8Days Rwanda Primate & Wildlife Safari

Arrival of your flight into Kigali International Airport. Meet and greet assistance by Akagera Aviation. (Covid protocols will be observed). You will take another covid test (PCR) at the airport. Once done, you will be handed over to and warmly welcomed by our representative outside customs and immigration hall. Transfer to your hotel in the city.  Arrive and check in assistance. Tour briefing will take place at the lobby. Dinner will follow.  Overnight stay at Radisson Blu Hotel base on half board

Kigali
Rwanda’s capital and biggest city stretches across undulating lush hills surrounded by towering mountains, the largest of which is Mount Kigali, rising 1850 metres above sea level. Kigali is the country’s financial, commercial and cultural hub, served by an international airport and featuring a wide range of accommodation options, restaurants and points of interest, including the Kigali Genocide Centre, an atmospheric market and numerous craft shops. With its interesting architecture, busy streets, meandering boulevards, and green hillsides, Kigali is said to be one of the most attractive cities in Africa and is definitely worth a visit.

Breakfast at the hotel. 09h00:  Our driver will pick you then you will begin your city tour that will includes visit to the Kigali Genocide memorial and the Choose Kigali arts gallery.

Highlight; Perhaps the city’s best known landmark, and with good reason, is the very insightful and moving Kigali Genocide Memorial standing amid beautiful rose gardens and fountains. The memorial sets out the history leading up to the genocide in Rwanda and also explains other genocides around the world. It includes poignant displays of victims’ photographs and belongings, bringing the realities of the atrocities to life. While it might seem an unusual tourist attraction and can be upsetting, it does help to put into context how and why the genocide happened and to better appreciate just how far the country has moved on together in the intervening years. It also plays a vital role in educating Rwanda’s new and future generations about the genocide.

Have lunch at La Terrace, Choose Kigali. 14h00: Set off for Akagera National Park. 17h00: Arrive at the park offices in time for briefing by the wardens about the park itself and the wilflife. You will then proceed to the lodge for check in. Dinner and overnight stay at Mantis Akagera Game Lodge on full board basis I.e. Lunch (la terrasse)

Akagera National Park
Bordering Tanzania in eastern Rwanda, Akagera National Park is central Africa's largest protected wetland and the last refuge for savannah-adapted species in the country. Stretching across a vast expanse of low-lying mountains and savannah plains, the park takes in the rolling highlands woodlands, swamp-fringed lakes, and wetlands of the Kagera River along the way. Crocodiles and hippos wallow in the park's watery basins, predators prowl through its acacia groves, and elephant, zebra, giraffe, buffalo and other animals roam across its grassy plains. Bursting with a rich biodiversity, the park features a variety of rare species, as well as a plentitude of mammals and hundreds of bird species.

Today after your breakfast, you will go for a morning game drive, followed by a boat excursion on Lake Ihema (10h00 to 11h00).

Lining the lakes are some of the continent’s densest concentrations of water birds, while the connecting marshes are the haunt of the endangered and exquisite papyrus gonolek, and the bizarre shoebill stork - the latter perhaps the most eagerly sought of all African birds.

After this, continue with game drive until 13h30. Have lunch at your lodge. Depart for another game drive in the park. 

The game drive in Akagera National Park provides you with the opportunity to view gentle hills blending beautifully with lowland swamps and water bodies. You will visit the Giraffe area in the south and the lakes road up towards Birengero. Akagera National park is a home for animals like elephant buffalo, Giraffe, zebra and more than a dozen types of antelope inhabit the park, most commonly the handsome chestnut-coated impala, but also the diminutive oribi and secretive bushbuck, as well as the ungainly tsessebe and the world's largest antelope, the statuesque Cape eland.

Return to the lodge before sunset for dinner and overnight stay. (it is possible to have a picnic lunch instead of having hot lunch at the lodge) at Mantis Akagera Game Lodge base in full board   

06h30: Have an early breakfast at the lodge and check out. Set off for Kigali by 07h30 with game drive as you exit.  Arrive at 12h00. Test for covid to enable you trek on next day. Have lunch at the Hotel de Mille collines (This is the hotel that was featured in the movie Hotel Rwanda).

15h00: Have a leisurely drive to Musanze & Volcanoes National Park region.

17h30: Arrive at your lodge and check in. Evening at leisure to rest for the long day. Dinner and overnight stay at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge base on full board (Mille Collines)

Rise early in the morning and breakfast at the lodge. 06h30: Proceed to the Park’s headquarters for briefing about your trek at 07h00. You will then be transferred by vehicle to the start point of the guided walk that begins at 08h00 in search of the Golden Monkeys. (This hotel is a 30 minutes’ drive from the park headquarters. Clients will be provided with hot coffee on arrival at no charge).

