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8 DAYS RWANDA SAFARI WITH PRIMATES AND BIG GAME

This is a Rwanda holiday that explores the wildlife of Nyungwe Forest, the scenic shores of Lake Kivu as you transit to Musanze, the scenic and revived Akagera National park, and the mountain gorillas of Volcanoes National Park, all accompanied by a private guide and vehicle.

  • You’ll be collected from the airport. 

Day 1- Arrive at Kigali (KGL)

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 Lodge

Day 2- Kigali to Nyungwe

Your private guide will meet you at the hotel for the journey west to Nyungwe and this will be after a visit to the Museum at Gisozi (The Genocide Museum), a perfect introduction to this “country of a thousand hills”. The drive takes you through farmland and rice fields, with lunch en route, typically reaching Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel, with its stunning forest views, after around or more than six hours. But this is very much your trip, so if you’d like to stop for photos, You will make a stop at the King’s Palace. A visit to the King’s Palace and Museum 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.

Main Destination: Rukari’s King’s Palace and Genocide Museum (Highlights)

Accommodation: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel 

Day 3- Track Chimpanzees and do the 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 

Day 4– To Volcanoes National Park (Cultural experience and relax at the lodge)

This morning you’ll drive north, leaving the Nyungwe Forest behind and driving along the Lake Kivu, 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 where you will have lunch, 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: DaVinci Gorilla Lodge 

Day 5– Gorilla tracking and visit the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of Dian Fossey 

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 Ellen DeGeneres Campus of Dian Fossey for more insight on the gorilla conservation history and future.

Main Destination: Volcanoes National Park

Accommodation: DaVinci Gorilla Lodge 

Day 6– Golden Monkey tracking and transfer to Akagera National Park

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 we drive to Akagera National Park in the late evening and have a night outside the park because of the late arrival.

Main Destination: Volcanoes and Akagera National Park

Accommodation: Akagera Transit Lodge 

Day 7– Morning game drive and Boat Safari 

Akagera 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 have a morning game drive at the park and a boat safari on Lake Ihema. Akagera’s Lake Ihema is a beautiful contrast to the rolling hills of the east of Rwanda, and the flatter plains to the north. Relax and enjoy the peace and quiet on your cruise, while watching birds and other life that comes to the banks like elephants, buffaloes, hippos, return to the lodge in the evening on a drive.

Main Destination: Akagera National Park

Accommodation: Akagera Game Lodge by Mantis

Day 8– Another short drive and transfer to Kigali for the Exit flight.

Today we have a short drive through the park and then head out to Kigali. Arrive in Kigali at around 1pm and have lunch before your guide drops you off at the airport. Depending on your flight schedule, you can do some shopping for souvenirs.

End of the 8 days.

Included

  • Park fees (For non-residents)
  • Gorilla permits (One per person, non-resident)
  • Chimp permits (One per person, non-resident)
  • Golden Monkey permits (One per person, non-resident)
  • All activities (Unless labeled as optional)
  • All accommodation (Unless listed as upgrade)
  • A professional driver/guide
  • All transportation (Unless labeled as optional)
  • All Taxes/VAT
  • Roundtrip airport transfer
  • Meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)
  • Drinking water (On all days)

Excluded

  • International flights (From/to home)
  • Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
  • Tips 
  • Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
  • Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
  • Some meals (As specified in the day-by-day section)

RATE

 

No. of Pax

Price Per person

2 (Sleeping in a Double Room)

5229 USD

-Thank you-

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African Rock Safaris LTD is a Ugandan based tour operator company that specialises in independent and group travel packages to East Africa. Our team has a wealth of experience in dealing with East Africa, having sent a large number of travellers from around the world to the region over the years.

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Kimanthe Avenue, Kampala Uganda

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