Destination: Rwanda
Parks: Volcanoes National Park, Nyungwe National Park & Akagera National Park.
Itinerary at Glance
Day 1: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park.
Day 2: Gorilla Trek at Volcanoes National Park
Day 3: Golden Monkey Trek and canoe ride on Twin Lake
Day 4: Transfer to Nyungwe National Park with coffee and boat tour
Day 5: Chimpanzee Trek and canopy walk at Nyungwe National Park
Day 6: Transfer to Akagera National Park
Day 7: Game drive and boat trip in Akagera
Day 8: Game drive and departure
Overview
This 8 days Epic Rwanda Primate trekking and wildlife safari takes you to Volcanoes National Park well known for Gorilla trekking in Rwanda. Drive through the unwinding hills in rural areas into the home of endangered mountain gorillas. Your safari begins from Kigali urban settings into the village setting of Musanze, this park is a habitat to a variety of primate species that you may encounter during your trekking. You will also encounter a number of bird species and other wildlife upon visiting Akagera National park, where you will do a boat trip and game drives. You will as well visit Nyungwe National Park, for Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk experience. You will as well have great cultural and historical insights. Get a taste of Rwanda adventure wrapped up in just 8 days.
Trip Highlights
- Gorilla trekking
- Golden monkey trekking
- Chimpanzee trekking
- Day trip to Akagera
- Game drives
- Canopy walk
- Coffee tour
- Boat ride on Lake Kivu
- Boat trip on Lake Ihema
- Cultural experience
- Kigali city tour
Day 1: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park. Travel time +2hrs
Day Itinerary
Today you will be picked at the airport, upon arrival in the morning or your lodge after completing your morning breakfast and head for a Kigali city tour and visit the Kigali genocide memorial ground, and have lunch before being transferred to Musanze near Volcanoes National Park where you will your dinner and overnight stay.
Kigali
Rwanda’s capital and biggest city stretches across undulating lush hills surrounded by towering mountains, the largest of which is Mount Kigali, rising 1850 meters above sea level. Kigali is the country’s financial, commercial and cultural hub, served by an international airport and featuring a wide range of accommodation options, restaurants and points of interest, including the Kigali Genocide memorial, an atmospheric market and numerous craft shops. With its interesting architecture, busy streets, meandering boulevards, and green hillsides, Kigali is said to be one of the most attractive cities in Africa and is definitely worth a visit. The city is well organized and known for its neatness and hospital people.
Overnight stay at: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Meals: lunch & Diner
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking and culture experience at Volcanoes National Park
Early morning cup of coffee, then prepare for the gorilla trekking briefing from the park headquarters and thereafter, you will be briefed before you enter the jungle with your packed lunch to search for the shy mountain gorillas and enjoy their lifestyle in their real home. After meeting the gorillas, you can sit around these great apes for a whole hour watching their social life as you take pictures. On a gorilla safari, a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as walking shoes, packed food and mineral water, insect repellent, sunscreen and hut. The gorilla tracking experience takes half or whole day depending on the movements of these primates. After this gorilla tracking experience you will return to your lodge for lunch. After lunch, head for a cultural experience, at Iby Iwacu cultural site, have a Rwandan cultural insight, before you drive back to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Gorilla Trekking at Volcanoes National Park
Gorilla Trekking in the Volcanoes National Park offers visitors the unique opportunity of discovering the 10 families of gorillas that live within the national park. Visitors can enjoy a cup of coffee before the trek starts and will be separated into groups of 8 depending on their physical abilities. Each group is guided by a guide and two scouts who are well trained in emergency situations. The amount of time set aside per trek is different depending on where the gorilla family is situated. Some trips may take as little as half an hour and some take the better part of the day.
Overnight stay at: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & Diner
Day 3: Golden Monkey and canoe ride on the twin lakes
Day Itinerary
Early morning cup of coffee, then prepare for the golden monkey trekking briefing from the park headquarters and thereafter, you will be briefed before you enter the jungle, just like gorilla trekking, you will be given an hour with the golden monkey, later return for lunch. After lunch you will head for a canoe ride on twin lakes to explore this beautiful lakes, and later return for dinner and overnight stay
Overnight stay at: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & Diner
Day 4: Coffee + Boat ride in Kivu and transfer to Nyungwe. Travel time +5hours
Day Itinerary
After having your early morning breakfast, will head for a coffee experience at Kinunu, where you have a crop to cap coffee experience, later you will be transferred to for a boat ride in Lake Kivu, for a great boat experience, touring this beautiful lake, with great islands and bird species and later transfer to Nyungwe with a beautiful view en route drive and view of Lake Kivu. Reach at your hotel in the evening and check in for dinner and overnight stay.
