Immerse yourself into the land of a thousand hills as you traverse through the picturesque view of our hills as you interact with the locals as they go about their daily business. As you drive through the hills you will notice Rwanda as being one the cleanliest nations in Africa. going through the natural beauty of the countryside, an encounter with the primates our very own cousins, meet the giants of the forest the mountain gorillas and have an experience of the big 5 diversity.
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Kigali, Kigali City tour & transfer to Akagera National Park.
A very warm welcome to Kigali-Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills! Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be picked up by our allocated Nyumbu Beyond Journeys safari guide and who will take you for a short visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial and city tour, then you will transfer you to Akagera national park a 2 and half hours journey filled with amazing sceneries of green banana plantations and local people going about their daily business, like local market rush hours of selling their farm produces.
As you get closer to the savannah, you will be warmly welcomed into the jungle where after entering the park, you will start off with an evening game drive in search of animals like the lions, kobs, elephants, buffalo, rhinos and many other antelopes that call the savannah home.
Day 2: Safari Game drive & Boat cruise
Embark on an exciting morning game drive in Akagera National park, Rwanda’s largest protected area. The park is a home to a diverse range of wildlife including the big 5, antelopes, giraffes, hippos, zebras among others. After lunch, embark on a relaxing boat cruise on lake Ihema, the second largest lake in Rwanda where you will spot hippos, crocodiles, a variety of bird species and enjoy the scenic view of the stunning lake scenery and surrounding hills. Return to the lodge for relaxation and refreshments as we prepare for the next adventure.
Day 3: Transfer game drive to Volcanoes National Park
After an early morning breakfast, you will be checked out of the lodge to embark on a morning game drive as you drive through the shores of the lake towards the exit of the park. As you exit you will be ushered into the true African brown mat towards the northern province through scenic hills watching the famers go about their daily routine as you watch birds flying through your window and African women with baskets on their heads. You will later be ushered into Musanze the tourist city with the magnificent views of the Virunga massive and mostly vibrant town as you drive through to your lodge. You will have an evening at ease as you will be getting ready for your big day to go meet the gorillas. Your guide will brief you to prepare you for the next day’s activity as it will be once in a life time memory moment dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Mountain Gorilla trekking & Ibya Iwacu Cultural Experience
Early morning after breakfast you will head out to the headquarters in Kinigi, where you will be briefed on the dos and don’ts while tracking, be assigned a ranger and grouped, then start off you walk to search for the little giants. Upon meeting them in their natural habitant, you will spend an hour with them photographing, filming and watching them play, feed and groom their young ones. You later descend back to the starting point where you will meet your guide to transfer to Ellen DeGeneres campus to learn about our conservation efforts and how she protected gorillas for us to be able to have them up now.
There after you will take a short drive to Ibya Iwacu for a cultural experience of the Intore dance which is performed by the former gorilla poachers and then to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Golden monkey and Transfer to Nyungwe
Early morning after breakfast you will head out again to go briefing and assigning of your golden monkey group to track and rangers at the Kinigi headquarters as you prepare to go tracking. After meeting these cheeky playful monkeys, you will then head back to the lodge check out have lunch and embark on yet another scenic journey by the beautiful shores of lake kivu as you transfer to Nyungwe national park where you will spend a night as you prepare for your next day activity. Dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Chimpanzee Tracking & Canopy walk
Early morning in the of 4am, you will head out of the lodge for briefing to start your tracking in search of the primates as you enjoy Africa’s oldest forest and the natural cool breeze. Once spotted, you will enjoy the active family of our close cousins playing jumping from branch to branch as they feed their little ones and groom. After tracking we transfer back to the hotel for lunch and a little relaxation.
To prepare for a canopy walk to go enjoy more of the natural forest to enjoy the tropical forest from the sky as we spot different monkey species and different bird from the Great Turaco to the Nyungwe endemics, experience tea peaking with the locals, later drive back to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Transfer back to Kigali
After breakfast, you will check out of the lodge to embark on yet a beautiful yet full filling journey back to the capital city Kigali as you are nearing the end of your tour. Visit the Nyanza Kings Palace to learn about the cultural heritage of Rwanda, after hit the road to Kigali and later transferred to the airport to catch up with your flight back home, as you mark an end of your 7 days in Rwanda.