8 days Rwanda Safari
Day 1: Welcome to Rwanda- Full Kigali City Tour
On this day 1, you will have enjoy Kigali City tour. You will be met by our driver guide who will brief you about your 8 days Rwanda safari, thereafter transfer you for a Kigali city tour where you will visit the Gisozi genocide memorial site, Nyamirambo, the handicraft village, Batwa pottery and dance center, and the Kimironko fruits. You will then be transferred to the hotel for your dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest with enroute visit to Butare & Cultural tour
Your driver guide will pick you up after your morning breakfast, and transfer you to visit Nyanza palace (presently Nyabisindu, the former Mwami’s palace (King’s palace), and the base of the feudal kingdom) , and Butare National Museum- one of the best sources of information about the Rwandan culture, history, and the Intore-dancers. You will have lunch in Butare, and later on proceed to Murambi genocide memorial museums, after which you will continue to Nyungwe Forest National park
Dinner and overnight at the lodge
Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking and Canopy walk
Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park: You will set out at 5:00 am for Uwinka briefing point, where you reach in time for Chimpanzee tracking briefing in Nyungwe Forest national Park.
Nyungwe forest has two major trails heads where Chimpanzee trekking takes place including Uwinka trail and Cyamudongo sector. The has more than 200 trees species and flowering plants, 13 primates species such as, colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, approximately 300 bird species with a number of Albertine rift endemics and various butterflies species.
During the briefing, the ranger guide you on which trail you will take, whereby the Cyamudongo trail requires a short drive to the starting point for chimpanzee trekking. You will spend approximately 2-6 hours trekking to find the chimpanzees, including 1 full hour of staying up close with the chimpanzees, as you watch them play, copulate, feed among others. After this, exit the park and head for lunch at your hotel, and then return for the afternoon Canopy Walk.
At 2:00pm, you will walk over a 200m long bridge, suspended 9m high, which offers an impressive view of the forest from above. You will also enjoy the scenic sights and sounds of the birds, from a bird eye view. Driver back to the hotel for dinner and an overnight.
Day 4: Transfer to Kibuye
After breakfast, head to Kibuye, through the lush fields of tea plantations to the shorelines of Lake Kivu, where you refresh from trekking in Nyungwe, you opt to spend the rest of the day at leisure, or otherwise enjoy sunbathing, swimming while interacting with the residents around.
Day 5: Take a Boat cruise to Gisenyi – Kinigi
Have breakfast, and later on take the speed-boat trip to Gisenyi, where you will encounter fishing villages of Lake Kivu, as well as having an opportunity to interact with people of Idjwi Island. Idjwi is thought to be Africa’s largest inland island – actually the 8th largest in the world. Idjwi is roughly halfway between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. You can also cross the border to Goma in Congo. Proceed to Kinigi for dinner and overnight at the Lodge.
Day 6: Tracking Gorillas in their natural habitat
Transfer to the briefing point for mountain gorilla trekking overview about the code of conduct, after then you will proceed enter the light forest of Volcanoes National Park to look for them. You will interact with them, for at most 1 hour, when you meet with them, after which you will return for lunch, then head to visit the twin lakes of Bulera and Ruhondo.
Day 7: Golden Monkey trekking & Canopy Walk
Morning breakfast, then head for Golden Monkey briefing, at the park headquarters before 8:00am. During the briefing the park guide will divide you in groups of 8 each, for aparticular gorilla family, then proceed to the forest to search for them until when you find them, Spend with them a complete hour, as per the rules and regulations, there after return to the Lodge for Lunch.
You will also visit the Iby’Iwachu cultural village, where you will spend quality time with these hospitable gorilla guardians, who will showcase their Rwandan cultural norms and traditions through dances, drama, songs, food among others,
Return to the lodge for dinner & overnight.
Day 8: Departure
Depart for Kigali, after the morning breakfast. Incase you missed your city tour on n the first day, then take the chance to Visit the Kigali Genocide memorial site, crafts shops, major markets among others. Have lunch in one of the restaurants in the city, thereafter proceed to the park to catch up with your flight back to your home country.