Nyungwe National Park
The best adventure safaris in Rwanda take you to the heart of the action, to Nyungwe forest. Trips to well-known forests and parks can be disappointing if you don’t get some good sightings of the animals. The secluded trails through the thick foliage and undergrowth are also more exciting as they let you experience the forest as it is- untamed, unpredictable and far removed from all human contact. The most enjoyable way to explore a forest is taking a canopy walk, or following the waterfall trails. Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda is also fed by several river streams, of which is said to be the source of River Nile that serve as watering holes for the animals of the park. It has an estimated 13 primates besides a wide variety of other animals and 310 different species of birds, these include all the 25 species of the Albertine Rift Mountains Endemic Bird Area that occur in Rwanda. Chimpanzee trekking and colobus monkey trekking plus canopy walk, not forgetting the numerous nature walk trails, are one of the leading adventure activities that the park offers. For those who love hiking, Nyungwe forest is your next stopover destination
Overnight stay at: Nyungwe Top View Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & Diner
Day 5: Chimpanzee tracking & canopy walk at Nyungwe National Park
Day Itinerary
Today, after your early morning cup of African coffee on a buffer kind of setting, you will leave your hotel to experience the natural forest of Nyungwe, well known for having 13 species of primates, and transferred to the park for briefing and chimpanzee trekking. You will be entitled to one hour on finding the chimpanzees. After doing the chimpanzee trek, head for lunch and some short refreshment before heading for a canopy walk in the afternoon. This 70 meters suspended metallic bridge will give you a great overview of Nyungwe forest and on a luck day spot one or two more primates in the forest as you take a roughly 1 and half hours walk on this bridge, that gives you, a cool tree top view and later return in the afternoon for dinner and overnight stay.
Overnight stay at: Nyungwe Top View Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & Diner
Day 6: Transferred to Akagera National Park. Travel time +7hours
Day Itinerary
Today after your warm relaxed morning breakfast, you will be picked by your safari driver guide who will transfer you to Akagera National Park, via Huye, where you will visit King Palace museum and later proceed to Akagera via Kigali for en route lunch.
Akagera National Park, the journey from Nyungwe National Park, to Akagera national park takes about 7 hours depending on the stopovers along the way, with the beautiful unwinding landscape en route to the park, feel free to ask the guide for stopovers to capture some photos. On arrival at the park, we shall proceed to our accommodation, have lunch and later head for a short game drive. In the evening, you will head for a night game drive, before you return for dinner and evening stay.
Akagera National Park.
Bordering with Tanzania at the East, in Rwanda, Akagera National Park, is the only Rwanda’s savannah park, patched with a number of bird species, with over 500 birds species can be spotted, numerous wildlife, including the Big Five. Akagera National Park, has been recently stalked with Rhinoceros, and lions, which has greatly multiplied and improved on the wildlife safari experience in Akagera. The park, offers endless day game drives and night game drives including a boat cruise on Lake Ihema. If you’re truly into wildlife safari experience, Akagera National Park is a great add on, on your trip to Rwanda
Overnight stay at: Mantis Akagera Game Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & Diner
Day 7: Game drive and boat cruise at Lake Ihema in Akagera National Park
Day Itinerary
After an early morning breakfast at 6:00 am and leave for an early morning game drive in Akagera national park to catch up with late hunters and early risers. We will be searching for the big mammals like Elephants, Giraffes, Buffaloes, several Antelope species, and recently the re-introduced Lions and Rhinos. The park is a varied habitat for wildlife and a number of bird species with over 500 bird species in the park making it a birding paradise. You will later return to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, we head for a boat trip on Lake Ihema watch Hippos and crocodiles in the water or by the shores and meet the buffaloes and elephants wallowing by the water banks. Later return to the lodge for dinner and evening stay.
Overnight stay at: Mantis Akagera Game Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & Diner
Day 8: Full day game drive and Transfer back to Kigali
Day Itinerary
You will leave the lodge after a relaxed breakfast, head for a full day game drive with a picnic lunch. You will go deep and visit the north side of the park for a great wildlife sighting, before we drive back to Kigali, and later be dropped at your hotel in Kigali. End of service!. Meals Plan: Breakfast & lunch.
This safari package includes.
- Transportation in a 4×4 safari vehicle
- Accommodation and meals as per itinerary
- Golden Monkey permit
- 1 Gorilla permit ($1500), per person
- En-route lunches
- Chimpanzee permit
- Canopy walk permit
- Visit to Ellen DeGeneres Campus
- Game drives
- Night game drives
- Park entrances fees
- Boat trip at Lake Ihema
- Boat trip on Lake Kivu
- Coffee experience
- Kigali city tour
- Cultural experience
- Visit to King Palace museum
- Visit to Kigali genocide memorial ground
- Services of English speaking driver/guide
- Bottles of mineral water during safari
The package excludes expenses of personal nature like:
- Visa Fees & flights
- Optional activities
- Tips & gratuities
- laundry
- Alcoholic drinks
- International vaccinations
- Health test requirements
- Porter fees while trekking
- Personal travel Insurance
- Personal shopping bills
- Phone call bills
- Extras while at the hotel
- Items of personal nature
Please contact us for a free detailed quote on the option of your choice. We can tailor a request that suits your interests, and budget, as well as we can change or upgrade the lodge options. Write to us with more details about your safari.