Overview
Take this great day of 10 days Rwanda Safari where you will explore the best national parks of primates and savannah. You will get involved in gorilla trekking, golden monkey trekking, canopy walk, chimpanzee trekking, boat cruise, visiting Kigali city among others.
All these will be done in Volcanoes national park, Akagera national park and Nyungwe national park. This safari also covers part of culture where you will visit the Iby’Iwachu cultural village and you will discover one of the African cultures.
Detailed itinerary
Arrive and take a short city tour where you’ll visit different destinations like the local markets, former presidential Palace, genocide memorial grounds among others. This will be done after briefing and acquiring all the required materials that you might want to use while on this safari. This will depend on the time you arrive in Kigali city of Rwanda.
Have a drive to Akagera national park where you will be able to take an evening game drive that will introduce you to differentwildlife such as elephants, buffalos, zebras, leopards, hyenas, lions. It is home to several antelopes likeTopis, Oribis, water-buck, duiker, klipspringer, Impalas among others. Akagera national park is found in Eastern part of the country and gets its name from River Akagera that pours its water in LakeIhema.
Take a morning game drive in the plains of the park and this will grant you with an opportunity of spotting early raisers before they go into the hid out areas. Many wildlife animals will be discovered such elephants, buffalos, giraffe, zebras, leopards, hyenas, lions. It is home to several antelopes like bushbucks, Topis, Oribis, water-buck, roan antelope and duiker, klipspringer, impala among others. In the afternoon, you will take a boat ride on the lake Ihema where you will be able to spot the hippos and crocodiles.
Head to home of 13 primates Nyungwe national park where you will be able to take two main activities and these are chimpanzee tracking and canopy walk. This is one of the unique national parks in Rwanda and has boosted Rwanda tourism economy. Nyungwe forest is the largest Afro-montane forest. Other primates in Nyungwe national park apart from Chimpanzees include L’Hoest’s Monkey, Owl-faced monkeys, Red-tailed monkey, crowned monkey, Dent's Mona Monkey, and Vervet Monkey among others.
Like any other park rule, you will head to the offices of the park where you will join another trekker after your breakfast for briefing. Be told about the guidelines while trekking such as no feeding animals, no mimic among others. Continue to the forest while walking with a help of the park ranger guide to start the search of these chimps. Meet them and start recoding memorable photos as they move, feed, take care of the young ones among others. This will take an hour while in their presence and then transfer to back to the lodge, be served with lunch and then you will go for a canopy walk where the bridge is suspended 70m high and 160m long.
It gives a great experience where primates like the vervet monkeys, colobus monkeys, and red tailed monkeys keep jumping from one tree to another crossing the bridge as the birds in the forest make different sounds.
Move to another exciting destination where you will take a drive to the famous volcanoes national park a home to mountain gorillas. This park has 10 habituated gorilla families that are open to trekkers. This park also known to host 5 of eight of the Virungavolcanoes. Additionally, the park is a home to the graveyard of Dian Fossey, a female researcher primatologist who started Karisimbi research center with 2 tents with an aim of saving mountain gorillas that that were about to get extinct. You will have different stopovers. Arrive and head to the booked lodge where you will spend your nights.
Head to the park office on this day where you will receive briefing and the necessary information before trekking day starts. You will be told about the dos and don'ts while on trekking these gorillas to make them remain wild and to make your life comfortable without attack from the wild animals. These among others include, not feeding animals, no littering and no making noise.
Return to the lodge after this great moment which will be followed by visiting the Iby’Iwachu cultural village where you will learn about African Kinyarwanda culture through the dances, music, and storytelling among others.
Take a drive to the offices of the park for briefing and then head into the forest to trek these beautiful primates. You will enjoy their presence as they jump from one tree to another and you will notice that some of them don't have tails that are cut while jumping from one bamboo to another. They also tend to draw closer while taking photos using flash light cameras.
An hour while in their presence will create memorable experience and the overall experience takes about 3 to 4 hours. You will return to lodge and have leisure time for the rest of the evening.
Take a drive to the twin lakes where you will enjoy the boat cruise, relax while sun bathing. These lakes are found between the border of Uganda and Rwanda on the outskirts of Musanze at the base of mount Muhabura.
These lakes are separated by a land that extends for a kilometer apart. You have an option of taking bird watching in Rugeziswamp. Or you can take fishing by joining the local fishermen on a single timber canoe.
This will be the last day of your safari where the day will begin with breakfast at the resort Hotel and then embark on the journey to Kigali city at the airport to board your flight back home hence the end of the tour.