Itinerary details
Experience two of Rwanda’s best wildlife destinations – Volcanoes national park for mountain gorilla tracking experience and Akagera national park for game viewing.
Enjoy gorilla tracking, a once in a life time wildlife experience and a cultural tour while in volcanoes national park. The park lies in the virunga massif, a habitat for endangered mountain gorillas that have become a symbol and star attraction for Rwanda.
Akagera, the only savannah park in Rwanda provides unique opportunities for game viewing and a chance to see black rhinos. The park contains a large wetland that’s home to hippos and crocodiles. There are various activities that can be done according to your choice including game drive, bush walk, boat ride, and night game drive and community walk.
Day by Day itinerary
Day 1: Arrive and transfer to volcanoes national park
Arrive Kigali airport and greeted by our safari guide. Transfer to volcanoes national park in musanze Northern Province. Accommodation at luxurious Mountain Gorilla View Lodge/ Da vinci lodge overlooking the spectacular virunga volcanoes. Have dinner and overnight stay.
Day 2: Gorilla tracking and cultural walk
Have an early breakfast at 06:30 a.m. and head to kinigi where visitors are briefed on gorilla rules and allocated to one of the 10 habituated gorilla families for tracking in volcanoes national park.
By 08:00 a.m. you will transfer shortly from kinigi to the edge of the forest to start your gorilla tracking experience. Once gorillas have been found, visitors will be given 1 hour of taking photos and observing how gorillas feed and play in their natural habitat. Return to the forest edge and drive back to the lodge for lunch. After a short relaxation, go for a cultural tour at Iby’iwacu cultural village to gain insight into the history and culture of Rwanda including lifestyle of locals, their art and craft, their farming and cuisine. The tour features traditional Rwandan Intore dance performances before returning back for dinner and overnight stay.
Day 3: Transfer to Akagera national park
Transfer east of Rwanda to Akagera national park for evening game drive safari. En route in Butare you will stop for a short visit of the Nyanza palace continuing the journey and arrive at the lodge in the afternoon located inside the park. Refresh after check in before you go for a thrilling sunset game drive in Akagera national park home to over 500 bird species and 8 different species of antelopes along with elephants, buffalo, giraffe, hippos, crocodiles which live in the open, wooded savannah grassland plains, swamps, lakes and rivers. Akagera is the only savannah park in Rwanda. It’s also vital in the conservation of big five 5 mammals under the African parks project that has successfully restored black rhinos and lions making it a big five destination. Dinner and overnight stay at lodge of choice or Akagera Game Lodge/ Ruzizi Tented Camp.
Day 4: Game drive and boat ride
Today you have a full day of game viewing with an early morning game drive and afternoon boat ride. Go for an early morning game drive safari where you may spot animals like buffalo, elephant, giraffe, impala, zebra, klipspringer, oribi, eland,, monkeys, baboons, warthogs and waterbucks. In the afternoon explore Lake Ihema by a boat ride where you can spot hippos, crocodiles, water birds and elephants or leopards which come to drink water. Have Dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 5: Departure
Any activities on your last day will be determined by the departure flight time. You may wake up early for a final game drive safari in Akagera national park. After that, return for breakfast at the lodge and transfer to Kigali airport. Or you can depart for Kigali for a city visiting kigali genocide memorial and kaplacki craft market before you transfer to the airport for departure flight. End of tour.
