, where your guide meets you for the transfer to Ole Sereni Hotel, set on the edge of Nairobi National Park. Depending on your flight time, you may see zebra or giraffe grazing on the park's plains from the hotel grounds, a first taste of Kenya's wildlife before you've even left the city.

The rest of the day is yours to rest after the journey. Your guide will run through the itinerary ahead over dinner or a briefing at the hotel, covering what to pack for the Mara and what to expect from the drive south the next morning. An early night is worth it, as tomorrow starts with a long drive.

After breakfast you'll head west out of Nairobi, climbing through the Great Rift Valley escarpment before dropping onto the plains beyond Narok. The drive takes around five to six hours on a mix of tarmac and unpaved road, with the Loita Hills giving way to open savannah as you near the reserve. Your guide will point out Maasai villages and grazing cattle along the way.

You'll arrive at Mara Serena Lodge, perched on a ridge above the Mara River, in time for lunch. Depending on arrival time, the afternoon brings your first game drive, with a good chance of spotting lion, elephant and topi as the light softens toward evening. Dinner and overnight are at the lodge.

You'll set out early, while the air is still cool and predators are most active. Your guide will work the drainage lines and open grassland near the Mara River, prime territory for lion and cheetah, before heading back to the lodge for a late breakfast. Depending on the season, you may cross paths with wildebeest herds moving through the plains.

After time to rest through the heat of midday, the afternoon drive heads toward the river itself, where hippo pods gather in the deeper bends and Nile crocodile bask on the banks. Elephant, giraffe and buffalo are regular sightings across the reserve. You'll return to Mara Serena Lodge as the sky turns orange over the escarpment.

You'll have one last early drive through the Mara before breakfast, using the cool morning hours to look for anything missed over the previous two days, from hyena dens to a resting leopard along a riverine thicket. Your guide will keep the pace relaxed, knowing the group has a long drive ahead.

After breakfast at the lodge, you'll begin the return journey to Nairobi, retracing the route back up through the Rift Valley escarpment. The drive takes most of the day, with a stop for lunch en route. You'll arrive back at Ole Sereni Hotel by early evening, with time to repack ahead of tomorrow's flight to Uganda.

An early transfer takes you to Nairobi's airport for your flight to Entebbe, on the shores of Lake Victoria. On arrival, your guide will meet you for the drive west toward Kibale Forest, a journey of around six hours through Uganda's rolling, densely cultivated countryside, past tea plantations and small trading towns.

As you near Kibale the terrain shifts, with forest patches replacing farmland and the road climbing gently onto the Fort Portal plateau. You'll reach Rweteera Safari Park Camp, set at the forest edge, by evening. Your guide will brief you on the next morning's chimpanzee trek, including what to expect from the terrain and the early start required.

After an early breakfast you'll head into Kibale Forest with a ranger guide, tracking one of the habituated chimpanzee communities through dense, humid understorey. Kibale holds one of the highest primate densities in Africa, and the trek often brings sightings of red colobus, grey-cheeked mangabey and various forest birds alongside the chimps themselves.

Once the group locates the chimps, you'll spend up to an hour observing their behaviour, from grooming to feeding high in the canopy, before the ranger guides you back out. The trek can run from one to several hours depending on the community's movements that morning. The afternoon is free to rest at Rweteera Safari Park Camp, with an optional guided nature walk in the surrounding tea estates.

You'll leave Kibale after breakfast and descend from the forested highlands toward Queen Elizabeth National Park, a drive of around three hours. The route skirts the Kyambura Gorge, a steep-sided rift valley cut into the plateau, before opening onto the park's characteristic savannah and crater country.

Depending on timing, you may pause for a short game drive on arrival, with elephant, buffalo and Uganda kob common across the open grassland near the Kazinga Channel. You'll check into Twin Lakes Safari Lodge in the afternoon, with views over the surrounding crater lakes. Your guide will outline the next day's boat cruise on the channel over dinner.

The morning is set aside for a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel, the narrow waterway linking Lake Edward and Lake George. From the water you'll get close views of hippo pods, some of the densest concentrations in Africa, along with buffalo herds wading at the shoreline and Nile crocodile sunning on the banks.

Birdlife along the channel is prolific, with African fish eagle, pelican and kingfisher regularly seen from the boat. After returning to Twin Lakes Safari Lodge for lunch, the afternoon brings an optional game drive through the park's northern sector, where lion and elephant are often found moving between the crater lakes as the day cools.

You'll drive south through Queen Elizabeth National Park to the remote Ishasha sector, close to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The sector is known for its lions, which have developed the unusual habit of climbing into the branches of fig trees to rest during the heat of the day.

Your guide will work the fig tree groves along the Ishasha River, scanning the canopy for a draped tail or paw as much as the ground. Buffalo, elephant and topi are common across the surrounding grassland, and the river itself often holds hippo. You'll overnight at Buffalo Safari Lodge, well positioned for the following day's drive toward Bwindi.

After a final morning drive through Ishasha, you'll begin the journey south to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a drive of roughly three to four hours on winding roads through Uganda's southwestern highlands. The landscape changes steadily, with terraced hillsides and banana plantations giving way to the dense, ancient forest that gives Bwindi its name.

You'll arrive at Haven Lodge Buhoma in the afternoon, set at the edge of the forest at around 1,900 metres altitude, noticeably cooler than the parks you've left behind. Your guide will use the remaining daylight to brief the group on the next morning's gorilla trek, including fitness expectations and what to bring.

You'll report to the park headquarters early for a briefing from Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers before setting off into Bwindi's forest to track one of the habituated mountain gorilla families. The terrain is steep and often muddy, with the trek lasting anywhere from one to several hours depending on where the group was last seen.

Once found, you'll spend a closely regulated hour with the gorillas, watching adults feed and youngsters play at close range within the forest understorey. It is one of the few places on earth where this is possible. The walk back out follows the same variable terrain, and you'll return to Haven Lodge Buhoma tired but with the rest of the afternoon free to relax.

With a second gorilla permit, you can head back into the forest for another trek, tracking a different family group and experiencing Bwindi's terrain and birdlife again under fresh conditions. Alternatively, this day is well suited to a guided Batwa community walk, learning about the forest's original inhabitants and their traditional way of life before the park's creation.

A gentler option is a guided walk to one of the waterfalls near Buhoma, following forest trails at a slower pace with good chances of spotting forest birds and black-and-white colobus. Whichever you choose, your guide will tailor the day's pace to the group, and you'll overnight again at Haven Lodge Buhoma.

You'll leave Buhoma after breakfast for the long drive to Kampala, Uganda's capital, a journey of around eight to nine hours depending on road conditions. The route retraces much of the ground covered earlier in the trip, passing through Fort Portal and the fertile farmland of western Uganda before joining the busier highway east.

Your guide will build in stops for lunch and to stretch your legs along the way. You'll arrive at Cassia Lodge in the evening, set on a hillside above Kampala with views over Lake Victoria's northern shore. It is a fitting last night, with time to reflect on both countries' wildlife over dinner.

Depending on your flight schedule, the morning is free to relax at Cassia Lodge, taking in the views over Lake Victoria and Kampala's rooftops one last time. Some guests use the time for last-minute shopping for crafts or coffee in the city before heading to the airport.

Your guide will arrange the transfer to Entebbe International Airport, roughly an hour's drive from Kampala depending on traffic, in good time for your international flight home. This brings to a close two weeks that combined Kenya's open savannah with Uganda's forests, from the Mara's big cats to Bwindi's gorillas.