From Kigali: 8-Day Gorillas, Chimps, Big 5 & Big Cats Safari｜Rwanda

Day 1: Transfer from Kigali to Akagera National Park

Your guide will pick you up from your hotel in Kigali and transfer you to Akagera National Park. Enjoy an afternoon game drive, and keep your eye out for the Big 5 and big cats. Overnight at Akagera Game Lodge.

Day 2: Game Drive and Boat Cruise

Head out on another game drive in the early morning. After lunch, take a boat trip on Lake Ihema for a close encounter with the crocodiles and hippos along the river banks. Spot some of the over 525 bird species, both migratory and savanna residing, in the area. Overnight at Akagera Game Lodge.

Day 3: Akagera National Park — Kigali — Musanze

Have breakfast and then enjoy a morning game drive before returning to Kigali. Visit interesting spots, which may include the craft market or the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Afterward, depart for a 2-hour drive to Musanze. Arrive at Red Rocks Intercultural Exchange Center for lunch before joining the local brew makers to understand the process of brewing a local beer from bananas. Overnight at Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge.

Day 4: Golden Monkey Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

After breakfast, report to the park headquarters for your first experience endangered species in the Volcanoes National Park. The golden monkey trek is normally an easy trek that takes 1-2 hours. Later, visit the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. Overnight at Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge.

Day 5: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

After an early morning breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters together with your packed lunch early enough to be briefed about the code of conduct while with the gorillas. Then, enter the forest in search of the gorillas, which may take 2-6 hours depending on the movement of the gorillas in the jungle. Meet and stay with the gorillas for a maximum of 1 hour. Overnight at Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge.

Day 6: Lake Kivu and Transfer to Nyungwe National Park

After early morning breakfast at the lodge, drive for 1 hour to Rubava to visit Lake Kivu and enjoy the morning breeze on the shores. Spend just 1 hour there, then get back on the road to proceed on your 4-5 hour drive to Nyungwe National Park with lunch en route. Overnight at Emeraude Lake Resort.

Day 7: Chimpanzee Trekking — Canopy Walk

Have a morning breakfast then head out on a trek to find chimpanzees in Nyungwe National Park. You will be entitled to a 1-hour stay on finding the chimpanzees. After doing the chimpanzee trek, head for lunch at the hotel. After lunch, go back to Nyungwe National Park for a canopy walk and return in the afternoon for dinner. Overnight at Emeraude Lake Resort.

Day 8: Nyungwe National Park — Butare — Kigali

Have an early morning breakfast, then transfer back to Kigali where you will be dropped off at your hotel or at the airport to catch your flight back home.