Rwanda + Kenya Safari

The Gorillas and the Migration

There is a conversation that experienced East African safari travellers have with each other

Rwanda Kenya Safari

delivers the same extraordinary core wildlife encounters — the gorillas, the migration, the Big Five

There is a conversation that experienced East African safari travellers have with each other — quietly, with the particular intensity of people who have seen something that changed them — about which wildlife encounter is the greatest.

Some say the gorillas. The moment a silverback mountain gorilla turns to regard you from three metres away, his expression carrying the weight of an evolutionary history so close to your own that the boundary between human and animal feels, for a long, suspended moment, entirely arbitrary. The ancient forest. The proximity. The one hour that passes in what feels like ten minutes and stays in your memory for the rest of your life.

Some say the migration. The moment the first wildebeest launches itself off the Mara River bank and a hundred thousand others follow in a wave of collective momentum that shakes the ground and fills the air with a sound no recording has ever fully captured. The crocodiles. The far bank. The sheer, overwhelming scale of life and death playing out in front of you with no regard whatsoever for your presence.

The correct answer, for the traveller wise enough to arrange it, is both.

The Rwanda Kenya safari combines these two extraordinary experiences — the mountain gorillas of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda's volcanic northwest and the Great Wildebeest Migration of Kenya's Masai Mara — into a single, seamlessly connected East African journey of ten to fourteen days. It is offered by Ntungo Wildlife Safaris in two distinct tiers — midrange and luxury — each delivering the full depth and breadth of the experience at a price point and in accommodation that suits different travellers and different budgets.

Both tiers include the gorilla trekking permit. Both include expert private guiding. Both include the Masai Mara game drives. Both deliver the encounters. The difference is in where you sleep and the additional exclusivity of the experiences that frame the core wildlife moments.

Both are extraordinary. Choose the one that matches your vision.

The Rwanda Section: Volcanoes, Gorillas & the Land of a Thousand Hills

Kigali: Rwanda's Remarkable Capital

Every Rwanda Kenya safari begins in Kigali — and Rwanda's capital deserves more than the transit point status that many itineraries assign it.

Kigali is one of the most striking cities in Africa: extraordinarily clean, intensely ambitious, deeply aware of its own recent history, and alive with the creative energy of a country that has decided, with remarkable collective determination, to build something extraordinary from the most difficult possible starting point. Its streets are lined with specialty coffee shops, contemporary art galleries, excellent restaurants, and the evidence of an economy that has grown at some of the highest rates on the continent for two consecutive decades.

The Kigali Genocide Memorial — built on the site of a mass grave containing over 250,000 of the genocide's approximately one million victims — is the most important single experience the city offers, and it is important in a way that goes beyond tourism. Understanding what happened in Rwanda in 1994, and understanding the country's extraordinary subsequent journey of reconciliation and healing, transforms the experience of everything that follows: the warmth of the people, the extraordinary order and cleanliness of the countryside, the ambition of the national development programme all become, after Gisozi, not merely impressive but profound.

The Inema Arts Center, Kigali's most celebrated contemporary art space, provides a vivid counterpoint — the creative energy and cultural confidence of a country looking determinedly forward rather than backward, expressing itself in painting, sculpture, and installation with a boldness and originality that commands serious attention.

Volcanoes National Park: Where the Gorillas Live

Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda's northwestern corner is the gold standard of mountain gorilla trekking — the park where Dian Fossey conducted her pioneering research from the Karisoke Research Centre in the 1960s and 70s, where the habituated gorilla families are the most studied and most documented in the world, and where the combination of the extraordinary volcanic landscape, the ancient forest, and the extraordinary quality of the gorilla encounter creates an experience of unmatched depth and power.

The park protects the Rwandan portion of the Virunga Massif — a chain of six volcanoes, some dormant and some active, rising to heights of over 4,500 metres along the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The massif is home to roughly a third of the world's entire mountain gorilla population — approximately 350 to 400 individuals — living in habituated and unhabituated groups across the volcanic forest that covers the lower slopes of the volcanoes.

The gorilla trekking experience begins at the Kinigi Park Headquarters, where pre-trek briefings assign visitors to specific gorilla families and provide detailed guidance on behaviour protocols, health requirements, and physical preparation. The trek into the forest — through bamboo zones, dense montane vegetation, and the extraordinary atmosphere of an ancient volcanic forest at altitude — is physically demanding and completely immersive.

