Over a span of 11 days, you will embark on a journey that will take you through the heart of this magnificent country affectionately called “the land of a thousand hills”. You explore Kigali – considered to be Africa’s cleanest city on an urban, cultural and historical visit.
Upon your arrival in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, you will be warmly welcomed to the “land of a thousand hills.” Your driver/guide will be standing at the Arrivals Hall holding a placard with your name so you cannot miss him. After the meet and greet, you will transfer to the hotel you have chosen for an overnight stay. If your flight lands in the morning or early afternoon, you’ll have the opportunity to embark on a short city tour of Kigali, including a visit to the Kigali genocide memorial.
After breakfast, your driver guide will pick you up from the hotel for a brief city tour, which may include visits to the Kigali Genocide Memorial and the Kandt Museum. Following the tour, you’ll embark on a journey to Akagera National Park. The park is named after the Kagera River, which runs along the eastern border of the park – connecting Lakes Ihema and Shakani. The river is key for the wildlife in the park as well as the people that live in this part of Rwanda. Upon arrival, you will check in at lodge you have chosen, enjoy lunch. After lunch, go on an exciting boat safari on Lake Ihema. This afternoon adventure will provide you with stunning views and the chance to spot various bird species and wildlife. The park is also famous for the rare and elusive Sitatunga – a species of antelope that inhabits swamps so be on the lookout for it on the boat trip. Depending on your interests, you can also opt for a night game drive to observe nocturnal animals.
This day is dedicated to exploring Akagera National Park, a savannah park home to diverse wildlife. After an early breakfast, your guide will pick you up for a full day of game drives, especially in the less bushy northern sector of the park, which offers better opportunities for animal sightings. You’ll take the lakeshore drive along various lakes and look out for animals such as zebras, giraffes, impalas, elephants, buffaloes, topi, duikers, elands, and roan antelope among the herbivores. In addition to lions, other predators you will be on the look-out for include hyena, side-striped jackal, the elusive leopards and mongoose. Visitors can see the Big5 in Akagera and this was made possible when in 2017, conservation efforts were made to bring back the black rhino. Bird enthusiasts will also be delighted by the park’s diverse avian population. The park’s landscapes, which include lakes, mountains, and plains, offer a beautiful backdrop to your safari.
After breakfast, you’ll set off for Volcanoes National Park or Parc National des Volcans – part of a transboundary ecosystem that is shared between three countries (Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo) that is connected by the Virunga Mountains. Volcanoes National Park is a 160 square-kilometre reserve that includes evergreen bamboo forests, tropical rainforests and partial grasslands, valleys, serene lakes, a chain of volcanoes and farmed foothills. The drive is picturesque as you view these landscapes on winding roads that Rwanda is famous for. You’ll have opportunities for stopovers to take pictures and stretch along the way. On arrival, you check-in at the lodge you have chosen. If you arrive with time to spare, in the evening you can do a 2-hour trek to primatologist Dian Fossey’s tomb and the Karisoke research station.
Today, you’ll have the unique opportunity to meet the mountain gorillas that live in the forested highlands of the Virunga ranges. The gorilla trek begins with a briefing at the park headquarters in Kinigi, where you’ll be assigned a ranger and a gorilla family to trek. Following the briefing, your ranger guide will lead you to the starting point of the trek, which may require a short drive depending on the location of the gorilla group. The trek through their habitat is a truly unforgettable experience, with the duration varying from minutes to hours, depending on the gorillas’ nesting location the previous night. Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Nature enthusiasts who make it add to the legacy of primatologist Dian Fossey whose research into the endangered Mountain Gorillas in the Virungas brought light to the plight of these gentle and elegant endangered big apes. When you finally locate the family that you are tracking, take in everything as you watch the gorillas go about their day – feeding on the green leaves, bamboo shoots, wild celery, stinging nettle and wild fruit. If there are juvenile gorillas, enjoy them play about and take it all in. Take lots of pictures (and a selfie if you happen to have a gorilla in your selfie frame) and video as the one-hour will be over before you know it. After, you trace your way back to the trail-head where your driver/guide will be waiting. You head back to the lodge for a hot lunch. After, you have the rest of the day to yourselves and can relax. Now is a good time to look back on your awe-inspiring encounter with the mountain gorillas through the lens of your camera.
