Your affordable 5 days Rwanda wildlife safari is a rewarding 5 days wildlife safari in Rwanda, offering you amazing game viewing in Akagera National Park and a Chimpanzee tracking safari in Nyungwe Forest National Park, coupled with breathtaking scenery viewing plus fascinating culture and historical tours.
You begin your safari in Kigali, where you’ll visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial and come face to face with the heartbreaking history of the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
Next, go for a classic African safari experience in Akagera, which has Rwanda’s only savanna habitat and harbors a variety of animals, including rhinos, elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards, hippos, giraffes, zebras, crocodiles, antelopes, etc.
After your rewarding safari experience in the warm Savannah, you’ll visit Nyungwe, one of the oldest montane forests in Africa that is popular for its high concentration and variety of primates including over 500 chimpanzees. On your way to Nyungwe, you’ll visit the ethnographic museum and the Nyanza Royal Palace where you’ll be given a deep insight into Rwanda’s past and present cultures.
If you would like to book or customize this affordable 5 days Rwanda wildlife safari to suit your special safari interests – please let us know.
Day 1 & 2: Kigali Genocide memorial & Akagera National Park.
Day 3 & 4: Nyungwe National Park, Ethnographic Museum & King’s Palace
Day 5: Kigali – Departure
Day 1: Tour the Kigali Genocide memorial & transfer to Akagera National Park.
Day 2: Morning game drive & afternoon boat cruise in Akagera National Park
Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest. Visit Ethnographic Museum & King’s Palace.
Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking & Canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest
Day 5: Transfer Back To Kigali via Kibuye – Lake Kivu.
Your 5 days Rwanda wildlife safari begins at 8 am. Your trip driver guide will pick you up from your place of stay in Kigali and take you for the Kigali Genocide Memorial Museum tour.
Kigali is today one of the cleanest, safest, and friendliest African capital cities, however, just a few decades ago it was home to one of the most brutal genocides in the history of mankind.
The memorial was built to remember the victims and to educate people on the atrocities to ensure that this never happens again. It is an insightful but upsetting experience, so be prepared. From the memorial tour, take a city drive and visit local markets, art galleries, and craft centers plus other fascinating sites.
After the city tour, have a good lunch and then take a scenic 2½ drive east to Akagera National Park. The park has a remarkable conservation story and is home to Africa’s Big 5 animals. Its savannah plains are dotted with swamps and lakes, as well. You arrive at your lodge in the evening for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
The highlight of the Day: – Driving through the amazing countryside landscapes
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Ruzizi Tented Lodge/Magashi Camp
Midrange: – Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: – Dereva Hotel
Meal Plan: – Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance & time: – Approx. 135km/2 ½ hours
Activities & Services:-
Optional Activities in Akagera:-
Day two of your 6 days safari in Rwanda begins at 6 am with an early morning.
Then you go on a 3-4 hour morning game drive in the Akagera Savannah as the sun comes up. This is the ideal time of the day to see predators, and the sunrise over the Savannah plains is an unforgettable sight.
On the game drive, search for lions, rhinos, leopards, elephants, buffalo, hyenas, and others who graze freely in the park. Giraffes are commonly seen well as zebras, warthogs, waterbucks, roan antelopes, elands, topis, and impalas.
After the game drive, return to the lodge for lunch and some free time to relax.
In the afternoon, take a relaxing boat cruise on Lake Ihema. Watch hippos and crocodiles and spot more wildlife such as elephants and buffaloes, as they gather at the lakeshore to drink water. Keep an eye out for a variety of birds; the lake and its adjacent wetlands are home to about 500 different species.
Retire for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
The highlight of the Day: – Searching wildlife on a game drive
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Ruzizi Tented Lodge/Magashi Camp
Midrange: – Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: – Dereva Hotel
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services: –
Optional Activities:-
Enjoy a relaxed breakfast today and then take a 5-6 hour drive to the southwest of Rwanda. Drive through rolling hills and the beautiful scenery of the southwest as you make your way to the Cultural Heritage Corridor of Rwanda.
You make a stop in Nyanza and visit the reconstruction of the traditional King’s Palace, a wonderfully-crafted thatched dwelling.
Learn about the royal style and the authority of pre-colonial Rwanda Kings here. Explore into the ground and meet the royal Inyambo long-horned cows on the site and herders who sing to them. Then, wander the halls of the simple, modern home of the country’s last king.
Continue your drive south to the Ethnographic Museum in Huye for a broader look at Rwanda’s social-cultural history. Thereafter, enjoy a delicious lunch and complete your scenic drive to Nyungwe Forest. Nyungwe is home to 13 species of primates that account for 25% of Africa’s total including over 500 wild chimpanzees.
Tonight, relax at your lodge as you prepare for your Chimp trek tomorrow.
The highlight of the Day: – Exploring Rwanda’s rich cultural heritage
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – One & Only Nyungwe House/Nyungwe Forest Lodge
Midrange: – Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel
Budget: – Gisakura Guesthouse
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 320km/5-6 hours
Activities & Services:-
Day four of your 6 days Rwanda wildlife safari begins with an early breakfast.
Then transfer to the park’s visitor center to meet your excellent local park guide for a briefing. At 5.30 am, start your trek (2-5 hours) to see the chimps, and you’ll enjoy looking for other primates, birds, and animals along the way.
Your expert guide will teach you about the fascinating behavior of these endangered apes – our closest relatives in the animal world – and gain insights into current efforts to protect them. Upon reaching Chimpanzees, you will see them as they interact in their natural habitat. You have a full hour to enjoy these human-like creatures (we share 98.7% of our DNA with them) and you’re free to take as many photos as you wish!
Return to the lodge for lunch and some free time for relaxation. In the afternoon, go for an adventurous walk along a 70-meter high, 160-meter long Canopy Walkway that sways in the wind above Nyungwe National Park Forest.
The highlight of the Day: – Track wild Chimpanzees on foot
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Nyungwe Forest Lodge/One & Only Nyungwe House
Midrange: – Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel
Budget: – Gisakura Guesthouse
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services: –
Enjoy a relaxed breakfast today and depart for Kigali going via Kibuye and stopping over at Lake Kivu (one of the most beautiful lakes in East and Central Africa) for lunch. On arrival in Kigali, continue to the airport for your scheduled departure flight to mark the end of this amazing 5 day Rwanda wildlife safari.
The highlight of the Day: – The scenic drive to Kigali
Meal Plan: – Breakfast & Lunch
Drive Distance & Time: – 241km/5-6 hours
Activities & Services:-
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