Uganda & Kenya with Luxury & Style (8 Days): A Sample Itinerary
ID #: DT-UK-8-6-11-10-RAIJ
DavidTravel Itinerary Highlights include:
Let yourself become one with nature in Uganda and Kenya as you
leave your everyday routine behind. Experience the exhilaration
of spectacular game drives, wondrous nature walks and magical
starlit nights. Uganda, “the Pearl of East Africa,” glistens in
the sun as you explore one of the most exciting destinations on
the African continent. Your remarkable game drives focus on this
world of primates where you’ll view a variety of monkeys, bush
babies and chimpanzees. In Kenya, gaze at the shimmering sunsets
and bask in the light of the rising moon. Encounter breathtaking
vistas of rolling savannahs and acacia woodlands teaming with
giraffe, wildebeests, ostriches, gazelles, waterbuck and the
elegant gerenuk. And be ever wary of the predators – hyena,
cheetah, lion and the elusive leopard. There’s something
astounding to see no matter where you look.
• Explore Bwindi and take a full day gorilla trekking adventure
• Immerse yourself culturally while visiting a local village and
meeting the inhabitants
Overview:
Winston Churchill called
Uganda 'the pearl of Africa', presumably basing his opinion
on the country's great natural beauty. From the moment the
visitor lands at Entebbe's international airport, with its
breathtaking equatorial location on the forested shore of
island-strewn Lake Victoria, it is clear that Uganda is no
ordinary safari destination.
Dominated by a century-old botanical garden alive with the
chatter of acrobatic monkeys and colorful tropical birds,
Entebbe itself is the least obviously urban of all comparably
sized African towns. Just 40km (25 miles) distant, sprawled
across seven hills, there is the capital Kampala. The bright
modern feel of this bustling, cosmopolitan city reflects the
ongoing economic growth and political stability that has
characterized Uganda since 1986. Since the late 1980s, the
nation has managed to move on from the abyss of civil war and
the economic catastrophe of the Idi Amin days.
Uganda is where the East African savannah meets the West African
jungle. In this lush country, one can observe lions prowling the
open plains, track chimpanzees through the rainforest
undergrowth, then navigate tropical channels teeming with hippos
and crocs before setting off into the misty mountains to stare
deep into the eyes of a mountain gorilla.
Kenya is regarded by many as the ‘jewel of East Africa', and has
some of the continent's finest beaches, most magnificent
wildlife and scenery, and an incredibly sophisticated tourism
infrastructure. It is a startlingly beautiful land, from the
coral reefs and white sand beaches of the coast to the summit of
Mount Kenya, crowned with clouds and bejeweled by strange giant
alpine plants.
Between these two extremes is the acacia-studded rolling
savannah, which is home to game parks such as Amboseli, the
Masai Mara, Samburu and Tsavo; the lush, agricultural highlands
with their sleek green coat of coffee and tea plantations; and
the most spectacular stretch of the Great Rift Valley, the giant
scar across the face of Africa.
Above all, Kenya is a place for safaris, and one-tenth of all
land in Kenya is designated as national parks and reserves. Just
about every African plains animal is present. Over 50 parks and
reserves cover all habitats from desert to mountain forest, and
there are even six marine parks in the Indian Ocean.
Kenya also has a fascinatingly diverse population with around 40
different tribes, all with their own languages and cultures.
Major tribes include the Kikuyu, the Luyia and the Luo, but the
most famous are the tall, proud, beautiful red-clad Masai, who
still lead a traditional semi-nomadic lifestyle of
cattle-herding along the southern border.
A mixture of African and Asian, the unique Swahili culture can
be found along the balmy coast, where for centuries it became
prosperous on the profits of commerce from the trade winds that
carried ocean-going dhows (sailing boats) across the Indian
Ocean to Arabia and Persia.
Kenya does have some downsides as a tourist destination. There
is enormous pressure to buy anything and everything, often at
ridiculously inflated prices, and even taking a photograph in
the local market is likely to incur a cost. But despite this,
the people are friendly and the tourist trade is supremely well
organized and professional. For those in search of a little
adventure, this can be an ideal holiday destination.
