You haven’t been everywhere, yes! Then you have to be somewhere in your holidays; spending 7 days of wonder, discovery and study of sight and sounds of the sought-after chimpanzees; Mountain gorillas, and several prey and predator mammals in the wild.
Visit Nyungwe National Park in south western part of the Republic of Rwanda for a remarkable chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk experience; Akagera National Park in the eastern part of Rwanda for game drive and boat cruise; and Volcanoes National Park in the northwestern part of the country. Each day has a special offer, tastier cuisine, comfortable bedding and standard safari vehicles. Other optional activities include; cultural tours, photography, and Kigali city tour. Kigali city is where the trip starts and ends.
Overview.
Day 1: Kigali to Nyungwe National Park.
Today; your ears will be scratched with this word “welcome to the Land of Athousand Hills” by our expert ranger guide who will meet and greet you at the agreed pick-up point. A briefing will be held for document verification and thereafter you will drive to Nyungwe national park – spending approximately 5-6 hours on the road, with the views of the stunning hills, dotted homesteads in the countryside and more.
Have an enroute stopover to refresh and enjoy photography in Nyanza, and you will proceed to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk.
Start your day off with a quiet siesta at the lodge, and then see your cousins, chimpanzees in their natural habitat while packing a lunch and wearing appropriate hiking gear. Chimpanzees are social animals that resemble humans more or less in behavior. They primarily eat fruits, vegetables, leaves, and stems, with the occasional addition of ants. The ranger guide will go through the dos and don’ts of trekking during the briefing session. You will then be accompanied on the 1–5-hour hike, plus an additional hour for photography, hearing the sweet sounds of the chimpanzees, and learning about the diversity of the natural surroundings.
The ranger guides will walk you through a chimpanzee’s daily routine in their natural environment. After your chimpanzee trekking experience, you’ll have lunch and then go on an hour-long canopy walk where you can take in the scenery, including the rolling hills, scattered rural cottages, and more. After dinner and overnight, call it a day.
Day 3: Transfer from Nyungwe to Volcanoes National Park
Breakfast at the lodge is a leisurely way to start the day. After that, you will go on a magnificent journey to the national park that is home to the critically endangered mountain gorillas. You will stop for lunch en route and then continue to your lodge in the volcanoes national park for some downtime, a leisurely nap, and an optional activity like cave exploration.
Day 4: Gorilla trekking
The first bird gets the warm on a day when history is being made, therefore your trekking begins very early after breakfast. You will choose your gorilla trekking equipment, pack a lunch and travel to the park headquarters, where you will be meet by ranger guides who will register you, go over the dos and don’ts of trekking, assign trackers to gorilla families, and more. You have a chance of seeing forest birds, animals, rare plant species, and more throughout the approximate one to eight hours of gorilla trekking, depending on how far they have traveled and your hiking pace.
After meeting the apes, you get an hour to take pictures and take in the ranger guides’ descriptions of the mountain gorillas’ lifestyle. You will then return to your lodge for a break, dinner, and a tranquil snooze after enjoying a lovely lunch in the forest.
Day 5: Volcanoes National Park to Akagera National Park
After breakfast, you will check out of the resort and drive for around 4-5 hours to Akagera National Area, a savannah park with a variety of plants and animals. After eating lunch along the way, you’ll continue the gorgeous drive to your resort in or near the park. It’s amazing to have a campfire on your first night in Akagera National Park, if one is available.
Day 6: Game drive and Boat cruise
Following a hearty breakfast at the lodge, you will go on a game drive with the assistance of a knowledgeable ranger guide, who will spend around 3–4 hours assisting you in recognizing the many species of flora and wildlife by name and distinctive characteristics. Mention the “Big 5 Cats of Africa,” which include the lions, leopards, African elephants, cape buffaloes, and rhinos. You may also see warthogs, hyenas, oribis, Jackson hartebeest, cheetah, giraffe, and more throughout the search, in addition to the Ross turaco, papyrus gonolek, Red-faced Barbet, northern brown-throated weaver, Ruaha chat, and other species.
After the game drive, you’ll take a lunch break before going on a boat cruise at Lake Ihema in the evening. You may enjoy the water there while observing the various aquatic wildlife, including hippos, crocodiles, and others. Enjoy dinner and a restful snooze to cap off the day.
Day 7: Departure
You will leave the Akagera National Park for Kigali after savoring a delectable breakfast at the resort. Lunch should be consumed in Kigali before engaging in an optional activity, depending on your departure time. You will go to the souvenir shops to get some keepsakes, as well as the Genocide Memorial center, among others. At the predetermined location, the driver guide will drop you off.
End of safari