10 Days Explore Rwanda Safari Tour

Breakfast at the hotel. Depart for Akagera National Park to arrive in time for Lunch. In the late afternoon enjoy a game viewing drive returning to the lodge in time for dinner.

Bordering Rwanda's eastern neighbor Tanzania, Akagera National Park could scarcely be more different in mood to the breezy cultivated hills that characterize much of Rwanda. Dominated scenically by the labyrinth of swamps and lakes that follow the meandering course of the Akagera River, the most remote source of the Nile, this is archetypal African savannah landscape of tangled acacia woodland interspersed with open grassland. Akagera is, above all, big game country! home to herds of Elephant, Zebra, Giraffe, Lions, White Rhinos and buffalo emerge from the woodland to drink at the lakes, while lucky visitors might stumble across a leopard, a spotted hyena.

Breakfast at the lodge, then set out on a morning game drive through Akagera National Park. The park's mix of tangled acacia woodland, open grassland and the swamps and lakes that follow the Akagera River gives you plenty of ground to cover, and the early hours are a good time to be out looking for the herds of elephant, zebra, giraffe and buffalo that make this big game country. Lions and white rhinos are also present, and a leopard or spotted hyena may occasionally be seen.

Return to the lodge for lunch, then head out again in the afternoon for a boat ride on the water, a relaxed way to take in the scenery and watch for the wildlife that comes to the lakes. The cost of the boat ride is included. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

After breakfast, depart for Kigali with a game viewing drive enroute. Lunch in Kigali followed by a city tour of Kigali.

The history of Rwanda dates back centuries, Kigali has been a part of it for 100 years. Founded in 1907 as a German settlement, Kigali did not become the capital until Rwanda’s independence in 1962 when it replaced the colonial seat of power in Butare.

Visit the old Kigali and the craft centres then visit the genocide memorial site. Learn about Rwanda’s history from pre-colonial times to the 1994 genocide; learn about other genocides in the world and how this country has dealt with that past. Tour more and see the new developments in Rwanda; the recovery has been incredible, a testament to humankind’s resilience.

Visit the genocide museum.

After breakfast at your hotel in Kigali, you leave the city behind and drive south. Your first stop is Nyanza, where you visit the King's Palace, a reconstruction of the traditional royal residence and a window into Rwanda's pre-colonial monarchy. From there you continue to Butare, once the colonial seat of power and still one of the country's most important cultural centres. Here you visit the Huye ethnographic museum, whose collections cover the history, craft and daily life of Rwanda's peoples.

You stop for lunch along the way before continuing towards Nyungwe Forest National Park. The road climbs through the hills of the south and west, and the landscape changes as you approach the forest. You arrive at your lodge in the late afternoon, with time to settle in before dinner and your overnight stay. An early start awaits you tomorrow, when you head into the forest to track chimpanzees.

04h30: Start early for early morning forest nature walk in the park tracking Chimpanzees in the forest. This is the time to watch the forest's birdlife too.

Return to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon, enjoy the canopy walk. (Cost offered separately) or at leisure.

Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Dinner and overnight at lodge.

After breakfast at the lodge, you leave Nyungwe Forest National Park behind and drive towards Lake Kivu, with lunch served along the way. The road brings you down from the forested hills to the water's edge, where the pace of the day slows.

The afternoon is yours to spend at leisure on the shores of the lake, or you may choose from the optional activities available in the area at an additional cost. However you fill the time, it is a gentle contrast to the early start and forest walking of the day before.

Dinner and your overnight stay are at the lodge, ahead of tomorrow's scenic drive towards Volcanoes National Park.

Breakfast at the lodge. Depart on a scenic drive towards Volcanoes National Park. Arrive at Ruhengeri, the base for Gorilla trekking at the Parc National des Volcans.

Ruhengeri is the base for Gorilla trekking at the Parc National des Volcans. The town is located only 25km from Uganda boarder and 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.

It is approximately 2.5hrs drive from Kigali to the Volcanoes National park.

Lunch at your lodge. Afternoon, visit the magical twin lakes Burera and Ruhondo.

Early breakfast at the lodge. 0620 hrs: Transfer to the Volcanoes National Park HQs for your first day of trekking. 0700 hrs: Briefing by your trackers then drive to the trail head for the start of your amazing Gorilla Tracking adventure.

Porters may be hired for the trek to carry your backpack and gear. The cost is ten USD per person/per day. We advise that you utilize this service.

Your trek starts in the cultivated foothills of the Virunga’s offering stirring views in all directions. When it enters the national park, trekkers will be immersed in the mysterious intimacy of the rainforest, alive with the colorful bird calls, chattering golden monkeys, littered with fresh spoor of the mountains’ elusive buffalo and elephant. Through gaps in the canopy, the magnificent peaks are glimpsed, among the highest in Africa yet easily accessible, beckon an ascent.

Weaving through overhanging vines, moss-covered hagenia trees and giant lobelias that thrive in the tropical climate, our experienced trackers, who have spent their entire lives in or close to this forest, soon bring us up close with one of the Gorilla Families.

Upon sighting the gorillas, you will stay with them for a magical hour as they go about their daily life, feeding, playing, resting; raising their young. Coming face to face with a giant silverback must truly be one of the greatest wildlife experiences on earth!

After the trek, rejoin your driver Guide for a transfer to your lodge for lunch. In the afternoon, interact with culture and history at the Ibyiwacu Cultural Village

After breakfast at your lodge, you leave the Virunga foothills behind and begin the drive back to Kigali. The route takes you through Rwanda's rolling hills, passing cultivated slopes and small towns along the way, with your driver-guide on hand throughout.

On arrival in Kigali, you continue to the airport for your outbound flight. If you are booking your own departure, flights after 1300 hrs are recommended so that the morning's drive is not rushed. No meals are included today, and the cost of your flight is not part of the tour.

This brings your ten days in Rwanda to a close, after Kigali, Akagera National Park, Nyungwe Forest National Park, Lake Kivu and Volcanoes National Park.