Volcanoes National Park

Bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo in Rwanda, the Volcanoes National Park is best known as a sanctuary for the region’s rare mountain gorillas. Visitors flock here to experience a face to face encounter with these intriguing creatures. The park is set high on the jungle-covered slopes of the volcanic Virunga Mountains. Highly regulated treks through the reserve allow visitors to spend an hour at a time with these incredible primates in their natural habitat. While the gorilla’s are without a doubt the main drawcard, visitors can also look forward to exploring a network of scenic hiking trails, visiting the tomb of the world-famous Dian Fossey and the Karisoke Research Centre, and enjoying a beautiful day hike to the crater lake on Mount Bisoke.

Trekking to see the golden monkeys is another highlight of Volcanoes National Park. The Golden Monkey (Cercopithecus Mitis Kandti) is a local subspecies of the widespread Sykes Monkey, also known as the “Blue Monkey” and is endemic to the high altitude forests. There are two habituated groups of Golden Monkey, one group comprises around 80 - 100 members and has its home at the foot of Mt Sabyinyo. As with treks to see the Mountain Gorillas, treks to see the Golden Monkeys take place in the mornings and visitors are permitted to stay for 1 hour with the monkeys. The number of visitors is not limited.

After this short memorable experience, you will proceed to the lodge for lunch.

This afternoon at 14h30, you will have a visit to the gorilla guardians cultural village.

 This village is changing the traditional perception of what constitutes tourism by turning fate into fame through sharing various aspects of rural cultures and livelihoods into tourist attractions and creating income-generating activities for rural poor people that have reformed from living on bush meat and poaching for generations.

Return to the lodge in the evening. Leisure.  19h30: Dinner, followed by overnight.

Mountain Gorilla View Lodge bae on full board

Early breakfast at the lodge then proceed to the park headquarters in time for your Gorilla Trek briefing at 07h00.  Your guided walk begins at 08h00.

 The largest gorilla group or family ever studied is in Rwanda and was led by Cantsbee (died in 2017).   This was the oldest known mountain gorilla in the whole world. A gorilla family is led by a silverback. These troops also include several younger males, adult and juvenile females, and infants. In addition to providing protection to group members, silverbacks maintain order and decide all activities within their troop. They schedule feeding trips, resting time, and travel. They also father the majority of the young in the group.

After this exciting experience, return to your lodge in time for lunch.

The afternoon will be at leisure to relax or massage for a supplement or visit the twin lakes. Dinner and overnight stay at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge base on full board 

Breakfast at the lodge. Test for covid to enable you travel back home.  08h00: Check out and set off for Gisenyi and Lake Kivu. it is about an hour’s drive. This is a scenic drive and you can actually see smoke from nyiragongo volcanic mountain en route. On arrival, you will tour the small city and also get to see dried lava from the recent eruption. you will also see the barrier between Rwanda and DRC. Transfer to your hotel for check in and lunch.

14h00: Transfer to Kingfisher journey jetty at paradis malahide for briefing before you start your kayaking in Lake Kivu. 

Lake Kivu
One of Africa’s Great Lakes, Kivu is the sixth-largest and eighteenth-deepest lake in the world, covering a whopping surface area of roughly 2,700 square kilometres and reaching to almost 500 metres at its maximum depth. Three vibrant resort towns located on its shores – Kibuye, Gisenyi and Cyangugu –provide an array of lodging options. The steep hills that surround it are webbed with hiking trails leading through lush forests and past waterfalls. Water sports enthusiasts will have a field day at Lake Kivu, and bird watchers are likely to be equally thrilled by the lake’s diverse avian species.

Kayak on a journey of discovery though the African countryside. Travel peacefully along the spectacular coast of one of Africa’s Great Lakes and witness the verdant landscape, vibrant local communities, birds and wildlife that thrive in the water, on the shores and islands of Lake Kivu. (you will be provided with a snack, water and a beverage. This tour is guided)

After this wonderful experience, transfer to your hotel for freshening up and change of clothes. Dinner will follow. Overnight stay.

(It is possible to go and watch fisherman at night as they fish at no cost. This can be arranged with your guide) Paradise Kivu Resort, base on full board

08h00:  After breakfast at the hotel, the morning is at leisure. Lunch at the hotel and check out. Proceed to Kigali.

Arrive at the Kigali international airport. Bid farewell to your driver guide and proceed to check in for your outbound flight.