8 Days Rwanda Wildlife Safari
On this 8 days Rwanda wildlife safari offers you the ultimate Rwanda Wildlife Experience with some of the most remarkable wildlife sightings you will ever see in Africa, you will visit, explore and experience the 3 national parks of Rwanda that is Volcanoes national park – home to mountain gorillas, Akagera National Park – the only savannah national park in Rwanda and home to Big Five and Nyungwe Forest National Park -home to chimpanzees and other 12 primate species including black and white colobus monkeys, olive baboons among others.
Safari Highlights
Game drive
Boat ride
Chimpanzee tracking
Canopy Walk
Gorilla tracking
Brief itinerary of 8 Days Rwanda Wildlife Safari
Day 1: Arrival at Kigali International Airport
Day 2: Transfer to Akagera National Park + Boat safari
Day 3: Full day game drive
Day 4: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park
Day 5: Chimpanzee Trekking and canopy walk
Day 6: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 7: Gorilla Trekking
Day 8: Departure
Detailed itinerary of 8 Days Rwanda Wildlife Safari
Day 1: Arrival to Kigali International Airport
Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be warmly welcomed by our representative and transfer you to the hotel in Kigali City.
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 + Boat Safari
Have early breakfast and head to Kigali City for a short city tour visiting Kigali Genocide memorial site where you will learn some history about these horrific massive killings. Later embark on a journey to Akagera National Park with short stopovers along the way for photos and using the washrooms.
Arrive in time for lunch which you will enjoy at the lodge after check-in, in the afternoon you will head to Lake Ihema for a thrilling boat safari, lookout for hippos, crocodiles and many water birds. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Ruzizi Tented Lodge
Midrange: Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: Dereva Hotel
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Explore Akagera National Park
Have early breakfast and head to the park for a full of day of exploration on morning and afternoon game drives, Akagera National Park is home to several big mammals which are only found in this park.
During the game drives you will have a chance of spotting a variety of wildlife including lions, leopards, cape buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, zebras, waterbucks, bushbucks, oribis and many birds.You will have lunch at your lodge then return to the park for an afternoon game drive, exploring and enjoying more sights of animals. After sunset, you will turn to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation options
Luxury: Ruzizi Tented Lodge
Midrange: Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: Dereva Hotel
Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4: Transfer to Nyungwe forest national park
After breakfast, you will depart for Nyungwe Forest National Park in Southern Rwanda with a stopover in Huge formerly known as Butare for lunch, Huye hosts the ethnographic Museum of Rwanda formerly known as the national Museum of Rwanda. Here you will learn about the culture and history of Rwandan people and history of this beautiful country, arrive in the forest later in the evening, check into 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 5: Rwanda Chimpanzee Tracking and Canopy Walk
After breakfast, you will head to the park’s headquarters for briefing about dos and don’ts about how to act while in the forest and presence of chimpanzees, be assigned a chimpanzee community (either Uwinka trail head or Cyamudongo Sector) to trek and head into the forests looking for the playful chimpanzees.
Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest National Park is done early in the morning so visitors have to be at park’s headquarters as early as 5.30 am, the forest is home to 13 species of primates like like L’Hoest’s monkeys, Rwenzori Colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys and grey cheeked mangabeys which you will encounter along the trek.
When locate chimpanzees, you will spend one hour in their presence taking pictures and watching them go on with their in the forest and take pictures. Then trek back to the park’s headquarters then to the lodge for lunch, in the afternoon you will be transferred to Uwinka Center to start your canopy walk on a metallic bridge suspended above the forest canopy enjoy the scenic views of the surrounding and primates such as black and white colobus monkeys among others.
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 6: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
After breakfast, you will checkout of the lodge and start on your journey to Volcanoes National Park in Northern Rwanda, you will have en-route lunch and enjoy sights of Lake Kivu and the winding roads.
Arrive in the park in evening, check in at your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.
Accommodation options
Budget – Muhabura Hotel
Midrange – Le bamboo Lodge
Luxury – Five Volcanoes
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 7: Gorillas in the Mist
After early breakfast, you will head to the park’s headquarters in Kingi for briefing, be assigned a gorilla family to trek, a ranger and be grouped into 8 people. Head to the starting point and head into the forests of Volcanoes national park in search for the endangered mountain gorillas, the trek takes about 30 minutes – 6 hours or more hiking through the thick forest jungle.
Expect to see other forest creatures such as chimpanzees, olive baboons and many birds, when you locate the gorillas you are allowed to spend one hour in their presence taking pictures, watching them care and groom each other, young gorillas play fighting with each other’s and take amazing pictures and videos.
Return to the park’s headquarters to pick your gorilla trekking certificates then head either back to your lodge or to The Gorilla Guardian’s Village for a cultural experience, you will be entertained by local dances and drama, taste some of the local cuisines, learn how make local beer for bananas and taste some of the it. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation options
Budget – Muhabura Hotel
Midrange – Le bamboo Lodge
Luxury – Five Volcanoes
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 8: Departure
This is the last day of the safari, after breakfast you will check out the lodge and transfer to Kigali City with drop off either at the hotel or at the Airport for your flight back home.
END OF 8 DAYS RWANDA WILDLIFE SAFARI
