5 Days Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari

Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari – 5 Days

Overview | Highlights | Detailed Itinerary | Includes | Request Quote

Overview

This 5-day Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari will take you to Gorilla haven in the Volcanoes National Park to trek Mountain Gorillas; enable you to discover and enjoy the scenic beauty of the volcanic landscapes characteristic of this part of the country; provide an opportunity to trek the delightful chimpanzees and other primates; to have a go at the canopy walkway where your guts to withstand heights will be tested, and to visit the prominent memorial sites of the tragic genocide that occurred in Rwanda.

Safari Highlights

• The thrill of trekking Mountain Gorillas in the challenging forest terrain and the humbling experience of coming face to face with them as they feed, play, rest, and bond with their young
• An encounter with the delightful chimpanzees and watching them as they make awesome acrobatic maneuvers in the tree branches
• Discovering Africa’s other primates and wildlife, colorful birds, rare plants, and beautiful insects
• A test of your guts to withstand heights at the Nyungwe forest canopy walkway
• Listening to the horrific tales of the genocide that claimed more than 1,000,000 lives in Rwanda in the 1990s
• Viewing the mesmerizing and awesome features of the volcanic landscapes

Activity Schedule

Day 1: Travel to Nyungwe via Butale Kings Palace, Visit the tea plantation & factory.
Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking & Canopy walk.
Day 3: Trekking other primates in Nyungwe forest & transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park.
Day 5: Transfer to Kigali & City tour.

Safari Itinerary

Day 1: Travel to Nyungwe via Butare Kings Palace, Visit to tea plantation & factory

You will begin the Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari by traveling to Nyungwe Forest National Park. En-route you will visit the Butare Museum, Murambi Memorial and Nyanza Palace.

You will check in at the lodge of your booking near the National Park for lunch and in the afternoon take a tour to the adjacent tea factory to see how the locally grown tea is processed to become one of the finest products Rwanda has for export.

Dinner and overnight will be at your lodge.

Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking & Canopy walk

You will have an early breakfast and report to the Park headquarters for a briefing on Chimpanzee tracking rules. You will then start the trek in the forest with the guides to find the chimpanzees. The trekking is for 2 hours after which you will go for the famous Nyungwe Forest Canopy walk. The canopy walkway is suspended 50 meters in the air between big trees and stretches over a steep and deep valley across a massive forest cover offering breathtaking views across the misty forest.

You will have sightings at eye-level of a number of unique wildlife inhabiting the canopies including birds, butterflies, and several monkey species. For those who lack the guts for the canopy walk you can choose to go for a nature walk around the forest.

You will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Trekking other primates in Nyungwe forest & transfer to Volcanoes National Park

You will have an early Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari breakfast and make another visit to the forest to trek other primates such as Golden monkey, L’Hoest’s monkey, Angola colobus, Silver monkey, Hamlyn’s Monkey, Dent’s Mona Monkey, Red-tailed Monkey, Grey-cheeked Mangabeys, and Olive Baboon. You will also see various types of birds in the verdant flora of this ancient forest.

You will return to the lodge for lunch and later transfer to Ruhengeri town just outside the Volcanoes National Park.

Dinner and overnight will be at the lodge of your booking.

Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park & visit to Bulera and Ruhondo Lakes

This is the Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari peak day. You will have an early breakfast and join other tourists at the Kinigi Park headquarters at 08:00am for a briefing on the Gorilla tracking rules. You will be allocated a Gorilla family to track and guides to lead you to the Gorillas. The trekking is a strenuous exercise through thick jungle on steep terrain that is uneven, wet and often muddy for as many as 2-5 hours, depending on the location of the Gorillas.

Once sighted, you will spend a maximum of one hour with the Gorillas watching them as they feed, play, communicate and bond with their young. You will return to the lodge for lunch and some rest and set off to visit the magnificent lakes of Burera and Ruhondo whose deep blue waters are surrounded by high hills from which flow waters that create waterfalls that decorate the volcanoes in a spectacular way.

You will choose to have a canoe ride, do a village visit, go fishing using traditional methods or simply sit back and take-in the breathtaking scenery of the area.

You will return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Transfer to Kigali & City tour

You will have breakfast and set off for Kigali to visit the memorial sites scattered in various parts of the city. The memorial sites will include the Nyamata church and the Rwanda Hotel where people who had sought refuge as the genocide raged were butchered, the Gisozi genocide memorial where the remains of the dead are buried and you will finish with a visit the Presidential Palace Museum which was the place of residence for the Rwandan president, Juvenal Habyarimana, at the time of genocide.

Dinner and overnight will be at the hotel of your booking.

Requirements for this Safari

• A Visa for Rwanda which you can get at the airport
• Gorilla trekking permit paid for in advance
• Travel & Health insurance arranged by you in your home country before you travel.
• Yellow fever vaccination (certificate for proof)
• Physical fitness

The Safari package includes:

• Accommodation as per the itinerary
• 4WD safari vehicle
• Bottled drinking water
• Gorilla trekking permit
• Chimpanzee trekking permit
• Canopy walk fee
• Services of an English speaking driver/guide.
• Return airport transfers.

The Safari package excludes expenses of a personal nature such as:

• Other drinks apart from bottled water
• Laundry
• Tips to local guides
• Telephone expenses
• Porter fees while trekking Gorillas
• Personal insurance
• Cigarettes