9 Days Rwanda Safari, Gorillas & Wildlife Tour Overview

The 9 days Rwanda Safari will take you to explore the gifted nature of Rwanda, a beauty that keeps attracts thousands and hundreds of tourists to visit this small country branded as “Land of Thousand Hills”. From a comprehensive tour of Kigali City, Africa’s cleanest city, you will proceed to go for primate walks in Nyungwe Forest tracking the chimpanzees, colobus monkeys and bird watching, visit Rwanda’s one and only gorilla habitat, the Volcanoes National Park for the amazing gorilla trekking experience ending the safari with an awaiting big wildlife game drive in Akagera National Park. This 9 Days Rwanda safari starts and ends in Kigali.

Day 1: Arrival, Kigali City Tour, Transfer to Nyungwe

On arrival at the airport, your guide will welcome you warmly and brief you about the itinerary highlights of your 9 Days Rwanda Safari and primates tour. You will then proceed for Kigali city tour, where you will visit the Genocide Memorial Museum, craft markets and the Kimironko fruits markets where you have a chance to meet the local people and choose your fruit basket. The city tour will also include the old town of Nyamirambo, the new handicraft village and other shops, the Batwa pottery and dance center and the Gisozi Genocide Memorial. You will then have lunch and later get transferred to Nyungwe Forest National park, checking-in at Nyungwe forest lodge.

 

Day 2: Nyungwe Colobus Monkey Trails and Nature Walks

Wake up early in the morning, have breakfast and hike into Nyungwe forest tracking the Colobus monkeys and a comprehensive tour of other primate species with additional hissing sounds of over 280 bird species available in here. Guided nature walks and hikes will also give you a whole learning experience conducted by knowledgeable tour-guides well versed in botany, ornithology and interspecies relationship in this forest. Thereafter, return to your lodge for lunch. Dinner and overnight Nyungwe forest lodge.

 

 

Day 3: Chimpanzee Tracking in Nyungwe, Transfer to Kibuye

After having breakfast, this day will focus on the chimpanzees only as we hike into the Nyungwe forest to search for these primates. After successfully tracking the chimpanzees; return to the lodge for lunch, thereafter, connect to Kibuye for dinner and overnight in Kibuye Guesthouse or Hotel Centre Bethanie.

 

Day 4: Kibuye-Kinigi-Transfer to Volcanoes National Park.

After an early breakfast in Kibuye, we start our 4th day of the 9 Days Rwanda safari heading to Kinigi where Volcanoes National Park Headquarters are found. This is a 6hrs drive (213Km) featured with the most beautiful sceneries and spectacular views of the tea growing countryside of Gisovu and Kayove. You may ask for stopovers en-route to enjoy photographic moments and refreshment. In about 4 hours of the drive, we are into Gisenyi town for a brief city tour and later drive to 2hrs to Ruhengeri (former Musanze) which eventually introduces as to Volcanoes national park; the base of gorilla trekking in Rwanda. Dinner and overnight at Mountain Gorilla’s Nest / Kinigi Guest House.

 

Day 5: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Have an early breakfast and transfer to the park headquarters in Kinigi to attend to a gorilla trekking briefings from the park ranger guides. Immediately after the briefing, you will be driven off to the starting point of the trek where you will follow trails through the misty forest and the jungles of the Virunga conservation area. This experience in the wild is like no other and certainly one you will remember the rest of your life when you come face to face with the mountain gorilla family. You can only spend one hour with them after locating them after which you will start the trek back to the lodge. depending on the time spend searching for gorillas, you may go for evening community walks and interactions with the locals to get the most of your 9 days Rwanda Safari tour.

 

Day 6: Mount Bisoke Volcano Hike

After enjoying breakfast early in the morning, begin the hike for Mount Bisoke which leads you to the top of this volcano and an amazing spectacular crater lake. The trail traverses the rainforest inhabited by the endangered mountain gorillas that were the subject of the movie – Gorillas in the Mist with Dian Fossey. The hike to the Crater lake takes about 3 hours up and 2 hours down.

Put on long pants to avoid the stinging nettle plants along the trail. The Mt Bisoke hike is suitable for those who are reasonably fit! Return to the lodge for lunch and relax in the evening while discussing the day’s sightings! Dinner and overnight at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge.

 

Day 7: Transfer to Akagera National Park, Boat Ride on Lake Ihema

Wake up to a tasty delicious breakfast, and start a scenic drive to Kigali enjoying the rolling hills for which Rwanda is well-known for. From Kigali, you will transfer to Akagera National park, through the beautiful landscaping plains, composed of dense, broad-leafed woodland, lighter acacia woodland, and rolling grassland, also with an extensive series of lakes linked by papyrus swamps forming a sprawling wetland.

On arrival at the park, you will check in at the lodge, have lunch, and proceed for a boat ride on Lake Ihema, where you will have a closer look at aqua-mammals such as the crocodiles and Hippos, coupled with a large concentration of over 500 species of the bird life. Unique bird species such as Shoe billed stocks and papyrus gonolek are part of the list. Endemics include the jacanas, ibis, sandpipers, and herons. Return to Akagera Game Lodge for dinner and overnight!

 

Day 8: Akagera Game Drive

Game drives in Akagera always require you to wake up early in the morning. Therefore at about 6:00hrs, you will have breakfast and then join your guided ranger your safari game drive in the Akagera National Park. A half day game drive here will allow you the opportunity to spot a variety of wild animals such as elephants, buffalos, lions, Maasai giraffe, gazelles, impala, baboons, oribi, Buchtel’s zebra, topi, bush baby, leopard, and bushbucks. Have lunch and relax while having a discussion about the safari experience, and prepare for a flight back home.

 

 

Day 9: Return to Kigali

This day you can choose to wake up any time of the mid-morning, have breakfast and start your journey transfer to Kigali, do some shopping and later transfer to the airport and catch your flight back home to mark the end of your 9 Days Rwanda Safari Itinerary.

Thanks for interesting a trip with Visit and Tour Rwanda!