The one hour with the gorilla family is what everything has been building toward: a silverback of extraordinary physical presence and quiet authority, females moving through the undergrowth with infants clinging to their backs, juveniles playing in the branches with the exuberant energy of young animals, and the whole family conducting the ordinary business of their lives with a completeness and a naturalness that makes the human observer feel not like a wildlife tourist but like a brief, respectful, deeply privileged guest in a world that existed long before ours.

Nyungwe Forest: The Ancient Rainforest

For itineraries with time to explore beyond Volcanoes, Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda's southwestern corner adds a dimension of ancient forest richness that complements the volcanic drama of the north with the deep, quiet immensity of a rainforest estimated to be over two million years old.

Chimpanzee tracking, the extraordinary Igishigishigi Canopy Walk — a 160-metre suspension bridge above the forest canopy at heights of up to 50 metres — and the spectacular Ruwenzori black and white colobus monkeys moving through the canopy in groups of up to 300 individuals are the primary wildlife highlights. The forest's 300+ bird species including 29 Albertine Rift endemics make it one of East Africa's most important birding destinations.

Lake Kivu: Rwanda's Great Lake

Lake Kivu — one of Africa's Great Lakes, straddling the border between Rwanda and the DRC — provides the most naturally beautiful and most restful section of the Rwanda itinerary: blue water, terraced green hills, small islands, fishing villages, and the warm, unhurried atmosphere of a lakeside destination that exists slightly outside the intensity of the wildlife experiences that bracket it.

A sunset boat cruise on the lake, a village walk through the communities of Gisenyi (Rubavu) on the northern shore, and the simple pleasure of sitting on a lakeside terrace with a cold Primus beer and a view across the water to the hills of Congo are experiences of a completely different character from the forest trekking — and entirely necessary for the quality of rest and contrast that makes a multi-destination safari more than the sum of its parts.

The Kenya Section: The Masai Mara and the Migration

The Masai Mara National Reserve

Kenya's Masai Mara National Reserve is the northern extension of the vast Serengeti-Mara ecosystem — the most intact large-mammal savannah ecosystem remaining on earth — and the stage for the most spectacular annual wildlife event on the planet.

The reserve covers 1,510 square kilometres of open savannah, riverine forest, and rocky kopje country in southwestern Kenya's Rift Valley province, and supports extraordinary year-round wildlife richness alongside the seasonal drama of the migration. Over 95 mammal species and 570 bird species inhabit the reserve and its surrounding conservancies — a biological abundance that makes every game drive, regardless of season, a wildlife experience of the highest quality.

The Great Wildebeest Migration — the annual movement of over 1.5 million wildebeest, 400,000 zebra, and 200,000 Thomson's gazelle around the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem — arrives in the Masai Mara between July and October, when the northward-moving herds encounter the Mara River and the famous river crossings begin. These crossings — hundreds of thousands of animals launching themselves into a fast-flowing, crocodile-patrolled river in waves of collective, unstoppable momentum — are the most dramatic single wildlife spectacle available anywhere in Africa.

The Mara's lion population — one of the densest of any protected area in Africa — is famous worldwide through decades of BBC documentary filming. Multiple well-known prides hold established territories across the reserve, their familiarity with safari vehicles allowing extraordinary close observation of natural hunting, breeding, and social behaviour. Cheetah coalitions hunt in the open grassland in full, unobstructed view. Leopards inhabit the riverine forest along the Mara and Talek rivers. Elephants move in family groups through the woodland margins. And the entire savannah community — buffalo, giraffe, zebra, topi, impala, warthog, hyena — creates the living, dynamic backdrop to every game drive.

The Private Conservancies

For the most exclusive and most intimate Masai Mara experience, the private conservancies adjoining the national reserve — Naboisho, Olare Motorogi, Mara North, Ol Kinyei, and others — offer what the national reserve cannot: night game drives, off-road driving, bush walks, and the extraordinary quality of exclusive, low-density wildlife experience in which game drives proceed without the vehicle concentrations that peak-season reserve driving can involve.

The conservancies are established through agreements with Maasai landowners that provide direct financial benefit to the communities in exchange for wildlife-friendly land use — one of the most successful community conservation models in Africa and a direct expression of the principle that wildlife has the greatest chance of long-term survival when the people who live alongside it benefit tangibly from its presence.

