On your arrival at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, you will be welcomed by a staff member with a 'Journeys Worldwide' sign. Outside your guide for the tour will be waiting with the vehicle and they will transfer you to your hotel.
After breakfast, drive to Arba Minch. On the way visit the archaeological site of Tiya, classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, where you can see the northern most example of a peculiar type of engraved, standing Stellae which stretch across parts of southern Ethiopia.
These stellae are believed to have been erected between the 12th and 14th centuries and are almost certainly grave markers.
Arba Minch is the unofficial capital of the Ethiopian Rastafarian community.
This morning drive south to Omo, often portrayed as some sort of cultural Garden of Eden.
Then drive to Jinka, the administrative capital of south Omo, through Konso, Weito and Key Afer.
En route, drive to Yetnebersh village to visit the Ari tribe and see how they make local liquor made of Sorghum, Garlic and maize. Also watch how they make a pot. As today is a Thursday, stop at Key Afer to attend the Thursday market. Key Afer market is the best known market of the lower Omo valley and is attended by many decorated tribes from the area.
After taking a rest at Jinka visit the recently opened south Omo research centre and museum, which is perched on a hill overlooking the town centre and offers an attractive view over it.
Today, after breakfast, drive to Mursi villages, 70kms away: the Mursi has become a cultural symbol of the Lower Omo Valley. They are the most renowned of the Omotic - speakers, famed for their practice of inserting large clay plates behind the lower lips of their women and colourful dresses.
Then drive to Turmi via Dimeka and Key Afer.
Turmi is the home of the Hammer, who are known for their body decoration, moonlight dance (Evangedi Dance) and bull-jumping. Bull jumping marks the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood. Bull jumping is not done every day and so unfortunately we not guarantee you to see this ceremony.
After having breakfast drive to the village of Kolcho and visit the Karo tribes. They are considered masters of body painting, in which they engage when preparing for a dance, feast or celebration.
Then drive back to Turmi to visit one of the smaller villages that lie outside the Hamer towns of Turmi. Incredibly neat and constructed entirely from mud, wood and thatch, one of the most striking aspects of these small villages –which typically consist of a few extended families across perhaps 10-15huts –is the total absence of non –organic or western artefacts.
After breakfast, drive to Konso. After taking a rest visit Konso village.
Konso people are known for their intricately terraced hill sides, fine woven materials and the carved totems in which they decorate their graves. At Konso visit the village of Machekie and on the way to Machekie there is a home of the king of all the Konso tribes .
Today after breakfast drive to Arba Minch.
On arrival at Arba Minch transfer to your hotel and after taking a rest, have a boat trip over Lake Chamo, where you can see hippos and crocodiles at a close range. The place known as “Azo-Gebeya" meaning Crocodile Market offers one of Africa's most impressive displays of big crocodiles.
Late afternoon, take a drive to visit the Dorze people at Chencha (it is about 35km away) - famous for their huge beehive huts). Every Dorze compound is surrounded by enset (false banana) and other crops. In addition to this some of the country's best-woven cotton comes from this village and the Shama (traditional) cloth produced around Chencha is regarded to be the finest in Ethiopia.
Drive back to Arba Minch for overnight stay.
Transfer to the airport for your return flight to Addis Ababa.
After taking a rest, drive up to Entoto Hills – Mt. Entoto is the highest peak in Addis Ababa reaching 3,200 meters above sea level, giving the opportunity to catch stunning views over the city and the surrounding area from the summit. It is the first settlement in Addis Ababa where Emperor Menelik II resided and built his palace in 1887. The compound at the peak hosts the Entoto Mariam church, an Ethiopian artefact museum, as well as Menelik II palace.
On the way up the roadside stalls offer fresh Ethiopian coffee. Also, if you have an interest in Ethiopian traditional clothes and if there is time, stop by at Shero Meda Market. There is a wide variety of beautiful fabrics, shawls, scarves, dresses, tops and jewellery with lots of choice and really good for gift ideas.
