Overview
This 6-day Rwanda primate safari will allow you to engage in two of Rwanda’s most popular wildlife activities: Rwanda Gorilla trekking and Rwanda Chimpanzee trekking. Both walks can be difficult depending on where the chimps or gorillas nested the night before. Chimp trekking varies from gorilla trekking in that sightings are more random and hurried, but still valuable, as compared to gorillas who stay in one spot for an extended period of time.
Safari Highlights
- Canopy Walk
- Gorilla trekking
- Gorilla Guardians village
- Kigali City Tour
- Chimpanzee trekking
Day By Day
Day 1: Arrival for Rwanda Primates Safari
You arrive today for your 6-day Rwanda primates safari. Depending on your arrival time, our driver guide will meet you at the airport and transport you to your hotel, following which you will go on a Kigali city tour. The genocide monument in Kigali, the Kandt Museum, and the artisan market are among the places to visit. If you arrive in the morning or early afternoon, you will begin a city tour before being transported to your hotel; if you arrive in the late afternoon, you will be transferred immediately to your hotel.
Day 2: Transfer to Nyungwe forest national park
The drive from Kigali to Nyungwe Forest National Park will keep you awake as you take in the sights. The Nyungwe forest is located in southern Rwanda, on the way to Burundi and sections of Congo. The excursion to Nyungwe forest will begin after breakfast with a brief stay in Nyanza before continuing to Huye to see the ethnographic museum. In addition to the ethnographic museum, visitors to the Nyanza neighborhood can visit the Kings Palace Museum. Depending on your interests, you may consult with your driving guide about which museums to visit. They both share Rwanda’s cultural past, but the ethnographic museum contains more objects and a more comprehensive collection. Later that evening, we will arrive at Nyungwe forest and travel to our lodge for the night.
Day 3: Rwanda Chimpanzee trekking & Canopy walk
Trekking with chimps is a close encounter with the forest and its inhabitants. Your driver guide will take you from your accommodation to the briefing spot in the forest, where you should arrive as early as 5.00 a.m. You will be at either the Uwinka or the Cyamudongo trailheads. While in the jungle, the ranger guide will provide you with chimp trekking recommendations. The forest is rich in botanical diversity, and it is home to 13 species of primates, including the Ruwenzori colobus, L’Hoest’s monkeys, Red-tailed monkeys, silver monkeys, grey cheeked mangabeys, and others, as well as approximately 300 bird species, including several Albertine rift endemics, and several butterfly species.
Take the canopy walk path from the Uwinka trail head in the afternoon. Take in the scenery.
Day 4: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
Today, after breakfast, we begin our drive to Rwanda’s mountain gorilla habitat, Volcanoes National Park in the Virunga area. Enjoy the twisting roads and views of “a thousand hills” and Lake Kivu along the route. We arrive at your accommodation later that evening; rest up for the gorilla encounter the next day.
Day 5: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park
The highlight of your 6-day Rwanda primates safari will undoubtedly be gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park. The sensation of meeting face to face with gentle giants in their natural surroundings will be with you for the rest of your life. Following an early morning meal, you will carry your day pack and be transferred to the briefing site by the driving guide. Your ranger guide will bring you to the gorillas by communicating with previous trackers. The trip can last anything from an hour to many hours, depending on where the gorillas nested the night before; you must be reasonably fit to appreciate this experience.
Day 6: End of 6 day Rwanda Primates Safari
Wake up with recollections of the previous day spent with mountain gorillas in the wild. After a leisurely morning, proceed to the gorilla guardians community for lunch before departing for Kigali for your return flight to your accommodation.
