Uganda gorilla trek, zanzibar tour, tanzania adventure with Acacia Africa

DAYS 1 - 4
Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar
From Dar es Salaam we cross by ferry to Zanzibar - the ‘Spice Island’. Time is yours to enjoy at leisure. ‘Stone Town’ is the entry point and many people choose to spend a night here to explore the town’s alleys and markets before heading to the beach and warm Indian ocean.

NB Basic shared accommodation is included on Zanzibar however meals will be for your own account allowing you to experience some of the many different options available on Zanzibar. Please refer to the tour dossier (available below) for more information.

DAYS 5 - 7
Arusha, Meserani Snake Park
Back on mainland Africa, we drive north, passing Africa’s highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro (5895m), to Arusha. Visit the Meserani snake enclosure and take a guided walk to the ocal Maasai village to learn something of their traditional way of life.

DAYS 8 - 13
Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, Nairobi
Transferring to 4x4 vehicles, we depart for the Ngorongoro Crater, Serengeti National Park and Olduvai Gorge. Ngorongoro contains the most concentrated population of wildlife anywhere in Africa. We descend into the crater and game drive in the spectacular setting. The wide horizons and flat Serengeti plains show a different side to Africa and offer more impressive game-viewing. We return to Arusha for a night and then cross into Kenya to Nairobi. We have 2 nights in Kenya’s capital to catch up on emails, shop or browse the markets.

DAYS 14 - 17
Rift Valley, Samburu, Lakes Nakuru, Baringo, Bagoria
Departing Nairobi we travel north to the semi-arid Samburu region. We game-drive in search of giraffe, oryx, baboon, dik dik, blue Somali ostrich and the rare long necked gerenuk. We continue into the Rift Valley to lakes Baringo, Bogoria and Nakuru. Nakuru in particular, is known for birdlife but we may also see antelope, baboon, giraffe, buffalo, rhino, leopard and even lion.

DAYS 18 - 20
Masai Mara, Nairobi
We continue to Kenya’s best known park, the Masai Mara. We camp near the reserve and game drive each day in search of the ‘Big Five’. We then cross back over the Rift alley and make our way back to Nairobi for a night to replenish supplies.

DAYS 21 - 28
Queen Elizabeth National Park, Chimpanzee Sanctuary,Gorilla Trekking
We depart Nairobi for Lake Nakuru National Park. Best known for birdlife, especially flamingos Nakuru also contains rhino, leopard, buffalo, warthog, baboon, antelope and lion! We continue north to Uganda and the capital Kampala. From there drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park, game-driving in search of Uganda’s wildlife. We visit the nearby Chimpanzee sanctuary. Seen in their natural habitat chimpanzees live in structured social groups but are quite different to the gentle gorillas we see later in the trip. We continue to Lake Bunyonyi in the Kigezi Highland, our base for trekking in search of the gorillas. Guides lead us on trek through the jungle. It can be demanding at times but the effort is forgotten when we find ourselves in the midst of a family of gorillas. Our group sizes are kept small in order to minimise the human impact so we may spend several days in the area to allow time for everyone to complete the trek.

Day 29 - Kampala
We travel back though Uganda’s rural heartland to Kampala where our tour ends in the late afternoon.

Gorilla Viewing

To ensure we obtain gorilla permits, we may trek outside Uganda in neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, where gorillas have also been habituated for viewing. Trekking here involves a minimal detour from the described route.

Gorilla Trekking Excursion (Permits)

The Ugandan Wildlife Authority (UWA) sets the gorilla permit price and stipulates that permits must be booked and paid for in advance. We therefore collect your gorilla permit money at the time of booking, along with your normal deposit. The Gorilla permit price is quoted in US dollars but is paid in your local currency at a rate fixed by Acacia. Whilst the price is correct at time of going to press (July 2010), Acacia reserves the right to pass on any increase in fee if the UWA raises the price. Finally please note, the gorilla permit fee is not refundable if you cancel your booking.

Permit information

Each gorilla permit allows one trek. We stay in Bwindi or an alternative gorilla national park for the time necessary to allow everybody to trek once. The day to day itinerary may therefore vary if trekking goes over time. Optional activities can be arranged locally when not trekking.