Tonight you will have a wonderful cultural evening at one of Addis Ababa's restaurants; Ethiopia is a mosaic of people with more than 80 languages, different lifestyles, costumes and cultural dances. Take a chance to experience some of these cultural dances and traditional meals with a drink of Tej - a type of wine made from honey.
After breakfast, transfer from your hotel to Bole International Airport for your 2hour flight to Uganda.
On arrival in Entebbe, you will be picked up and transferred to the Papyrus Guest House.
14:00 depart by car to the lake and then take a local motorised canoe to Mabamba Swamp, one of the best places for spotting the rare shoebill stork. Of course some luck is needed but rarely does one leave the swamp without seeing one! Many other water birds have chosen this area as their home, so birding is always very interesting.
Enjoy a relaxing sundowner on Lake Victoria and then return to the Guest House.
Please dont forget passport photos and photocopies of your passport in order to purchase the SIM card.
Soft drinks and snacks on sundowner excursion on lake Victoria.
After an early breakfast, transfer to Entebbe International Airport for the AeroLink flight (departing 0745) to Kisoro (arriving 0930) across central Uganda and offering a view of the country beautiful landscape of mountains, hills, cultivated terraces, tropical rainforest, bamboo forests and the majestic chain of the Virunga Volcanoes.
Upon arrival you will be met with a vehicle and a walking safari guide for a briefing on the activities of the day, which can be adapted to your interests. You can either walk for approx. 90 minutes - 4km to Lake Mutanda Sheba’s Camp - or drive 30 minutes to the lake. You then “settle” in a dugout canoe for 2-3 hours of gentle relaxed cruising(being paddled) across the lake, enjoying the beautiful landscape.
After lunch at a restaurant on the lake shores, continue on foot till Rubuguri (9km – 2/3 hours) where you meet up the vehicle and drive for another 10 km up to the Lodge in Nkuringo (approx 1 hour). Of course you can also be picked up by the vehicle at the lake and drive all the way up to the Lodge. You decide!
After breakfast, at around 7:45 am, with packed lunch and drinking water you will be transferred to the National Park Head Quarters for the briefing on the 'dos and the don’ts' while with the gorillas. You then continue to the forest for the start of the actual gorilla tracking.
The beauty of this rain forest is spectacular. The area offers a dramatic, steeply forested landscape and is incredibly dense, but crisscrossed by numerous animal trails allowing access to tourists. The time taken and the terrain vary, as per the movements of these great primates. The thrill of spending time observing these gentle and endangered giants is an awesome, exciting experience to long be savored. Many find it to be a rare and moving opportunity. The tracking can take place at Nkuringo or at Rushaga (1 hr drive from Nkuringo), as per the gorilla permits obtained.
Upon return, relax at the lodge.
At 5.00 pm either stroll through the community center or drive up to the “Top of the World” - the name given to the football field, high up in Nkuringo which offers amazing views over the peaks and forests around Nkuringo. A great way to stretch your legs after the gorilla tracking and to enjoy a sundowner.
This morning, after a hearty breakfast, enjoy birding in Nombe Pocket Forest – it was part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and it is still quite impenetrable, however it was cut off from it as people needed more land to live on and cultivate. It can be reached on foot (approx. 1 hour to go and 2 hours to come back) or by vehicle and the visit lasts approx. 2 hours, depending on the interest of guests.
Lunch at the lodge and at 2.00 pm departure to Buniga Forest Trail Walk, an informative project run by USAID and the local Batwa community. The Batwa tribe was forced to leave their home in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in 1991 when it was declared a UNESCO Heritage site for gorillas only. They had been living in the forest as nomadic hunter-gatherers for millennia, in perfect balance with the flora and fauna around. Moving out and suddenly living in communities with a completely different way of life has proven to be a huge challenge. They now survive as best as they can and earn a living explaining their previous life in the forest and their rich heritage.
