8 Days Rwanda Gorilla Safari

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival at Kigali international airport

Upon your arrival, your safari driver will welcome you and take you through a short drive around Kigali city and in its outskirts. As you enjoy the drive, the driver/guide will brief you about your safari and later you will check in at the lodge of your choice for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Drive to Nyungwe forest national park

In the morning after breakfast, you will check out of the lodge for your transfer to Nyungwe forest national park for chimpanzee tracking experience. During the transfer, you will have a stop at the national museum at Butare and at the King’s Palace at Nyanza. At the place, you will get all the information about the history of Rwanda and from there, you will have an enroute lunch and then proceed with the journey to Nyungwe forest national park where you will arrive in the late evening. Check in at the lodge of your booking for refreshment, dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking and nature walk

Wake up for your early breakfast and move to the park headquarters for briefing about chimp tracking experience. After the briefing, you will move to park rainforests by the lead of the park ranger to search for endangered chimps and after the allocation, you will be allowed to spend an hour in their presence.

From the experience, you will have a picnic lunch under the huge trees of the park and later go for a canopy walk/nature walk where you will enjoy the beautiful montane forests. In this walk, you will spot several species like bird species, insects, butterflies and huge tree species. Later, return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Travel to Volcanoes national park in Musanze

In the morning after breakfast, you will checkout of the lodge for your long journey to Musanze which is known as the mountain gorilla zone. The area is found in the volcano Virunga corridors that stretch into Uganda and DR Congo. During the long drive, enjoy the beautiful views of Rwanda’s countryside which is full of various features like mountains tea and banana plantations, and others. You will also enjoy the scenic views of Lake Kivu that extends in DR Congo on a boat trip exposing you to a number of bird species and different aquatic animals. After, proceed to the accommodation of your booking for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Gorilla trekking experience

Wake up early for your transfer to the Volcanoes national park headquarters for registration and briefing about gorilla trekking rules and regulations. After, you will move to the park rainforests with the escorts of the ranger to search for the endangered mountain gorillas in the assigned gorilla groups. After finding them, you will be given a full an hour to interact with these apes as you enjoy their life styles like their playing ways, breast feeding, and others. From there, you will begin the descend out of the rainforests to meet your guide who will drive you back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Day 6: Golden monkey tracking and visiting the Dian Fossey tombs

Wake up for your breakfast and go for a golden monkey tracking experience by the guidance of a park ranger. You will enjoy these unique species as they play and move around different tree species in the forest.

From the experience, you can opt for a visit of the Dian Fossey tombs where a primatologist who took care of the mountain gorillas was buried. Also, you can have a visit of the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. After, you will move back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Second Gorilla trekking experience

On this day, you will wake up early and head to the park headquarters for a second up close encounter of the mountain gorillas. On this day also, you go for registration and briefing about the rules and regulations to follow during the experience and after you will head to the rainforests to search for the apes. Once found, you will be allowed to spend a full hour in their presence as you enjoy the interaction. After, move back to the lodge for evening relaxation.

Day 8: Transfer to Kigali

Wake up for your breakfast and later drive to Kigali – the capital city for your departure flight. During the transfer, you will have some stops at places like genocide sites, art and craft shops and local markets where you will buy some souvenirs.