8 DAYS EPIC RWANDA SAFARI

Day 1: Transfer to Akagera National Park, Boat cruise and Evening game drive

We start the Best of Rwanda safari by travelling to Akagera National Park in the eastern part of Rwanda. The drive is approximately 2½ hours and on arrival you will go for a boat cruise on Lake Ihema to see aquatic animals such as Hippos, Crocodiles as well as water birds like the papyrus Gonolek, shoebill stork and African fish eagle.

In the afternoon you will go for a game drive in the park after which you will retire to the lodge of your booking for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Full day game drives in Akagera National Park & transfer to Kigali

After an early breakfast, you will embark on a Best of Rwanda morning game drive. In a circuit you will visit different lakes where you will see buffaloes and elephants drinking from the water ponds and see various species of birds like Egyptian goose and fish eager. You will have a picnic lunch in the park then continue with the hills game drive where you will see; impalas, zebras, bush bucks, water bucks, topis, oribis, baboons, giraffes, cape elands among others. In the late afternoon you will set off for Kigali.

Dinner and overnight will be at the hotel of your booking.

Day 3: City tour of Kigali & transfer to Volcanoes National Park

You will have breakfast and set off for Kigali to visit the memorial sites scattered in various parts of the city. The memorial sites will include the Nyamata church and the Rwanda Hotel where people who had sought refuge as the genocide raged were butchered, the Gisozi genocide memorial where the remains of the dead are buried and you will finish with a visit the Presidential Palace Museum which was the place of residence for the Rwandan president, Juvenal Habyarimana, at the time of genocide.

You will later transfer to Ruhengeri town just outside the Volcanoes National Park and check in at the hotel/lodge for your booking.

Day 4: Gorilla trekking & visit to Iby’iwachu cultural center

The first of the Best of Rwanda Safari adrenaline demanding day is here: you’ll track one of the habituated Gorilla groups. You will begin with a briefing on the rules of Gorilla trekking before setting out with the guides to search for the Mountain Gorillas in the forest. The time taken to track the Gorillas can take as little as half an hour to as much as 5 hours!

Your Rwanda gorilla trek will be an exciting journey along forested slopes, entwined vines, bushes and bamboo before you eventually reach the Gorillas. As you trek your guide will point out signs of previous Gorilla activity, including dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots. Once the Gorillas have been located, you will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them.

You will return to the hotel for lunch and in afternoon be taken to the Iby’wachu cultural village where you will learn about the fascinating culture of the Rwandese people depicted through folk songs, storytelling, music, dance, and drama. You will retire to the lodge of your booking for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Golden Monkey trekking & transfer to Kibuye town

You will have breakfast and move to the park headquarters for a briefing on the Golden monkey tracking rules before going out to track them in the forest. The trek takes 1– 4 hours and you have one hour to stay with the Golden monkeys once sighted.

You will return to your lodge for lunch and some rest and later transfer to Lake Kivu.Dinner and overnight will be at the hotel of your booking in Kibuye town near the Lake.

Day 6: Optional activities on and around Lake Kivu & transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park

You will have your early best of Rwanda safari breakfast and head for Lake Kivu. Lake Kivu is the perfect place to chill out after the tiring Gorilla and Golden monkey trekking and hiking of the volcanoes. For most people, it is simply a place to relax and rebuild energy.

You can take a nature walk, go birding on a boat ride, explore some islands, visit the nearby hot springs, go fishing, or visit the Congo boarder. You can also visit the Ndaba Falls or take a walk around Kibuye town to acquaint yourself with the lifestyles of the inhabitants. You will later transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park. Dinner and overnight will be at your lodge.

Day 7: Chimpanzee trekking & Canopy walk

You will have an early breakfast and report to the park headquarters for a briefing on Chimpanzee tracking rules. You will then start the trek for the Chimpanzees and spend one hour with them once sighted. After the chimpanzee trek you will go for the 2-hour famous Nyungwe Forest Canopy walk.

The canopy walkway is suspended 50 meters in the air between big trees and stretches over a steep and deep valley across a massive forest cover offering breathtaking views across the misty forest. You will have sightings at eye level of a number of unique wildlife inhabiting canopies including birds, butterflies, and several monkey species.

For those who lack the guts for the canopy walk you can choose to go for a nature walk around the park, visit homesteads to learn about their traditional settings and activities or relax at your lodge. Dinner and overnight will be at your lodge.

Day 8: Trekking with other primates, visiting Tea factory & transferring to Kigali

You will have breakfast and make another visit to the forest to trek other primates such as L’Hoest’s monkey, Angola colobus, silver monkey, Hamlyn’s Monkey, Dent’s Mona Monkey, Red-tailed Monkey, Grey-cheeked Mangabeys, and Olive Baboon. You will also see various types of birds in the verdant flora of this ancient forest.

In the afternoon you will take a tour to the adjacent tea factory to see how the locally grown tea is processed to become one of the finest products Rwanda has for export and later transfer to Kigali for dinner and overnight at the Hotel of your booking or to the Airport for your departure flight.