This 8 Days Best of Rwanda Safari allows you to visit all three top national parks in Rwanda. Main highlights of this tour include: chimpanzee and colobus monkey trekking in Nyungwe Forest National Park, gorilla and golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park, and finally a game drive and boat cruise tour in Akagera National Park.
Highlights for 8 Days Best of Rwanda Safari
Day 1: Arrival at Kigali International Airport
Day 2: City Tour and Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park
Day 3: Chimpanzee Trekking and Canopy Walk-Optional Zipline Experience
Day 4: Colobus Monkey Trekking and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 5: Gorilla Trekking and Ibyiwacu Village Tour
Day 6: Golden Monkey Trekking and Transfer to Akagera National Park
Day 7: Morning Game Drive (Northern Akagera) and Sunset Boat Cruise
Day 8: Transfer Back to Kigali
Detailed Itinerary for 8 Days Best of Rwanda Safari
Day 1: Arrival at Kigali International Airport
Depending on your time of arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be met by our company representative and driven to your hotel in Kigali. Check in, refresh yourself, and spend your evening at leisure. Dinner will be served by your hotel.
Day 2: City Tour and Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park
After having your breakfast, you will depart for a short tour of Kigali city, where you will get a chance to visit the Genocide Memorial Center and Richard Kandt House. You will then embark on a 6-hour drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park, with a stopover at the King’s Palace in Nyanza and the National Museum in Butare. You will also have another stop for lunch. Arrive in Nyungwe in the evening and check into your accommodation.
Day 3: Chimpanzee Trekking and Canopy Walk-Optional Zipline Experience
Wake up early in the morning and have your breakfast. You will drive to the park’s briefing point in time for your briefing at 5 am. After you have been briefed, you will head into the forest in search of a chimpanzee family. Trekking chimpanzees in Nyungwe forest can take between 3-6 hours or more, depending on their location. 13 species of primates may be found in the Nyungwe forest, which is also rich in floral variety. For chimp trekking, your guide will take you to the Cyamudongo area or the Uwinka trail head.
As you continue to tour the park, you will be taken to the Uwinka center in the afternoon to begin your canopy walk. You will get to explore the canopy walkway, suspended 160 meters above the ground. Soak in the stunning views of the park as you walk along the bridge. Head back to base, and if time allows, you can do an optional zipline experience.
Later, head back to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 4: Colobus Monkey Trekking and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
After breakfast today, you will drive to the park for a briefing. Today you will be trekking with colobus monkeys in Nyungwe Forest. This activity takes between 3 and 4 hours; after which you will have lunch and embark on your journey to Volcanoes National Park. Arrive in the evening and check into your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Gorilla Trekking and Ibyiwacu Village Tour
Today, you will get a chance to discover the mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massif. Briefing at the park headquarters in Kinigi commences at 7 am with registration and is later followed by a briefing from the park warden/head ranger. You will be assigned a ranger and a gorilla family to trek once you are done with the briefing. Your gorilla trekking experience might take between 2 and 5 hours or more, depending on their location. Once you are done with trekking mountain gorillas, you will have a chance to visit the famous Ibyiwacu village, which is also known as the “Gorilla Guardians Village.”
Day 6: Golden Monkey Trekking and Transfer to Akagera National Park
Wake up in time to have breakfast and head to the park. This morning, you will be trekking with golden monkeys in the beautiful bamboo forests in Volcanoes National Park. Before you are assigned a group and ranger, you will be briefed on rules and regulations to follow when trekking with golden monkeys in the forest. Golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park can take between 1 and 3 hours. Have lunch and begin your journey to Akagera National Park, where you will arrive in the evening. Check into your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 7: Morning Game Drive (Northern Akagera) and Sunset Boat Cruise
Akagera National Park is Rwanda’s only savannah park near the Tanzanian border in northeastern Rwanda. Numerous large animals that are unique to Rwanda can be found there. Take a game drive first thing in the morning. Elephants, zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, waterbucks, bushbucks, and the freshly arrived lions are all worth seeing. In Akagera National Park, game drives mostly occur in the park’s northern section. Depending on your interests and the number of animals you see, the game drives can go on for nearly a whole day.
After lunch, head to Lake Ihema for a sunset boat tour. Enjoy watching wildlife roaming by the shores, hippos busking in the lake, as well as a variety of bird species in the surrounding area.
Dinner will be served at your lodge.
Day 8: Transfer Back to Kigali
Wake up in time to have your breakfast and check out of your lodge in time. You will embark on your 3-hour drive back to Kigali, where you will be dropped off at a hotel of your choice or at Kigali International Airport, as you advise.
