7 Days Rwanda Gorilla & Wildlife Safari

Detailed Itineray:

Day 1: Transfer – Nyungwe Forest National Park Drive Time: +/- 6 hours’

Our guide/driver, will pick you in the morning from your hotel in Kigali or at the airport and transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park with a stopover At Nyanza King’s Palace and Butare Museum. You will arrive later in the afternoon and check-in into your lodge on the edge of Nyungwe Forest.

Nyungwe Forest protects the largest single tract of Montagne Forest remaining in Africa. It is home to rich floral diversity and is host to a number of Albertine Rift endemics, as well as 13 primate species, including Chimpanzees, L’Hoest’s Monkey, and Golden Monkeys, as well as Black and White Colobus. The forest also supports a growing number of mammals and about 310 species of birds – including 27 Albertine Rift endemics;

Overnight: Chimpanzee Lodge

Meal plan: Half board

Day 2: Chimpanzee, Canopy Walk & Tea Plantation Experience

The day begins with an early breakfast and then transfer to the park headquarters for briefing on the dos and don’ts of chimpanzee trekking. The Park has 3 sections where Chimpanzee trekking starts from which are; Gisakura, Uwinika and Kitabi sections. Trekkers are expected to report at the briefing points as early as 05:00am. From here, you are split into groups of 8 and allocated ranger guides to guide you through the trek. The trek can take close to 2-6 hours as it is dependent on the location of the Chimpanzees.

You are allowed a period of one hour to spend with the Chimpanzees that share a DNA of 98% with humans. You will observe them as they swing from tree to tree in search of food, play with each and go about their daily activity. Unlike the Gorillas, the Chimpanzees are too playful and move fast, thus Chimpanzee trekking is more fast paced than Gorilla trekking and also requires a high level of physical fitness. You will then proceed with a canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest; the canopy walk here is a must do. It is one of the first three to be established in Africa and one of its kind in East Africa. It comprises of three sections – all of which are suspended over 50meters from the floor of the forest, offering the best aerial view of the forest. All of these sections are safe to explore as they are built of elastic but strong materials.

This is a highlight of your visit to the Nyungwe Forest with chimpanzee trekking and an afternoon Canopy Walk. Later in the afternoon, you will return to your lodge for a hot deserving hot lunch as you prepare for the Tea Plantation experience as you learn about the process how it is harvested, processed and served before you drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Overnight: Chimpanzee Lodge

Meal plan: Full board

Day 3: Transfer – Volcanoes National Park

Have a relaxed morning and thereafter, drive to Volcanoes National Park that protects the steep slopes of this magnificent mountain range and is the home of the rare Mountain Gorillas. Volcanoes National Park is an earthly paradise with enormous trees, bamboo and tropical forest, as well as marshlands. Found within three hour’s drive from Kigali International airport. It is the most popular sanctuary for Mountain Gorilla tracking of the four mountain gorilla parks in the Greater Virunga Region. Why? The gorillas in it are offspring of a generation that Dian Fossey personally mothered. In case that name doesn’t ring a bell, Fossey is the American zoologist. She spearheaded a spirited conservation campaign of the Rwanda’s Gorillas starting 1960’s to 1985 when she was murdered by poachers. She was laid to rest next to the grave of her favorite Gorilla called Digit at Karisoke Gorilla Research Center, an institution she founded.

Overnight: La Palme Hotel

Meal plan: Full board

Day 4: Gorilla Trekking & Iby’iwacu Cultural Village – Volcanoes National Park

Neither word or pictures can best describe the feeling of spending an hour with The Gentle Giants. Tracking Mountain Gorillas, the world’s largest living primates is a rewarding and humbling experience. Most guests often refer to it as an unforgettable and life changing experience. Visitors are expected to report at the park headquarters by 07:00am for a briefing about what to expect during Gorilla tracking. You then be split into groups of eight and each group is allocated a well-versed ranger guide to guide you through the trek.
Volcanoes National Park stands at an altitude of about 2,500m – 4,000m above sea level. The hike up through the Bamboo rain forest is relatively accessible and can take as short as 30 minutes to locate the Mountain Gorillas or as long as 6 hours. This requires a high level of fitness because it includes traversing the forested steep descents and some challenging terrains. Porters are always available at the tracking station that can be hired at an extra cost and guests who are physically challenged can be carried on local stretchers or sedan chairs also at an extra cost.

After lunch, you will head out for a cultural village experience at the Gorilla guardian’s village. The word Iby’Iwachu is a Rwandan word that means “Treasures of our home and heritage”. The village combines most of the Rwandan cultural in one place for display and visitors’ participation. You will get to see what life was in a typical African setting. You are given an opportunity to learn ancient hunting skills, weave a basket. You can also decide to take part in a community walk where you will see how different homes live and interact with the locals, visit the King’s palace and also enjoy some traditional dances that you can engage in.

Overnight: La Palme Hotel

Meal plan: Full board

Day 5: Transfer & Evening Game Drive – Akagera National Park,

Start the day with an early morning breakfast and then set off to Akagera National Park. Once you have settled in, you will enjoy an evening game drive in the park. Hugging Rwanda’s Eastern border with Tanzania, Akagera National Park covers about 1,120km and is one of Africa’s oldest national parks, first gazetted in 1934. The north of Akagera is mostly fairly low-lying grasslands and Savannah plains similar in feel of traditional safari areas of East Africa. To the west are rolling hills and valleys more typical of Rwandan countryside while to the East, the Akagera river feeds into a series of lakes, marshes and papyrus swamps that constitute central and eastern Africa’s largest protected wetlands.

Overnight: Akagera Rhino Lodge

Meal plan: Full board

Day 6: Morning Game Drive & Boat Trip – Akagera National Park

Have a morning game drive in the park. The game in this savanna park includes most of the usual plain’s species. Impala and topi seem to be dominant, eland, oribi, Masai giraffe, waterbucks, bushbucks and roan antelopes are also present. Burchall’s Zebras are commonly seen whilst game viewing. Buffaloes are more prevalent on the North as are elephants. Later in the afternoon, enjoy a boat cruise on Lake Ihema. Sail along the water edge which is covered with several trees, drift past numerous giant hippos and see several crocodiles some in the shallows of the water and other basking on the shore.

Overnight: Akagera Rhino Lodge

Meal plan: Full board

Day 7: Depart – Kigali International Airport

After an early morning breakfast, you will drive back to Kigali. Time allowing, go for a brief city tour of Kigali which is the capital and largest city of Rwanda and has been the economic, cultural, and transport hub of Rwanda since it became capital at independence in 1962. You will also visit the genocide museum. OR transfer to Kigali International Airport for your flight back home.

Overnight: No

Meal plan: Half board