6 Days Rwanda Primates Safari
This 6 days Rwanda Primate Safari is a great Rwanda safari designed specifically to offer visitors an encounter with Rwanda’s primates that is the endangered mountain gorillas and chimpanzees.
On this safari, you will do gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park. The adventurous hike through the forests of Volcanoes provides with an encounter with mountain gorillas in their natural habitat with one hour of being in their presence.
Another entertaining Rwanda primate safari activity is chimpanzee trekking in the forests of Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Safari Highlights
- Kigali City Tour
- Chimpanzee trekking
- Canopy Walk
- Gorilla trekking
- Gorilla Guardians village
Highlights of 6 Days Rwanda Primate Safari
Day 1: Arrival in Kigali City
Day 2: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park
Day 3: Chimpanzee Trekking and Canopy Walk
Day 4: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 5: Gorilla monkey trekking
Day 6: Visit the Gorillas Guardian Village and Departure
Detailed itinerary of 6 Days Rwanda Primate Safari
Day 1: Arrival in Kigali City
On arrival at Kigali City – the capital of Rwanda for your 6 Days Rwanda Primate Safari, you will be warmly welcomed by our driver guide and transfer you to your hotel in Kigali City.
Depending on the time of your arrival, you will have a short city tour visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial, Kandt Museum and the Craft Market.
Note: if you arrive in the morning or afternoon, you will have a city tour before transferring to your hotel and if you arrive late in the afternoon, you will directly transfer to your hotel.
Accommodation options
Budget – Silver Hotel Kibagabaga
Midrange – Mythos Boutique Hotel
Luxury – Four Points by Sheraton Kigali
Meal Plan: Dinner
Day 2: Transfer to Nyungwe forest national park
After enjoying breakfast at your hotel in Kigali city, you will embark on a journey to Nyungwe Forest National Park while enjoying scenic vista. Nyungwe Forest National Park is located in Southern region of Rwanda and along the way, you will have a stopover in Nyanza before proceeding to Huye for a tour at the Ethnographic Museum.
In Nyanza District, you will visit the Kings Palace Museum which is an alternative to the ethnographic museum. Both of these museums share Rwanda’s cultural history but the ethnographic museum has more items and wide coverage.
Arrive in Nyungwe forest later in the evening, proceed to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation options
Budget – Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge
Midrange – Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
Luxury – One & Only Nyungwe House
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Rwanda Chimpanzee trekking & Canopy walk
After breakfast, you will head to Nyungwe Forest for an intimate chimpanzee trekking experience. You will join fellow tourists for briefing about chimpanzee trekking experience, a ranger guide will take you through the rules and regulations to follow (You are expected to be at park’s headquarters as early as 05:00 am).
After the briefing, you will be head to either Uwinka trail head or the Cyamudongo trail head and head into the forests of Nyungwe looking for chimpanzees with armed rangers and guides. Nyungwe Forest is rich with botanical diversity and home to 13 species of primates including chimpanzees, Rwenzori Colobus, L’Hoest’s monkeys, Red tailed monkeys, silver monkeys, grey cheeked mangabeys among others.
When you locate the chimpanzees, you will spend one hour in their presence watching them play on tree branches, picking fruits, grooming each other among others. Also, you can take as many photos as you wish as long as your flashlight is off.
Return to the lodge for lunch and in the afternoon, you will return to the park for a canopy walk trail starting from the Uwinka trail head, canopy walk is done on a high suspended canopy walkway above the montane rainforests of Nyungwe. On the walk, you will enjoy views of the forest and primates such as olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys and many birds. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation options
Budget – Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge
Midrange – Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
Luxury – One & Only Nyungwe House
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
After breakfast, you will start the journey to Volcanoes National Park – home of mountain gorillas in Rwanda, along the way you will enjoy the winding roads and scenery of a thousand hill and Lake Kivu along the way. Along the way you will have en-route lunch, arrive in the evening, check into your lodge, have dinner after check-in and stay overnight.
Accommodation options
Budget – Muhabura Hotel
Midrange – Le bamboo Lodge
Luxury – Five Volcanoes
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park
After breakfast at the lodge, you will head to the jungle of Volcanoes National Park for gorilla trekking, you will join other trekkers at the park’s headquarters for briefing about gorilla rules and regulations to follow while in the forest and how to act while in the presence of gorillas.
You will be assigned a gorilla family to trek and in group of 8 people, you will head into the jungle looking for the gorillas, the trek takes about 30 minutes to 5 hours or more depending on the movement of the gorilla and where they spent their previous night. When you locate the gorillas, you will spend one hour in their presence watching them go on with their lives in the forest, see babies jumping on tree branches, silverbacks protecting their babies and the whole family among others, also you can take amazing pictures of the gorillas.
After one hour, you will trek back to the park’s headquarters where you will be rewarded with gorilla trekking certificates and head back to your lodge where you will spend the rest of day resting. Have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation options
Budget – Muhabura Hotel
Midrange – Le bamboo Lodge
Luxury – Five Volcanoes
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 6: Visit the Gorillas Guardian Village and Departure
After breakfast, you will head to the Gorillas Guardian Village for a cultural experience. you will get a deeper insight into about the lifestyle, cultures and traditions of the local people. You will be entertained by local dances and drama, take part in crowning of the king and the Queen among others.
Return to the lodge for lunch and later embark on a drive to Kigali city, you will be dropped off at the airport for your international flight back home or to your hotel.
End of 6 Days Rwanda Primate Safari
