8 Days Rwanda classic adventure

Our 8 days Rwanda classic adventure is a breathtaking and extraordinary safari that will take you to all the three national parks in Rwanda that is Akagera national park which harbors abundant wildlife species such as elephants, buffaloes, impala, elands, leopards, cape bushbucks, topi, zebra, giraffes, roan antelopes, lions, Oribi, waterbucks, duikers, klipspringer, warthogs, hippos, crocodiles, bird species like herons, papyrus Gonolek, fish eagle, bee-eaters, malachite kingfisher among others that will be viewed during the game drive and boat cruise on Lake Ihema. You will also visit Nyungwe national park where you will engage in an interesting canopy walk which offers great views of the forest canopy, tree species, bird species, primates like monkeys and chimpanzee trekking activity which gives you an opportunity to spend one hour with the chimpanzees in their natural environment. From Nyungwe national park you will connect to Volcanoes national park where you will get an opportunity to view and spend time with the endangered mountain gorillas and golden monkeys in their natural habitat.

Highlights of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure

Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Akagera national park

Day 2: Morning game drive and boat cruise

Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe national park

Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk

Day 5: Transfer from Volcanoes national park

Day 6: Gorilla trekking

Day 7: Golden monkey trekking and cultural tour

Day 8: Departure to Kigali international airport

Detailed itinerary

Day 1 of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure

Transfer to Akagera national park, depending on the time of arrival on day 1 of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure you will be welcomed by our driver guide who will give you a short briefing about your safari and then start the journey to Akagera national park. The journey to the park takes about 2 to 3 hours’ drive and on your way you will have great views of the beautiful landscapes, rolling hills, traditional homesteads, local people among others. Upon arrival in the park you will continue to the lodge check in and have lunch.

After lunch you will go for an evening game drive in the savannah vegetation where you will view  animals like giraffes, elands, elephants, lions, buffaloes, warthogs, zebras, topi, impala, bushbucks, baboons, vervet monkeys, waterbucks, oribi, roan antelopes, reedbucks among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 2: Game drive and boat cruise

Game drive, after an early breakfast on day 2 of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure  you will meet up with your driver guide and go for a morning game drive where you will be able to view animals like elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, impalas, oribi, bushbucks, waterbucks, topi, elands, duikers, Bohor reedbuck, sitatunga, klipspringer, black tailed mongoose, warthogs, bush pigs, predators like leopards, lions and hyenas if you are lucky, primates like vervet monkeys, bush babies, olive baboons, blue monkeys, bird species like lesser kestrel, Hadada ibis, cattle egret, grey backed fiscal, pied crow, long crested eagle among others. After the game drive you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.

Boat cruise, after lunch you will go for an exciting boat cruise on Lake Ihema which starts at around 3:30 pm and takes about 2 hours. lake Ihema is the biggest lake in Akagera national park that harbors large concentrations of hippos, crocodiles which will be seen in water, view animals like elephants, warthogs, buffaloes, waterbucks among others drinking water along the banks, water birds such as the prehistoric shoebill stork, papyrus Gonolek, shoebill stork, malachite kingfisher, cormorants, bee-eaters, African fish eagle, open billed stork, herons, egrets among others. After the boat cruise you will meet up with your driver guide and transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe national park

After breakfast on day 3 of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure you will check out of the lodge, meet up with your driver guide to start the journey to Nyungwe national park in south western Rwanda. On your way you will have en-route lunch and great views of beautiful scenery, homesteads among others and upon arrival you will check into the lodge, have dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk

Chimpanzee trekking, after an early breakfast on day 4 of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for the briefing about the rules and regulations of chimpanzee trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a chimpanzee group to trek and a park guide who will be sharing information about the chimpanzees and also showing you trails to follow while trekking. Trekking of chimpanzees in the park starts at around 8:00am and takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees because they like to move from one place to another in search of food especially during the dry season. Once the chimpanzees are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat which gives you an opportunity to take photos, record the moments, learn more about their lifestyle, habits, behaviors, watch them feed, play, breastfeed among others which gives you incredible and unforgettable experiences on your safari. After the one hour encounter with the chimpanzees you will trek back to the park headquarters meet up with your driver guide and drive back to the lodge for lunch.

Canopy walk, after lunch you will go for an interesting canopy walk which starts at Uwinka reception centre. The canopy is a 90meters long bridge above the forest and Nyungwe national park is the only destination in East Africa offering this exciting activity, the canopy walk activity was opened in 2010 and the bridge goes through huge trees across steep and deep valleys filled with thick forest. The canopy walk takes about 2 hours and offers you with great views of the bird species, butterflies, primates like vervet monkeys, l’hoest monkeys, blue monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, tree species among others. After the amazing experience you will trek back to the starting point where you will meet up with your driver guide to drive back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Transfer to Volcanoes national park

After an early breakfast on  day 5 of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure you will check out of the lodge  and your driver guide will pick you up to transfer to Volcanoes national park. On your way you will have a stopover at Lake Kivu where you will have fascinating views of the sunset, landscapes, animals, bird species among others on the lake shores. From Lake Kivu you will have en-route lunch and then proceed with the journey to Volcanoes national park which takes about 4 to 5 hours drive. Upon arrival in the park, you will continue to the lodge check in, have dinner and overnight.

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Day 6: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park

Gorilla trekking, on day 6 of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure you will have an early breakfast, carry packed lunch and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of gorilla trekking. Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park is done in a group of 8 people where each group is allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who is well conversant with the trails in the jungle. Grouping of individuals is however done according to age, personal preferences and physical fitness therefore in case you are not physically fit you are advised to communicate with your guide so that they allocate you a gorilla family that is near to trek.

Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park starts at 8:00 am and takes about 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on the location of the gorillas because they move from one place to another in search of food and once found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat. During the one hour with the gorillas you will have an opportunity of taking photos, learning about their habits, lifestyle, behaviors, watching them carry out their daily activities, record the moments among others. After the one hour encounter with the gorillas you will trek back to the park headquarters, meet up with your driver guide and transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Golden monkey trekking and departure

Golden monkey trekking, after an early breakfast on day 7 of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules, regulations and expectations of golden monkey trekking. After the briefing you will start trekking in the forest which takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on their location because they are active primates which like to move from one place to another. Once the golden monkeys are found you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment where you will watch them jump from one tree to another, take photos, record videos, learn more about their lifestyle, behaviors, habits among others. After the one hour with the golden monkeys you will trek back to the starting point, meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the lodge for lunch.

Cultural tour, after lunch you will go for a cultural tour in the neighboring communities where you will visit Ibyi’wacu cultural village. During the cultural tour you will have an opportunity of interacting with the local people, learn about their culture, lifestyle, tasting Kinyarwanda food and their locally brewed beer made from bananas, enjoy entertainment by the Rwandese women as they perform Kinyarwanda songs, dance, music, drama, listen to ancient stories about their culture and tradition among others. After the cultural tour you will transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 8: Departure to Kigali

On day 8 of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure you will have a relaxed breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kigali for the city tour. During the city tour you will visit Kigali genocide memorial center where many victims of the 1994 Rwanda genocide between the Tutsi and Hutus were buried. While at the genocide you will watch touching videos, images and listen to the stories of the victims. You will also visit Kimironko market which is one of the biggest market in Kigali where they sell craft items, food staffs like vegetables, fruits among others therefore you will be able to buy some souvenirs or gifts. After the city tour you will go for a buffet in one of the hotels in Kigali and after transfer to Kigali international airport for your next flight.

End of 8 days Rwanda classic adventure

Inclusions of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure

Exclusions of the 8 days Rwanda classic adventure