The 7 days Rwanda safari is a six days Rwanda tour that starts and ends in Kigali. This 7 days Rwanda safari tour is a great package that combines all of Rwanda’s best highlights, including gorilla trekking, chimpanzee tracking, wildlife viewing, canopy walk, Kigali city & genocide memorial tour, plus more.
Kick off your safari in Akagera National Park, one of the most scenic savannah reserves in East Africa and home to the “big five” and other wild animals. After your fill of elephants, buffaloes, lions, rhinos, and hippos, the experience moves to Nyungwe National Park, an untouched natural rainforest, home to 13 primate species that account for 25% of Africa’s total, including over 500 wild Chimpanzees.
Continue to the famous Volcanoes National Park and go on an unforgettable trek to find rare Mountain Gorillas. Finish off your 7 days Rwanda safari with a tour of Kigali and the Genocide Memorial, the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi.
Day 1 & 2: Akagera National Park
Day 3 & 4: Nyungwe National Park, Ethnographic Museum & King’s Palace
Day 5 & 6: Volcanoes National Park & Musanze Caves
Day 7: Kigali Genocide Memorial – depart
Day 1: Arrive at Kigali International Airport & transfer to Akagera National Park
Day 2: Morning game drive & afternoon boat cruise in Akagera National Park
Day 3: Travel to Nyungwe Forest. Visit Ethnographic Museum & King’s Palace
Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking & Canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest National Park
Day 5: Drive to Volcanoes National Park with en-route stops for photography.
Day 6: Do Gorilla Trekking & Relax At The Lodge.
Day 7: Drive to Kigali City, visit Kigali Genocide Memorial Site, & Depart.
Day 1: Arrive At Kigali International Airport & Transfer To Akagera National Park
Your exciting 7 days Rwanda safari begins as soon you land at Kigali International Airport. You’ll be met your prime safari driver guide who will give you a briefing about Rwanda and this 7-day safari in particular.
After that, he will drive you east to Akagera National Park. You will pass through amazing countryside landscapes including the areas of Rwamagana where you have chances of encountering the famous long-horned cows, known as lnyambo. This journey will take about 2½ hours. On arrival, check in your accommodation for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
If you’re interested and have the time, you may take a sunset boat cruise or a night game drive. Akagera National Park is the only savannah reserve in Rwanda. This is where you’ll be able to see some of the large safari animals such as Elephants, Buffalos, Hippos, Giraffes, Lions, and Rhinos. The park is very scenic, with a string of lakes.
The highlight of the Day: – The scenic drive from Kigali to Akagera.
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Ruzizi Tented Lodge/Magashi Camp
Midrange: – Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: – Dereva Hotel
Meal Plan: – Lunch & Dinner
Drive distance & time: – Approx.135km/2 ½ hours
Activities & Services:-
Optional Activities: – Sunset boat cruise, Night game drive
Day 2: Morning Game Drive & Afternoon Boat Cruise in Akagera
On day second day of your 7 days Rwanda safari, you wake up before sunrise for a breakfast. At 6.30 am, take a 3-4 hour game drive in the Akagera savannah.
This time of day is perfect for seeing predators, and the sun rising over the plains is an unforgettable sight. Look out for rhinos, lions, leopards, elephants, buffalo, hyenas, and others who graze freely in the park. Giraffes are a popular site as well as zebras, warthogs, waterbucks, roan antelopes, elands, Topis, and impalas.
Return to the lodge for lunch and some free time to relax.
In the afternoon, enjoy a leisurely boat cruise on Lake Ihema. Watch hippos and crocodiles and spot elephants and buffalo, 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: – Akagera National Park morning safari drive
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Ruzizi Tented Lodge/Magashi Camp
Midrange: – Akagera Game Lodge
Budget: – Dereva Hotel
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services: –
Day 3: Travel to Nyungwe Forest National Park. Visit The Ethnographic Museum & King’s Palace En-route
Enjoy a relaxed breakfast today and then take a 5-6 hour drive southwest.
Drive through rolling hills and beautiful scenery as you make your way to the Cultural Corridor of Rwanda. Tour the reconstruction of the traditional royal residence in Nyanza, the King’s Palace, a beautifully-crafted thatched dwelling.
Learn about the royal style, the smartness, and the authority of pre-colonial Rwanda Kings. Meet the royal long-horned Inyambo cattle, descended from the king’s herd, whose keepers carefully tend and sing to them, keeping alive a unique tradition. Proceed your drive south to the detailed Ethnographic Museum in Butare for a look at the socio-cultural history of the country.