In the morning, you’ll visit the Gorilla Guardians Village or the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village, where you can immerse yourself in Rwandan culture. Participate in activities like becoming a “King” or “Queen” for a day, trying your hand at knitting, learning to use a bow and arrow, and enjoying songs and dance from the Rwandan society. The word Iby’Iwacu is a Kinyarwanda word that means “treasures of our home and heritage”. The village combines all of Rwanda’s known cultural traditions, people and history into one place for display and a personal experience. Visitors get to see what life was in a typical African village setting – the lifestyle, houses, traditional dance and song, dress code, the food, herbs and how ancient kingdoms were generally organized. Visitors are given an opportunity to learn ancient hunting skills, try their hands at basket weaving/mats, carpentry. After this cultural experience, you’ll transfer to Lake Kivu for relaxation and a bit of a downtime before continuing to Nyungwe Forest National Park for a chimpanzee trek. On arrival at Lake Kivu, check-in and have the rest of the day free.
Lake Kivu is stunningly beautiful – characterized by serene sandy beaches where visitors can relax, sunbathe or simply read a good book on a sun lounger. The lake has a surface area of 2,700 square metres and is one of the safest lakes in African given it has no hippos or crocodiles. The lake supports a thriving marine life so visitors can go out on a fishing expedition, bring back the catch and it can be prepared for your dinner. Over the next two days, you will have the time to yourself to relax at leisure on the shores of the beautiful lake. You can engage in various activities, including a visit to the hot springs, a boat trip to an island, kayaking on Lake Kivu, a visit to the DR Congo-Rwanda border, and a serene evening by the lakeside. Bird-watching enthusiasts can spot and listen to calls of 60 bird species that have been recorded here. Cycling enthusiasts can take on the Congo Nile trail – a 227 km path that begins at Rubavu with terrific views of Lake Kivu’s shoreline and the rolling hills that give Rwanda its moniker of ‘a land of a thousand hills’. Visitors pay out of pocket for any of the adventure activities they choose to do as none is included in the quote we have sent you.
After breakfast, commence the drive to the stunningly beautiful Nyungwe National Park, which is nestled in the southwestern corner of Rwanda, close to the picturesque town of Cyangungu. Part of the Albertine Rift eco-region, Nyungwe is expansive and awe-inspiring. This beautiful oasis, adjacent to Lake Kivu and close to the borders of Burundi and the DR Congo, sprawls over 970 square kilometres of lush green montane forest. This forest stands as the largest remaining montane forest in Africa and has been a silent witness to the world’s changes since the Ice Age.
The park boasts a staggering 1,060 recorded plant species and 85 mammal species, with a special spotlight on its 13 primate species including the rare owl-faced monkeys, golden monkeys and the Angola Colobus monkey. In terms of birds, 310 species have been recorded in Nyungwe, which makes it an important birding destination. Birds to look out for here include red-coloured mountain babblers, purple-breasted sunbirds, paradise flycatchers, white-headed wood hoopoes to mention a few. The drive from Lake Kivu to Nyungwe is about 2-hours and so you arrive with a large part of the day to spare. On arrival, you check-in at Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel and have the rest of the day free. Later, dinner and overnight stay.
After an early breakfast, you’ll embark on a thrilling chimpanzee tracking adventure in Nyungwe Forest, a rich ecosystem known for its botanical diversity and as a habitat for 13 primate species, including chimpanzees, L’Hoest monkeys, and Colobus monkeys, along with over 300 bird species. Your guide will take you to the briefing area, where you’ll meet your community guide and receive instructions before commencing the trek. In the afternoon, you will be transferred to the Uwinka centre to start your canopy walk as you explore the park from a super vantage point – high in the tree canopies.
On your final day, after breakfast, you’ll depart from Nyungwe and head back to Kigali. At Kigali, you will visit Nyandungu Eco Park. Here, you can enjoy lunch and can make the 10km walk if you like. Later, you will be taken to the airport in time for you to check-in for your onward flight home.
Over a span of 11 days, you will embark on a journey that will take you through the heart of this magnificent country affectionately called “the land of a thousand hills”. You explore Kigali – considered to be Africa’s cleanest city on an urban, cultural and historical visit. You see and experience the Big5 safari and superb bird-watching in Akagera National Park where you go on guided game drives and boat trips. The highlight of your safari will be in Volcanoes National Park where you go to track the majestic but endangered Mountain Gorillas as well as see the golden monkeys high in the Virunga ranges of Volcanoes National Park. Other excursions include visiting primatologist Dian Fossey’s tomb and research centre at Karisoke, the Gorilla Guardians village or hike out to Bisoke and Karisimbi mountains. To relax, you spend two days at Lake Kivu beachside where you can stay on the sun lounger all day reading a book or venture out for a myriad of activities. Activities include bird watching, wind-surfing, kayaking, jet-skiing, visit tea and coffee farms, traditional fishing and a lot more. You continue to Nyungwe Forest National Park where you go on a chimpanzee trek, canopy walk high in the trees from where you return to Kigali and head home after what will have been a super safari loaded with memories that you will cherish for a long time.