This 8-Day Rwanda Primates Safari Package starts and ends in Kigali, Rwanda. On this trip, expect to track the primates in Nyungwe Forest National Park, including the endangered chimpanzees, vervet monkeys, and numerous other primates.
You will view the rolling hills and valleys of magical Rwanda, meet face-to-face with the rare mountain gorillas in the famous Volcanoes National Park (Parc National des Volcans), plus experience a myriad of other cultural encounters at Gorilla Guardians Village, Kigali city, and more.
8-Day Rwanda Safari Highlights
- Day 1: Arrival, City Tour, and Overnight Stay in Kigali
- Day 2: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest
- Day 3: Chimp Trekking & Afternoon Canopy Walk
- Day 4: Drive to Lake Kivu
- Day 5: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park & Gorilla Guardians Village Visit
- Day 6: Gorilla Trek in PNV
- Day 7: Golden Monkey Trekking & Optional Activities
- Day 8: Transfer to Kigali & Departure
Detailed 8-Day Rwanda Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival, City Tour, and Overnight Stay in Kigali
Arrive in Kigali for your 8-Day Rwanda Primates Safari, check out, and meet your guide at the airport waiting lounge. Be driven to your hotel for check-in, a cup of coffee or juice, and a briefing about the entire trip.
Depending on your arrival time, you will take a short city tour and have the opportunity to visit different sites of historical and cultural significance.
These include the Kigali Genocide Museum, Kigali Craft Market, Belgian Monument, Presidential Palace Museum, and other historical features the city presents.
Day 2: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest
Depart Kigali city for Nyungwe after breakfast. Nyungwe Forest is located in the southwest province of Ruzizi near the border with D.R. Congo. En route, visit Ntarama and Nyamata genocide churches located just 20 km out of Kigali city.
Visit Murambi Genocide Memorial Museum and stop in Butare town (second largest to Kigali) to visit the National Museum, Ethnographic Museum, have lunch, and proceed to Nyungwe Forest for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 3: Chimp Trekking & Afternoon Canopy Walk
Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest begins early morning after breakfast. Get pre-trek instructions from park rangers and head to Nyungwe Forest for a magical encounter with these rare apes.
This may take up to 5 hours depending on the weather and movements of the chimps; but experienced trackers will endeavor to find them as soon as possible.
After chimpanzee tracking, trek back to the starting point, enjoy your delicious packed lunch, and head off to begin the canopy walk.
Nyungwe canopy walk is a specialized guided tour and only accessible along the Igishigishigi trail. Like nowhere else in East Africa, visitors in Nyungwe National Park can experience the rainforest from the canopy walkway, swinging 60 meters above the forest floor between giant trees and towers.
The iconic canopy walk presents firsthand and stunning views of the magnificent wildlife, lively nature, and birdlife resident in the forest.
Day 4: Drive to Lake Kivu
Have a relaxed breakfast and check out from your lodge in Nyungwe Forest. Begin your transfer to Lake Kivu – Rwanda’s largest lake and home to expansive white sand beaches, scenic islands, and luxurious resorts.
Arrive just in time for lunch, and spend the entire afternoon relaxing on a beach overlooking the shimmering lake. Or take a luxurious boat trip to explore the interior of the lake, inland islands, and interact with resident fishermen casting their nets to trap a catch of the day. Overnight at a resort on the shores of the lake.
Day 5: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park & Gorilla Guardians Village Visit
Leave Lake Kivu in the morning after a leisurely breakfast and drive further northwards to Rwanda’s famous and most sought-after national park, Volcanoes National Park.
The journey takes you through one of Rwanda’s finest rolling hills, valleys, and the towering Virunga ranges that mark the border between Uganda and Rwanda.
Upon arrival in Volcanoes National Park, have lunch at the lodge and spend the rest of your afternoon relaxing.
In the evening, go for the amazing cultural encounter at the famous Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village in the fringes of Volcanoes National Park. Iby’Iwacu highlights the nature and life of any typical traditional Rwandan village and portrays a wealthy Rwandan culture that has existed for centuries.
It also offers visitors a chance to mix and mingle with local people in their day-to-day activities. Get to know how Urwagwa – a local banana brew – is produced from the primary stage to the finished product. Visitors can even have a taste of the local beer. After this tour, return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Day 6: Gorilla Trek in PNV
Volcanoes National Park is a striking green swathe of impenetrable forest, a notably biologically diverse area in the world, and the famous home of the primatologist Dian Fossey.
On this day, begin with an early breakfast, and head off into the entwined and mist-shrouded alpine forest with rangers and experienced trackers who will help in finding the allocated gorilla family by tracing their nests or droppings.
Tracking these majestic apes goes through thick and completely natural rainforest while scrambling over mossy rocks and through deep undergrowth.
It can be arduous and uncomfortable at times, but the sheer joy of that close encounter with the gorillas for the first time is undeniably worth it all.
Meeting and seeing mountain gorillas in their natural habitat creates memories that will last a lifetime.
After spending at most one hour with the mountain gorillas, trek back to the trailhead, enjoy your box lunch/snacks, and link up with your guide who will drive you back to the hotel.
Spend the afternoon relaxing or visit the twin lakes – Bulera and Ruhondo. These are historical lakes located at the base of Mount Muhabura, in the north of Rwanda. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.
Day 7: Golden Monkey Trekking & Optional Activities
Have breakfast at 7:00 am and be driven to the park headquarters for a briefing, before finally penetrating into the mist-shrouded jungles of Volcanoes National Park (Parc National des Volcans).
Just like gorilla trekking, only 8 individuals are permitted to view a specific troop of golden monkeys per day. The adventure lasts between 1-5 hours, depending on the movements of the golden monkeys.
While in the forest, you can encounter other resident primates such as the red-tailed monkeys, blue and black colobus monkeys, vervet monkeys, olive baboons, and forest mammals, including buffaloes, elephants, bush babies, bush pigs, and numerous bird species.
Retreat back to the lodge for lunch after the golden monkey trekking adventure. This afternoon, undertake any of the optional activities; either hike to the Dian Fossey grave and learn about the history of this legendary primatologist or visit the historical Musanze Caves on the outskirts of the park to learn about its magical historical facts and resident bats.
Day 8: Transfer to Kigali & Departure
You will have an early morning breakfast and then transfer to Kigali via the beautiful hills of northern Rwanda. It takes approximately 2.5 hours to drive to reach Kigali city, tour some historical sites that you might have missed on the first day, or go shopping in Rwanda’s craft markets. Connect to Kigali airport in the evening for your return flight.
End of 8-Day Rwanda Primates Safari.
