Best African Wildlife and Gorilla Safari: Tanzania Uganda

This Tanzania safari lodges will take you to Tanzania, Uganda and then either Kenya or Rwanda for the amazing wildlife encounters as well as gorilla trekking.

You can start it from Kenya and visit the Giraffe Centre in Kenya, where guests can meet and feed them for about $15 per adult. Giraffe Centre serves as a sanctuary for these animals, breeding the captive herd and releasing their progeny to create wild populations throughout Kenya’s national parks. Located 40 minutes from Nairobi’s city centre, the Centre also serves to educate Kenyan children and facilitate conservation in the next generation.

Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi has done an excellent job of generating global support for Kenya’s orphaned baby elephants. At Namunyak Wildlife Conservancy, the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary is doing similar work, tackling elephant conservation as the country’s first community-owned and -operated elephant sanctuary. As at Sheldrick, Reteti rescues and releases orphaned baby elephants, giving visitors the chance to meet the adorable herd-in-waiting in person while on their Kenya safari tours packages.

Visit Ol Pejeta Conservancy an excellent alternative for wildlife lovers in case you don’t want to be in crowded parks: Not only are you likely to see cheetahs, lions, and giraffes, but you are basically guaranteed to spot wild rhinos, too. Ol Pejeta is also home to the last two Northern white rhinos on the planet, which can be visited inside their enclosure.

Don’t miss the chimpanzee centre at the conservancy, either. Although chimps don’t naturally live in Kenya, the primates here have been rescued from the pet trade, often as they are being trafficked through the country. As a bonus, Ol Pejeta does a ton of community education, making sure Kenyan children become well-acquainted with their natural heritage and the forces that threaten it.

Kenya’s humpback whale migration peaks from July to September. This makes the country home to a twin migration safari event, alongside the annual movement of two million wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of other antelope species crossing the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara.

Tourists primarily flock to the latter, but wildlife lovers should expand their migration exploration to include the sea. The Malindi – Watamu Marine National Reserve in Kenya’s North-eastern corner is an ideal spot for locating the frolicking whales.

Drop in for Tanzania’s wildlife encounters. This cannot miss out on the Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Tarangire, Mt Kilimanjaro and the rest. The Tanzania safari offers great opportunities to view the Big Five roaming the savannah plains; it is not uncommon to see cheetah prowling, gazelle grazing, herds of elephant wandering, lions resting atop kopjes and leopard lazing or climbing trees.

Serengeti National Park is one of the best places in Africa for wildlife viewing. It’s one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa, and a bucket list destination for many travelers and safari enthusiasts.

Serengeti is one of the most complex ecosystems on the planet, stretching to the Masai Mara in Kenya to form the mighty Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. The climate, plants and animals of this region have barely changed over the past one million years, making it also one of the oldest and least disturbed ecosystems on earth.

Hosts the world’s greatest wildlife spectacle – the Great Migration. Every year, beginning around July, over 1.5 million wildebeest, zebra and antelope move in a thundering mass from the Serengeti to the Masai Mara, in search of greener pastures.

Home to all of Africa’s Big Five, the Serengeti is a wildlife lover’s dream, with the chance to see elephants, lions, leopard, buffalo and rhinos, along with giraffes, zebra, and cheetah, spotted hyenas and other favourites from The Lion King. It’s a haven for bird watchers, with over 500 species of bird.

Visit one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa; the Ngorongoro Conservation Area is one of the most extraordinary destinations on the continent. Located in the Crater Highlands of northern Tanzania, the conservation area is one of the country’s most famous safari hotspots, home to a remarkable abundance and diversity of wildlife.

It’s also one of the few places in Africa where you can see all of the Big Five (elephant, lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo) in a single day, and the conservation area protects Tanzania’s last remaining population of the endangered black rhino.

You’ll have the chance to see spotted hyenas, slinking cheetah, the elusive leopard, large herds of buffalo and gazelle, and even the critically endangered African wild dog. Head to the glittering soda lakes, and you’ll spot hippos and huge pink flocks of flamingo.

Get off the main safari circuit and head to the quieter Tarangire National Park, renowned for its incredibly concentrations of wildlife, and stunning natural scenery. Located in the Manyara region of northern Tanzania, less than two hours from Arusha, Tarangire National Park is often a surprising favourite for travelers. Many people either skip Tarangire altogether or only visit the park for a quick morning or afternoon game drive, however we recommend staying for at least two days to take full advantage of this fantastic destination.

During the dry season (June to October), the Tarangire River becomes the only water source for scores of animals, drawing large herds of elephants (sometimes up to 300 strong), zebra, giraffe, impala, eland and warthog there to drink.

