The 8 days’ safari in Rwanda will take you to the best of Rwanda’s beauty through visiting various national parks like Akagera, Nyungwe and volcanoes. You will get involved in game drives, gorilla and chimpanzee trekking, and also take a city tour where you will visit the genocide memorial centre, local craft markets, and so much more.
View amazing scenery with a visit to the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo and around lake Kivu dotted with beautiful beaches. This tour covers both wildlife and cultures in Rwanda.
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up from the airport, city tour and transfer to the booked hotel
You will meet the driver guide clad in full uniform of our company, who will give you a quick briefing about the tour and immediately load your luggage, take you for short city tour where you will be able to visit the local markets, the genocide memorial centre, the presidential palace museum, among others in case time allows. After, drive to your booked hotel where you stay this first night of your 8 days Rwanda safari.
Day 2: Transfer to Akagera national park
With your driver guide after breakfast at the lodge, transfer to the Akagera national park in eastern part of the country; the park that covers an area of 1,122sq.km and it was named after the Akagera River that flows on the eastern boarder of Tanzania, pouring its water into Lake Ihema and other small lakes.
The park is covered with savannah plains and swampy vegetation making it a good hub for several animals like elephants, buffalos, giraffe, zebras, leopards, hyenas, lions. It is home to several antelopes like bushbucks, Topis, Oribis, water-buck, roan antelope and duiker, reedbuck, klipspringer, impala among others and over 450 bird species like Giant Kingfisher, Senegal Lapwings, African Open bill stock, Grey Crowned Crane, African Darter, Long-toed among others and gives a wonderful adventure to catch up with game drives.
On arrival in the evening, you will check in the accommodation for your dinner and spend overnight.
Day 3: Full day game drive in Akagera NP
Explore the beauty of this park through a full day game drive adventure where you will be able to spot various animals like elephants, buffalos, giraffe, zebras, leopards, hyenas and lions.
It is home to several antelopes like bushbucks, Topis, Oribis, water-buck, roan antelope and duiker, reedbuck, klipspringer, impala among others and over 450 bird species like Giant Kingfisher, Senegal Lapwings, African Open bill stock, Grey Crowned Crane, African Darter, among others.
Lunch picnic in the savannah plains as you enjoy the beautiful scenery. Return to the lodge in the evening after a rewarding adventure for your dinner.
Day 4: Transfer to Nyungwe N/Park via Kigali
With packed lunch, you will have breakfast and head for a land road trip to Nyungwe via Kigali. This park is well known for its primates and the Eastern Africa canopy walk suspended on top of trees where you can be able to spot a number of primates and birds.
It covers an area of 1,015sq.km with diverse wildlife, including over 1050 plant species, 85 mammals, 13 primates, over 315 bird species, 32 amphibians and 38 reptiles among others.
The journey is rewarding with several natural and man-made attractions. An on reaching at the park, you will check in the booked lodge or hotel in or around the national park.
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Wake up and take breakfast which will be followed with briefing at the park headquarters to receive the instructions you can follow while trekking the chimpanzees. You will be allocated to a group of 8 people to trek a family of chimpanzees and trekking rules are not making noise, do not mimic, don’t use flash camera light among others.
Depending on where you locate the chimpanzees, this can take 3-4 hours walking through the forest with the help of the armed park ranger.
In the afternoon, take a canopy walk in the forest where you will be allowed to view a number of primates like grey cheeked Mangabeys, Lhotse’s monkeys, Mona monkeys, owl faced monkeys, Ruwenzori monkeys among others. This walk can take 2-3 hours as you enjoy the primates playing and jumping from one tree to another.
Day 6: Transfer to Volcanoes National park via Lake Kivu
A spiced tea or coffee will be served followed by a check out from the lodge or hotel room and transfer to volcanoes national park in Virunga ranges.
The mountain gorillas are the main habitat for this park but it and other mammals like buffalos, black fronted duikers, bushbucks, bush pigs, spotted hyenas, black and white colobus, white colobus, baboons, and red-tailed monkeys among others and bird like Ruwenzori turacos, strange weaver, ground robin, francolins, red faced woodland warbler, Ruwenzori double collared sunbird and the Archer’s ground robin among others.
This park is home to Mt Karisimbi and Mt. Bisoke that are part of the eight volcanoes, which together form a chain of Virunga volcanoes which offer an epic adventure for hiking. The journey takes you to Lake Kivu which has beautiful beaches and resorts and you will find your way to the lodge in Volcanoes NP.
Day 7: Gorilla trekking and Ibyiwachu village tour
Head for trekking the remaining mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, and they can be found in Virunga ranges in the whole world after breakfast and briefing. Gorillas live in communities comprising of 20 members which are headed by one silverback (the male gorilla). The trek can take 2-8 hours depending on where you locate these apes. You will be awarded with the certificate for trekking upon return by the park warden.
Visit Ibyiwachu village after delicious lunch. Ibyiwachu means “treasure our home and heritage”. The village offers a busy agenda that lasts for about two hours. At the village travelers experience amazing cultural dances, traditional meals and drinks such as Banana beer and juice for those who may decide to have an overnight stay at the village. This will enable you learn more about the Kinyarwanda culture.
Day 8: Travel back to Kigali and pass via the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo
Take a leisure breakfast and head back to Kigali as you use the route via the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. Therefore, they offer a super natural view of photography, bird watching and you can take a canoe boat around the lakes to enjoy the scenery.
After proceed to Kigali where you will have lunch and later a drop off at the hotel or airport.
