This 10 Days Wildlife Safari Adventure in Rwanda is best for tourists who have enough time to explore Rwanda.
Day 1: Arrival & Hotel Transfer
You will be picked up from the airport and transferred to your hotel in Kigali from where you will wait for the test results. Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel 2000.
Day 2: Pickup & Transfer to Akagera National Park
You will be picked up from your hotel in Kigali and embark on the drive to Akagera national park which is now complete with all the big five animals. You will arrive the park in good time for lunch and embark on the afternoon boat cruise on Lake Ihema where you will see crocodiles, hippos and birds among others. Dinner and overnight stay at Akagera Rhino Lodge.
Day 3: Full Day in Akagera.
Wakeup to an early morning breakfast and set out for a game drive to catch up with the early risers and continue through the day exploring the south and northern ends of the park with different vegetation zones and specialties.
What you see depends on the day but you will be sure to catch sight of the Giraffes, Elephants and Buffaloes. Lions and the Rhinoceros are recent additions and you may be lucky to see some as well. Return to Akagera Rhino Lodge in the evening.
Day 4: Early morning game drive and transfer to Volcanoes National Park.
Rise up early and go for a game drive with great anticipation of seeing the different animals which rise early to graze and predators looking for their early morning kill. After the game drive, return to the lodge to freshen up and embark on your journey to Volcanoes national park with lunch en-route, arriving Ruhengeri in the evening. Dinner and overnight stay at Le Babou Gorilla Lodge.
Day 5: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park
Wake up to an early morning breakfast and transfer to the park headquarters for briefing at 7am. Your guide will give you highlights of specific details about the way of life of the gorillas you will be tracking. The hike can take anything from 1 to 7 hours.
Trekking through the steep, bamboo slopes and then finally coming across the gorillas camouflaged in the vegetation is an inspiring and privileged moment. Once you reach the gorillas, you are allowed to spend one hour with them as you stand 6 meters away.
Upon completion of this magical encounter, you will drive you back to the lodge where you can relax in the afternoon or go for another walk to visit one of the communities around.
Dinner and overnight stay at Le Babou Gorilla Lodge.
Day 6: Cultural Tour & Transfer to Gisenyi.
Breakfast will be served early and go for a visit to Ibyi’wachu cultural village for a tour that will immerse you into the traditional Rwandese way of life and transfer to Lake Kivu in Gisenyi where you will relax. Dinner and overnight stay at Paradise Malahide Hotel.
Day 7: Explore Gisenyi.
Have breakfast and explore Gisenyi including a visit to the local markets and surrounding villages and a rewarding boat cruise on Lake Kivu with lots of birds and beautiful beaches. Relax at the beach; Lake Kivu is known to have some of the best inland beaches in Africa! Or go for a walk to the Congo Boarder. Stay another night in Gisenyi at Paradise Malahide Hotel.
Day 8: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest.
Have breakfast at leisure and embark on a leisurely drive to Nyungwe forest national park with lunch en-route and stopovers as desired – maybe to stretch out or take a photo of the beautiful countryside. Arrive Nyungwe late afternoon and relax at Nyungwe NzizaEcoLodge.
Day 9: Chimpanzee Tracking & Canopy Walk
Enjoy breakfast and go for briefing before entering the forest, searching for the active and playful fellows in Nyungwe forest. The Chimpanzees are the easy to spot, as they jump from one tree to another, chattering and laughing.
Chimp tracking usually takes about 3 hours. You will then return to your accommodation for lunch. After lunch, you will go on a walking trail that will take you to the Canopy Walk, a swing bridge 50 meters in length that is suspended from large trees.
You will be able to see the amazing rainforest with a bird’s eye view, spotting wildlife moving about below you. Before night fall, you will return to Nyungwe NzizaEcoLodge for dinner as above.
Day 10: Return to Kigali & Departure
Enjoy breakfast at leisure and transfer back to Kigali. If the city tour wasn’t possible on the day of arrival, you will have a brief city tour and transfer to the airport for your onward flight.