Arrive in Kigali, where your private guide welcomes you and transfers you to your hotel. Depending on arrival time, explore a cultural space, gallery, or memorial site, or simply rest after your flight. The evening allows you to settle into Rwanda’s calm rhythm before beginning your full-country safari journey.
After breakfast, travel east to Akagera National Park, Rwanda’s restored savannah wilderness. The route shifts from city scenery to rolling plains, lakes, wetlands, and woodland. Arrive at your lodge in time for lunch or afternoon relaxation, followed by a short game drive if time allows, introducing Akagera’s wildlife-rich landscapes.
Spend the day exploring Akagera with your guide. Morning game drives search for lions, rhinos, elephants, buffalo, giraffes, zebras, antelope, and rich birdlife across plains and woodland. In the afternoon, enjoy a boat safari on Lake Ihema, where hippos, crocodiles, waterbirds, and lake scenery bring a softer rhythm.
Leave Akagera after breakfast and begin the scenic journey toward Nyungwe Forest. This is a longer travel day, moving across Rwanda’s changing landscapes, with optional stops for lunch, photography, or cultural points of interest. Arrive near the rainforest, settle into your lodge, and rest before the next day’s primate experiences.
Begin early with chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest, following calls through dense rainforest with expert guides. The experience is active, atmospheric, and rewarding. Later, enjoy the canopy walkway, suspended above the forest floor, with views across treetops, mist, birdsong, and one of Africa’s most biodiverse rainforest landscapes.
After breakfast, travel toward Lake Kivu, where the journey slows into a gentler rhythm. Arrive beside calm waters framed by green hills and lakeside communities. Spend the afternoon at leisure, with time for rest, scenic views, kayaking, a boat ride, or a quiet lakeside walk after the forest experiences.
Enjoy a relaxed morning by Lake Kivu before continuing north toward Volcanoes National Park. The route follows beautiful highland scenery and brings you closer to the Virunga Mountains. Arrive at your lodge near the park, settle into the cool mountain setting, and prepare for the following morning’s gorilla trekking experience.
After an early breakfast, attend the park briefing before entering Volcanoes National Park with rangers and trackers. The trek follows bamboo forest and volcanic slopes until your assigned gorilla family is located. Spend one remarkable hour observing their gestures, social bonds, and quiet presence before returning to the lodge for rest.
Spend the morning at leisure or add golden monkey tracking, a cultural visit, or a conservation-focused experience near Volcanoes National Park. Afterward, return to Kigali by private transfer. Depending on your flight schedule, enjoy lunch, a short city stop, or direct airport drop-off for your onward journey.
