8 Days Rwanda Classic Adventure
Our 8 days Rwanda classic adventure is a breathtaking and extraordinary safari that will take you to all three national parks in Rwanda, which are Akagera National Park, which harbors abundant wildlife species such as elephants, buffaloes, impalas, elands, leopards, cape bushbucks, topi, zebras, giraffes, roan antelopes, lions, oribi, waterbucks, duikers, klipspringers, warthogs, hippos, crocodiles, and bird species like herons, papyrus gongs, fish eagles, bee-eaters, and malachite kingfishers, among others, that will be viewed during the game drive and boat cruise on Lake Ihema.
You will also visit Nyungwe National Park, where you will engage in an interesting canopy walk, which offers great views of the forest canopy and tree species, and bird species, and a primates like monkeys and chimpanzees trekking activity, which gives you an opportunity to spend one hour with the chimpanzees in their natural environment.
From Nyungwe National Park you will connect to Volcanoes National Park, where you will get an opportunity to view and spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas and golden monkeys in their natural habitat.
Highlights
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Akagera National Park
Day 2: Morning game drive and boat cruise
Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe National Park
Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Day 5: Transfer from Volcanoes National Park
Day 6: Gorilla trekking
Day 7: Golden monkey trekking and cultural tour
Day 8: Departure from Kigali International Airport
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to Akagera National Park;
Depending on the time of arrival, you will be welcomed by our driver guide, who will give you a short briefing about your safari and then start the journey to Akagera National Park. The journey to the park takes about 2 to 3 hours’ drive and on your way you will have great views of the beautiful landscapes, rolling hills, traditional homesteads, and local people, among others. Upon arrival in the park, you will continue to the lodge check in and have lunch.
After lunch you will go for an evening game drive in the savannah vegetation, where you will view animals like giraffes, elands, elephants, lions, buffaloes, warthogs, zebras, topi, impalas, bushbucks, baboons, vervet monkeys, waterbucks, oribis, roan antelopes, and reedbucks, among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Game drive and boat cruise
Game drive: After an early breakfast, you will meet up with your driver guide and go for a morning game drive where you will be able to view animals like elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, impalas, oribi, bushbucks, waterbucks, topi, elands, duikers, Bohor reedbuck, sitatunga, klipspringer, black-tailed mongoose, warthogs, bush pigs, predators like leopards, lions and hyenas if you are lucky, primates like vervet monkeys, bush babies, olive baboons, and blue monkeys, and bird species like lesser kestrel, Hadada ibis, cattle egret, grey-backed fiscal, pied crow, and long-crested eagle, among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Boat cruise: After lunch you will go for an exciting boat cruise on Lake Ihema, which starts at around 3:30 pm and takes about 2 hours. Lake Ihema is the biggest lake in Akagera National Park that harbors large concentrations of hippos and crocodiles, which will be seen in water, and views animals like elephants, warthogs, buffaloes, and waterbucks, among others, drinking water along the banks; water birds such as the prehistoric shoebill stork, papyrus gonolek, shoebill stork, malachite kingfisher, cormorants, bee-eaters, African fish eagle, open-billed stork, herons, and egrets, among others. After the boat cruise you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe National Park
After breakfast, check out of the lodge, and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Nyungwe National Park in southwestern Rwanda. On your way you will have en-route lunch and great views of beautiful scenery and homesteads, among others and upon arrival you will check into the lodge and have dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Chimpanzee trekking: After an early breakfast, meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for the briefing about the rules and regulations of chimpanzee trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a chimpanzee group to trek and a park guide who will be sharing information about the chimpanzees and also showing you trails to follow while trekking. Trekking of chimpanzees in the park starts at around 8:00am and takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees because they like to move from one place to another in search of food, especially during the dry season.
Once the chimpanzees are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat, which gives you an opportunity to take photos, record the moments, learn more about their lifestyle, habits, and behaviors, and watch them feed, play, and breastfeed, among others, which gives you incredible and unforgettable experiences on your safari.
After the one-hour encounter with the chimpanzees, you will trek back to the park headquarters, meet up with your driver guide and drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Canopy walk: After lunch you will go for an interesting canopy walk, which starts at the Uwinka reception center. The canopy is a 90-meter-long bridge above the forest and Nyungwe National Park is the only destination in East Africa offering this exciting activity. The canopy walk activity was opened in 2010, and the bridge goes through huge trees across steep and deep valleys filled with thick forest.
The canopy walk takes about 2 hours and offers you great views of the bird species, butterflies, primates like vervet monkeys, hoeste monkeys, blue monkeys, and black and white colobus monkeys, and tree species, among others.
After the amazing experience, you will trek back to the starting point, where you will meet up with your driver guide to drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
After an early breakfast, check out of the lodge, and your driver guide will pick you up to transfer to Volcanoes National Park. On your way you will have a stopover at Lake Kivu, where you will have fascinating views of the sunset, landscapes, animals, and bird species, among others, on the lake shores.
From Lake Kivu you will have an en-route lunch and then proceed with the journey to Volcanoes National Park, which takes about 4 to 5 hours to drive. Upon arrival in the park, you will continue to the lodge to check in and have dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park
Gorilla trekking: Have an early breakfast, carry a packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking.
Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park is done in a group of 8 people, where each group is allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with the trails in the jungle. Grouping of individuals is, however, done according to age, personal preferences and physical fitness; therefore, in case you are not physically fit, you are advised to communicate with your guide so that they allocate you a gorilla family that is near to trekking.
Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park starts at 8:00 am and takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on the location of the gorillas because they move from one place to another in search of food and once found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat.
During the one hour with the gorillas, you will have an opportunity to take photos, learn about their habits, lifestyle, and behaviors, and watch them carry out their daily activities, among other things. After the one-hour encounter with the gorillas, you will trek back to the park headquarters, meet up with your driver guide and transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Golden monkey trekking and departure
Golden monkey trekking: After an early breakfast, meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of golden monkey trekking. After the briefing you will start trekking in the forest, which takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on their location because they are active primates, which like to move from one place to another.
Once the golden monkeys are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment, where you will watch them jump from one tree to another, take photos, record videos, learn more about their lifestyle, behaviors, and habits, among others. After the one hour with the golden monkeys, you will trek back to the starting point and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the lodge for lunch.
For a cultural tour, after lunch you will go for a cultural tour in the neighboring communities, where you will visit the Ibyi’wacu cultural village. During the cultural tour you will have an opportunity to interact with the local people, learn about their culture and lifestyle, taste Kinyarwanda food and their locally brewed beer made from bananas, enjoy entertainment by the Rwandese women as they perform Kinyarwanda songs, dance, and music and drama, and listen to ancient stories about their culture and tradition, among others. After the cultural tour you will transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Departure to Kigali
Have a relaxed breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kigali for the city tour. During the city tour you will visit the Kigali genocide memorial center, where many victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide between the Tutsi and Hutus were buried.
While at the genocide, you will watch touching videos and images and listen to the stories of the victims. You will also visit Kimironko Market, which is one of the biggest markets in Kigali, where they sell craft items and food staff, like vegetables and fruits, among others; therefore, you will be able to buy some souvenirs or gifts. After the city tour you will go for a buffet in one of the hotels in Kigali and then transfer to Kigali International Airport for your next flight.
End of 8 days Rwanda classic adventure
Inclusions
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Canopy walk
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Golden monkey trekking permit
- Cultural tour
- Kigali city tour
- Park entrance fee
- Boat cruise fee
- Services of an English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled water
Exclusions
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, tips among others.
