5 Days Rwanda Gorillas and Wildlife safari
The 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari will take you to Akagera national park which is a savannah grassland protected area in eastern Rwanda harboring a wide variety wildlife animals including elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, buffaloes, elands, impalas, topi, waterbucks, hippos, Nile crocodiles primates like baboons, monkeys, among others and these will be viewed during the game drive and boat cruise on lake Ihema. From Akagera national park you will connect to Volcanoes national park in north western Rwanda where you will have an opportunity to participate in an adventurous gorilla trekking activity where you will view and spend one hour with the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. After the gorilla trekking experience you will wrap up your safari with a visit to the twin lakes of Lake Burera and Ruhondo where you will have great views bird species, beautiful scenery, terraced farmlands among others.
Highlights of the 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Akagera national park
Day 2: Game drive and boat cruise
Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park
Day 5: Twin lakes tour and departure to Kigali
Detailed itinerary
Day 1 of the 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari
Transfer to Akagera national park, upon arrival on the first day of the 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about your safari and then start the journey to Kigali for a city tour. During the city tour you will visit some of the interesting sites such as Kigali genocide memorial centre, a burial site where many victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide where buried and while at the memorial center you will listen to audios, and see photos of the victims. You will also visit Kimironko market where you will interact with the local vendors that will be selling different items such as crafts, food staffs among others. After the city tour you will have buffet in one of the restaurants in Kigali where you will taste different dishes in Rwanda and then start the journey to Akagera national park. The journey takes about 2 to 3 hours drive and upon arrival in the park you will go for an evening game drive where you will view some of the animals like giraffes, zebras, elephants, buffaloes, waterbucks, impala, elands among others. After the game drive you will drive to check in at the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise
Game drive, on the second day of the 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari you will have early breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to go for a morning game drive. During the game drive you will view predators like lions, leopards, hyenas, bush babies going back to their hideout areas and other animals like elephants, impala, topi, zebras, buffaloes, giraffes, rhinos, oribi, bushbucks, primates like olive baboons, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys and bird species like open billed stork, giant kingfisher, Senegal lapwing, squacco heron, grey crowned cranes among others which will be seen in savannah grassland. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Boat cruise, after lunch you will drive to the landing site for an amazing boat cruise on Lake Ihema which is Rwanda’s second largest lake. The boat cruise is done in three schedules the morning schedule, the day schedule, the sunset schedule and each boat ride schedule takes about 2 to 3 hours. During the scheduled boat cruise you will have great views of some animals like buffaloes, elephants and antelopes which will be drinking water along the lake banks, aquatic animals like hippos and Nile crocodiles and aquatic birds like the elusive shoebill stork, pied and malachite kingfisher, open bill storks, egrets, cormorants, fish eagles, plovers among others. After the exciting boat cruise you will drive back to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
After breakfast of the third day of the 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your guide to transfer to Volcanoes national park which is situated in north western part of Rwanda. On your way you will have en-route lunch and great scenic views of the hills, landscape, terraced farmlands, homesteads among others and upon arrival in the park you will continue to the lodge for an evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park
Gorilla trekking, after an early breakfast on the fourth day of your 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari you will carry packed lunch and your driver guide will pick you up to transfer to Kinigi park headquarters for a briefing about the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking. After the briefing you will be grouped into 8 people where each group is allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with the trails in the jungle. Grouping of individuals is however done according to personal preferences, age and physical fitness therefore in case you are not physically fit you are advised to communicate with your guide so that they allocate you a gorilla family that is easy to trek. Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park starts at around 8: 00am and takes 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on the location of the gorillas.
During trekking you will pass through muddy and slippery grounds in the forest where you will have great views of bird species such as Rwenzori turaco, handsome francolin, red faced woodland warbler, Archer’s ground robin, Rwenzori batis and other primates like black and white colobus monkeys, red tailed monkeys, olive baboons and animals like buffaloes, duikers, bush pigs among others. Once the gorillas are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with the gorilla family in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their habits, lifestyle, take photos and record the moments to show people back home. After the incredible experience with the mountain gorillas you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and after meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Twin lake tour and departure to Kigali
Twin lakes tour, after breakfast on the last day of your 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the twin lakes of Lake Burera and Ruhondo which are located at the foot of mount Sabyinyo, Muhabura, Bisoke and Gahinga. The twin lakes act as fishing grounds to the neighboring local communities and offer spectacular views of colorful birds, terraced farmlands, beautiful scenery, landscapes, hills, enjoy the cool breeze and take great pictures. After the twin lakes tour, you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Kigali international airport for your departure flight.
End of 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari
Inclusions of the 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Twin lakes visit
- Kigali city tour
- Park entrance fee
- Boat cruise fee
- Services of an English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled water
Exclusions of the 5 days Rwanda gorillas and wildlife safari
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, tips among others.
