Have a great time while discovering the best of Rwanda attractions in this 8 Days Rwanda Classic Safari where places like Nyungwe, Akagera and Volcanoes national parks will be fully visited and the main activities such as game drives, boat cruises, gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking and a forest canopy walk will be well participated in. Other attractions will be in the city of Kigali such as the local markets, museums, art and gallery centers, Kigali genocide memorial grounds and many more, Lake Kivu and the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. Enjoy the beautiful scenery covered with different hills hence the country called the land of a thousand hills.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Kigali city and city tour
Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, the driver guide will pick you up, takes you through briefing and immediately take a short Kigali city tour where you will encounter different attractions such as the Kigali genocide memorial grounds, the art and gallery Centers, local markets like Kimironko, churches and mosques and more others. Head to the hotel for your dinner.
Day 2: Transfer to Akagera NP
Transfer to Akagera National Park a home of the big five animals and the only savannah national park in Rwanda. The journey to the park will take about 3 hours but is very rewarding since it involves spotting beautiful landscapes covered with hills. Take an evening game drive where you will spot animals like zebras, Masai giraffes, warthogs, antelopes, lions and many more. Head to the lodge and this will be the end of the day.
Day 3: Full day in Akagera national park (hot air balling and boat cruise)
Take a full day discovering Akagera national park and this will include taking a hot air ballooning and afternoon boat cruise. The hot air ballooning will offer you a chance to explore the savannahs with an aerial view. There is a lot to explore during this day such as the hippos, crocodiles, lions, leopards, elephants, buffalos, antelopes, zebras, giraffes, warthogs and many more. The boat cruise takes place on lake Ihema and each experience takes about 2 hours.
Day 4: Transfer to Nyungwe National Park stopover at the former presidential palace
Leave Akagera national park and transfer to Nyungwe National Park with a stopover at the former presidential palace. This is a historical site where the former president died on this spot in an airplane crash. Take a tour of this amazing historical museum and proceed to Nyungwe National Park.
Day 5: Chimpanzee tracking and canopy walk
Have a briefing at the offices of the park after having a buffet breakfast at the lodge. Some of the aspects that will be covered during this briefing exercise are the rules and regulations such as don’t feed wild animals, always keeping a distance, don’t mimic or imitating, don’t feed and drinking in front of these primates and many more. Begin the experience under the great supervision of the park ranger guide. On meeting a troop of chimps, spend an hour with then head back to the lodge for a hot lunch.
Take part in the evening experience of the canopy walk where you get to discover the beautiful Nyungwe forest from an aerial view. The primates will be jumping from one side to another M as the birds sing in the air. This canopy is a bridge-like structure made of ropes and small timbers at a height of 70m and 160m long. Spend a maximum of 2 hours and be able to spot verve monkeys, colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, L’hoest monkeys and many more.
Day 6: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Leave Nyungwe Nation Park for Volcanoes national park and on your, visit Lake Kivu and take a short boat cruise, have lunch here and proceed to the park. Volcanoes national park is among the African oldest national park in Africa and home to two rare primates that is golden monkeys and mountain gorillas. This park is a great historical site for Dian Fossey a female researcher and primatologist that saved a good number of gorillas. Arrive and head straight to the lodge for your dinner.
Day 7: Drive to the park offices and Gorilla trekking experience
This will be the most exciting day of your 8 Days Rwanda Classic Safari which will begin early in the morning with breakfast and after a drive to the Park offices for briefing. This exercise is important since you will encounter the rules and regulations, the allocation of the gorilla family, the assignment of the park guide ranger, hiring a porter and many more. Begin the tour with the guidance of the park ranger guide as you will meet other attractions like the birds, trees, and small primates like varvet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys and many more. Meeting the group of gorillas called a family is a great opportunity where you will spend an hour in their presence as you take memorable photos. After the experience which can even last for 8 hours while in the jungle, you will head back to the lodge for leisure.
Day 8: Visit the twin lakes on the transfer back to Kigali
Have a delicious breakfast and then check out from the lodge followed by a transfer back to Kigali. Have a visit to the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo and have an optional canoeing experience where you will meet fishermen. Proceed to Kigali for lunch and later on be dropped at the airport and this will be the end of the safari.
