10-day Best of Rwanda

Rwanda is a landlocked East African country with a green, mountainous landscape. Its renowned Volcanoes National Park is home to mountain gorillas and golden monkeys. The park encompasses 4,507m-tall Mt. Karisimbi and 4 other forested volcanoes. In the southwest is Nyungwe National Park, with ancient montane rainforest that’s a habitat for chimpanzees and other primates.

Highlights

  • Kigali
  • Akagera National Park
  • Gisenyi / Lake Kivu
  • Volcanoes National Park
  • Nyungwe Forest National Park
  • Rwanda

Tour Summary

Full Day by Day Itinerary

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Day 1 : Kigali

Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be met by our representative, outside the airport arrivals section and transferred to your hotel.

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Day 2 : Akagera National Park

Breakfast at the hotel.  Depart to Akagera national park arriving in time for lunch.  Afternoon game drive.
Bordering Rwanda’s eastern neighbor Tanzania, Akagera National Park could scarcely be more different in mood to the breezy cultivated hills that characterize much of Rwanda. Dominated scenically by the labyrinth of swamps and lakes that follow the meandering course of the Akagera River, the most remote source of the Nile, this is archetypal African savannah landscape of tangled acacia woodland interspersed with open grassland. Akagera is, above all, big game country! home to herds of Elephant, Zebra, Giraffe, gnu and buffalo emerge from the woodland to drink at the lakes, while lucky visitors might stumble across a leopard, a spotted hyena or lions and rhinos.
Dinner at the camp

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Day 3 : Akagera National Park

Full day in Akagera with morning game drive and afternoon boat ride. All meals at the camp.

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Day 4 : Kigali

Breakfast at the lodge.  Drive to Kigali arriving in the early afternoon.  Lunch in Kigali.  Visit the genocide museum and enjoy a city tour of Kigali.

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Day 5 : Nyungwe Forest National Park

Breakfast at the hotel.  Depart to Nyungwe national park. Visit the King’s Museum and have lunch en route.  Proceed to your lodge arriving in the early evening.  Dinner at the lodge.

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Day 6 : Nyungwe Forest National Park

4.30 AM: Start early for early morning forest nature walk in the park tracking Chimpanzees in the forest. This is the time to watch the forest's birdlife too. Return to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon, enjoy a walk through the tea plantation.  Dinner at the lodge.

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Day 7 : Gisenyi / Lake Kivu

Breakfast at the hotel/lodge. Drive to volcanoes along the Congo Nile Trail. Lunch enroute. Dinner at the lodge/hotel.

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Day 8 : Volcanoes National Park

Breakfast at the hotel/lodge.  Boat ride along Lake Kivu.  Drive to Musanze. Arrive at Ruhengeri, the base for Gorilla trekking at the Volcanoes national park. The town itself, located only 25km from Uganda border, is relatively a small city of about 70,000 people. The constant flow of humanity is quite remarkable. The Town has great views of the surrounding volcanoes. People are very friendly here and although a former Belgian colony (and thus French-speaking), many people speak English here.  Dinner at the lodge/hotel.

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Day 9 : Volcanoes National Park

Early breakfast.
6.20 AM: Transfer to the Volcanoes National Park headquarters for your first day of trekking.
7.00 AM: Briefing by your trackers then drive to the trailhead for the start of your amazing Gorilla Tracking adventure.
Porters may be hired for the trek to carry your backpack and gear.
The cost is ten USD per person/per day. We advise that you utilize this service.
Your trek again starts in the cultivated foothills of the Virunga offering stirring views in all directions. When it enters the national park, trekkers will be immersed in the mysterious intimacy of the rainforest, alive with the colourful bird calls, chattering golden monkeys, littered with fresh spoor of the mountains’ elusive buffalo and elephant. Through gaps in the canopy, the magnificent peaks are glimpsed, among the highest in Africa yet easily accessible, beckon an ascent.

Weaving through overhanging vines, moss-covered hagenia trees and giant lobelias that thrive in the tropical climate, our experienced trackers, who have spent their entire lives in or close to this forest, soon bring us up close with one of the Gorilla Families.
Upon sighting the gorillas, you will stay with them for a magical hour as they go about their daily life, feeding, playing, resting; raising their young. Coming face to face with a giant silverback must truly be one of the greatest wildlife experiences on earth!

After the trek, rejoin your driver Guide for a transfer to your lodge for lunch.  Afternoon visit the Iby’iwacu cultural village.  Dinner at the lodge/hotel.

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Day 10 : Departure

Breakfast at the lodge. Depart from the foothills of the Virunga volcanoes and drive south past banana plantations on a scenic drive to Kigali. Everything and everywhere, sheer green and hanging on the hills; Rwanda truly - the land of a thousand fertile green hills.  Transfer to Kigali International airport for your departure. (Cost of flight not included). A flight after 13:00 hours is recommended.

Included

•    Airport transfers and assistance
•    Accommodations in Kigali on bed and breakfast basis
•    Accommodation at Lodge /hotel on Full board basis
•    Visit the Nyanza King’s Museum
•    City tour of Kigali
•    Private transport in a 4×4 Land cruiser
•    Services of an English-speaking driver-guide
•    Visit the Iby’iwacu cultural village
•    Park fees in Akagera national park
•    One chimpanzee permit per person per trek
•    Boat ride in Akagera
•    Emergency Evacuation Cover
•    Visit the Iby’iwacu cultural village
•    Bottled drinking water while trekking and in vehicle
•    All taxes on the services quoted above

Excluded

•    One gorilla permit per person per trek
•    Covid-19 test per person
•    Meals and beverages, other than specified.
•    International, regional and local Airfares.
•    Airport taxes.
•    Passport and visa fees and service charges for obtaining visas.
•    Excess baggage charges levied by airlines.
•    Gratuities to driver/guides and other conveyance attendants.
•    Laundry and other items of a personal nature such drinks, telephone calls ETC
•    Personal and baggage insurance.
•    Cost for anything not specifically mentioned in the listing above.

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