7 Days Rwanda Primates and Big Five Safari

Overview

Day by day itinerary

1. 1Kigali City Tour⌄

   If your flight arrived a night before or early morning , embark on a morning Kigali City Tour, visit Kigali Genocide Memorial, a site dedicated to the victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Later visit Belgian Peacekeepers Memoria, a tribute to Belgian soldiers who lost their lives during the Rwandan crisis, After the city tour, drive to Volcanoes National Park.

   Meals: Lunch · Dinner

   Overnight: Grotta Resort Musanze

2. 2Gorilla Trekking Experience⌄

   After an early breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters for a comprehensive briefing about the trekking guidelines and allocation of your gorilla family. Accompanied by park rangers, begin your hike through the forest in search of a habituated gorilla family, where you may encounter playful infants, juveniles, adult females, and the dominant silverback. The trek can take approximately 2–6 hours, depending on where the gorillas nested the previous night and the pace of the group. Once the gorillas are located, you will spend one hour observing them. After that you will drive back to your hotel for evening rest.

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner

   Overnight: Grotta Resort Musanze

3. 3Golden Monkey Tracking Experience⌄

   Return to the Volcanoes National Park offices for a briefing before beginning your hike into the Virunga Mountains in search of the endangered golden monkeys. These primates are endemic to the Virunga ecosystem, which is shared by Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. After the experience, drive approximately 2 hours to your hotel in Gisenyi, a lakeside border town on the shores of Lake Kivu, situated along the Rwanda–DR Congo border.

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner

   Overnight: Lake Kivu Serena Hotel

4. 4Boat Excursion on Lake Kivu⌄

   After a relaxed breakfast, enjoy a scenic boat excursion on Lake Kivu. Visit a traditional fishing village and explore one of the lake’s main ports, where goods are loaded for transportation to destinations deeper into the Democratic Republic of Congo. The excursion will also take you to the area near the Rwanda–DR Congo border, where you can see the methane gas extraction facilities on Lake Kivu. After the boat excursion, drive approximately 3 hours to Nyungwe Forest, with a lunch stop along the way.

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner

   Overnight: Chimpanzee Lodge

5. 5Chimpanzee Tracking, Ziplining and Canopy Walk⌄

   Set off at 5:00 AM with your packed breakfast and drive to the starting point for an early-morning chimpanzee tracking experience. Enter the forest in search of chimpanzees and observe them in their natural environment, accompanied by experienced trackers and guides. After the experience, return to your lodge for a quick lunch. In the afternoon, enjoy a ziplining experience followed by a canopy walk through the forest. Walk across a 90-meter-long suspension bridge elevated above the forest floor.

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner

   Overnight: Chimpanzee Lodge

6. 6Transfer to Akagera National Park⌄

   Travel Akagera National Park, approximately a 6-hour drive. Enjoy scenic views of Rwanda’s rolling hills and savannah landscapes along the way.

   Meals: Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner

   Overnight: Rutete Eco Lodge

7. 7Big Five Game Drive⌄

   Spend the full day exploring Akagera, a savannah and wetland park home to the Big Five (lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino) and abundant birdlife. After the game drive, drive back to Kigali for the night

   Meals: Breakfast