12 Days Remarkable Rwanda Expedition : Take part in this great adventure where you will visit the 3 most common national parks in Rwanda and these are Nyungwe, Akagera and Volcanoes national parks. These will offer you an opportunity to spot the big and rare primates (chimpanzees, gorillas and golden monkeys respectively), big five animals and many more.

Different activities such as game drive, primate watching, canopy walk, hot air ballooning, boat cruise will help you to discover this wildlife. Also, this safari will offer you an opportunity to visit the city-based attractions in Kigali and again visit the Ibyiwachu cultural village. Therefore, this safari will be of great adventure covering all corners of Rwanda such as the culture, nature and wildlife.

Detailed itinerary.

Day 1: Arrival and drive to the hotel.

Welcome to Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills!! The driver-guide will welcome you and he will take you straight to the hotel and this will be the end of day one.

Day 2: Kigali city tour.

Have a leisure breakfast at the hotel and then start a city tour where you will visit the former presidential Palace museum that is where the fallen Rwandan president, Habyarimana breathed his last after a plane crush. Head to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Site where thousands of people perished innocently and this will remind you about the historical genocide of Rwanda.

Head out to visit the local markets like Kimironko, Kigali Central Market and many others, to get an opportunity of seeing the different fresh fruits and foodstuffs sold here from the hills and valleys of Rwanda. Return to the hotel for your second night in the city.

Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe National Park.

Head to Nyungwe forest national park after breakfast and this will be a great journey to the home of 13 primates including chimpanzees – our cousins. The park is known for being the only east African canopy walk with chimpanzee tracking in the morning. There is a lot to explore in this park such as the different bird species, over 300. Arrive and head to the lodge after a long journey that will take about 3-4 hours of drive.

Day 4: Chimpanzee tracking and canopy walk.

Have breakfast and head to the park offices for a briefing that normally begin before the trekking experience. This will cover the guidelines that you will follow while in the forest and this be about the dos and don’ts. After starting the trek and heading into the forest upon locating them, you will spend an hour in the presence of chimpanzees where you will be able to witness their movements, feeding behaviors, playing with young ones and many more.

The overall experience takes about 3 to 4 hours. Head back to the lodge for lunch break which will be followed by a canopy walk. This bridge made of ropes is suspended on top of trees of the Nyungwe forest ranging between 70m and 160m in length. This will give you an opportunity to spot different primates together with bird species and an aerial view of the forest. After, you will head back to the lodge.

Day 5: Transfer to the shores of Lake Kivu.

Head to Lake Kivu on the border of DR Congo where you will be able to engage in a walk, boat cruise and relaxing at the shores of the lake on one of the booked resorts. This will be of great adventure as you take a leisure time relaxing late in the evening.

Day 6: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park.

Head to Volcanoes national park after this great morning while at the resort and be able to spot the mountain gorillas. This park has 10 habituated gorilla families and again, it has rare golden monkeys. It is a birders haven with over 350 bird species.

This park is also known to home the graveyard of Dian Fossey, a female primatologist who saved a good number of gorillas, but after she was murdered by unknown people. Arrive and transfer to the lodge for your accommodation.

Day 7: Gorilla trekking and Visit Ibyiwachu cultural village.

Attend briefing at the park offices after your breakfast and this will cover a lot of things such as the dos and don’ts like no feeding wildlife animals, no making noise, no use of flashlight cameras and much more. After penetrating the forest to start the search of these great apes and this will take about 2 to 4 hours in the forest depending on the location of the gorillas but an hour will be included while in their presence.

After you will proceed to visit the Ibyiwachu cultural village where you will expose yourself to Rwandese culture through traditional music and dances, storytelling and much more. Head back to the lodge for your dinner.

Day 8: Golden monkey trekking.

Have a better experience after the briefing on this great day. Head into the forest to start the search of the golden monkeys and on lactating them, you will spend an hour in their presence and after head back to lodge. Golden monkeys are normally spotted in the bamboo trees where they stay and some have no tails since they are cut off when they get stuck in the tree branches.

The overall experience takes about 3 to 4 hours, and enjoy your leisure time in the evening, giving you ample time to stretch yourself.

Day 9: Transfer to Akagera national park via the twin lakes.

Head to Akagera national park where you will take part in the hot air ballooning, game drive and boat cruise. You will pass via the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo which will reward you with world class boat cruise on L. Kivu.

Akagera national park is located at the border of Tanzania and gets its name from River Akagera. This park has the big five animals and rare birds like the shoebill stork. Arrive and check in at the booked lodge.

Day 10: Game drive and boat cruise.

Head for a morning game drive that will last for about 2 hours and thus creating everlasting memories where you will be able to enjoy the best of Akagera wildlife such as the zebras, lions, warthogs, buffalos, elephants, Masai giraffes, waterbucks, Sitatunga and much more plus many bird species.

After two hours of adventuring, head back to the lodge for a break lunch and after, embark on an afternoon boat cruise on Lake Ihema. This will expose you to different wildlife such as hippos, crocodiles and much more. The beautiful scenery covered with acacia trees is another way to enjoy the park.

Day 11: Hot air balloon experience.

After breakfast, proceed for an adventure in Akagera National Park. The hot air balloon will begin after briefing and each basket carries 4 to 6 people, the pilot will fly up to a distance of 100m. This will give you an eagle’s eye view of the savannahs with different animals like Masai giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, zebras, lions, warthogs and many others.

The endless plains are dotted with different water bodies and Lake Ihema becomes the biggest in this park and River Akagera can’t be missed. The adventure will last for 2 – 3 hours. Have leisure for the rest of the remaking time at your lodge.

Day 12: Transfer back to Kigali city.

Return to Kigali immediately after breakfast and the journey will take 3 to 4 hours and after you will be dropped at the airport in Kigali for departure. End of the safari.