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7-Day Birding & Wildlife Safari in Rwanda

Rwanda, Eastern Province, Kigali
Not Rated
Duration

3 Days

Tour Type

Daily Tour

Group Size

Unlimited

Languages

English, Francais, Kinyarwada, Swahilii

Overview

The 7-day Birding and Wildlife Safari is an excellent birdwatching tour option in Rwanda. It allows you to visit Nyungwe Forest National Park, Akagera National Park, and Rugezi Swamp, all of which are Important Bird Areas (IBAs). The tour package starts and ends at Kigali International Airport and offers a chance to explore the nearby Volcanoes National Park.

Highlights

  • Day 1: Upon arrival, travel to Akagera National Park
  • Day 2: Spend a whole day spotting birds in Akagera National Park
  • Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park
  • Day 4: Enjoy a full day of birdwatching in Nyungwe Forest
  • Day 5: Observe birds in Nyungwe Forest National Park, and consider an optional chimpanzee trek
  • Day 6: Travel to the Musanze Area in the northwest of Rwanda
  • Day 7: Participate in a morning birdwatching safari in Rugezi Swamp, and then head to Kigali.

Itinerary

Day 1: Drive to Akagera National Park

Meet and greet by Ikaze Rwanda Tours & Travel and your birding guide for a quick briefing about your 7-day birding and wildlife safari. Later, set off to Akagera National Park for an evening birdwatching tour. Look for over 500 bird species, including the papyrus gonolek and several other water birds. The park has 44 species of raptor and palearctic migrants, such as the common snipe (gallinago media), lesser kestrel (falco naumanni), and northern lapwing (glareola nordmanni). On this day, you will also encounter several animals, including elephants, buffalos, leopards, hyenas, giraffes, zebras, lions, bushbucks, topis, oribis, waterbucks, klipspringers, impalas, and cape elands. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 2: Full Day Birding in Akagera National Park

After breakfast, make your way to Akagera National Park for an entire day of birdwatching. You will have the chance to spot a variety of birds, such as the amur falcon, beaudouin's snake eagle, red-winged francolin, blue-shouldered robin-chat, booted eagle, brown-chested lapwing, cabanis's bunting, carruthers's cisticola, crested barbet, denham's bustard, short-tailed pipit, dimorphic egret, Eleonora's falcon, grasshopper buzzard, northern brown-throated weaver, souza's shrike, and papyrus gonolek. Later in the day, you can take part in a boat safari on Lake Ihema to look for various water birds and aquatic creatures, such as crocodiles and hippos.

Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park

Have an early morning breakfast and embark on a long drive from Akagera National Park to Nyungwe Forest National Park via Kigali. During this journey, you will drive through traditional homesteads and rolling countryside landscapes.

Day 4: Full Day Birding in Nyungwe Forest

This is a significant day of your 7-day birding and wildlife safari. You wake up early to have breakfast and embark on a journey to one of the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Rwanda. Your goal is to spot more than 310 bird species, out of which 27 are limited in range to the Albertine Rift.
Nyungwe Forest National Park is home to a diverse range of birds, including:
● Rwenzori turaco
● Grauer's rush warbler
● Shelley's crimsonwing
● Regal sunbird
● Archer's robin-chat
● Red-throated alethe
● Purple-breasted and blue-headed sunbirds
● Kungwe apalis
● Ruwenzori apalis
● Alethe poliophrys
● Batis diops
● Yellow-eyed black flycatcher
● Ruwenzori batis
● Black-and-white-casqued hornbill
● Stripe-breasted tit (Parus fasciiventer)
● Ruwenzori nightjar
● Red-collared babbler
● Neumann's warbler
● and several others

Day 5: Birding in Nyungwe Forest NP / Optional Chimpanzee Trekking

After breakfast, you can return to Nyungwe Forest National Park for another birding safari. This is a great opportunity to search for some of the birds that you might have missed the previous day. Alternatively, you can choose to participate in one of the following optional activities:
● Chimpanzee trekking: This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these amazing creatures up close. Chimpanzees are highly intelligent and social animals, and they are sure to amaze you.
● Canopy walk: This is a thrilling experience that allows you to see the forest from a whole new perspective. The canopy walk is suspended high above the ground, and it offers stunning views of the trees and the surrounding landscape.
● Colobus monkey tracking: Colobus monkeys are beautiful and graceful creatures, and they are sure to delight you. Colobus monkeys are active and playful, and they are always up for an adventure.
No matter what you choose to do, you are sure to have an unforgettable experience in Nyungwe Forest National Park.

Day 6: Transfer to Musanze Area, North of Rwanda

Enjoy your breakfast and then journey to Musanze, which is situated in the northwest of Rwanda. During your trip, you will make various stops to observe different bird species. As you traverse the Congo Nile Trail and Lake Kivu, you will have the opportunity to spot several kinds of birds, including but not limited to the following:
● Southern red bishop
● Common waxbill
● Red-chested sunbird
● Hadada ibis
● Crimson-rumped waxbill
● Scarlet-chested sunbird
● Spectacled weaver
● Striated heron
● Variable sunbird
● Black-headed weaver
● Black-headed heron
● Sacred ibis
● Red-billed firefinch
● Yellow-fronted canary
● Holub's golden weaver
● Little bee-eater
● Bronzed manakin
● Yellow-bellied waxbill

Day 7: Morning Birding Safari in Rugezi Swamp & Transfer to Kigali

After breakfast, you can head over to Rugezi Swamp, which is also an Important Bird Area (IBA) in Rwanda, to enjoy another bird watching expedition. While you're there, keep an eye out for a variety of bird species, including:
● Papyrus gonolek
● Papyrus canary
● Papyrus yellow warbler
● Carruthers's cisticola
● Grauer's swamp-warbler
● White-collared oliveback
● Slender-billed starling
● Yellow-browed citril
● Thick-billed seedeater
● Baglafecht weaver
● White-winged scrub-warbler
If your flight isn't until later, you can opt for a canoe ride on the twin lakes of Ruhondo and Bulera to spot a range of water birds, such as:
● Pied and Malachite kingfishers
● Hammerkops
● Darters
● Storks
● Grey crowned cranes
● African fish eagles
● Herons
● Cormorants
Afterwards, you can transfer to Kigali to conclude your 7-day birdwatching and wildlife tour in Rwanda.

Included/Excluded

  • Park fees
  • All activities
  • A professional driver/guide
  • All transportation
  • All Taxes/VAT
  • Pick up and drop off
  • Meals
  • Drinking water
  • International flights
  • Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
  • Tips
  • Personal items
  • Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees

Durations

Full day (7+ hours)

Tour's Location

Rwanda, Eastern Province, Kigali
Book for This Tour

Inquiry

Organized by

ikaze

Member Since 2023

Information Contact

Email

info@czt.co.rw

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