Gorilla Trekking Migration Safari is an extraordinary cross-border journey that unites two of Africa’s most iconic safari destinations into one seamless adventure. Beginning in Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, this safari immerses you in powerful natural wonders and rare wildlife encounters—from tracking rhinos on foot at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary and witnessing the raw force of the Nile at Murchison Falls, to gliding through Mabamba Swamp in search of the legendary shoebill stork. The journey reaches its emotional peak in the misty forests of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where a once-in-a-lifetime double gorilla trekking experience brings you face to face with the world’s endangered mountain gorillas.
The adventure then continues into northern Tanzania, home to Africa’s most celebrated safari landscapes. Here, vast savannahs and dramatic ecosystems unfold as you explore Tarangire National Park with its ancient baobabs and elephant herds, the lush groundwater forests of Lake Manyara, and the endless plains of the Serengeti—stage to the Great Wildebeest Migration, one of the greatest wildlife spectacles on Earth. The journey concludes in the breathtaking Ngorongoro Crater, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its dense wildlife population and stunning volcanic scenery. Carefully crafted for travelers seeking both primate encounters and classic big-game safaris, this 14-day expedition delivers Africa at its most powerful, diverse, and unforgettable.
Gorilla Trekking Migration Safari
🦏 Rhino tracking on foot at Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
🌊 Visit Murchison Falls in Murchison Falls National Park
🐦 Shoebill search in Mabamba Swamp
🦍 Double gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
🐘 Elephants and baobabs in Tarangire National Park
🌳 Wildlife viewing in Lake Manyara National Park
🐃 Great Wildebeest Migration in Serengeti National Park
🦓 Safari in Ngorongoro Conservation Area
🌍 Cross-border Uganda–Tanzania safari experience
⭐ Diverse wildlife encounters including gorillas, rhinos, elephants, and big cats
Detailed itinerary Gorilla Trekking Migration Safari
Day 1: Arrival – Transfer to Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary
Upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport on your Gorilla Trekking Migration Safari ,you are warmly welcomed by your professional safari guide who will brief you on the journey ahead. You then begin a scenic drive northward through central Uganda, passing lively roadside markets, small towns, and expansive countryside landscapes dotted with farms and villages.
As you approach Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary, the environment becomes quieter and more natural. Ziwa is the only place in Uganda where wild rhinos roam freely, playing a vital role in national conservation efforts. You arrive later in the day, check in to your lodge set within tranquil surroundings, and enjoy a relaxed evening listening to the sounds of nature as you prepare for the next day’s remarkable experience.
Hotel
Ziwa Rhino Lodge
Day 2: Rhino Tracking – Transfer to Murchison Falls National Park
After an early breakfast, you head out for a guided rhino tracking experience on foot, accompanied by expert rangers. Walking through open woodland and grassland, you track white rhinos while learning about their behavior, ecology, and the successful conservation program aimed at reintroducing rhinos into Uganda’s national parks.
The experience offers an intimate and powerful wildlife encounter at close but safe distances. Afterward, you depart for Murchison Falls National Park, driving through changing landscapes until you reach Uganda’s largest and most dramatic protected area. You arrive in the afternoon and settle into your lodge near the Nile, where wildlife often wanders nearby.
Hotel
Murchison River Lodge
Day 3: Murchison Falls National Park
Today is dedicated to fully exploring Murchison Falls National Park, renowned for its powerful river, diverse wildlife, and classic savannah scenery. An early morning game drive across the northern plains gives you excellent chances to encounter elephants, Rothschild’s giraffes, buffaloes, lions, hartebeest, and numerous antelope species, with the possibility of spotting a leopard.
In the afternoon, you enjoy a boat safari along the Victoria Nile, one of the most scenic wildlife cruises in Africa. As you glide upriver, you pass dense concentrations of hippos, basking crocodiles, elephants drinking along the banks, and a rich variety of birdlife, ending near the base of the thunderous Murchison Falls.
Hotel
Murchison River Lodge
Day 4: Fly to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest
After breakfast, you transfer to the airstrip for a scheduled domestic flight to southwestern Uganda. This scenic flight offers spectacular aerial views of Uganda’s diverse landscapes, transitioning from open savannah and winding rivers to rolling hills and mist-covered highlands.
Upon landing near Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, you are transferred to your lodge nestled on the edge of ancient rainforest. The rest of the day is spent at leisure, allowing you to relax, enjoy forest views, and prepare for the next day’s life-changing gorilla trekking experience.