The Rwanda + Kenya Safari: Two Tiers

🥈 MIDRANGE TIER

The Midrange Rwanda Kenya Safari delivers the full depth and breadth of the Rwanda gorilla and Kenya migration experience in comfortable, characterful accommodation that puts you genuinely in the wild without the premium price point of the luxury tier. The accommodation is good, the guiding is expert, the gorilla and chimpanzee permits are included, and every core wildlife experience is fully delivered.

Midrange means: comfortable tented camps and lodges with full-board meals, private guiding, and all park fees — without the private butler, the infinity pool, and the architecturally extraordinary lodge design of the luxury properties.

Midrange Itinerary: 10 Days

Day 1: Kigali Arrival

Your Rwanda representative meets you at Kigali International Airport and transfers you to your accommodation in the city. Evening at leisure with a welcome dinner and full safari briefing. Accommodation: Hotel des Mille Collines / Lemigo Hotel Meal Plan: Dinner

Day 2: Kigali — Genocide Memorial & City Exploration

Morning visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial — an essential and deeply moving experience that provides the historical and human context for understanding modern Rwanda. Afternoon at the Inema Arts Center and a walk through the Kimironko Market. Evening at a traditional Rwandan restaurant. Accommodation: Hotel des Mille Collines / Lemigo Hotel Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Kigali to Musanze — Transfer to Volcanoes

Morning drive northwest to Musanze — approximately 2.5 hours through Rwanda's spectacular highlands. Afternoon check-in and orientation at your Musanze lodge with views of the Virunga volcanoes. Pre-trek briefing with your guide this evening. Accommodation: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge / Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

The defining day of the Rwanda section. Early morning drive to Kinigi Park Headquarters for the pre-trek briefing. Trek into the Virunga forest on the trail of your assigned gorilla family. One hour with the gorillas. Return to the lodge for a celebratory lunch and a deeply earned afternoon of rest. Accommodation: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge / Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Musanze to Kigali — Golden Monkey Trekking Optional

Morning optional golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park — an enchanting and energetic experience with the endemic golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti) in the bamboo zone of the Virunga forest. Afternoon drive back to Kigali. Evening flight to Nairobi and transfer to your accommodation. Accommodation: Nairobi Serena Hotel / Tribe Hotel Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Nairobi to Masai Mara — Into the Kingdom

Morning transfer to Wilson Airport for the 45-minute flight to the Masai Mara. Afternoon game drive immediately on arrival — the Mara's wildlife encountered within minutes of landing. First wildebeest herds, first lion sighting, first experience of the savannah's extraordinary scale. Accommodation: Mara Intrepids Tented Camp / Fig Tree Camp Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Full Day in the Masai Mara — Migration & Big Five

Dawn to dusk game drives covering the reserve's most productive wildlife areas. Mara River crossing attempt with your guide's local knowledge maximising the probability of witnessing the spectacle. Full Big Five pursuit. Cheetah hunt observation on the open plains. Leopard search in the riverine forest. Accommodation: As Day 6 Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8: Masai Mara — Conservancy Game Drive & Maasai Visit

Morning game drive in the adjacent Ol Kinyei or Olare Motorogi Conservancy — experiencing the quality of exclusive wildlife viewing available outside the national reserve. Afternoon Maasai community visit — manyatta walk, adumu jumping ceremony, cultural engagement with one of East Africa's most extraordinary living cultures. Accommodation: As Day 6 Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9: Final Mara Game Drive & Nairobi Return

Dawn game drive — the final wildlife hours of the safari. Return to the airstrip for the flight back to Wilson Airport and transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for the international departure, or overnight in Nairobi for a next-day flight. Accommodation: Nairobi Serena Hotel (if overnight required) Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 10: Nairobi Departure

Transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for international departure. Ten days of extraordinary memories, two of the world's greatest wildlife encounters, and the particular quality of transformation that only this combination of experiences can produce. Meal Plan: Breakfast

Midrange Package Inclusions:

All airport transfers and ground transportation

Professional private driver-guide throughout Rwanda

Expert Masai Mara guide throughout Kenya

Nairobi to Masai Mara return light aircraft flights

All accommodation full-board as per itinerary

Mountain gorilla trekking permit (Volcanoes NP)

Optional golden monkey trekking permit (at supplement)

All national park fees Rwanda and Kenya

Bottled water throughout

Midrange Package Price: From USD 5,200 per person (based on double occupancy, gorilla permit included, peak season supplement applies July–October)

👑 LUXURY TIER

The Luxury Rwanda Kenya Safari delivers the same extraordinary core wildlife encounters — the gorillas, the migration, the Big Five — in accommodation that is itself part of the experience: architecturally extraordinary, ecologically immersive, and offering a level of service, food, and exclusive wildlife access that transforms an outstanding safari into something that belongs in a category of its own.

