10 Days Discover Rwanda Tour

We take a two hour drive to the East, enjoying the beautiful sceneries of Rwanda’s hilly landscape, past the coffee and banana plantations. The natural forests also make quite a view. We pass through Rwamagana Town, which is known for maintaining the old commercial area and the Old Catholic church. We also pass by Kibarondo commercial centre, which is the best starting point to the Akagera National Park. This park is home to the shy Oribi and to the elusive Topi. Here you will also see the undulating hills, rolling grassland and extensive series of lakes linked by papyrus swamps. Elephant, buffalo giraffe, Zebra, waterbuck, hippopotamus are some of the game roaming this peaceful haven. The many diverse habitats of the park ensure a remarkable variety of birdlife with over 500 known species.

After Lunch, we take a boat ride to Ihema lake, where you can spot variety of birds (optional)

After breakfast, we will have a morning game drive exploring more of the Akagera National park. We explore the breezy cultivated hills, dominated scenically by the labyrinth of swamps and lakes that follow the meandering of the most remote source of the Nile; the Akagera River, and a stop of Tanzania board’s view.

After the game drive, we depart for Akagera enroute to Ruhengeri and stop at Lake Muhazi for lunch at Muhazi Beach Resort. Then we set off North of Rwanda to Ruhengeri which lies near the twin lakes of Lake Burera and Lake Ruhondo. The 4 hour drive takes you through the beautiful terraced hillsides that display Rwanda’s landscape. One can get to have a panorama view of geographic feature of Kigali town. The drive also takes you through Nyabarongo River, the dominant geographic feature of Bugesera District and through Ruhengeri town, the gateway city to the Volcanoes National Park and the famous Mountain Gorillas. The summits of Kasirimbi, Bisoke, Sabyniyo, Gahinga and Muhabura, the 5 volcanoes located in Volcanoes National Park give such a scenic and breathtaking view.

At the first light of dawn, we make our way to the Parc National des Volcans. It borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda. Parc National des Volcans is known as the haven for Mountain Gorillas. Hiking and tracking gorillas is arguably the most poignant and memorable wildlife experience in the world and may take 1-8 hours in wet and muddy conditions.

After lunch,  we drive to Gisenyi, a charming small town built on the shore of Lake Kivu.

After Breakfast, we take an 8hr drive to Cyangugu. Enjoy the scenic view of the Rwandan people and the natural beautiful surroundings along the way. We stop at Kibuye for lunch and continue our journey where we will pass by and see a goodview of Lake Kivu, the biggest lake in Rwanda.

After breakfast, you can rest or we can take a tour in Cyangugu town, to the Congo border. Later, we drive to Nyungwe Forest for lunch and check-in at Nyungwe forest Lodge.

Nyungwe forest top is known as the great chimp classic destination for Africa with primate trail to search for the chimps. Here you can spot a variety of wildlife including the famous Chimpanzee, the avian highlight of nyungwe, and the great blue turaco: an outlandish blue, red and green bird which streams from tree to tree like a procession of streamlined psychedelic turkeys.

After breakfast, we take a canopy walk. We will be at a relatively high elevation so be sure to bring water, wear good hiking shoes with support, and bring warm clothing in layers to accommodate temperature changes.

Afterwards, we depart to Butare, via Kibeho, a small town well known for reported apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ occurring between 1981 and 1989 to some teenagers. These visions were accompanied by intense reactions: crying, tremors, and comas. In August 19, 1982, those who saw the visions reported gruesome sights (rivers of blood, sliced heads, etc.) which some today regard as an ominous foreshadowing of the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, and particularly in that specific location. Get a chance to stand on The Holy Ground and whatever you ask for is always granted while in that place.

After breakfast, we visit Butare town, a compact and peaceful town with a reputation of being the intellectual and cultural centre of the country. Butare was the largest and most important city in Rwanda prior to 1965, before it lost to the more centrally located Kigali. However, Butare is still regarded to be the intellectual and cultural pulse of Rwanda. Butare town hosts several academic institutions including the National University, as well as the famous National Museum which houses one of the finest collections in East Africa and displays the rich cultural history of the Rwandan people. The museum is the finest ethnographic museum of East-Africa. It reflects the time spirit at the end of 19th Century when the East-African Kingdoms came in contact with the first Europeans.

We leave for Kigali (135 Km) via Royal Palace at Nyanza, the traditional seat of Rwanda’s king. This is an enormous domed construction made entirely with traditional materials, which has been painstakingly restored to its 19th century state and is now maintained as a museum. After visiting king’s palace, we continue to Gatagara to visit pottery products. It will be a leisurely drive and you will have plenty of time to shop and take photos.

We take a city tour of Kigali. Visit the Gisozi Genocide Memorial Centre where the remains of more than 250,000 people have been gathered from different districts of Kigali and buried in the cemetery of this memorial site; we also see the military memorial of the 10 Belgian troopers massacred during the genocide. Finally, a visit to the local market for hand crafts and other unique souvenirs for the shopaholics. Afterwards, we take you to the airport for your flight.