6 Days Rwanda Wildlife and Gorilla Safari
This 6 days Rwanda Wildlife and Gorilla Safari is one of our favorite Rwanda safari packages offering the most memorable safari in Rwanda, on this safari you will encounter wildlife including the Big Five (lions, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes and elephants) in Akagera National Park and mountain gorillas in their natural habitat in Volcanoes National Park which is an unforgettable encounter.
In addition to wildlife and mountain gorillas, you will enjoy scenic views of the thousands hills of Rwanda, meet the friendliest people and enjoy a boat cruise on Lake Ihema.
This safari starts from Kigali City and ends in the same city.
Safari Highlights
Kigali city tour
Game drive
Boat trip on Lake Ihema
Gorilla trekking
Highlights of 6 Days Rwanda Wildlife and Gorilla Safari
Day 1: Arrival
Day 2: Transfer to Akagera National Park and boat safari
Day 3: Full day game drive
Day 4: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 5: Mountain Gorilla Trekking
Day 6: Dian Fossey Tomb Hike and Departure
Detailed Itinerary of 6 Days Rwanda Wildlife and Gorilla Safari
Day 1: Arrival
On arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be picked up by our safari driver – guide and transfer to your hotel in Kigali City.
Depending on your time of arrival, you will have a short city tour in Kigali City visiting Key attractions/sites such as Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, craft centers, Kandt National Museum among others.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Four Points by Sheraton Kigali
Midrange: Hotel des Mille Collines
Budget: Urban by City Blue
Meal plan: Dinner
Day 2: Transfer to Akagera National Park and Boat Safari
After a relaxed breakfast, you will depart Kigali City for Akagera National Park located in eastern Rwanda. It is a drive of approximately 3 hours to Akagera and along the way you will have stopovers for photo moments of the beautiful landscape.
On arrival in the park, you will check in to your lodge, have lunch and later head to Lake Ihema in Akagera National Park for a boat safari. As you cruise on the lake, you will spot hippos, Nile crocodiles and a lot of animals such as elephants, buffaloes along the shores of the lake drinking water and a lot of birds.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Ruzizi Tented Lodge
Midrange: Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: Dereva Hotel
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Full Day Game drive
After breakfast, you will head to the park for a full day of exploring the park in search for the big animals thriving in the park like elephants, giraffes, buffaloes, lions and several antelope species. You will also encounter numerous species of birds such as Amur falcon, Beaudouin’s snake eagle, Black-crowned night heron, Blue-headed coucal, Blue-shouldered robin-chat, Blue-spotted wood dove, booted eagle, Brown-chested lapwing and Cabanis’s bunting among others.
Game drives in Akagera national park are mostly done in northern region of the park.
For lunch, you will return to the lodge and later return for another game drive exploring the park more till evening. After sunset, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
After breakfast, you will depart Akagera national park for Volcanoes national park home to Rwanda’s massive gentle giants. Volcanoes is located in Northern Rwanda about 3 hours from Kigali City in Kinigi, Musaze, along the way you will pass through Kigali city and you will have several stops at different view points for picture moments, also enjoy scenic views of thousands of hills.
Arrive in the park in the evening, check in at your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel
Midrange: Tiloreza Volcanoes Ecolodge
Budget: Hotel Muhabura
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5: Gorilla trekking safari
After breakfast, you will head to the park for mountain gorilla trekking experience. You will join fellow tourists at the park’s headquarters for briefing about mountain gorilla trekking, dos and don’ts, what to expect and how to act while in the presence of mountain gorillas.
In groups of 8 people, you will be assigned a gorilla family to trek and then head into the jungle of Volcanoes national park looking for mountain gorillas. The trek takes approximately 30 minutes to 5 hours or more of hiking through the mountainous terrain of Volcanoes national park on slippery and mud trails, the time taken depends on the movement of the gorillas and where they spent their previous night.
When locate the gorillas, you will only 1 hour in their presence watching them go on with their daily lives in the natural habitat, take pictures among others. Then trek back to the park’s headquarters to pick your gorilla trekking certificates, then head back to your lodge for an evening of rest. Later have dinner and stay overnight.
Day 6: Dian Fossey Tomb Hike and Departure
After breakfast, you will head to the park’s headquarters for a hike to the Dian Fossey’s grave. On this excursion you will learn more about Dian Fossey – an American primatologist and her work and contributions towards the conservation of mountain gorillas, return to the lodge for lunch and later check out and return to Kigali City.
You will be dropped off either at the hotel or at the airport for your flight back home.
End of 6 Days Rwanda Wildlife and Gorilla Safari
