Day 0. Welcome to Kenya
Your holiday starts with a flight from home to Nairobi International Airport. The Empakaai Cultural Safari team will meet you here and transfer you to your hotel in Nairobi.
Day 1. From Nairobi to Nakuru National Park
Our journey through Kenya begins with a drive from Nairobi to Lake Nakuru. This is a drive of a breathtaking beauty, which will guarantee a perfect first day of Africa experience for you. We will stop at a Great Rift Valley viewpoint to admire an awesome view and then continue towards the town of Nakuru. We will stop in the Nakuru town to have a quick walk and then proceed to the Nakuru National Park. First we will go straight to the Nakuru National Park and enjoy our picnic lunch there. We will do a game drive in the park until late in the afternoon. Our destination for tonight is Ziwa Bush Lodge. In the evening we are going to visit East African Mission Orphanage (EAMO). EAMO provides a loving home for orphaned children, including babies and teenage mothers. The orphanage welcomes tourist groups to come and interact with children. It is an experience enjoyed by children and visitors alike: we can play and sing with the kids this evening and leave after we have put them to bed and said good night.
Day 2. Nakuru to Eldoret
The day begins with an early breakfast. We leave the Nakuru National Park and start our drive to the town of Eldoret. We will make a stop and go for a town walk in Eldoret, which is one of the fastest growing towns in Kenya. Our destination for tonight is just 20 km away from the town. The Naiberi River campsite and resort is situated on a hilly forest tribal land, which was once home to the ancient Sirikwa tribe. This afternoon in Naiberi you can relax around the swimming pool, and then enjoy a drink at the bar or in a restaurant.
Day 3. Eldoret to Kampala
We depart towards the Kenya – Uganda border early in the morning, after breakfast. Going through border formalities can take a while. We will continue our drive in Uganda and stop for a picnic lunch at a nice place close to the Nile River. Our goal for tonight is Red Chilli Hideaway, a welcoming place just outside of Kampala. The beautiful green camp area includes a big swimming pool, a bar and a restaurant, and has a good wifi connection – which you may want to use tonight, as we will be moving deeper into Uganda forests in the days to come.
Day 4. Kampala to Kabale
This morning our first stop will be at the equator crossing. After driving further towards the Lake Bunyonyi, we will stop to have a picnic lunch at a spectacularly beautiful spot, overlooking volcanic land crossed by a river. After passing through the town of Kabale, a magnificent view of the Lake Bunyonyi will open up in front of us. This means that we are close to our camp. We will have a dinner and enjoy the evening around the campfire.
Day 5. Lake Bunyonyi
Today is the day of an ultimate adventure – you are going to see Mountain Gorillas in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Make sure you have your walking boots on, your raincoat packed and a bottle of water in your small backpack. You are going to visit a protected rain forest area. We are going to arrive to the park gate, where small groups will be assigned to a guide and a ranger. Getting to a place where gorillas are located can require our guides to cut through some thick forest. The local staff is usually aware of how gorillas’ groups move around, but nevertheless finding them can take a while. And when you find them, you will know that it is absolutely worth the search. Guides will make their utmost best to find gorillas. Should it so happen that you cannot find them on the first day, you can come back the next day to make a second attempt.
Day 6. Kabale – Day Trip
We will agree on beforehand the plan of action for today. There are three options:
• Cross to Rwanda to visit the Genocide Memorial site. This is a significant monument, which reminds the humanity that genocide atrocities must never happen again. Here you can read and see details of the related page in Rwanda’s history. The road today will take you through a spectacular “land of one thousand hills”.
• Visit a local orphanage home in Kabale.
• Visit Queen Elizabeth National Park and admire a beautiful mountain between Uganda and Congo. Here we can make a spectacular boat trip for a couple of hours. The chances are high to see hippo, elephant, buffalo, birds and antelopes. After the boat trip, we can go for a game drive in the park.
Day 7. From Kabale to Kampala
Today we leave the beautiful area of Lake Bunyonyi and start our drive from Kabale to Kampala. We’ll stop for an open-air lunch along the way. Tonight we are going to be back to Red Chilli Hideaway next to Kampala.
Day 8. From Kampala to Jinja
This morning starts with a visit to Kasubi Tombs, a burial site of four kings of Buganda. Here we can learn all we want to know about the Buganda people, the largest ethnic group in Uganda. From here we take our route to Jinja and visit the source of the Nile. Jinja is the second largest city in Uganda, located on the shores of Lake Victoria.
Tonight we are going to stay at Adrift Riverbase, spectacularly situated on the riverbank of the Nile.
Day 9. Jinja
Adrift Riverbase offers a number of exciting activities, which we can explore today. Choose between rafting, quad biking, a village walk or a visit to the source of the Nile River, and enjoy to the full!
Day 10. From Jinja to Kericho
Today we are crossing the Uganda – Kenya border and are taking a long scenic drive towards the town of Kericho, “Heart of Kenyan tea”. Once we arrive to Kericho, we will visit the largest tea plantation in Kenya, which was founded by Europeans. We will visit a tea farm, while admiring beautiful green landscapes around us. We arrive to Kericho Tea Hotel at the end of the afternoon.
Day 11. From Kericho to Maasai Mara
Our destination today is the famous and spectacular Maasai Mara National Reserve. We arrive to our tented camp later in the afternoon, on time to enjoy an open-air dinner amidst beautiful nature, surrounded by sounds of wildlife.
Day 12. Maasai Mara
This morning we get up early to have breakfast and arrive to the park gate on time. We can’t be late for an amazing game drive that we are about to start! The Maasai Mara National Reserve is home to elephant, lion, zebra and various antelope. If we are lucky we might see cheetah and leopard too. We will be game driving in the Maasai Mara National Reserve the entire morning, and have our lunch next to a hippo pool. After lunch, we continue admiring the wildlife while game driving, and will come out of the gate late in the afternoon. We enjoy our dinner at the camp under the stunning starry skies.
Day 13. From Maasai Mara to Nairobi
Today we leave the beautiful Maasai Mara National Reserve and drive to Nairobi. We will make a stop at the town of Narok.
Day 14. Transfer to the airport to fly home. Or extend your journey with another Empakaai Cultural Safari trip!
Contact us at info@empakaaiculturalsafari.com. We are happy to answer all your questions, discuss your preferences and help you to book your trip.