7 Days Rwanda primates tour
This 7 days Rwanda primates tour is a thrilling adventure which will give you an opportunity to visit the two primate national parks in Rwanda. During the safari you will visit Nyungwe national park where you will participate in chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk, Volcanoes national park in north western part of Rwanda where you will engage in trekking of the endangered mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, visit Ibyiwacu cultural tour and wrap up the safari with twin lakes tour.
Highlights of the 7 days Rwanda primates tour
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Kigali
Day 2: Transfer to Nyungwe national park
Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Day 4: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
Day 5: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park
Day 6: Golden monkey trekking and cultural tour
Day 7: Twin lakes visit and departure
Detailed itinerary
Day 1 of the 7 days Rwanda primates tour
Transfer to Kigali, depending on the time of arrival at Kigali international airport on day 1 of the 7 days Rwanda primates tour you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will brief you about your safari and then start the journey to Kigali for the city tour. During the Kigali city tour you will visit Kigali genocide memorial centre where you will see the graveyards, listen to audios and see photos of the victims who died during the 1994 Rwanda genocide. You will also visit craft centers where they sell art pieces, handmade crafts like sandals, baskets, mats among others. After the city tour you will drive to the hotel where you will have dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Transfer to Nyungwe national park
After breakfast on day 2 of the 7 days Rwanda primates tour, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge and start the journey to Nyungwe national park in the south western part of Rwanda. On the way you will have a stopover at the King’s Palace where you will have great views of the long horned Inyambo cattle at the back of the palace which descended from the King’s heard and they played an important role during ceremonies in honor of the King. You will also visit the Museum in Nyanza where you will view collections of Africa’s tradition materials. After the tour at the King’s palace and Museum you will have lunch and then proceed with the journey to Nyungwe national park and upon arrival you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Chimpanzee trekking, after an early breakfast on day 3 of the 7 days Rwanda primates tour you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the park headquarters for the briefing about chimpanzee trekking rules and regulations. After the briefing you will be allocated a chimpanzee family to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest. Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe national park starts at 8:00am and takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on where the chimpanzees are located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During chimpanzee trekking you will view various bird species, plants, butterflies among others and 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, behaviors, take photos and record videos. After the one hour encounter with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters, meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the lodge for lunch.
Canopy walk, after lunch you will go for an exciting canopy walk which is 90meters long above the forest. The canopy walk was opened in 2010 and Nyungwe national park is the only forest offering canopy walk in East Africa. The activity starts at Uwinka visitor’s center and goes through huge trees across the steep and deep valley filled with thick forest and takes about 2 hours. During the canopy walk you will have spectacular views of the bird species like barred long tailed cuckoo, Ruwenzori turaco, white bellied robin chat, stripe breasted tit, butterflies, primates like l’hoest monkeys, red tailed monkeys, grey cheeked mangabeys, 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 transfer to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
On day 4 of the 7 days Rwanda primates tour, you will have breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Lake Kivu where you will take pictures and have great views of the terraced hills, farmlands among others on the lake shores. After scenic views at Lake Kivu you will have en-route lunch and then proceed with the journey to Volcanoes national park which takes about 4 to 5 hours drive. Upon arrival you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park
Gorilla trekking, after an early breakfast on day 5 of the 7 days Rwanda primates tour, 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 because each gorilla family in the park allows a maximum of 8 people to visit each day. You will also be allocated a park guide who is well conversant with trails in the forest and then start trekking which takes 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on the location of the gorillas. Once the gorillas are found you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to learn about their habits, behaviors, take photos, record the moments among others. After the one hour 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 6: Golden monkey trekking and cultural tour
Golden monkey trekking, on day 6 of the 7 days Rwanda primates tour you will have an early breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of golden monkey trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a golden monkey family to trek and a park guide who will be sharing information about the golden monkeys and also showing you clues to follow. Golden monkeys feed on bamboo shoots and leaves therefore during trekking you will be following clues of the leftover bamboo shoots.
golden monkey trekking takes 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on their location and once found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to take photos, watch them jump from one tree to another, learn about their lifestyle, behaviors, record videos among others. After the one hour encounter with the golden monkeys, you will trek back to the park headquarters where you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for lunch.
Cultural tour, after lunch you will go for a cultural tour in Ibyi’wacu cultural village which is situated outside Volcanoes national park. During the cultural tour you will have an opportunity to interact with the local people where you will know about their lifestyle, way of living, taste their traditional food, learn how local beer is brewed from bananas, enjoy traditional dances and songs from Rwandan women, listen to ancient traditional stories among others. After the cultural tour you will transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Twin lakes tour and departure
Twin lakes tour, on day 7 of the 7 days Rwanda primates tour you will have a relaxed breakfast and 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. While at the twin lakes you will view fishermen and have spectacular views of the colorful birds, terraced farmlands, beautiful scenery, hills, enjoy the cool breeze and take great pictures.
After the twin lakes tour, you will drive back to the lodge for lunch where after you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kigali international airport for your next flight.
End of 7 days Rwanda primates tour.
Tour includes
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Canopy walk
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Golden monkey trekking permit
- Cultural tour
- Twin lakes tour
- Kigali city tour
- 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.
Tips for Chimpanzee and Gorilla trekking
- Hiking shoes
- Garden gloves
- Long sleeved shirt and trouser
- Insect repellent
- Water proof rain jacket
- Warm sweaters
- Cotton long stockings
- Water proof back pack to carry your equipment’s
- camera
- Drinking water and packed lunch from the lodge
- Walking stick
- Hiring a Porter who will help you carry your equipment’s and gives you a pull or a push in steep and slippery areas.
