Overview
This 7-day Rwanda primates safari is a luxury journey for primate lovers. You track chimpanzees and walk the canopy in Nyungwe, relax on Lake Kivu and trek mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park.
Hand-picked lodges and unhurried days make it a comfortable way to see Rwanda’s great apes.
Booking Your 7-Day Rwanda Primates Safari
Every 7-day Rwanda primates safari we run is private and tailor-made. You travel in one of our own 4×4 Land Cruisers with an experienced driver-guide, and you can start on any date that suits you. The final price depends on your travel style (Signature, Classic or Adventurer), your group size and the season.
Park entry and permit fees are set by the official authorities: the Rwanda Development Board (Visit Rwanda). We book permits directly and confirm the current rates before you pay. Ask us for a quote and we will reply within 24 hours.
Full Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival Kigali – Kigali Serena Hotel
Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be met by 7-Day Discover Rwanda Primates Tour guide, outside the airport arrivals section and transferred to your hotel. Visit the genocide museum and enjoy a city tour of Kigali. Lunch in Kigali. Overnight at Kigali Serena Hotel.
Day 2: Kigali – Nyungwe National Park – Nyungwe House
After Breakfast at the hotel on the second day of 7-Day Discover Rwanda Primates Tour. Depart to Nyungwe national park. Visit the King’s Museum for a short tour and discovery have lunch and en route via Kigali. After transfer to Nyungwe forest arriving in the early evening. Dinner and overnight at Nyungwe House
Day 3: Explore Nyungwe Forest National Park – Chimpanzee Trek – Nyungwe House
You’ll rise early for breakfast as you go off in search of Rwanda’s enigmatic and endangered chimpanzee population. With only four hundred chimpanzees in the country, there’s no guarantee you’ll see chimps during your day’s hike, but your 7-Day Discover Rwanda Primates Tour guide will do all he can to get you a glimpse of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.
Even if you aren’t lucky enough to spot a chimpanzee, the national park is a wonderfully diverse place that you’ll get a chance to explore both in the morning in your hunt for chimpanzees and after lunch. In the afternoon, you’ll go in search of another of the park’s primate residents – the cheeky black and white colobus monkey. These playful primates are an easier hike than the chimpanzees, and you’ll delight in their antics. Overnight at Nyungwe House.
Day 4: Nyungwe Forest National Park – Lake Kivu (Gisenyi) – Lake Kivu Serena Hotel
You’ll start your 7-Day Discover Rwanda Primates Tour day with your choice of a guided waterfall walk or a walk along the Nyungwe Forest National Park’s famous elevated canopy walk. Both offer a unique perspective on this beautiful park, and you’ll find a new appreciation for Rwanda’s natural beauty as you move through this dense forest.
After your morning activity, you’ll make your way to Karongi on the shores of Lake Kivu. The drive to this beautiful city takes you along one of the most scenic stretches of road you’ll ever encounter – wending your way through hills and valleys along the way. Dinner and Overnight at Lake Kivu Serena Hotel.
Day 5: Lake Kivu (Gisenyi) – Volcanoes National Park – Gorilla’s Nest Lodge
Depart to Ruhengeri arriving in the early afternoon. Arrive at Ruhengeri, the base for Gorilla trekking at the Volcanoes national park. The town itself, located only 25km from Uganda boarder, is relatively a small city of about 70,000 people. The constant flow of humanity is quite remarkable. The Town has great views of the surrounding volcanoes. People are very friendly here and although a former Belgian colony (and thus French-speaking), many people speak English here.
Afternoon visit the Ibyiwacu cultural village. Dinner and overnight at Gorilla’s Nest Lodge.
Day 6: Volcanoes National Park – Gorilla Trek – Gorilla’s Nest Lodge
Early breakfast at your hotel, you’ll proceed directly to the Volcanoes National Park’s headquarters to meet your guides. After completing the briefing, you’ll embark on the once in a lifetime experience of tracking the enigmatic mountain gorillas.
There is no guarantee how long or difficult your tracking experience will be as it depends on where the family of gorillas is and on weather conditions, it can take anywhere from two up to six hours of trekking through the mountain forest at relatively high altitudes. Fitness is definitely recommended for those wishing to undertake the excursion.
One of the most memorable experiences you’re likely to ever have, you’ll be allowed an hour of close contact with the gorillas once you’ve found them. You’ll be privileged enough to come within mere metres of a family of these rare and beautiful animals, observing their family dynamics and getting to learn a bit about each gorilla’s distinct personality in serene silence. Overnight Gorilla’s Nest.
Day 7: Depart
Breakfast at the lodge. Depart from foothills of the Virunga volcanoes and drive south past banana plantations on a scenic drive to Kigali. Everything and everywhere, sheer green and hanging on the hills; Rwanda truly – land of a thousand fertile green hills. Transfer to Kigali International airport for your departure back home to end 7-Day Discover Rwanda Primates Tour.