Luxury means: award-winning lodges and camps with private butler service, infinity pools overlooking the savannah, exclusive conservancy access with night drives, hot air balloon safari, private guiding throughout, and the particular quality of an experience in which every detail has been considered and every moment optimised.

Luxury Itinerary: 12 Days

Day 1: Kigali Arrival — Rwanda's Capital in Comfort

Met at Kigali International Airport by your personal Ntungo representative and transferred to your luxury Kigali accommodation. Welcome dinner at one of Kigali's finest restaurants — the city's extraordinary culinary scene a reflection of its remarkable international connections and cultural confidence. Accommodation: Kigali Marriott Hotel / One&Only Nyungwe House Kigali Meal Plan: Dinner

Day 2: Kigali — Deep Immersion

A full day in Kigali — the Genocide Memorial in the morning, a private guided tour of the Inema Arts Center with the opportunity to meet resident artists, lunch at Repub Lounge or Fusion (two of Kigali's finest restaurants), afternoon coffee tasting at a specialty Kigali roastery, and evening at leisure. Accommodation: As Day 1 Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 3: Kigali to Nyungwe Forest — The Ancient Rainforest

Morning drive southwest through Rwanda's spectacular highlands to Nyungwe Forest National Park — a 3 to 4 hour journey through tea plantation country and the extraordinary mountain landscape of the south. Afternoon arrival and check-in at One&Only Nyungwe House — Rwanda's most celebrated luxury lodge, set within the Gisakura Tea Estate directly adjacent to the park. Evening at leisure with a guided introduction to the tea estate. Accommodation: One & Only Nyungwe House Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 4: Nyungwe Forest — Chimpanzees & Canopy Walk

Morning chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe's ancient forest — an encounter with wild chimpanzees in a two-million-year-old rainforest that provides a compelling evolutionary prelude to the gorilla encounter ahead. Afternoon Igishigishigi Canopy Walk — the suspension bridge experience 50 metres above the forest floor, with extraordinary views across the ancient canopy and toward Lake Kivu on clear days. Accommodation: One&Only Nyungwe House Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5: Nyungwe to Lake Kivu — The Great Lake

Drive north from Nyungwe to the shores of Lake Kivu — one of Africa's Great Lakes — for an afternoon of complete relaxation. Sunset dhow cruise on the lake. Dinner at a lakeside restaurant in Gisenyi (Rubavu) with views across the water to the hills of Congo. Accommodation: Kivu Serena Hotel / Paradis Malahide Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 6: Lake Kivu to Musanze — Volcano Country

Morning at leisure on the lake before the drive northeast to Musanze — gateway to Volcanoes National Park — arriving in time for an afternoon visit to the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund: a state-of-the-art research and conservation centre that tells the full story of mountain gorilla conservation from Fossey's pioneering research to the present day's population recovery. Pre-trek briefing this evening. Accommodation: Bisate Lodge / Singita Kwitonda Lodge Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

The centrepiece of the Rwanda section — and of the entire safari. Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park with a private guide, the most carefully selected gorilla family assignment, and the full luxury camp post-trek experience: a hot bath, a gourmet lunch, and the afternoon to absorb what the morning has given you from the private deck of one of Rwanda's finest lodge rooms with the Virunga volcanoes on the horizon. Accommodation: Bisate Lodge / Singita Kwitonda Lodge Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 8: Musanze — Golden Monkey Trekking & Departure to Nairobi

Morning golden monkey trekking in the bamboo zone of Volcanoes National Park — the endemic and endearing golden monkey (Cercopithecus kandti) in its extraordinary natural habitat, a gentler and more playful primate encounter that provides a beautiful counterpoint to the gravity of yesterday's gorilla experience. Afternoon drive to Kigali for the evening flight to Nairobi and overnight. Accommodation: The Emakoko / Giraffe Manor Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 9: Nairobi to Masai Mara — The Savannah Begins

