This 10-Day Rwanda Safari Adventure lets you explore Rwanda’s highlights in detail. You will visit historical sites, take part in cultural activities, view wildlife, and take in Rwanda’s hills along the way.
The 10-day group trip covers Volcanoes National Park, where you’ll hike to the gravesite of primatologist Dian Fossey, Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda’s primate capital, Akagera National Park, the country’s wildlife park, and cultural stops in Butare and Kigali.
10-Day Best of Rwanda Safari Highlights
- Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Akagera National Park
- Day 2: Behind-the-scenes experience, afternoon boat cruise and evening game drive
- Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
- Day 4: Gorilla trekking and Iby’Iwacu cultural experience
- Day 5: Dian Fossey grave hike and Twin Lakes visit
- Day 6: Transfer to Lake Kivu
- Day 7: Boat cruise and drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park
- Day 8: Morning nature walk and afternoon birding experience
- Day 9: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
- Day 10: Transfer to Kigali
Detailed 10-Day Best of Rwanda Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival and Transfer to Akagera National Park
On arrival, your safari guide will meet you at Kigali airport. If time allows, take a short city tour of sites with cultural and historical significance.
These include Kigali’s modern buildings, which reflect the city’s steady growth, the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the Presidential Palace Museum, Kimironko market, or the Nyamata and Ntarama genocide memorial churches on the outskirts of the city.
Have lunch, then transfer in the evening to Akagera National Park, in eastern Rwanda. Arrive in the evening, check in to your lodge, and have dinner.
Day 2: Behind-the-Scenes Experience, Afternoon Boat Cruise and Evening Game Drive
Wake up early for the Behind-the-Scenes experience in Akagera National Park. Park officials walk you through Akagera’s history as Africa’s second-oldest national park after Virunga National Park in the DRC, along with the park’s anti-poaching methods, conservation work, and its tracking room, which monitors the park’s lions and eastern black rhinos.
Return to the lodge for lunch, then take an afternoon boat cruise on Lake Ihema, Rwanda’s second-largest lake after Kivu. The cruise brings sightings of crocodiles, hippos, buffalo, antelope, elephants, and a wide range of water birds along the shore.
After the cruise, return to the lodge for dinner. In the evening, take a game drive to look for the park’s more elusive residents, including lions, leopards, hyenas, and other nocturnal species, along with elephants, buffalo, antelope, and birds returning to roost.
Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Have a relaxed breakfast while taking in the plains of Akagera National Park, then begin the transfer to Volcanoes National Park in the far northwest, Rwanda’s only park with mountain gorillas and home to over a quarter of the world’s mountain gorilla population.
The drive takes about 5 to 6 hours, arriving in the Virunga-based park in the afternoon. Have lunch at your lodge and spend the evening resting, with views of the Virunga range.
Day 4: Gorilla Trekking and Iby’Iwacu Cultural Experience
After breakfast at 6:30 am, prepare for an encounter with the endangered mountain gorillas. Volcanoes National Park is home to both mountain gorillas and golden monkeys, along with at least 6 other primate species, 113 mammal species, over 200 butterfly species, and 360 bird species, including several Virunga endemics.
Trekking time is unpredictable and can run 2 to 8 hours, plus the one-hour encounter once you find the gorillas. The park’s terrain is steep, and trekkers should be prepared for boggy, sloped ground and possible rain, but the encounter with the gorillas makes the effort worthwhile.
After the trek, return to the lodge to rest ahead of an evening community visit to the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village, on the edge of Volcanoes National Park. Learn about Rwandan farming practices, how local banana brew is made, and how millet is ground into flour, before returning to your hotel.
Day 5: Dian Fossey Grave Hike and Twin Lakes Visit
Have breakfast, then take a scenic hike to Dian Fossey’s grave, one of Rwanda’s more moving historical sites, honoring the researcher who spent her life working to protect mountain gorillas from poaching.
Descend back to your lodge for lunch, then visit the Twin Lakes, Burera and Ruhondo, in the evening. The lakes sit at the foothills of Mount Muhabura. Take in the scenery, or take a sunset canoe trip to explore the lakes further, before returning to the lodge.
Day 6: Transfer to Lake Kivu
Have a relaxed breakfast, then head to Gisenyi in Rwanda’s western province, home to Lake Kivu, Rwanda’s largest lake and Africa’s eighth-largest freshwater lake. Lake Kivu sits within the Albertine Rift, along the border between the DRC and Rwanda.
Lake Kivu is a popular spot for leisure activities, set against pine-covered hills. The lake offers calm waters, strong bird life, and several islands, along with activities such as speed boat cruises, water skiing, canoeing, windsurfing, and fishing.
Rest for the evening, with dinner and an overnight stay at the lodge.
Day 7: Boat Cruise and Drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park
Have breakfast, then take a sunrise boat cruise to see the lake’s islands, including the largest inland island in Africa, along with local fishermen and bird life. Alternatively, relax with coffee on your balcony overlooking the lake.
Afterward, check out and transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park, a large protected rainforest in Rwanda’s western Ruzizi province.
Nyungwe holds the highest number of primate species in Rwanda, up to 13, including chimpanzees, red colobus, red-tailed monkeys, and grey-cheeked mangabeys.
The drive takes about 2 to 3 hours through forest, plantations, and scenic countryside, with views of the Virunga range and the Congo Blue Mountains in the distance.
Day 8: Morning Nature Walk and Afternoon Birding Experience
Nyungwe has several well-maintained trails, including the Imbaraga, Kamiranzovu, and Umuyove Trails, all popular for bird watching.
Today follows the Igishigishigi Trail, Nyungwe’s best-known route, starting at Uwinka park headquarters and continuing to the canopy walk. The trail runs 2.4 km and takes about 2.5 hours to complete, including the canopy walk.
Along the way, watch for primates in the treetops, along with bird and butterfly species in their natural habitat.
In the afternoon, take a birding excursion through Nyungwe, Rwanda’s top bird watching destination, with over 300 species recorded, including 27 Albertine Rift endemics and several Rwenzori endemics.
Dense forest cover can make some sightings harder to get, but the range of species here rewards patient birders.
Day 9: Chimpanzee Trekking and Canopy Walk
Have an early breakfast at your lodge before setting out for the day’s main activity. Chimpanzees are Nyungwe’s best-known residents, though the forest holds a wider range of wildlife too.
Nyungwe is home to up to 13 primate species, making it Rwanda’s primate capital. It’s one of the only places where visitors can spot grey-cheeked mangabeys and Rwenzori colobus monkeys, along with owl-faced monkeys, blue monkeys, L’Hoest’s monkeys, and Mona monkeys.
After the trek, relax at the lodge, or take a cultural walk to visit nearby communities.
Day 10: Transfer to Kigali
Have a relaxed breakfast, then drive south to Kigali, stopping in Butare, Rwanda’s second-largest city, for a cultural visit to the Ethnographic Museum in Nyanza, with lunch along the way.
Continue to Kigali. If you didn’t take a city tour on day one, take one this evening, including a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which documents the 1994 genocide.
Visit the Kigali craft market for souvenirs before your guide drives you to Kigali International Airport for your onward flight.
End of 10-Day Rwanda Safari Adventure.
