12 Days Rwanda Safari Holiday: Gorillas, Chimps, Wildlife, Community Tours

12 Days Rwanda Safari Holiday Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Kigali

Our company representative will greet you warmly when you arrive at Kigali International Airport and transport you to your cozy lodging in Kigali city for relaxation, dinner, and an overnight stay.

Kigali is one of Africa’s most attractive, clean, and safest cities, known for its fascinating architecture, bustling streets, winding roads, and green hillsides. As the financial, commercial, and cultural hub of Rwanda, Kigali offers a wide range of accommodations, restaurants, and points of interest, including the Kigali Genocide Museum, markets, art galleries, and craft shops.

• Luxury: Serena Hotel Kigali, Radison Blue, Hotel Mille Collines
• Midrange: Hotel Chezlando
• Meal Plan: Dinner
• Activities & Services: Airport pickup and transfer to hotel

Day 2: Kigali Genocide Memorial and City Tour

Begin your day with a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, then visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which is built on the burial site of victims of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. The center is moving, educational, and inspiring, providing insight into the cause, tragedy, and subsequent rebuilding and reconciliation post-genocide. Over 250,000 of the deceased are buried here.

After the memorial, explore the city with visits to local markets, art galleries, and craft centers. Optionally, have lunch at Hotel des Mille Collines, one of Kigali’s historic landmarks. Return to your hotel for relaxation, dinner, and overnight stay.

Highlight of the Day: Learning about the tragic Rwandan genocide.

• Luxury: Hotel Mille Collines, Serena Hotel Kigali, Radisson Blu
• Midrange: Hotel Chezlando
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Activities & Services: Kigali Genocide Memorial visit, Kigali city tour

Day 3: Drive to Akagera National Park

After a relaxed breakfast, embark on a scenic 2-hour drive east to Akagera National Park. Enjoy a short game drive before checking into your lodge, where you can spot various animals and take in the beautiful scenery.

Akagera, the last refuge for savannah-adapted species in Rwanda, covers 1,122 square kilometers of savannah plains, woodlands, lakes, acacia forests, and wetlands. Crocodiles and hippos inhabit its watery basins, predators prowl through acacia groves, and elephants, zebras, giraffes, buffaloes, antelopes, and other animals roam the grassy plains.

After your game drive, relax and have lunch at the lodge. In the afternoon, take a boat trip on Lake Ihema to see crocodiles, hippos, elephants, buffaloes, and various waterbirds.

Highlight of the Day: A relaxing boat ride on Lake Ihema

• Luxury: Ruzizi Tented Lodge, Magashi Camp
• Midrange: Akagera Game Lodge
• Budget: Dereva Hotel
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Drive Distance & Time: Approx. 135 km / 2.5 hours
• Activities & Services: Drive to Akagera, game drive, boat cruise
• Optional Activity: Night game drive

Day 4: Morning Game Drive in Akagera

Start your day with an early morning game drive in Akagera National Park. Sunrise is the best time for wildlife viewing, as animals are most active during the golden hours. Explore various habitats to see the Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, and rhino.

Keep an eye out for hippos, crocodiles, zebras, warthogs, baboons, giraffes, topi, impalas, and more. Return to the lodge and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Highlight of the Day: Game drive in Akagera

• Luxury: Ruzizi Tented Lodge, Magashi Camp
• Midrange: Akagera Game Lodge
• Budget: Dereva Hotel
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Activities & Services: Morning game drive
• Optional Activities: Sportfishing, sunset boat cruise, night game drive

Day 5: Travel to Nyungwe Forest

After breakfast, embark on a 5- to 6-hour drive southwest to Nyungwe Forest, passing through rolling hills and beautiful scenery. Stop in Butare to tour the Ethnographic Museum, one of the finest in East Africa, and then proceed to Nyanza for a tour of the King’s Palace, the historical seat of the Rwandan kingdom. Meet the royal long-horned cows and listen to the amahamba songs sung by the herders. Explore the simple, modern home of Rwanda’s last king.

After lunch, continue your scenic drive to the biodiverse Nyungwe Forest National Park, one of Africa’s oldest forests and home to Rwanda’s sole remaining chimpanzee population, 12 monkey species, 322 bird species, and over 1,000 plant species.

Relax at your lodge, have dinner, and stay overnight as you prepare for tomorrow’s adventures.

Highlight of the Day: Exploring Rwanda’s rich cultural heritage

• Luxury: Nyungwe Forest Lodge, One & Only Nyungwe House
• Midrange: Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel
• Budget: Gisakura Guesthouse
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Drive Distance & Time: Approx. 320 km (5–6 hours)
• Activities & Services: Drive to Nyungwe, visit the Ethnographic museum, and visit King’s Palace

Day 6: Chimpanzee Trekking and Canopy Walk

Begin your day with an early breakfast, then transfer to the park’s visitor center at 5 am to meet your expert local guides. After a briefing, embark on a 2-hour trek in search of the resident chimpanzees. Nyungwe is home to over 500 chimpanzees. Along the way, look for other rare primates, birds, butterflies, plants, and orchids. Spend an hour observing the chimpanzees in their natural habitat.

After returning to the lodge for lunch and relaxation, take a 2-hour canopy walk in the afternoon. The 160-meter bridge is suspended between giant trees, 70 meters above the forest floor, offering incredible views of the forest canopy and sightings of monkeys and birds.

