9 Day Rwanda Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Golden Monkeys Safari

9 Day Rwanda Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Golden Monkeys Safari takes you to Rwanda’s gifted forests to have the best primate safari. This is a Rwanda holiday that explores the wildlife of Nyungwe Forest, the scenic shores of Lake Kivu, the scenic and revived Akagera National park, and the mountain gorillas of Volcanoes National Park, all accompanied by a private guide and vehicle.

 

Day 1: Arrive at Kigali International Airport

Today, it starts. You arrive at Kigali International Airport and your private guide will meet you at the airport for the journey and will drive you to the hotel in Rwanda to relax from the flight. A drive to the hotel in Kigali is about 15 minutes. You will check in and have an overnight here.

 

Main Destination: Kigali

Accommodation: Quiet Haven Hotel

Meal Plan: Dinner with Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

 

Day 2: Transfer to Akagera National Park for game viewing.

Today we rise early and start our journey to Akagera National Park. The park is 2-3 hours from Kigali city and we shall have a day visit to the park. It is Rwanda’s only savanna park and being revived to get back to its Big 5 status, with translocations and introduction of life like lions, rhinos and great conservation story. We shall visit the park, have a drive and a boat safari on Lake Ihema. Lunch will be had at the park and in the evening we return to Kigali city for an overnight as we prepare for the journey south to Nyungwe National Park.

 

Main Destination: Akagera National Park

Accommodation: Quiet Haven Hotel

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

 

Day 3: Transfer from Kigali to Nyungwe Forest N.P (Through Huye and Nyanza)

Wake to the smart city, and follow the RN1 to Nyanza and Huye. The trip incorporates traveling south from Kigali. We shall have a visit to the King’s Palace and Museum. This gives an interesting insight into Rwanda’s cultural history and monarchy. It’s also ideally placed to break up the long journey to Nyungwe Forest. Also, we can have a stop at the National Museum of Rwanda in Huye. Before we continue to the lodge.

 

Main Destination: Rukari’s King’s Palace Museum (Highlight)

Accommodation: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

 

Day 4: Chimpanzee tracking and canopy walk

Trekking to see the chimpanzees in Nyungwe Forest National Park can be exhilarating. While sighting them in the dense forest can be challenging, watching them cavorting in the tree tops, their all-too-human characteristics to the fore make this an exceptionally rewarding half-day excursion. The excursion starts at 5 am Rwanda time, which means a pre-dawn wake-up for the activity. After, you will drive back to the lodge, and have lunch. After lunch we go the canopy walk, on the suspension bridge at the park. This one of Africa highest canopies, 70m high and 16okm, giving you a bird’s eye view of the park. In the afternoon, you can engage with the communities, tour around (Its optional).

 

Main Destination: Nyungwe National Park (Chimps)

Accommodation: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

 

Day 5: Transfer to Lake Kivu

As you travel north today, the forests of Nyungwe give way to stunning views over Lake Kivu and its islands, stretching as far as the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s not a long drive – around three hours – but with the flexibility to choose where and when you stop, you can spend as long as you like taking photographs or just reveling in the scenery before arriving at Cormoran Lodge. Check in and later take on the evening cruise on the lake to explore the islands and sunset photography.

 

Main Destination: Lake Kivu

Accommodation: Cormoran Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

 

Day 6: To Volcanoes and visit Iby’Iwachu Cultural Centre

This morning you’ll drive north, leaving the lake behind, the increasingly hilly terrain culminating after around four hours in the foothills of Volcanoes National Park, and the spectacular location of Virunga Lodge. On the way, you’ll pass several tea or coffee plantations interspersed by the occasional village, so if you’d like to stop to explore, or perhaps look around the Museum of the Environment near Kibuye, have a chat with your guide; the choice is yours. Arrive and visit the gorilla guardians’ village for an insight on the history and culture of Rwanda.

 

Main Destination: Musanze (City)

Accommodation: Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

 

Day 7: Gorilla tracking and visit to the Twin Lakes

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is a magical experience, transcending any other wildlife encounter we know. Meeting a gorilla family in their forest home, led by a dominant male silverback and a cluster of females and young, is a natural adventure that fully repays the cost in unforgettable memories and images.

Your driver-guide from Kigali will operate your transfers to the park headquarters and introduce you to your trekking group and parks guide. From tracking, back to the lodge, refresh and visit the twin lakes (Burera and Ruhondo).

 

Main Destination: Volcanoes National Park (Gorillas)

Accommodation: Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

 

Day 8: Golden Monkey tracking and to Kigali

Spend a morning trekking to find the golden monkeys in the Volcanoes National Park. These endangered monkeys are endemic to the Albertine Rift area and are characterized by their golden-orange fur. You’ll be able to enjoy an hour watching them jump through the bamboo and hunker down to chew bamboo leaves, curiously watching you, as you watch them.

Your driver-guide from Kigali will operate your transfers to the park headquarters and introduce you to your trekking group and parks guide. After the drive back to Kigali takes you through the fertile, rolling hills of western Rwanda. It’s a fascinating journey of around three hours, depending on any stops you make en route; chat with your driver about the options here. On arrival in Kigali, you’ll head to your hotel.

You can choose to have a night out in the city.

 

Main Destination: Kigali

Accommodation: Quiet Haven Hotel

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

 

Day 9: City tour and to the Airport

You’ll be driven around Kigali to see the highlights of the city, with a main stop at the Genocide Memorial and museum. This will give you a fascinating, though sobering, insight into Rwanda’s modern history. It is remarkable to learn just how far Rwanda has come in such a short period and it certainly adds a deeper understanding of the Rwandan people.

After you drive to the airport for your flight back home.

 

Main Destination: Kigali Genocide Memorial (Kigali)

Accommodation: No accommodation (End of tour)

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch with Drinking water (Other drinks not included)

End of your 9 Day Rwanda Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Golden Monkeys Safari