10 Days Best of Rwanda Safari – Gorillas and Wildlife

Arrive at Kigali International Airport and meet your private driver or guide after all the necessary paperwork is completed. He will brief you about your trip and immediately drive you through the capital, Kigali, to catch sight of the city’s cultural display, visit the genocide memorial site, art and craft center, or relax at your reserved lodge, depending on your arrival time. You’ll be heading into the jungle the next day.

Accommodation & meals:

• Luxury: Serena Hotel Kigali.
• Mid-range: Hotel chez Lando.
• Budget: Iris Guest House.

Bed & Breakfast.

Have your early morning breakfast as your private driver waits to take you through Rwanda’s most beautiful countryside, dotted with calming nature scenery and colour. It is a 2.5-hour road trip to Rwanda’s only Savannah Park, located in the eastern province, and you will arrive early for lunch (and check-in) at your reserved lodge.

One of the highlights of any visit to Akagera National Park is a boat trip on Lake Ihema, with its large pods of hippos, Nile crocodiles, and abundant water birds on the island in the middle of the lake. Therefore, enjoy an afternoon boat cruise along the lake with excellent views of this hidden gem. Later, return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner 

• Luxury: Ruziza Tented Camp.
• Mid-range: Akagera Game Safari Lodge.
• Budget: Dereva hotel.

Accommodation & meals:

The largely open expanse is ideal for prime wildlife viewing excursions without disruptions, and steps are being taken to ensure the ‘Big Five’ roam the park in greater numbers over the course of time.

After an early breakfast, you will embark on a morning game drive in the savannah plains of this park. Animal sightings are excellent here. They include rhinos, lions, zebras, giraffes, topis, impalas, and elephants, among others. Birds such as the gray-crowned crane, Senegal lapwings, open-billed stock, giant kingfisher, and Papyrus gonolek are also notable here. You will return to your lodge for lunch before taking in another dose of excellent views or embarking on an impressive cultural experience. Meet and learn from the locals, and then return for dinner and overnight.

This episode of your perfectly crafted safari is a 5-hour lazy drive that will see you take stops at local markets and the traditional palace in Nyanza before proceeding to Butare, where you will visit the Botanical Gardens and the cultural museum. Enjoy excellent scenic views as you maneuver the stunning green fields of tea scattered across the hillsides, and before long, small, unique wooden houses surrounding Nyungwe Forest will come into view. Arrive at your reserved lodge and check in. For the rest of the day, make yourself comfortable, chill out in the lounge, and meet new people with amazing cultures.

The ride takes about 6hrs.

Accommodation & meals:

• Luxury: Nyungwe Forest Lodge / One & Only Nyungwe Forest House.
• Mid-range: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel.
• Budget: Gisakura Guest House.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner 

This forest is rich with a high biodiversity rating and home to about 13 species of primates, including chimpanzees, Columbus monkeys, and L’Hoest monkeys, as well as up to 300 bird species.

After an early breakfast, you will transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing session and later be escorted by park rangers or guides assigned to you onto the jungle trails for a rewarding rainforest experience. In a short while, you’ll find your designated chimpanzee troop, which you’ll follow and stick to for the next hour. These apes keep moving, jumping from tree to tree above the forest floor, making noise, grooming, and stopping for snacks or naps, and your challenge is to keep up with them with the guidance of the park guide.

After your unforgettable experience with the chimpanzees in their natural habitat, you’ll take an aerial view of Nyungwe forest and beyond on the 160 metre (525 ft.) high canopy walkway. According to the latest report by Lonely Planet, Rwanda’s forest canopy walkway has been named the world’s best. Enjoy perfect scenic views of the Nyungwe Forest world and then return to the lodge for the rest of the evening.

While chimp trekking is the signature activity here, this episode of our best of Rwanda safari offers you a chance to hike along well-maintained trails over the lush, green valleys of the equatorial rainforest.

Nature walks in Nyungwe Forest National Park allow you to explore more details about the forest with a park ranger. Nature walks allow you to get closer to nature and learn more about what it has to offer. Nyungwe Forest National Park is popular for its biodiversity compared to other parks in Rwanda, and it has contributed to the development of the tourism industry with over 140 kilometers of walking trails.

Nyungwe Forest National Park alone has over 1000 plant species, 13 species of primates, 75 species of other African mammals, at least 275 species of birds, and an astounding 120 species of butterflies. This protected area covers one of Africa’s oldest rainforests and has been rated the highest priority for forest conservation in Africa. Unfortunately, Nyungwe is little known outside of East Africa, despite its huge biodiversity.

You’ll set up a picnic lunch in the middle of the forest, take in the friendly service of this beautiful African jungle, and later return to your lodge for the rest of the day.

After breakfast, join your Best of Rwanda Safari driver and head towards the gorilla sanctuary, where you’ll track the endangered mountain gorillas and spend the next two nights.

The ride takes about 5hrs.

Accommodation & meals:

• Luxury: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge. 
• Mid-range: Gorilla Solution Lodge. 
• Budget: Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner 

Have an early breakfast and drive to the park headquarters for the gorilla briefing (45 minutes). This excursion is the highlight of your Best of Rwanda Safari, so be ready to get excited by this once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

A packed lunch, comfortable clothes, shoes, and a walking stick when venturing into this gigantic forest will keep you on course. The time spent gorilla tracking is unpredictable. It varies from 2 to 8 hours before an encounter with a family of these gentle creatures. The location of each gorilla family depends on their feeding range, temperature, and movement from the previous day. Trackers will go before your tracking group to find the apes. Strict guidelines will be issued at the briefing point. So make sure you remember the most important ones.

Trekking through the habitat of these enormous apes is a fulfilling and unforgettable experience that many people look to undertake. Enjoy the one hour allotted (the only time allowed in the company of each gorilla family per day), watch, and capture this memorable experience. Later, retire to the lodge for an overnight stay.

After breakfast, you will embark on tracking golden monkeys in the deep jungles of Volcanoes National Park. You must be at the headquarters early enough for a briefing before the excursion. After the trek, return to your lodge for lunch, and after a little rest, pack up your baggage as you head to Gisenyi on Lake Kivu, where you will spend the night. Enjoy excellent views of the stunningly beautiful scenery.

Accommodation & meals:

• Luxury: Lake Kivu Serena Hotel.
• Mid-range: Paradise Malahide/La Palm Beach Hotel.
• Budget: Stipp Hotel.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner 

Relax on the shores of Lake Kivu; take a boat out on the lake to view the various islands. Swimming in the refreshing waters reveals the excellence of this hidden gem, while strolling to the nearby villages and rambling across a number of hills is quite rewarding. After your memorable trip, you will set off for Kigali International Airport for your departure flight.

• No Accommodation.
• Meals: Only Breakfast.

End of the 10 Days Best of Rwanda Safari.