Overview
Welcome to this great Rwanda Safari that will take you to spend 8 days and 7 Nights discovering the Rwanda’s big five and primates. Take part in different activities such as game drives, hot air ballooning and boat cruise while in Akagera national park, gorilla trekking and golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes national park and chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe national park.
The big five animals are the lions, elephants, buffalos, rhinos and the Leopard whereas the primate are the gorillas, golden monkeys, chimpanzee, Black and white colobus monkeys, varvet monkeys, red tailed monkeys, olive baboons and many more others. The hot air ballooning adventure will offer you a chance to spot nature in an aerial view/eagle eye view
Detailed tour plan
Day 1. Arrival in Kigali city, Rwanda
Arrive in Kigali the capital city of Rwanda-the land of a thousand hills and be welcomed with a great view of different hills and the guide driver. Go through an amazing briefing about this safari to the big five and the primates.
The driver guide will help you to acquire all the requirement that you will need to use while on the safari and crosscheck your travel documents. Head to the booked hotel for your night stay and dinner.
Day 2. Transfer to Akagera National Park
Leave the hotel in the morning after a leisure breakfast and transfer to Akagera national park the only savannah national park in the land of a thousand hills. Have different stopovers for scenic viewing and on arrival, opt to take an evening game drive into the park to have a chance of spotting the impalas, giraffes, warthogs, hyenas, elephants, buffalo, jackal, lions, leopards, rhinos and many more others. Later on, head to the lodge for dinner and night’s stay.
Day 3. Hot air balloon tour and boat cruise
Begin the day early morning with breakfast and then a short drive to the starting point of hot air ballooning tour. Briefing will commence immediately and then the crew will take you to board the basket. The pilot will take you into the air to have an aerial view of the surrounding such as the hill and the savannahs.
There is a lot of wild animals that you will witness and see such as the warthog, elephants, rhinos, Masai giraffes, buffalos, leopards, cheetahs, impalas, topi and many more others. This experience takes about 2 hours and on landing, you will enjoy a glass of Champaign or juice. In the evening, take boat cruise on Lake Ihema one of the largest lakes in this amazing national park. The boat cruise takes about 2 hours and this gives you a chance of spotting the crocodiles, hippos and unique birds and many more others. Return to the lodge and this will be the end of the day.
Day 4. Game drive and transfer to Volcanoes NP
Have a morning game drive in the park premises that will last for 2 hours searching for different wild animals such as elephants, buffalos, giraffe, zebras, leopards, hyenas, lions, antelopes like bushbucks, Topis, Oribis, water-buck, duiker, klipspringer, Impalas and many more. After the experience, you will encounter a journey to Volcanoes national park a home to mountain gorillas and other wildlife.
The will be a chance of passing through the twin Lakes of Burera and Ruhondo with an opportunity of taking a canoe ride. Arrive at the lodge and prepare for the next day gorilla adventure.
Day 5. Gorilla trekking
Rise on breakfast and then a short drive to the park offices for briefing about this amazing tour to the gorillas. Be told about the dos and don’ts, materials you need to use, dress code, assigned park guide and more. Begin the trek as you spot different attractions like the birds, animals, plants and many more others
Meeting a gorilla family will reward you with a chance of learning their behaviors and movement for an hour following them since they don’t stay on one location. After the experience, you will head back to the lodge for leisure evening since the overall experience can take 4 to 8 hours.
Day 6. Golden monkey trekking and transfer to Nyungwe National Park
Like the previous day, wake up on breakfast and then embark on a short drive to park office for golden monkey trekking which will begin with briefing. Here you will be told to use flash light cameras since these primates enjoys them. Meet the golden monkeys in the bamboo trees as they jump from one tree to another. Trekking will last for about 4 to 6 hours including an hour in their presence.
Transfer to Nyungwe national park after lunch for another primate adventure and the journey here will take about 4 to 5 hours covering a distance of about 270km on road. The rest of the evening will be spent at the lodge to mark the end of the day.
Day 7. Chimpanzee tracking and canopy walk
Chimpanzee tracking experience will commence the day after breakfast and briefing. This experience will take you to learn about the behaviors and movements of these fellow cousins that share 98% of blood DNA. Spending an hour in the presence of chimpanzees teaches you lessons on how chimpanzees use tools, feed, play, groom young ones and many others.
In the afternoon, take a canopy walk which will give you a chance of to have an aerial view of the surrounding including the forest. Different monkey species will be jumping from one tree to another at the same time enjoying the bird’s melodies. Head back to the lodge to enjoy the last night of your safari.
Day 8. Transfer back to Kigali city and fly home
Prepare and check out from the lodge after breakfast and check out from the lodge. Transfer back to Kigali and be dropped at the airport for your flight back home and this marks the end of 8 days Rwanda big five and primate safari.