Day 1: Arrival in Kigali for the 6 Days Rwanda Primates Tour)

You will arrive in Rwanda and be met by our welcoming driver guide to brief you on the major highlights and plan of the 6 days Rwanda primates tour. After, you will transfered to your hotel to check in and have lunch. Thereafter, you may decide to go for a  Kigali city tour to explore the cleanest city in Africa and its major tourist attraction sites. Some of the sites to visit will include the Kigali genocide memorial center, Richard Kandt Museum, and the art and crafts market. Depending on your arrival time, you may choose to will start on city tour before transfer to your hotel or else be directly transferred to your hotel unpon arrival.

Accommodation Options: Kigali Serena Hotel (Luxury) Hotel des Mille Collines (Midrange) 2000 Hotel ( Budget)

Transfer to Nyungwe forest national park (6 Hours Drive time)

Wake up early to a morning breakfast at your hotel/lodge and then take on a 6 hours journey to Nyungwe Forest National park from Kigali. Nyungwe forest is located in southern Rwanda en route to Burundi and some parts of the Congo. The breathtaking picturesque journey will be enshrined with amazing photographic stopovers along the way to reward you with unforgettable memories of your Rwanda primates tour. Your first short stopover will arrive at Nyanza before proceeding to Huye to tour the ethnographic museum. Besides the mentioned stopovers, you can still discuss with your driver guide on which of the museums to stop at depending on your interests. They both share Rwanda’s cultural history but the ethnographic museum has more items and wide coverage. After the enthnographic musuen tour, you will have lunch in either Nyanza or Huye depending on which museum you visited. Later in the evening, you will eventually arrive in Nyungwe forest national park and checkin for dinner and overnight at the lodges available.

Accommodation Plan: Gisakura Guest House, Nyungwe Forest Lodge. Nyungwe Top View Hotel

Chimpanzee Trekking in Nyungwe Forest

Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park is an intimate experience with the forest and its inhabitants. Your driver guide will transfer you from your lodge to the briefing area in the forest where you are expected as early as 5.00 am. Depending on how big the group is for tracking on the particular day, the ranger guide will divide the group so that one starts the Uwinka trail head and the other at Cyamudongo trail head. The ranger guide will share chimpanzee trekking tips for you while in the forest. In case you need to drive to starting point depending on the trail head you were located, your driver guide will be waiting to transfer you.  The forest is rich with botanical diversity and home to 13 species of primates including Ruwenzori colobus, L’Hoest’s monkeys, Red-tailed monkeys, silver monkey, grey-cheeked mangabey etc.,about 300 bird species with a number of Albertine rift endemics and several butterfly species.

In the afternoon – you can optionally a tree canopy walk in Nyungwe or choose to stay at the lodge to reminisce from the chimp trekking adventure.

Accommodation Plan: Gisakura Guest House, Nyungwe Forest Lodge. Nyungwe Top View Hotel

Transfer to Volcanoes National Park, Ruhengeri

Early in the morning, have breakfast and start on your 6 hours journey to Volcanoes National park which is the home to over 400 mountain gorilla species. Enjoy the winding roads and scenery of “a thousand hills” and the breeze humid of Lake Kivu along the way. We arrive at your hotel later that evening – rest enough ready for the gorilla trekking experience waiting you tomorrow.

Accommodation Plan: Five Volcanoes, Mountain gorilla view lodge, Gorillas Nest Lodge,

Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park will most certainly be your highlight on this 6 days Rwanda primates tour. The experience coming face to face with the gentle giants in their natural habitats will remain with you forever. After an early morning breakfast, you will carry your day pack and the driver guide will transfer you to the briefing point. As you wait for quorum, enjoy the Rwandan traditional dance of Intore and a hot Rwandan coffee. You will be given gorilla trekking tips especially on how to conduct yourself in the jungles and thereafter allocated a gorilla group to track.  you start journey to meet the mountain gorillas in the dense jungles of the Virunga ranges. Your ranger guide in communication to earlier trackers will lead you to where the gorillas are. The trek can last from an hour to several hours depending on where the gorillas nested the previous night – you need to be relatively fit to enjoy this experience.

Depending on the time the gorilla tracking lasts, you have opportunities for a cultural group performance at Iby’Iwacu cultural village or we can take this on tomorrow before leaving for Kigali.

End of 6 day Rwanda Primates Tour

Wake up with memories of the previous day in the jungle with mountain gorillas. After a lazy morning or visit to the Iby’iwacu cultural village, have lunch and then start your journey back to Kigali for your departure flight back home.

Gorilla Trekking and Chimpanzee Tracking tips

• Mountain gorillas live at high altitude and this may cause difficulties for some visitors. You should pace yourself and drink plenty of water.
• Rain gear because the weather can be unpredictable, you can generally expect both sun and rainfall during the day.
• Carry a day pack with food and water but remember that eating, drinking and smoking near the gorillas is forbidden – designated time and place will be communicated.
• Warm clothing is advised especially early morning or evenings and the trekking is done at high altitude
• Recommended clothing is long trousers and long sleeved sweaters or shirts while in the forest to avoid insect stings.
• Water proof hiking boots are essential
• Photography is permitted, although you must not use flash
• Porters are available to help you carry your day pack for a small charge.