Predators, including lions and spotted hyena, gather around the river ready to strike, while leopards, cheetahs and even tree-climbing lions, can also be found in certain areas of the park. African wild dogs have been sighted in the park, although it is rare to spot them.

As one of Tanzania’s best birding destinations, you’ll have the chance to spot over 550 species, including the ashy starling, northern pied babbler, bush veld pipit and yellow-collared lovebird.

A visit to Lake Manyara national park in worth renowned for its unique ecosystems bursting with diverse wildlife. This pocket-sized version of the Serengeti is host to at least 11 different ecosystems, with groundwater forests, floodplains, hot springs and open savannahs.

Boasts one of the world’s highest concentrations of large mammals. You’ll likely spot huge herds of elephants and the famous tree-climbing lions, along with great populations of wildebeest, zebra, buffalo, giraffe, warthog, impala and water buck.

This makes it enough for you to cross to Rwanda for yet another encounter including gorilla trekking tours in Volcanoes National Park. Gorilla trekking at the Volcanoes National Park involves hiking through dense bamboo forests and Steep Mountain slopes in search of one of the gorilla families in Rwanda. The final encounter with the primates is considered one of the most exciting and memorable wildlife encounters in Africa.

One must book a Rwanda gorilla permit in advance so as to be sure of getting a spot for gorilla trekking on a given date. Gorilla permits can be very difficult to secure during peak seasons like June to September and December to March. Gorilla permits in Rwanda currently go for $1500.

It starts with a briefing from the park authorities and Rangers at around 7:30am. During the briefing, participants are divided into groups and assigned to a particular gorilla family. The less fit hikers are assigned groups which are closer to the park offices. At 8:00am, the park Rangers lead the group to search for the gorillas.

You spend 1 hour just watching the little ones roll around and play. Mountain gorillas are always playful and quite curious. Some may walk right up to you but with no harm intended. While with the gorillas, it’s important to listen to instructions from your Guides and to always stay calm.

Use the same chance to go for Golden Monkey trekking: The Volcanoes National Park is home to the endangered Golden Monkey. These beautiful primates live in the same areas as the mountain gorillas. They survive on bamboo shoots, insects and will occasionally raid farms for potatoes. Golden Monkeys are very playful primates with their only real enemies being man and the African eagle.

Tracking mountain gorillas starts at the same time as golden monkey trekking and permits cost $100. Golden monkey tracking in Rwanda is not as strenuous as gorilla trekking because the monkeys live in the lower slopes of the volcanoes.

Visiting the grave of Dian Fossey is also another opportunity: Dian Fossey is considered to be one of the greatest primatologists of all time because of her extensive research and work with mountain gorillas from 1969 till her death in the 1980’s. She let the world know about the mountain gorillas and fought hard to end poaching.

She introduced new approaches to habituating mountain gorillas by learning their mannerism, staying in their midst and gaining the acceptance of the dominant Silver back. This is quite remarkable because the mountain gorillas she worked with had grown to see all humans as a threat. Their numbers had reduced because of poachers and pet traders/traffickers.

Cross to Uganda through the Cyanika boarder and go direct to Bwindi for yet another gorilla encounter. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest has 17 gorilla groups making it the best place or park where you can see the gorillas in the wild. Bwindi tours gives you access to 90 mammal species, 11 primates including the black and white colobus monkey.

The permit offers you one hour with the mountain gorillas in a group of 8 people. In case you are threatened by the price ($700) look at it in this point of view that you are contributing to the conservation of mountain gorillas and as a form of thank you, you will be rewarded with an hour in the midst observing and enjoying their company.

On the day of your trek, expect to leave your comfortable bed early enough, am move to the briefing point by 7:30am. After briefing, tourists will be allocated different tracking routes, each 8 tourists. Head to the forest accompanied by guides and rangers as you begin you search for gorillas.

In the forest, you may see monkey species, butterfly species, mammals and so much more. Sometimes the forest is challenging and a good level of fitness will be required. At the end of the day, expect to be muddy and sweaty.

Once you see the gorillas, it’s okay to take photos with your camera or iPhone but avoid flash or else the gorillas might charge. You will spend between 40 minutes and 1 hour in company of these gentle giants. It will be such a life changing experience. After the trek, head back to you accommodation or opt for a cultural village experience of the Batwa pygmies.

You can also decide to take up gorilla habituation and spend a whole day with the apes. Gorillas are trained by researchers and park rangers for a period of 3 years. It’s during the training that you can join the group of researchers and park rangers.

Only 4 visitors are allowed. This makes it special. The cost of gorilla habituation is $1500 per person per day. The most exciting reality about this experience is that you actively engage in the gorilla habituation!