Hotel
Day 5: Gorilla Trekking Experience – Batwa Cultural Visit
Today is the highlight of your Gorilla Trekking Migration Safari. After an early briefing at the park headquarters, you set off into the dense, mountainous rainforest of Bwindi with experienced trackers in search of a habituated mountain gorilla family. The trek can range from moderate to challenging, but the reward is extraordinary. Once located, you spend a precious hour observing these gentle giants as they interact, feed, and care for their young in complete silence.
In the afternoon, you visit a Batwa community, one of Uganda’s oldest indigenous groups, where you gain insight into their former forest-dwelling lifestyle, traditional hunting skills, medicinal knowledge, and cultural performances.
Hotel
Mahogany Springs Lodge
Day 6: Second Gorilla Trekking Experience
Today offers a rare and deeply rewarding opportunity to experience a second gorilla trekking adventure in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, allowing you to explore a different sector or encounter a new gorilla family. After an early breakfast, you return to the park headquarters for a briefing before setting out into the dense rainforest with experienced guides and trackers. Each trek is unique—varying terrain, group dynamics, and gorilla behavior ensure a completely different and equally powerful experience from the first.
Once you locate the gorillas, you spend a precious hour observing their interactions, movements, and social bonds in their natural habitat. This second encounter provides deeper appreciation, stronger photographic opportunities, and a more intimate understanding of these magnificent primates before returning to the lodge for a relaxed afternoon reflecting on an extraordinary day in the forest.
Day 7: Fly to Entebbe – Fly to Tanzania (JRO)
After breakfast, you transfer to the nearby airstrip for a scenic domestic flight back to Entebbe, enjoying sweeping aerial views of Uganda’s rolling hills, forests, and lakes one last time. Upon arrival at Entebbe, you are assisted with your international check-in and connect to your onward flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) in Tanzania. This marks a seamless transition from the lush rainforests of Uganda to the legendary savannahs of East Africa.
On arrival in Tanzania, you are warmly welcomed and transferred to your hotel to relax and unwind after the journey, preparing for the next chapter of your safari adventure.
Hotel
Four Points by Sheraton
Day 8: Arusha to Tarangire National Park.
After breakfast, your safari guide will pick you at 08h00am from your lodge to proceed to TarangireNational Park. With a game viewing area that is roughly ten times the size of nearby Manyara, thepark is most famous for its elephant migration, birding and quiet authentic safari atmosphereinaunique surrounding of baobab trees. You will enjoy a game drive exploring the park. Lunchwill betaken in a picnic site overlooking the Tarangire River. Late afternoon we proceed to Manyara for dinner and overnight
Hotel
Escarpment Luxury Lodge.
Day 9: Lake Manyara NP – Proceed to Serengeti
Continue our journey west and northwards towards the Ndutu area of Ngorongoro on the borders with Serengeti NP. This is the ideal area for game drive from January to March, where is usually nestled the famous migration of the wildebeests and zebras. The migration is the movement of vast numbers of the Serengeti’s wildebeest, accompanied by large numbers of zebra, and smaller numbers of Grant’s gazelle, Thompson’s gazelle, eland and impala.
These move in a clockwise circle and the animals cover a distance of around 3000kmannually. They migrating throughout the year, constantly seeking fresh grazing and water. The precise timing of the Serengeti wildebeest migration is entirely dependent upon the rainfall patterns of each year.
From December to March, the herds are grazing in the southern, east-central plains of the park and also the Ndutu area of Ngorongoro. End of January and February is the season that they are giving birth to their calves. Our journey is intended to follow the migration, moving with the herds to experience their trials and tribulations. We have lunch in a picnic site. In the afternoon we proceed driving to our lodge, nestled on the rim of the crater. Leisure time enjoying the view from the lodge towards the crater floor, dinner and overnight stay in Central Serengeti.
Hotel
Baobab Camp
Day 10: Central Serengeti to Northern Serengeti National Park.
After breakfast we head to our exciting destination being a name familiar to everyone – the Great Serengeti. In the Maasai language, “serenget” means “endless plain”. The park stretches for over15,000 square kilometers. Serengeti National Park is quite simply the most magnificent wildlife sanctuary in the world— unparalleled in natural beauty and wilderness. From vast, open plains casting idyllic, golden sunsets, to steamy riverbanks and towers of granite boulders, the Serengeti throbs with life in the endless rhythms of the animals.
