Itinerary

1. Day 1: Arrive at Kigali & Transfer to Hotel

   • Arrive at Kigali International Airport, meet with your tour guide/ driver and transfer to the hotel
   • Arrive at the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

   Hotel option: Kigali Serena Hotel (luxury), The Manor Hotel (mid-range) or Chez Lando Hotel (budget).

2. Day 2: Kigali- Nyungwe Forest National Park

   • Wake up very early in the morning, have breakfast, then embark on your long drive to Butare, the second-largest city in Rwanda after Kigali. It is home to various historical sites of Rwanda like the museum, the university and the research institute. 
   • Visit Nyanza, which houses the king’s palace, on the way. 
   • Check out the shops in Nyanza, famous for all kinds of handicrafts like ceramics, woodcarvings and basketry. 
   • Halt in Butare in the afternoon for lunch and then drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park. 
   • Arrive at Nyungwe Forest National Park and check-in at Gisakura Guest House or Nyungwe Top View Hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

3. Day 3: Chimpanzee Tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park

   • Have an early morning breakfast and arrive at the gate of Nyungwe forest with your tour guide and carry a packed lunch.
   • Attend a chimpanzee tracking briefing and the adventure in the company of ranger guides.
   • Search for colonies of chimpanzees and spot many monkey species like Golden monkeys, Blue Monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, grey checked Mangabeys, and colobus monkeys, along with a range of beautiful forest birds. 
   • Return to the hotel in the evening for dinner and overnight stay.

4. Day 4: Nyungwe Forest National Park- Kibuye

   • Have early breakfast, then depart for Kibuye from Nyungwe National Park. 
   • Drive through the green fields of tea plantations and explore the shores of Lake Kivu, a unique lake whose deep waters contain an enormous quantity of dissolved gas. 
   • Arrive at Kibuye in the afternoon and have lunch at a local restaurant in the city.
   • Check-in at Mariah Hill Resort or Bethany Guest House for dinner and overnight stay.

5. Day 5: Kibuye- Rubavu/ Gisenyi

   • Have breakfast, then head northeast, and take the road parallel to Lake Kivu, a very scenic route that provides the opportunity to see the people at work cultivating bananas, cassava, sorghum, beans, rice, potatoes, and even coffee in their steep and tiny fields. In addition, there are several massive tea plantations, villages, innumerable tiny brickworks, and much more.
   • Arrive in Gisenyi in time for lunch.
   • Check-in at Lake Kivu Serena Hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

6. Day 6: Gisenyi- Volcanoes National Park

   • Wake up early in the morning, have breakfast and drive to Volcanoes National Park in Musanze district.
   • Head straight to the park offices for briefing about the gorillas and allocation of gorilla groups and guides. 
   • Walk through the tropical rain forest and search for the mountain gorillas starting from where they were the previous day. You will find them doing their daily chores of feeding their young ones, climbing trees or just relaxing. 
   • Take photographs of the gorillas and observe them in their natural habitat. This whole exercise takes a maximum of 1 hour, and then return to the park offices for your gorilla tracking certificate. 
   • Return to the hotel to have lunch and relax. 
   • Take a tour around the lake and see the exceptional caves nearby. 
   • Travel to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

7. Day 7: Volcanoes National Park- Akagera National Park

   • Wake up very early in the morning, have breakfast, then embark on the long journey to Akagera National Park.
   • Take an en-route game drive to spot some of the rampant wildlife species. 
   • Reach Akagera in the evening and check in at the Akagera Game Lodge or Ruzizi Safari Lodge for dinner and overnight.

8. Day 8: Game drive & Boat Ride in Akagera National Park

   • After breakfast, go for a Game drive to spot wild animals like lions, elephants, zebras, buffaloes, bush and waterbucks, warthogs, and giraffes. 
   • Return to the lodge for lunch.
   • Take a boat cruise in Lake Ihema and spot water animals and birds at the banks of the Lake. 

   Dinner and overnight stay at a lodge in Akagera National Park.

9. Day 9: Akagera National Park- Kigali

   • Wake up early, have breakfast, and then drive to Kigali.
   • Arrive at Kigali and go for a quick city tour. 
   • Visit several craft shops with lovely works of art, the Belgium Memorial, the Kigali Historical Museum, and the Genocide Museum, which are good places to learn about the rich history of Rwanda. 
   • Transfer to the airport for your return flight.