Morning transfer to Wilson Airport for the flight to the Masai Mara — landing at one of the conservancy airstrips adjacent to your luxury camp. Immediate afternoon game drive in your exclusive conservancy — off-road driving available, night drives confirmed for this evening. The Mara's first wildlife encounters from the conservancy's undisturbed terrain. Accommodation: Angama Mara / Mahali Mzuri / Sanctuary Olonana Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 10: Full Day in the Masai Mara — Migration & Predators

Dawn game drive in the conservancy — off-road, private, with no other vehicles. Mara River crossing attempt with your expert guide's full attention dedicated entirely to your group. Cheetah hunt. Leopard search. Lion pride observation. Return to camp for the extraordinary luxury lunch experience — possibly a private bush lunch set in the field by the camp team — before an afternoon conservancy drive and evening night game drive: the Mara after dark, with leopards, servals, and civets in the spotlight. Accommodation: As Day 9 Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 11: Hot Air Balloon Safari & Final Masai Mara Day

The day begins before dawn with the hot air balloon safari — the most iconic and most breathtaking Masai Mara experience, the silent drift above the golden plains as the first light touches the horizon and the wildlife moves below in its morning patterns. The balloon lands to a champagne bush breakfast in the field: silver service, fresh food, cold champagne, and the memory of the flight still vivid and warm.

The morning game drive following breakfast ventures deep into the conservancy's most exclusive terrain. The afternoon offers a private guided bush walk with an armed ranger — the Mara experienced on foot, at ground level, with the sounds and smells and scale of the ecosystem available in ways that the vehicle never provides.

Evening farewell dinner at camp — the best food of the safari, the best view, and the best possible way to close a journey of extraordinary experiences. Accommodation: As Day 9 Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 12: Final Game Drive & Nairobi Departure A final dawn game drive — the last wildlife hours, the last extraordinary light, the last lion on the kopje. Flight back to Wilson Airport and transfer to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for international departure.

Twelve days. Two of the world's greatest wildlife encounters. Every detail considered and delivered at the highest possible level. Meal Plan: Breakfast

Luxury Package Inclusions:

All airport transfers and ground transportation in luxury 4WD vehicles

Personal professional private guide throughout Rwanda

Expert Masai Mara conservancy guide throughout Kenya

Nairobi to Masai Mara return light aircraft flights

All accommodation full-board at luxury properties as per itinerary

Mountain gorilla trekking permit (Volcanoes NP)

Golden monkey trekking permit (Volcanoes NP)

Chimpanzee tracking permit (Nyungwe Forest)

Hot air balloon safari over the Masai Mara

All conservancy fees and night drive fees

All national park fees Rwanda and Kenya

Private bush walk in the Mara conservancy

Bottled water and in-vehicle refreshments throughout

Luxury Package Price: From USD 11,500 per person (based on double occupancy, all permits and balloon safari included, peak season supplement applies July–October)

Practical Information — Rwanda Kenya Safari

Best Time to Visit:

July — October: Peak migration season — Mara River crossings at their most dramatic and most frequent. Gorilla trekking excellent year-round. The most popular and most expensive window; book 6 to 12 months in advance.

January — March: Excellent gorilla trekking in Rwanda combined with good Mara wildlife and significantly lower visitor numbers and accommodation rates.

June & November: Transitional months — good wildlife, reasonable rates, moderate visitor levels.

Gorilla Permits:

Rwanda gorilla permit: USD 1,500 per person per trek

Available through Rwanda Development Board

Strictly limited: maximum 8 visitors per gorilla family per day

Included in both Midrange and Luxury package prices

Must be reserved minimum 3 months in advance — 6 months recommended for July–October

Getting There:

Fly into Kigali International Airport (KGL)

Depart from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi (NBO)

Multiple international carriers serve both airports

The internal Kigali to Nairobi flight is bookable through Ntungo at supplement

Contact Ntungo Wildlife Safaris to book your Rwanda Kenya safari — midrange or luxury, 10 days or 12 days, peak season or green season. We manage all gorilla permits, flights, accommodation, park fees, and logistics across both countries.

📩 info@ntungosafaris.com 🌐 www.ntungosafaris.com 📞 +256 771 399299 / +256 706 772990