ENCOUNTERSAFRICA
9-Day Gorillas & the Masai Mara

Rwanda - Kenya - Fly-in safari

9-Day Gorillas & the Masai Mara

Duration
9 days
Countries
Rwanda, Kenya
Suited to
2-8 guests
Pricing
From USD 19,480

The journey

Two of the strongest wildlife encounters in Africa sit a short flight apart, and very few travellers put them in the same trip. This programme does. You begin in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, 160 square kilometres of bamboo and Hagenia forest on the Virunga chain, where habituated mountain gorilla families are tracked daily and each permit buys you a strict hour at close range. Three nights at Wilderness Sabyinyo buy two treks rather than one, which matters when mist or a fast-moving family can flatten a single morning. The link between the two halves is a regional jet from Kigali to Nairobi, about an hour and twenty minutes, a night in the city, and a light aircraft from Wilson to Mara North the following morning. Mara North Conservancy is roughly 74,000 acres leased from Maasai landowners on the northern boundary of the Masai Mara, where vehicle numbers are capped and off-road driving, night drives and walking are all permitted. Four nights at Elephant Pepper Camp cover the resident lion prides, cheetah on the open plains and, between July and October, the wildebeest herds and the Mara River crossings. June to October is the strongest window for both halves: firmer ground on the volcanoes, and the migration in Kenya.

Your camps, day by day

Stay 1

Kigali to the Virungas

You land at Kigali International and meet your driver-guide, with an hour at the Genocide Memorial before the road north. The drive to Kinigi takes about two and a half hours on tarmac, through terraced hillsides and market towns. Wilderness Sabyinyo sits in the foothills below Sabyinyo and Gahinga, and is owned outright by the surrounding community. Dinner by a log fire while you sort layers and boots.

Stay 2

First Hour with Gorillas

Breakfast at six, then the short drive to Kinigi park headquarters, where Intore dancers perform while rangers allocate families by fitness. Trekking groups are capped at eight. The walk in takes anywhere from one hour to four, through bamboo and stinging nettle, and ends with a strict sixty minutes at seven metres from a silverback. You are back at the lodge by mid-afternoon with wet boots at the fire.

Stay 3

A Second Family

A different family today, usually higher on the slopes of Bisoke or Karisimbi, so the ground is steeper and the forest turns from bamboo to Hagenia. Second treks are often the better ones: you know the pace, the porters know you, and you spend the hour watching rather than fighting a camera. Swap this permit for golden monkeys or the Dian Fossey grave hike if you would rather not climb twice.

Stay 4

Across to Nairobi

A slow breakfast with the volcanoes out, if the cloud lifts, then the drive back to Kigali with time for coffee and the craft co-operatives. The flight to Nairobi takes about an hour and twenty minutes over Lake Victoria and the Rift wall. Hemingways in Karen puts you twenty minutes from Wilson Airport for the morning departure, with dinner and a proper bath after three days of mountain.

Stay 5

Into Mara North

A short transfer to Wilson Airport and a 45 minute flight southwest over the Ngong ridge and the Loita hills to Mara North airstrip. Elephant Pepper Camp has eight tents under a grove of wild pepper trees, built with no permanent foundations so the site can be cleared without trace. Your guide meets the aircraft, so the drive to camp is already a game drive.

Stay 6

Lion Country

Mara North covers roughly 74,000 acres leased from around 800 Maasai landowners, and beds are capped by area, so a sighting here draws three or four vehicles rather than twenty. The morning follows the resident prides along the Ntiakitiak and Olare Orok drainages. After dark you go out with a red-filtered spotlight for genet, white-tailed mongoose and hunting lion, which the reserve does not permit.

Stay 7

On Foot in the Mara

Walk out at first light with an armed guide and a Maasai spotter, reading tracks and dung and the small things you drive past, then take breakfast on a rise. The afternoon goes off-road after cheetah on the open grassland, which is legal in the conservancy and not in the reserve. Sundowners on the Leopard Gorge escarpment, where the Big Cat Diary leopards denned.

Stay 8

Down to the River

A full day with a packed lunch, crossing south into the Masai Mara National Reserve. From late July into October the wildebeest herds stack up on the Mara River banks and cross in a rush of dust and water, with crocodile working the shallows. Outside those months the same day goes to the Musiara marsh and its elephant, or a balloon flight at dawn if you want it.

Stay 9

Last Morning, Then Home

A final drive before breakfast if the flight time allows, then the short run to Mara North airstrip and the light aircraft back to Wilson. Encounters Africa handles the road transfer across Nairobi to Jomo Kenyatta International for your flight home, with a day room held if you have hours to fill. Baggage on the Mara sector is 15 kilograms per person in a soft bag.

