9 Days Rwanda Primates and Wildlife Tour gives you a complete experience of primate trekking and wildlife viewing. During your 9 days and 8 nights in Rwanda, you will enjoy many memorable activities.
These include a tour of Kigali city, game drives and a boat trip in Akagera National Park, chimpanzee trekking and a canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest, and mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park.
This tour combines primates and wildlife to give you a full holiday in Rwanda. The trip begins and ends in Kigali.
Detailed 9 Days Rwanda Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Kigali City Tour
After a relaxed breakfast, explore Kigali, one of the cleanest and most peaceful cities in the world. A local guide will take you on a 2-hour city tour.
Places to visit include the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the Presidential Palace Museum (where former president Juvenal Habyarimana’s plane crashed), local craft centers, the Natural History Museum, and Hotel des Mille Collines.
Day 2: Drive to Akagera National Park & boat ride on Lake Ihema
After an early breakfast, leave Kigali and drive 130 kilometers (about 2.5 hours) to Akagera National Park in the east of Rwanda. Arrive in time for lunch at your lodge.
Later in the day, take a short boat trip on Lake Ihema, Rwanda’s second-largest lake. You will see hippos, crocodiles, and water birds.
Day 3: Morning game drive & transfer to Butare
After breakfast, go for a morning game drive in the open savannah of Akagera. This 2 to 3-hour drive gives you a chance to see animals such as elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, buffaloes, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, and many birds.
After lunch, leave Akagera and drive to Butare. This journey takes about 4 hours.
Day 4: Butare visit & travel to Nyungwe National Park
After breakfast, explore the Butare area. Visit the Royal Palace in Nyanza, where King Musinga and King Rudahigwa once lived. The traditional huts here are built in a unique local style.
You will also visit the Ethnographic Museum, which has many cultural items, and some genocide sites. After lunch in Butare, drive for about 3 hours to Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Day 5: Chimpanzee trekking & community visit
Have an early cup of tea or coffee, then attend a briefing on chimpanzee trekking. The trek starts at 8:00 am. You will walk for 2 to 5 hours through the forest looking for a group of habituated chimpanzees.
Once found, you will spend one hour with them. Watch how they behave and listen to their calls. You might also see other monkeys and birds along the way.
Return to the lodge for lunch and rest. In the afternoon or evening, visit a nearby village to meet local people and learn about their daily lives and traditions.
Day 6: Colobus monkey tracking & canopy walk
After breakfast, go for colobus monkey tracking in Nyungwe Forest. You may see one of the largest groups of these monkeys living in the wild. The walk takes 2 to 4 hours and includes one hour of observing the monkeys.
After lunch, enjoy the canopy walk, where you will walk on a suspended bridge high above the forest. This gives you a chance to see more monkeys, birds, and trees. Return to the lodge for the night.
Day 7: Travel to Volcanoes National Park
After breakfast, start the long drive to Volcanoes National Park, about 338 kilometers away. This trip takes around 9 hours. You will pass Lake Kivu and see the green hills of Rwanda along the way.
Lunch is served en route. When you arrive, check in to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park
Wake up early for breakfast and go to Kinigi Park Headquarters by 7:00 am for a briefing on gorilla trekking rules. You will be given a gorilla group to visit and will begin your trek with a park guide.
The walk takes between 2 to 6 hours depending on where the gorillas are.
Once you find them, spend one hour watching how they eat, play, groom each other, and live in their group. Take photos and enjoy the moment. After the trek, return to the lodge for lunch.
Later in the afternoon, visit Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village to learn more about the traditions of the local people.
Day 9: Golden monkey tracking & return to Kigali
After early breakfast, go for a briefing about golden monkey tracking. The trek starts at 8:00 am from Kinigi. You will walk through the bamboo forests to find the monkeys. Spend one hour with them, take pictures, and enjoy the experience.
After the trek, return to the lodge, check out, and your driver will take you back to Kigali for drop-off at the airport or hotel.
End of 9 Days Rwanda Primates and Wildlife Tour.
