5 Days Rwanda primates’ safari
The 5 days Rwanda primates safari in an amazing safari that will take you to Nyungwe national park where you will participate in chimpanzee trekking activity that will give you an opportunity to spend time with the chimpanzees. While in the park you will also engage in canopy walk where you will have great views of the forest canopy, tree species, bird species, primates like monkeys among others. The safari will also take you to volcanoes national park where you will get an opportunity to visit the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat and the interesting golden monkeys.
Highlights of the 5 days Rwanda primates safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Nyungwe national park
Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Day 3: Transfer to volcanoes national park
Day 4: Gorilla trekking
Day 5: Golden monkey trekking and departure
Detailed itinerary
Day 1 of the 5 days Rwanda primates’ safari
Transfer to Nyungwe national park, depending on the time of arrival on the first day of your 5 days Rwanda primates safari you will be welcomed by our driver guide at Kigali international airport who will brief you about your safari and then start the journey to Nyungwe national park in north western part of Rwanda. On the way you will have a stopover at the King’s Palace and Museum in Nyanza which formerly acted as the residence of King Mutara iii Rudahigwa. The King’s palace is shaped like a beehive and offers great views of long horned Inyambo cattle at the back which descended from the king’s heard and played an important role during ceremonies in honor of the King. You will also visit the museum in Nyanza which harbors different collections of Africa’s tradition materials. After the tour at the king’s palace you will have lunch and proceed with the journey to Nyungwe national park and upon arrival you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Chimpanzee trekking, on the second day of the 5 days Rwanda primates safari you will have an early breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for the briefing about the rules and regulations of chimpanzee trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a chimpanzee group to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest. Trekking of chimpanzees in Nyungwe national park starts at 8:00am and takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to know more about their lifestyle, habits, behaviors, watch them feed, play, take photos and record videos which gives you unforgettable experiences on your safari. After the one hour encounter with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters meet up with your driver guide and drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Canopy walk, after lunch you will go for an interesting canopy walk which starts at Uwinka reception centre. It’s an amazing 90meters long bridge above the forest and Nyungwe national park is the only destination in East Africa offering this exciting activity. The canopy walk activity was opened in 2010 and the bridge goes through huge trees across steep and deep valley filled with thick forest. The canopy walk takes about 2 hours and offers you with spectacular views of the bird species, butterflies, primates like blue monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, tree species among others. After the canopy walk you will trek back to the starting point where you will meet up with your driver guide to drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
After an early breakfast on the third day of the 5 days Rwanda primates safari you will check out of the lodge meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Volcanoes national park. On your way you will have a stopover at Lake Kivu where you will have great views of the landscapes, sunrise among others on the shores of the lake. From Lake Kivu you will proceed with the journey to Volcanoes national park with en-route lunch and the journey takes about 4 to 5 hours drive. Upon arrival you will continue to the lodge check in have 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 primates safari you will carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide 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, allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who will be sharing information about the gorillas and also conversant with the trails in the jungle. Grouping of individuals is done according to age, physical fitness among others therefore if you are not physically fit you are advised to communicate with your driver guide so that they allocate you a gorilla family that is easy to trek.
Mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park starts at 8:00 am and takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on the location of the gorillas and once found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat. During the one hour with the gorillas you will have an opportunity of learning about their habits, lifestyle, behaviors, watch them carry out their daily activities, take photos, record the moments among others. After the encounter with the gorillas you will trek back to the park headquarters meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Golden monkey trekking and departure
Golden monkey trekking, on the last day of the 5 days Rwanda primates’ safari you will have an early breakfast, meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of golden monkey trekking. After the briefing you will start trekking in the jungle which takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours or even more depending on their location because they are active primates that like to move from one place to another. Once the golden monkeys are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment which gives you an opportunity to watch them jump from one tree to another, learn more about their lifestyle, behaviors, take photos and record videos. After the one hour encounter with the golden monkeys you will trek back to the park headquarters, meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for lunch.
After lunch you will check out of the lodge, meet up with your driver guide and transfer to Kigali where the driver will drop you off at the airport for your next flight.
End of 5 days Rwanda primate’s safari
Tour includes
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Canopy walk
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Golden monkey trekking permit
- Services of an English speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled water
Tour excludes
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, tips among others.
