10-Days Rwanda Big Five, Primates & Nature Safari – Akagera, Nyungwe & Lake Kivu

Upon landing at Kigali International Airport, meet your private guide who will assist with hotel transfer. Depending on arrival time, visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, Inema Arts Center, or local markets for crafts. Settle in for your first night in Rwanda’s clean and vibrant capital city.

After breakfast, drive east to Akagera National Park, Rwanda’s only savannah park and home of the Big Five. The scenic drive (about 2.5 hours) winds through hills and farmlands. After checking into your lodge and enjoying lunch, set out for a relaxed afternoon game drive, scanning the open plains for elephants, antelopes, zebras, and giraffes. Return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Spend the full day exploring Akagera’s diverse landscapes. You’ll venture into the northern plains, a region rich in wildlife, where you may spot lions on the hunt or rhinos grazing in the distance. Stop for a picnic lunch with views over rolling hills and shimmering lakes. In the afternoon, descend south, where you’ll see hippos, crocodiles, and more birdlife. Return to your lodge after sunset.

Rise early for a peaceful boat safari on Lake Ihema, offering a closer view of hippos, basking crocodiles, and numerous water birds. Afterward, return to your lodge for breakfast, check out, and drive back to Kigali. Arrive in the afternoon and enjoy an overnight stay with time to unwind in the city.

Enjoy a relaxed breakfast and begin your journey west through breathtaking mountain landscapes and tea plantations to Kibuye, a lakeside town on Lake Kivu. Check into your tranquil lodge and spend the evening at leisure by the water, enjoying fresh lake fish and a cool breeze.

Today, enjoy a boat trip across Lake Kivu to visit Napoleon Island, known for its bat colony and panoramic views. Continue to a nearby coffee farm, where you’ll walk through the plantation and learn the process from harvesting to roasting. Return in the afternoon for optional swimming, canoeing, or resting on the lakeside deck.

Depart for Nyungwe Forest National Park, stopping at Gisovu Tea Plantation for a guided tour. Learn about Rwanda’s world-class tea and enjoy a tasting with mountain views. Continue to Nyungwe and settle into your forest lodge. Optional evening walk or birding near the lodge.

Wake up early and meet your ranger for chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe’s dense rainforest. Track a group of habituated chimps and spend time observing their behavior in the wild. After returning and refreshing at the lodge, head to the canopy walkway, suspended high above the jungle, offering stunning views and a unique wildlife-watching perspective. Overnight at your lodge.

Today, enjoy two immersive nature experiences: a guided hike to Isumo Waterfall, where the trail leads you past lush undergrowth, butterflies, and birds. Later in the afternoon, head on a light colobus monkey walk, tracking these acrobatic primates that live in large troops in Nyungwe. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast, drive back to Kigali through scenic highlands and tea-growing communities. Depending on your flight time, your guide can organize lunch, souvenir shopping, or a visit to the King’s Palace Museum in Nyanza. Transfer to the airport for your international flight. End of tour.