Overview
Take part in this 6 days primates and adventure safari in Rwanda where you will be able to visit the two national parks that is Nyungwe known for chimpanzees and Volcanoes known for gorillas. This safari will create a memorable experience as you take chimpanzee tracking, canopy walk, gorilla trekking and a community tour of Ibyiwachu cultural village.
You have an option of taking the city tour where different places like the local markets, presidential Palace museum among others will be visited.
Detailed itinerary
Be welcome by the assigned tour driver guide at the airport who will quickly take you to the hotel and in case you are interested in touring the city in case you arrived early, you will visit places like Gisozi genocide memorial centre, local markets and the presidential Palace museum. This will be the opening of the primate adventure in Rwanda.
Have a journey after your breakfast to Nyungwe national park where you will be able to take park in chimpanzee tracking and canopy walk. This great experience will reward you with a chance to spot the human close cousins that are chimpanzees that share 98% of blood DNA.
This park has 13 different primate species and you will be able to spot most of them, over 300 bird species, and also big mammals like the elephants, buffalos among others. This is the only national park where tourists can visit in Rwanda to spot chimpanzees. You will arrive and take your breakfast after this long journey from Kigali city.
Have a great morning filled with happiness after your breakfast as you head to the park offices of Nyungwe forest where you will receive a briefing, join other trekkers, and again acquire at least one park ranger that will take you into the forest to trek the Chimpanzees. You will then start the search as you wait for their calls to be able to locate them.
Trekking time is unpredictable because you cannot be specific about the location of the chimpanzees but what you need to know is that an hour will be granted to you while in their presence and this will be of great moment. You will, later on, return to the lodge where you will be served lunch and after have another great experience of a canopy walk where you will be able to spot different primates as they cross from one side to another. The canopy walk is a bridge on top of the forest offering incredible views of the forest, an experience that can last for 2 – 3 hours.
Transfer to Volcanoes national park the home of mountain gorillas located in the Virunga massif. This park has 10 habituated gorilla families that create a memorable experience for visitors on gorilla trekking.
This park is also known to be home of the graveyard of Dian Fossey, a female primatologist that was murdered in her home by unknown people but she saved the mountain gorillas and started the research center called Karisoke located between Karisimbi and Bisoke mountains. You will have leisure at the lodge of your arrival as you prepare for another great day of gorilla trekking.
Head to the park offices where you will meet other trekkers for briefing and acquiring required information before you start the trek. This will be guidance while taking this experience in the interior of the forest and this will be done by a park ranger or park Warden. The rules and regulations to follow be well stipulated such as the use of face masks, no feeding animals, no making noise, no use of flashlight cameras, keeping a distance as instructed by the ranger guide among others.
The guide ranger will take you into the forest while searching these great primates, the time to spot the mountain gorillas is unpredictable but since they move a long distance as they search for food. But as you get them, the time will be working around your clock and after an hour you will have an hour and then trek back into the starting point. The time you will spend in the presence of the gorillas will reward you with the best memorable moments. You will head to the Ibyiwachu community after lunch where you will learn about one of the unique African cultures that are the Kinyarwanda culture. They will entertain you with Kinyarwanda music and dances, enjoy the best of storytelling, and meet the traditional healer among others. This will be the end of the day after taking dinner at the lodge.
This morning, head to Lake Kivu after breakfast where you will spend the whole day enjoying the beautiful lake dotted with islands. Have a great opportunity of taking a boat cruise and visit the Rubavu town. This will be a great day as you relax and chill at the shores of largest lake in Rwanda.
Have breakfast on agreed time at the resort where you spent the night and thereafter transfer to Kigali city where you will board your scheduled flight and return home. This will mark the end of this 6 days Rwanda primate tour.