Safari highlights

  • Two gorilla treks in Volcanoes National Park, two families
  • Community-owned Wilderness Sabyinyo below the Virunga peaks
  • Regional jet Kigali to Nairobi, then light aircraft to the Mara
  • Four nights on Mara North, a capped-vehicle private conservancy
  • Night drives, walking safaris and off-road big cat tracking
  • Mara River crossings and the migration herds, July to October

What is included

Included

  • 8 nights accommodation, per person sharing
  • Two Rwanda mountain gorilla trekking permits at USD 1,500 each per person
  • Regional jet flight Kigali to Nairobi, and light aircraft Nairobi Wilson to Mara North and back to Wilson
  • Private 4x4 and driver-guide in Rwanda, including return road transfers Kigali to Volcanoes National Park and daily runs to the Kinigi park headquarters
  • Road transfers Jomo Kenyatta International to Hemingways Nairobi, Hemingways to Wilson Airport, and Wilson to Jomo Kenyatta International
  • All meals, house drinks and laundry at Wilderness Sabyinyo and Elephant Pepper Camp, with bed and breakfast plus dinner in Nairobi
  • Twice-daily shared game drives, a guided walking safari, night drives and bush meals on Mara North
  • Mara North Conservancy fees, Volcanoes National Park entry, ranger guides and trackers
  • AMREF Flying Doctors evacuation cover, Rwandan tourism tax and Kenyan VAT

Not included

  • International flights to and from Africa
  • Rwanda visa and the Kenyan Electronic Travel Authorisation
  • Travel and medical insurance, including trekking and altitude cover
  • Champagne, reserve wines and premium imported spirits
  • Porters at the Virunga trailhead, about USD 20 per trek, and gratuities for guides, trackers, pilots and camp staff
  • Items of a personal nature, curios and spa treatments
  • Optional extras: golden monkey permit at USD 100, the Dian Fossey grave hike at USD 75, and a hot-air balloon safari over the Mara from about USD 550

Frequently asked questions

How much does a 9-day Rwanda gorilla and Masai Mara safari cost?

From USD 19,480 per person sharing, rising to about USD 21,580 in peak season. That covers eight nights at Wilderness Sabyinyo, Hemingways Nairobi and Elephant Pepper Camp, two gorilla permits at USD 1,500 each, the Kigali to Nairobi regional jet, both light aircraft sectors to and from Mara North, all road transfers, park and conservancy fees, meals, house drinks and all game activities.

Are international flights included in the price?

No. International flights to and from Africa are excluded and booked separately, usually into Kigali and home out of Nairobi. Everything inside Africa is included: the Kigali to Nairobi regional jet, roughly an hour and twenty minutes, the light aircraft between Nairobi Wilson and Mara North, and all road transfers in Rwanda and Kenya. Open-jaw international tickets work well on this route.

How much is a Rwanda gorilla permit in 2026?

USD 1,500 per person per trek at the standard rate for foreign non-residents, set by the Rwanda Development Board and not discountable. It covers park entry, ranger guides and trackers, and one strict hour with a habituated family. This programme includes two, so USD 3,000 of the price is permits alone. RDB publishes a 30 per cent low-season discount, USD 1,050, for November to May treks that also spend two nights in Akagera or Nyungwe; this routing goes to Kenya instead, so it does not qualify.

Can you combine gorilla trekking in Rwanda with the Masai Mara?

Yes, and it is easier than most people expect. Kigali to Nairobi is a scheduled jet sector of about an hour and twenty minutes, flown daily by RwandAir and Kenya Airways. You overnight in Nairobi, then take a 45 minute light aircraft flight from Wilson Airport to Mara North the next morning. Nine days is the shortest sensible length for the pairing.

When is the best time to do this trip?

June to October. The Virungas are drier and the trekking ground firmer, and the wildebeest migration is in the Masai Mara, with Mara River crossings usually from late July into October. January to March also works well: quieter, greener, with cheetah cubs on the plains and lodge rates in the lower season. April, May and November are the wettest months on both legs.

How fit do you need to be for gorilla trekking in Rwanda?

Reasonably fit rather than athletic. Treks begin at about 2,500 metres and climb from there, and the walk to a family runs from thirty minutes to four hours each way on steep, muddy ground. Rangers match travellers to nearer or further families at the Kinigi briefing, so speak up. Porters cost about USD 20 and carry your pack. The minimum age is 15.

Do I need a yellow fever certificate for Kenya if I fly in from Rwanda?

Yes. Kenya requires proof of yellow fever vaccination from travellers arriving from countries with risk of transmission, and Rwanda is on that list, so carry your certificate for the Kigali to Nairobi sector. Both legs of this trip are malaria areas and prophylaxis is recommended throughout. Kenya also requires an Electronic Travel Authorisation applied for online before departure.