Highlight of the Day: Trekking for habituated chimpanzees

• Luxury: Nyungwe Forest Lodge, One & Only Nyungwe House
• Midrange: Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel
• Budget: Gisakura Guesthouse
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Activities & Services: Chimp trekking, canopy walk

Day 7: Morning Colobus Monkey Tracking and Leisure Time

Start your day with an early breakfast and transfer to the Park’s Visitor Center for an exciting adventure: colobus monkey tracking. These charming old-world monkeys form “super-groups” of over 400 members, a phenomenon unique to Nyungwe’s colobus monkeys.

The trek is not strenuous and begins at 8 am after a briefing. You’ll walk through lush tea plantations to a secluded forest patch to observe these beautiful primates leaping through the trees. Spend an hour with them before returning to the lodge for relaxation and lunch.

Enjoy the afternoon at your leisure, with optional activities like a community visit or a tea plantation tour to learn about tea cultivation and processing in Rwanda.

Highlight of the Day: Tracking the beautiful colobus monkeys

• Luxury: Nyungwe Forest Lodge / One & Only Nyungwe House
• Midrange: Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel
• Budget: Gisakura Guesthouse
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Activities & Services: Colobus monkey tracking
• Optional Activities: Waterfall hike, tea experience, or community tour

Day 8: Transfer to Lake Kivu—Gisenyi Town Relaxation

Begin with a leisurely breakfast before embarking on a 7-8 hour drive north. Travel through lush tea and coffee plantations along the scenic Congo-Nile Divide Trail to Gisenyi on the northern shore of Lake Kivu.

Known for its pristine beaches and warm, safe swimming waters, Lake Kivu is one of Africa’s Great Lakes and a wonderful destination for relaxation. Upon arrival, your driver will take you to your hotel to unwind after your adventures in Nyungwe.

Highlight of the Day: Scenic drive to Lake Kivu

• Luxury: Lake Kivu Serena Hotel
• Midrange: Paradise Kivu Resort / Hotel Gorillas Lake Kivu
• Budget: Hotel Paradis Malahide
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Drive Distance & Time: 294 km/7-8 hours
• Activities & Services: Transfer to Lake Kivu

Day 9: Relaxation at Lake Kivu and Evening Drive to Volcanoes National Park

Enjoy a free day to relax or explore Lake Kivu. You can swim in the hotel pool or the lake, tour Gisenyi town, or hire a boat to visit nearby islands. In the evening, take a 2-hour drive north to Volcanoes National Park, the Rwandan section of the Virunga Volcanoes.

These mountains, linked by fertile saddles formed by lava flows, are one of East Africa’s most striking sights. Their green-cloaked slopes are the last refuge for 604 of the world’s 1,063 endangered mountain gorillas. The park also hosts the rare golden monkeys, endemic to the Virungas.

Highlight of the Day: Boat cruise on Lake Kivu

• Luxury: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge/Bisate Lodge/Virunga Lodge
• Midrange: Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge
• Budget: Muhabura Hotel
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Drive Distance & Time: 110 km/2 hours
• Activities & Services: Transfer to Volcanoes

Day 10: Gorilla Trekking and Lodge Relaxation

After a morning breakfast at 6 am, head to the park offices to register for the gorilla trek. Following a briefing from expert local guides, you’ll be driven to the trailhead. Trekking can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 8 hours, depending on the location of the gorilla family.

The hike involves steep, muddy slopes, dense vegetation, and high altitude, requiring a general level of fitness. Spend an hour with the gorillas, observing their behavior. Note that it is forbidden to eat, smoke, or approach within 6 meters of the gorillas, as they are susceptible to human diseases.

After your time with the gorillas, return to the lodge for the rest of the day.

Highlight of the Day: Encountering rare mountain gorillas

• Luxury: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge/Bisate Lodge / Virunga Lodge
• Midrange: Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge
• Budget: Muhabura Hotel
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Activities & Services: Gorilla trekking

Day 11: Golden Monkey Tracking and Visit to Ibyiwacu Cultural Village

Today offers the chance to see the unique golden monkeys in the bamboo forests of Volcanoes National Park. The trek is relatively easy, and you’ll spend up to an hour observing these charming primates. After returning to the lodge for relaxation and lunch, visit Ibyiwacu Cultural Village, a replica of traditional Rwandan life. Ibyiwacu means “treasures of our home.”

Highlight of the Day: Tracking rare golden monkeys

• Luxury: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge / Bisate Lodge / Virunga Lodge
• Midrange: Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge
• Budget: Muhabura Hotel
• Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Activities & Services: Golden monkey trekking, Ibyiwacu Cultural Village visit
• Optional Activities: Dian Fossey hike, Mount Bisoke hike

Day 12: Leisurely Breakfast and Transfer Back to Kigali

Enjoy a relaxed breakfast at your lodge. Before heading back, explore the brightly colored shops of Musanze. Then, embark on a 2-3 hour drive back to Kigali. Upon arrival, proceed to the airport for your return flight, marking the end of your remarkable 12-day Rwanda safari holiday.

Highlight of the Day: Scenic drive to Kigali

• Meal Plan: Breakfast

End of the 12-Day Rwanda Safari Holiday