Continue the walk through the community to visit the traditional herbalist and the blacksmith.
08.00am with your guide commence the Nkuringo Walking Safari activity into the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park as part of the Kashasha River and Ivy River trails. This is a full day walk where there would be opportunity to visit the Munyaga River falls in the forest. The emphasis of this activity is for your walking guide to share his knowledge of the forest that you come into contact with and not simply an A to B. The walking distance would be about 15km.
You will rendezvous with your vehicle in the village of Nteko on the DR Congo border to be transported 10km back to Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge.
Spend the day volunteering with Nkuringo Bright Future School, the activities can be tailored to your interest. They also run a Community Centre with a Tailoring project, growing Oyster Mushrooms and Bee keeping - you can also participate in these activities.
After breakfast, transfer to Kisoro Airstrip for a scheduled AeroLink flight at 09:10 arriving at 1125 in Entebbe.
Depart Entebbe 18:55 for Nairobi, via Addis Abbaba.
On arrival in Nairobi you will be met by a representative of the Crowne Plaza Hotel and transferred to your hotel.
You will then be picked up at 10am from your hotel and a packed breakfast has been arranged for you, from the hotel, to take with you, to eat en route to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The guide who picks you up will be with you for the next three days and will have a small package with all documents for Kenya in it.
Lunch (to your own account) will be at the Karen Blixen Coffee Garden, after which you visit the Giraffe Centre . You are not restricted to getting back to the hotel early - the vehicle and driver have been paid for the day, so if you would like to go and do some shopping or see something else in the vicinity - you are free to do so.
After breakfast at the hotel, depart between 7 and 8am for your drive to Amboseli. This will take approximately 4 hours and you will arrive in time for lunch.
In the afternoon take a game drive to see what you can find, with the beautiful Mt Kilimanjaro providing the backdrop.
Early morning game drive and then return back to camp for breakfast. After breakfast you will spend the whole
day in the park with picnic lunch in search of its popular residents like the well known predators and their
opponents like the Zebra, Wildebeest, Giraffe, Hippo. Return to your camp for dinner.
You will have an early start with breakfast, then a short game drive en route to the airstrip.
Your flight departs Amboseli at 0815hrs to arrive Nairobi at 0850hrs. You will then depart for Maasai Mara at 1030hrs to arrive at 1110hrs.
The camp vehicle will meet you at Ol Kiombo airstrip, where they will transfer you to camp, arriving in time for lunch.
Late afternoon game drive, returning to camp for dinner and overnight.
Your guide, who has been with you since Nairobi, will leave you today when you board your plane. However, he is most likely going to be the same one who will pick you up again in Nairobi on your return from the Mara.
Early morning game drive before returning to camp for breakfast.
There is an option of spending the full day in the reserve, whereby the camp will provide a packed lunch or splitting it into a morning and afternoon session. Return to camp for dinner and overnight.
A Maasai Cultural village visit is scheduled to offer an insight into the culture, traditions and lifestyle of the local Maasai.
Early morning game drive before returning to camp for breakfast. There is an option of spending the full
day in the reserve, whereby the camp will provide a packed lunch, or splitting it into a morning and afternoon
session. Return to camp for dinner and overnight.
Early morning game drive before returning to camp for breakfast. There is an option of spending the full
day in the reserve, whereby the camp will provide a packed lunch, or splitting it into a morning and afternoon
session. Return to camp for dinner and overnight.
Time permitting, take an early morning game drive.
You will then be transferred to the airstrip for your flight to Nairobi - Wilson airport. 13:00 arrival at Wilson airport, you will be met by the same guide who was with you in Amboseli, who will take you somewhere for lunch (discuss with him where you would like to go - to your own account).
After lunch you will be transferred to Jomo Kenyatta international Airport, for your flight departing at 19:15. Please note Nairobi traffic is horrendous and this relatively short distance may take some time.
