12 Days Rwanda Expedition : Take part in this great adventure where you will visit the 3 of the highlight safari destinations in Rwanda namely; Nyungwe, Akagera and Volcanoes national parks. A visit to these parks will give you a chance to spot primates including chimpanzees, mountain gorillas and golden monkeys, then the Big five animals and many more.
The activities on this 12 Day Rwanda Safari; game drive, primate watching, canopy walk, hot air ballooning and boat cruise will help you to highly explore the beauty of the country. Also, this safari will offer you an opportunity to visit the city-based attractions in Kigali and the Ibyiwachu cultural village.
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Arrival and drive to the hotel
Welcome to Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills!! The driver-guide will receive you and take you straight to the hotel. He will share the program of the next day 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; visit the Presidential Palace museum where the fallen Rwandan president, Habyarimana breathed his last after a plane crush, head to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Site where thousands of people who perished in the Rwanda genocide were buried and visit local markets- Kimironko and Kigali Central Market for an opportunity to see the different local fresh fruits and foodstuffs sold here. Return to the hotel for your second night in the city.
Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe National Park
Drive to Nyungwe forest national park after a leisurely breakfast and this will be a lovely journey taking you through the countryside where you will see how the people of Rwanda go about their days. after about 4 hours on the road, you will arrive at your lodge in Nyungwe, check in, have lunch and enjoy the serenity of the environment. Nyungwe is currently the only park where you can do the canopy walk adventure.
Day 4: Chimpanzee tracking and canopy walk
Have breakfast and head to the park offices for a briefing that normally begins before the trekking experience. This will cover the guidelines that you will follow while in the forest. Enter the forest and start searching for the chimps, upon locating them, you will spend an hour in their presence, witness their day activities, feeding behaviors, games and 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 Nyungwe forest ranging – 70m high and 160m in long. The thrilling experience sometimes features sightings of different primate species together with bird species and a lovely aerial view of the forest. Return to the lodge after the canopy walk.
Day 5: Transfer to the shores of Lake Kivu.
Head to Lake Kivu at the border of DR Congo where you will engage in a walk, boat cruise and later relax at the shores of the lake on the booked resort.
Day 6: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park.
Wake up at your leisure and enjoy a sumptuous breakfast at the resort, then leave L. Kivu and transfer to Volcanoes national park. On arrival, check in to the lodge, later on have lunch and go for a hike to Dian Fossey tombs. The female primatologist saved a good number of gorillas, but was murdered by unknown people at her place of residence. During the hike, you will learn about her contribution to the conservation of mountain gorillas.
Day 7: Gorilla trekking and Visit Iby’Iwachu cultural village.
After breakfast, head to the park headquarters for briefing, which covers guidelines while in the forest, for example, don’t feed animals, don’t make noise, no use of flashlight cameras and much more. After penetrating into the forest to start the search of these great apes, you could take an hour, 2 or 4 hours to end the adventure after staying with the gorillas for an hour. Have lunch at the lodge and later in the afternoon or evening, visit the Ibyiwachu cultural village to learn more and experience the Rwandese culture through traditional music and dance, storytelling and observing the routines of the locals. Back to the lodge for your dinner.
Day 8: Golden monkey trekking.
One more briefing session, this time for golden monkey tracking. Thereafter, head into the forest to start the search for the golden monkeys and on locating 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. The overall experience takes about 3 to 4 hours, and enjoy your leisure time in the evening, giving you ample time to regain some energy.
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 where you will be rewarded with lovely views of the surrounding.
Akagera national park is located at the border of Tanzania and gets its name from River Akagera. On arrival, you will check in at the booked lodge.
Day 10: Game drive and boat cruise.
Morning game drive around the plains of Akagera national park to look out for early grazers and predators. The approximately 4 hours game drive gives a chance to see different animals including zebras, lions, warthogs, buffalos, elephants, giraffes, waterbucks, Sitatunga, rhino and lions among others.
After the game drive, head back to the lodge for a break, lunch and later embark on an afternoon boat cruise on Lake Ihema. This will expose you to schools of hippos, crocodiles and water birds. The beautiful scenery covered with acacia trees is another way to enjoy the park.
Day 11: Hot air balloon experience.
After breakfast, head out to the plains for an adventure; the Hot air balloon. It will begin after the briefing. 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 savannah and you will love the view of the park with sightings of animals such as the Masai giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, zebras, lions, and warthogs.
The endless plains are dotted with water bodies including Lake Ihema, which is the biggest in this park and River Akagera can’t be missed. The adventure will last for 2 – 3 hours. Enjoy your leisure time at the lodge for the rest of the day.
Day 12: Transfer back to Kigali city.
Return to Kigali; after breakfast, set off to Kigali, the journey will take 3 to 4 hours. The safari driver will drop you off at the airport in Kigali for departure. End of the safari.
