Your exciting 5 days safari in Rwanda is a 4 nights/5 days Rwanda safari, featuring three of Rwanda’s top safari experiences including gorilla trekking, wildlife viewing, and the Kigali city & Genocide Memorial tour.
On this 5 days safari in Rwanda, you’ll be met at Kigali Airport by your tour driver guide and private 4×4 safari vehicle and head north to Volcanoes National Park in the magnificent Virunga Mountains. Here, you take a trek into the dense rainforest jungle to see Mountain Gorillas in the wild – an extraordinary wildlife encounter!
After that, you will travel to the beautiful Akagera National Park. You’ll enjoy a game drive on open savannahs and a boat trip on Lake Ihema. You’ll have a chance to see a variety of wild animals including famous Africa’s “big five” – Rhino, Lion, Leopards, Elephant, and Buffalo. Your 5 days safari in Rwanda with end with the Kigali city and Kigali Genocide Memorial tour to learn about the horrific genocide that happen in Rwanda in 1994.
Day 1 & 3: Volcanoes National Park
Day 3 & 4: Akagera National Park
Day 5: Kigali Genocide Memorial & Museum
Day 1: Arrive at Kigali International Airport & transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 2: Do gorilla trekking in Rwanda Volcanoes National Park & relax at the lodge
Day 3: Transfer to Akagera National Park. Make a lunch stop in Kigali city.
Day 4: Do morning game viewing and afternoon boat cruise on Lake Ihema
Day 5: Return to Kigali. Visit The Kigali Genocide Memorial & A Local Market.
Day 1: Arrive At Kigali International Airport & Transfer To Volcanoes National Park
After landing at Kigali Airport, your tour driver guide will be there to welcome you to Rwanda. He will brief you about Rwanda and this 5 days safari in Rwanda.
After the briefing, you will be driven northwest through Rwanda’s beautiful, terraced hillsides to Musanze Town on the foothills of Virunga Volcanoes. Your accommodation will be near the headquarters of Volcanoes NP at Kinigi.
Spanning an area of 160km2, this stunning Rwanda gorilla park is home to a third of the world’s last remaining Mountain Gorillas. It also hosts the rare Golden monkeys and is where famous Primatologist, Dian Fossey spent 18 years of her life studying and protecting these great mountain creatures – a lifetime of work that would inspire the well-known Hollywood, “Gorillas in the Mist” movie.
Tonight you relax and prepare for your unforgettable gorilla trek tomorrow.
The highlight of the Day: – Driving through Rwanda’s beautiful landscapes
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Mountain Gorilla View Lodge/ Virunga Lodge/Bisate Lodge
Midrange: – Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge
Budget: – Muhabura Hotel
Meal Plan: – Lunch & Dinner
Drive Distance & Time: – 116km/2-3 hours
Activities & Services:-
Day 2: Do Gorilla Trekking In Volcanoes National Park & Relax At The Lodge
On the second day of your 5 days safari in Rwanda, enjoy an early breakfast and transfer to the park offices for a briefing. At 8 am, embark on a trek into the dense jungle in the beautiful Virunga Volcanoes alongside an expert ranger guide in search of rare Mountains Gorillas. A Gorilla trek can take from 1 to 7 hours of hiking on steep, narrow footpaths, which are sometimes muddy and slippery.
You need to be reasonably fit. Your guide will ensure you take plenty of breaks. Once you find the gorillas (we share 98% of our DNA with them) it will all be worth it. You’ll have a full hour of watching these human-like creatures feed, groom, and interact with each other in their natural habitat – an incredible experience!
After the adventure, return to the lodge for a delicious late lunch while reflecting on your magical encounter with our close cousins. You’ll spend the rest day resting.
The highlight of the Day: – Trekking rare Mountain Gorillas
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Mountain Gorilla View Lodge/Bisate Lodge/Virunga Lodge
Midrange: – Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge
Budget: – Muhabura Hotel
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services: –
Optional Activity:-
Day 3: Transfer to Akagera National Park. Make a Lunch Stop In Kigali City
After a relaxed breakfast on day 3 of your 5 days safari in Rwanda, embark on a leisurely 4-5 hour drive east to Akagera NP.
Drive through the impressive countryside landscapes before making a stop in Kigali for lunch. After lunch, proceed on the drive to Akagera, arriving in the evening for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Akagera National Park, Rwanda’s biggest national park, offers a remarkable conservation story and boasts of one of the best scenery in Africa. The famous African “big five” animals – elephant, rhino, leopard, lion, and buffalo roam throughout the park’s wetlands, woodlands, and savannah, all set against a natural river border with Tanzania and dotted with a dozen lakes. Akagera is also a bird watcher’s paradise with 490 species identified.
The highlight of the Day: – Scenic drive through Rwanda’s countryside landscapes
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Ruzizi Tented Lodge/Magashi Camp
Midrange: – Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: – Dereva Hotel
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance & time: – Approx. 251km/4-5 hours
Activities & Services:-
Optional Activities:-
Day 4: Morning Game Drive & Afternoon Boat Cruise in Akagera
Day two of your 6 days safari in Rwanda commences at 6 am with an early morning breakfast at the lodge. Thereafter, you go on a game drive in the Akagera savannah as the sun comes up. This is the ideal time of the day to see predators in the park, and the sunrise over the savannah plains is an unforgettable sight.
On the game drive, search for lions, rhinos, leopards, elephants, buffalo, hyenas, and others who graze freely in the park. Giraffes are commonly seen well as zebras, warthogs, waterbucks, roan antelopes, elands, topis, and impalas. After a 3-4 hours game drive, return to the lodge for lunch and relaxation.
In the afternoon, go on a leisurely boat on Lake Ihema. Watch hippos and crocodiles and spot more wildlife such as elephants and buffalos, as they gather at the lakeshore to drink water. Keep an eye out for a variety of birds; there are almost 500 species around the lake and its surrounding wetlands.
Retire for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
The highlight of the Day: – Searching for wildlife on a game drive
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Ruzizi Tented Lodge/Magashi Camp
Midrange: – Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: – Dereva Hotel
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services: –
Day 5: Return to Kigali. Visit The Kigali Genocide Memorial & A Local Market
After breakfast, drive back to Kigali. Upon arrival, tour the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre – an incredible site, constructed on the burial site of 250,000 victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide against the Tutsi tribe. Learn about events that led to the tragic 100 days during which nearly a million Rwandans were butchered by their neighbors.
The center is extremely moving, challenging, educational, and ultimately inspiring as well as a great place to understand the cause, tragedy and the tremendous progress and reconciliation the nation has achieved to date.
After the memorial tour, you visit the Kimironko Market, the biggest and busiest market in Kigali where almost everything is sold from foodstuffs, and fabrics to clothing. Here, you can have your measurements taken by a skillful tailor and get colorful African to wear made for you in a matter of hours. Also, a visit is a unique opportunity to watch local city life in action.
From there, connect to the airport for your return flight home to mark the end of this unforgettable 5 days safari in Rwanda.
The highlight of the Day: – the Kigali Genocide Memorial tour
Meal Plan: – Breakfast
Drive Distance & Time: – 135km/2 ½ hour
Activities & Services: –
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