Day 1: Kigali City Tour
On your arrival at Kigali International Airport meet and greet with your guide after a briefing about your tour, and drive to your hotel for check-in.
Afterward, depending on your arrival time, your guide will take you for a city tour which includes among others the Gisozi genocide memorial site. This takes you 4 hours; here you learn and comprehend the history of genocide in Rwanda and other countries of the world.
Thereafter proceed to Kimilonko Market one of the busiest and biggest markets in the city where you will enjoy and buy most of Rwanda's traditional delicious food, and interact with local people, continue to visit Nyarutarma Golf club then proceed to Belgium memorial site and Richard Kandt historical museum here you will be at the exact point where Kigali city started by a Germany colonialist and administrator 1907. Lunch at one of the city restaurants
Accommodation options available (no meals included today)
Upmarket: Serena Kigali Hotel
Mid-range: Hotel Chez Lando Kigali
Lower Budget: Five to Five Hotel
Meals included: No meals included today.
Day 2: Kigali – Akagera National Park - Game Drive
Have breakfast at the hotel and drive through Rwanda's phenomenal landscapes to Akagera National Park.
Relax as we wait for lunch at Akagera Game Lodge. Proceed with the southern game drive alongside the Lake Ihema circuit where plenty of animals can be seen, including elephants, Masai giraffes, buffaloes, zebras, hippos, Nile crocodiles, and also many other mammal species. This game drive will also enable you to clearly view the gentle hills blending beautifully with lowland swamps and water bodies.
In the evening, you can relax at the lodge poolside or take evening walks around the hotel where you can see various bird species or participate in the day-to-day local pastoral lifestyle.
Accommodation options:
Upmarket: Ruzizi Tented Lodge
Mid-range: Akagera Game Lodge
Lower Budget: Akagera Rhino Lodge
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Day 3: Return to Kigali
After breakfast and a relaxed morning, you will be meeting again with the driver guide for your drive back to Kigali.
Accommodation options:
Upmarket: Serena Kigali Hotel
Mid-range: Hotel Chez Lando Kigali
Lower Budget: Five to Five Hotel
Meals Included: Breakfast, lunch only.
Day 4: Kigali - Nyungwe - Rwanda Cultural Tour
After early morning breakfast, we shall set off driving to Nyungwe Forest.
On the way visit Ntarama and Nyamata Genocide memorial sites. This will give you the evolution of the 1994 genocide tragedy that happened in Rwanda. Though here there is no charge for entrance, you may generously fill to give something to assist in the preservation of these genocide sites, your offer will be highly appreciated.
Nyanza King’s Palace and the National Museum of Butare. Nyanza was the headquarters of the ancient Rwanda Kingdom before the arrival of the Europeans. The compound has the ancient palace constructed by King Mutara in 1934.
Next to it is the reconstructed King’s hut as it was on the arrival of the Europeans. It is tastefully decorated with traditional mats and utensils.
Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)
Upmarket: Nyungwe Top View Hill Lodge or request an upgrade to One & Only Nyungwe House
Mid-range: Chimpanzee lodge Nyungwe
Lower Budget: Chimpanzee lodge Nyungwe
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
Day 5: Nyungwe Forest National Park | Chimpanzee Trekking & Cultural Tour
Have breakfast and enter Nyungwe Forest in search of 13 primate species and over 300 bird species, making it a bird watcher's paradise!
Nyungwe Forest is one of the destinations in the world where you can see up to 13 primate's species; these include chimpanzees, the blue monkeys, L'Hoest's monkeys, endangered golden monkeys, and the Angolan black and white colobus monkeys among others. Nyungwe forest has huge concentrations of habituated primates whose troops can include 400 to 500 individuals! This is a unique tourism phenomenon.
Nyungwe forest is a nature lover’s paradise. The only remaining mountain rain forest in East and Central Africa, Nyungwe boasts of 260 species of trees and shrubs, over 200 species of orchids and giant lobelias, 275 Species of birds of which 25 are endemic, colorful butterflies and 13 recorded species of primates (25% of Africa’s total) including the chimpanzees.
The forest is ideal for walks with beautiful waterfalls cascading in this serene environment.
Accommodation options available (all on a full board basis)
Upmarket: Nyungwe Top View Hill Lodge or request an upgrade to One & Only Nyungwe House
Mid-range: Chimpanzee lodge Nyungwe
Lower Budget: Chimpanzee lodge Nyungwe
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner.
Day 6: Colobus Trails of Nyungwe & Lake Kivu
After breakfast, we enter Nyungwe Forest to track the Nyungwe colobus monkey at Uwinka.
The Uwinka troop is reputed to be 400 strong and is reputed to be the largest troop of arboreal primates in Africa. A walk in the forest is a whole learning experience conducted by knowledgeable guides well versed in botany, ornithology, and interspecies relationship in this forest.
Enjoy the breathtaking scenery of the Virunga Mountains and the green vegetation en route. You will have lunch en route and proceed to Lake Kivu or relax on the shores.
Enjoy the rolling hills for which Rwanda is well known.
Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)
Upmarket: Serena Lake Kivu Hotel
Moderate: Paradise Malahide.
Low Budget: Paradise Malahide.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Day 7: Volcanoes National Park & Golden Monkey Tracking
Have breakfast and drive to Volcanoes National Park to catch up with the golden monkey tracking activity.
These are the most endangered primate species at Parc des Volcans. In the evening, you may go for a cultural walk to Iby’wachu for cultural entertainment by the Banyarwanda community.
Transfer to Kinigi Park Headquarters to track gorillas in Parc National des Volcans. Gorilla tracking through the forest, hills, and swamps can be tough, arduous, and tiring, sometimes taking up to 8 hours in the forest. But coming face to face with the great primates is well worth the effort.
Accommodation options available
Up-market: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Moderate: Gorilla Solution Lodge
Low Budget: Hotel Muhabura
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Day 8: Volcanoes National Park - Gorilla Trekking
Have breakfast and go to ORTPN offices for briefing after that set off in the forest for gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park.
A thrilling trek through the refined foothills of the Virungas provides inspiring views in all directions. Then, suddenly, the trail enters the national park, engrossing trekkers in the strange closeness of the rainforest, alive with the calls of colorful birds and chattering of the rare golden monkey and besieged with fresh spoor of the mountains' elusive populations of buffalo and elephant.
Through gaps in the forest canopy, the marvelous peaks are sighted, easily easy to get to, and among the uppermost in Africa, indicating an ascent. Gorilla trekking is quite strenuous but worthwhile in the encounter of these gentle giants. The enthusiasm of your coming across these apes will wipe away your intricacy of the strenuous trek.
Spend time watching gorillas, watch the adults feeding their young ones, brushing and resting as the youngsters play from vines in a pleasurably playful display.
Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)
Up-market: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Five Volcanoes Lodge
Moderate: Gorilla Solution Lodge
Low Budget: Hotel Muhabura
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Day 9: Volcanoes National Park - Golden Monkey Trekking and transfer to Kigali to end the tour
Have early breakfast at the lodge and enter the forest in search of golden monkeys and other primates. The trek will expose you to excellent birding and other primates like colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, and grey-cheeked mangabeys among others.
After the trek, proceed to Kigali Airport for your scheduled flight back home
Please note that this is a guideline program that may be customized according to travelers' needs and preferences. The variations are normally made to improve the tour and your experience.
