Safari Across Rwanda - Chimpanzee Trekking

Day 1: Arrival, Kigali

After landing at Kigali International Airport, you will be welcomed by your guide who will transfer yo

Day 2 - 4: After the African Big Five and Savannah Experience in Akagera National Park

After breakfast, your guide will pick you up from your hotel and depart for Akagera National Park. Upon arrival, you will kick off with game drives. You will be able to spot the Big 5, zebra, giraffes, 11 antelope species and hundreds of bird species among others. Later in the evening, you will go to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

You will have morning game drives and head back to the hotel for breakfast. After breakfast you will go for game drives again and later in the day, you will have a boat ride at Lake Ihema in which you will be able to see different water animals. During the game drives, you will see the wide plains dominated by grass, cactus-like Euphorbia candelabra shrubs and both thick and thin forests. Later in the evening, you will go back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5 & 6: Chimpanzee Trekking and Canopy Walk in Nyungwe Forest National Park

Enjoy your day trekking through the trees with your local guide, and consider going on a canopy walk that is hung 50 meters above the ground. There are more than 300 distinct bird species, and there are at least 75 different mammal species, including 13 different kinds of primates. Moreover, there is a huge variety of butterflies and plants. It’s very strange. 

On your second day, you will trek the jungle in search of chimpanzee communities. You’ll see them as they gaze down from fig trees or encounter them in troops catapulting from canopy to canopy. No trek is the same and these charismatic creatures surprise and delight all who cross their ancient rainforest path.

Day 7 & 8: Gorilla Trekking at Volcanoes National Park

We leave Nyungwe today and travel by road to the Ruhengeri district of Volcanoes National Park (Virungas), where we will stay for two nights to enjoy mountain gorilla trekking. This national park provides a dramatic setting where rare mountain gorillas and golden monkeys reside.

On the following day, arrive at the park headquarters to register. This is a quick and easy process that allows the park personnel to choose which gorilla family you will visit based on your level of fitness. The various groups are then briefed by park staff about trekking schedules and conditions based on where they were in the park the previous evening. Each day, 80 gorilla permits are available, and a maximum of 8 trekkers are allowed to visit each group. Depending on whatever gorilla group you are assigned to, treks last a different amount of time. You will spend around an hour with your designated gorilla group after finding them before returning to the volcano’s slopes. The park is situated in the majestic Virunga Mountains, a series of dormant volcanoes that Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Uganda all share in the north of the country. The mountains are a portion of the Congo-Nile Divide’s extension, which separates two of Africa’s most significant watersheds. Additionally, they are home to the 700 remaining Mountain Gorillas, the last population to survive in the world. Gorilla Mountain View Lodge overnight

There are few experiences as magical as traipsing through the forested slopes of the Virungas to meet Africa’s gorillas. Some gorilla families are elusive, and tracking can take a full day, especially when it's wet and muddy but it’s well worth it to see these primates in their natural habitat. You’ll spend an hour with them before you head back to base for lunch.

Day 9: End of Safari Across Rwanda

Nine days is just long enough to build memories to treasure. Bid your farewells and leave the forest and its enigmatic inhabitants before setting your compass for home.