We head to the central park area, known as the Seronera area, one of the richest wildlife habitats in the park, featuring the Seronera River, which provides a valuable water source to this area and therefore attracts wildlife well representative of most of the Serengeti’s species. We arrive in time for lunch and enjoy an afternoon game drive exploring the wildlife of Serengeti. At sunset we will proceed to our tented camp. Arrival for dinner and overnight stay
Baobab Migration Camps
Day 11: Full Day in Northern Serengeti. (Migration Day).
Today we make our way into the Mara area of Serengeti in search of one of the greatest wildlife shows on the planet, the annual Great Migration. Every year around 1.5 million wildebeest and 300,000 zebras (along with other antelope) gather up their young and start their long trek from Tanzania’s Serengeti Plains, further north to Maasai Mara National Reserve, following the rains in search of food and water. Their journey runs in a clockwise circle and the animals cover a distance of around 3000km, a tough journey that takes the lives of an estimated 250 000 wildebeest as they fjord rivers and suffer constant attacks from crocodiles, lion and other predators. There can be no guarantee of encountering the migration (there exact route is never really known and it is amazing how a million animals can disappear in the vast savannah), our journey is intended to try and follow the migration as it tracks northwards, moving with the herds to experience their trials and tribulations. Evening at leisure, dinner and overnight stay in Mara river.
Baobab Migration Camps
Day 12: North Serengeti to Central Serengeti – Hot Air Balloon Safari
Early wake up call. After a cup of tea/coffee you will meet with your driver and board on a specialized vehicle with permit to drive at night. The Balloon Safari adventure starts early morning at about 5h00 am when you depart your lodge. It is still dark and you may be fortunate to see nocturnal animals on the way to the Launching site. When you arrive, you will meet your pilot and witness your balloon being inflated and prepared for launch.
After a thorough safety briefing and demonstration of boarding and landing position you board your balloon and lift off! Rising as the sunrises your balloon floats in whatever direction the winds of the day are heading over this wonderful area.
Your pilot will use varying altitudes and layers of air to navigate the balloon over this amazing area spotting the wild animals and enjoying the view around. We aim to fly for about an hour depending on conditions. After landing, you celebrate in the traditional way with a champagne toast before heading off to a special breakfast in the bush under an acacia tree. After your bush breakfast, your safari driver guide will pick you from your breakfast site to proceed with game drive in various areas of the park.
The Serengeti eco-system is home to the “big five” (lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard, rhinoceros). The other main species include giraffe, zebra, antelope, Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelle, hippopotamus, crocodiles and in season the spectacular migration of the wildebeest.
Everywhere there are animals, vervet monkeys, olive baboons and a great variety of birds—with a total of 505 species being documented so far. But look closely and you will thrill to the huge jungle cats—lion, leopard and cheetah—just watching the world go by. And go by it does. Animals in the trees, on the wing, camouflaged in the bush, in rivers and in stream. The adventure of a lifetime! You will have a break for picnic lunch. At sunset, return to your tented camp for dinner and overnight stay in Central Serengeti.
Day 13: Ngorongoro Crater
At sunrise, we start our game drive marveling at the stunning scenery, ever changing light and always entertaining wildlife, searching for big Cats while hunting, they actively hunt during early morning. We proceed with en route game drive from Serengeti towards Ngorongoro spotting the wildlife along the way.
Thereafter, we descend to the floor of the crater for game drive. With its abundant water, excellent grazing and natural protection from the densely vegetated crater walls, the crater provides shelter to over 25000 animals, including the endangered Black Rhinoceros. We descend 2,000 feet to the crater floor to explore this natural zoological park, and observe an extraordinary variety of wildlife: elephant, lion, leopard, hyena, zebra, wildebeest, Thomson’s gazelle, reed buck, and buffalo. The lovely crested crane (similar to a peacock) can be found in great profusion here and maybe you’ll spot a bat-eared fox.
The balance of predator and prey in this extraordinary ecosystem is so precise that animals seldom leave. Lunch will be served at a picnic site inside the crater. In the afternoon we drive to our lodge in Karatu Town.
Karatu Simba Lodge.
Day 14: Transfer to Kilimanjaro/Arusha Airport for departure.
Today will be your last day of Gorilla Trekking Migration Safari whereby after breakfast you will be transferred directly to Kilimanjaro International Airport (via Arusha town) for catching your flight back home. If your flight schedule allows you might be able to pass by Masai Boma near Mto wa Mbu Village.