Einstein Tours & Travel
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Guest suite at dawn above the Virunga foothills, northern Rwanda

Primates and Predators

Kibale chimpanzees and Bwindi gorillas, then Mara conservancies with no other vehicles.

12 days Uganda, Kenya from USD 18,940 per person sharing

Kibale wakes with a scream that runs through the canopy and does not stop. You follow it for hours. Days later you are on your knees in Bwindi undergrowth while a silverback picks through wild celery a body length away. Then Uganda Airlines lifts you east and everything flattens out. In Olare Motorogi your guide drives off-road at dawn toward a leopard on a fallen bough, and by the second morning you understand why the conservancies exist: sixteen guests, ninety square kilometres, nobody else at the sighting.

Best months

July to September and late December to February. The July window puts you in Bwindi during its driest stretch while the Mara conservancies fill with herds spilling north out of the reserve. December to February gives firm Ugandan forest trails and outstanding Mara cat viewing. March to May brings heavy rain on both sides and long, slippery gorilla treks.

-1.3000, 35.1500

Olare Motorogi Conservancy

Lion resting on a rock outcrop
The Virunga volcanoes rising beyond a lake in Rwanda
Close portrait of a mountain gorilla

Day by day.

Signature moments

  • A whole day with habituating chimpanzees rather than the standard hour

  • Bwindi silverback at arm's length in dense montane undergrowth

  • Off-road and night driving in Mara North and Olare Motorogi

  • Sunrise bush walk with a Maasai naturalist, no vehicle in sight

  • Day 1 Entebbe

    Lakeside first night

    Arrival at Entebbe, ten-minute transfer to No.5 Boutique Hotel or Latitude 0 Degrees in Kampala. Trip briefing over dinner, gorilla and chimpanzee permits handed over in your name.

  • Day 2 Kibale Forest

    Aerolink to the Rwenzori foothills

    Aerolink Uganda Entebbe to Kasese, about 90 minutes on a Cessna Grand Caravan. Road transfer north to Kyaninga Lodge on its crater rim. Afternoon crater lake walk and swim.

  • Day 3 Kibale Forest

    A full day with chimpanzees

    Kanyanchu at 06:00 for the habituation experience, following a community from their night nests until they build new ones. Evening at Ndali Lodge or Kyaninga.

  • Day 4 Ishasha

    Kazinga channel and fig-tree lions

    Drive into Queen Elizabeth National Park, launch cruise on the Kazinga Channel past hippo, buffalo and shoebill. Overnight Ishasha Wilderness Camp, tents on the Ntungwe riverbank.

  • Day 5 Bwindi

    South to the Impenetrable

    Morning game drive in the Ishasha sector, then three hours to Buhoma. Bwindi Lodge or Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp face the forest edge. Trek briefing and porter allocation at dusk.

  • Day 6 Bwindi

    One hour, arm's length

    Trackers radio the family's position from first light. Trek one to six hours through nettles and vine to your allocated group, then descend for lunch.

  • Day 7 Nairobi

    Two flights, one afternoon

    Aerolink Kihihi to Entebbe, roughly 1h45, then Uganda Airlines or Kenya Airways Entebbe to Nairobi in about 1h15. Overnight Hemingways Nairobi in Karen with a garden dinner.

  • Day 8 Mara North

    Safarilink into the conservancies

    Wilson Airport to Mara North airstrip, about 45 minutes. Elephant Pepper Camp sits under a stand of Croton thickets. First afternoon drive with off-road access from the outset.

  • Day 9 Mara North

    Walking, night drive, no crowds

    Guided bush walk with a Maasai naturalist at sunrise, siesta, then an afternoon and night drive for aardwolf, genet and hunting lion. Conservancy rules cap vehicles at any sighting.

  • Day 10 Olare Motorogi

    Across to Mahali Mzuri

    Ninety-minute game-drive transfer south. Mahali Mzuri holds twelve tents above the Ntiakitiak. Afternoon on the reserve boundary where migratory herds push north out of the Maasai Mara.

  • Day 11 Olare Motorogi

    Cheetah coalitions at first light

    Out at 05:45 with breakfast on board. Olare Motorogi carries one of the highest big-cat densities in Kenya. Optional hot-air balloon over the reserve as a supplement.

  • Day 12 Nairobi

    Ol Kiombo west, then home

    Safarilink from Ol Kiombo to Wilson, roughly 45 minutes. Day room and lunch at Hemingways or a private tour of the David Sheldrick elephant nursery, then evening departures.

Crossing the borders

The mechanics that decide whether a multi-country route works. We handle all of it, but you should know what it involves.

  • The East Africa Tourist Visa at USD 100 covers both countries. We lodge it on Uganda's portal because Entebbe is first entry. If you prefer separate documents, that is a Uganda e-visa at USD 50 plus a Kenya eTA at USD 30.

  • Aerolink flies out of Kihihi for Buhoma-side lodges and Kisoro for Rushaga and Nkuringo. We confirm the airstrip once your gorilla sector is allocated, which UWA does shortly before the trek.

  • Aerolink, Safarilink and AirKenya all cap luggage at 15 kg per person in a soft duffel including hand baggage. Excess is bonded free in Entebbe and at Wilson Airport.

  • Entebbe to Nairobi runs eighteen times a week on Uganda Airlines alone, so a same-day Kihihi connection is realistic, but we hold a two-hour buffer at Entebbe for the domestic to international transfer.

What the price actually covers.

From USD 18,940 per person sharing. Permits, park fees and charter legs are inside that number, not added at the end. International flights and visas are not.

Start planning

  • Bwindi Impenetrable gorilla permit, USD 800 per person

  • Kibale chimpanzee habituation permit, USD 300 per person

  • All Mara North and Olare Motorogi conservancy fees

  • Queen Elizabeth National Park fees and the Kazinga Channel launch

  • Aerolink and Safarilink charter legs with 15 kg soft-bag allowance

  • Entebbe to Nairobi scheduled sector on Uganda Airlines