Thereafter, enjoy a delicious lunch and complete your scenic drive to Nyungwe National Park Forest. Nyungwe is home to 13 primate species that account for 25% of Africa’s total, including over 500 wild Chimpanzees. The birding is spectacular with many Albertine Rift endemics as well as general forest birds. Tonight, relax and have dinner at your lodge as you prepare for your chimp trek tomorrow.
The highlight of the Day: – Exploring Rwanda’s rich cultural heritage
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – One & Only Nyungwe House/Nyungwe Forest Lodge
Midrange: – Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel
Budget: – Gisakura Guesthouse
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive Distance & Time: – Approx. 320km/5-6 hrs.
Activities & Services:-
Day 4: Chimpanzee Trekking & Canopy Walk In Nyungwe Forest
On day four of your 7 days Rwanda safari, have an early breakfast. Then set off for the park visitor center to meet your excellent local park guide for a briefing at 5.30 am. Then start your trek (2-5 hours) to see the chimpanzees, and you can enjoy looking for other primates, birds, and animals along the way.
Your guide will teach you about chimp tracking, pointing out signs they’ve left as you head through the beautiful forest. Upon reaching Chimps, see our distant cousins as they play and interact in their natural environment. You have one hour to enjoy these precious creatures and you’re free to take as many photos as you wish!
Return to the lodge for lunch and relaxation. In the afternoon, embark on an exhilarating 2-hour forest canopy walk tour. Test your balance resilience as you walk on the 160m extended and shaking bridge suspended 70m over the forest floor. The canopy walk is an excellent way to view the foliage and wildlife from above.
The highlight of the Day: – Track wild Chimpanzees on foot
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Nyungwe Forest Lodge/One & Only Nyungwe House
Midrange: – Nyungwe Hill Top View Hotel
Budget: – Gisakura Guesthouse
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Activities & Services: – Chimp trekking, Canopy walk
Day 5: Drive to Volcanoes National Park with En-Route Stops for Photography
On day 5 of your 7 days Rwanda safari, journey north to Musanze – the main travel hub for gorilla trekking in Rwanda Volcanoes National Park. Drive via Gisenyi as you pass through the scenic hilly landscapes of Rwanda, known as the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills. Reaching Musanze town, check in at your lodge and enjoy a delicious dinner.
This evening, prepare for tomorrow’s once-in-a-lifetime gorilla trek in the stunning Volcanoes National Park. This park protects around 300 of the world’s 1063 highly endangered mountain gorillas remaining in the wild.
The highlight of the Day: – Driving through Rwanda’s gorgeous landscape
Accommodation:-
Luxury: – Mountain Gorilla View Lodge/Bisate Lodge/Virunga Lodge
Midrange: – Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge
Budget: – Muhabura Hotel
Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Drive Distance & Time: – 338km/6-7 hours
Activities & Services:-
Day 6: Do Gorilla Trekking & Relax At The Lodge
After an early breakfast on this day six of your 7 days Rwanda safari, transfer to the park offices. At 7 am, meet your rangers/guides for a briefing.
At 8 am, embark on an unforgettable Rwanda Gorilla trek deep into the jungle through volcano forests to search for Mountain Gorillas. Trackers leave before the tourist groups to locate the gorilla groups so your guide should know where to take you.
The trek can take anything between 30 minutes to 7 hours. It is relatively tiresome as it may involve hiking steep, muddy, and slippery slopes, so be prepared for a challenge. But know that if you spot these gentle giant, human-like creatures (we share 98% of our DNA with them) it will all be worth it. You’ll have one hour with them to take photos and watch them interact – a truly magical experience!
You then return to your lodge and enjoy a delicious late lunch while reflecting on your magical wildlife experience. Spend the rest of the day at leisure
The highlight of the Day: – Trekking a family of 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 Activities in the Afternoon
Day 7: Drive Back To Kigali & Visit Kigali Genocide Memorial
After breakfast, embark on a drive back to Kigali. On arrival, visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial – 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.
If there is time you can also take a city drive and visit local markets, art galleries, and craft centers plus other fascinating sites. From there, you connect to the Airport for your return flight home to mark the end of this 7 days Rwanda safari.
The highlight of the Day: – the Kigali Genocide Memorial Tour
Meal Plan: – Breakfast
Activities & Services:-
Optional Activities in the Afternoon
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