This tour has been designed to show you the best highlights of this fascinating country from a primate’s eye view of Nyungwe Forest, close encounters with chimpanzees and the gorillas of the mist.

Day 1: Arrival in Kigali, Rwanda

On arrival in Kigali city, your Mahanda Africa Safaris guide will pick you up and transfer you to your hotel in a quiet leafy street in the heart of down-town Kigali.
If time allows, you can explore the city today. You can take a guided city tour of Kigali city, or pay a visit to the craft markets and browse amongst the pottery, carvings, batik, weaving, musical instruments, leather and fabrics on offer. Prepare to use your haggling skills! All activities today are at your own cost.

Key Facts

Journey Time: 20 minutes
Accommodation: Heaven Boutique Hotel-Residence (Luxury 4 Star hotel locate in Kigali with delicious breakfasts, access to a solar-heated swimming pool)
Meal Plan : No meals included today

Day 2: Visit Genocide Memorial & Travel to Nyungwe Forest

Today, after an early a morning breakfast, you will set off to visit the Genocide Memorial in Kigali City. The Genocide Memorial is a place of commemoration for the 250,000 victims buried in mass graves in the area and an important memorial of the unfathomable brutality of the 1994 Rwanda genocide. The exhibit is an intensely emotional experience but also an educational one, where you will learn about the darkest hour in Rwanda’s recent history.
On your drive out west today, you will be passing through the town of Butare, about 135 km from Kigali. Here you can visit Butare National Museum displaying a range of ethnographic objects that will give you an insight into the rich traditional life and culture of the country.
At the end of the day you will reach Nyungwe Forest National Park, one of the world’s oldest rainforests and arguably Africa’s most beautiful. The forest is incredibly biodiverse with 13 known primate species in residence, from colobus monkeys, mangabeys, blue monkeys and, of course, our closest relatives, the chimpanzees.
Nyungwe Forest is also famous among the birding community who come to spot some of the 310 bird species recorded here, 26 of which are endemic to Rwanda.
You will have plenty of time to explore the interior of the forest tomorrow.

Key Facts
Journey Time: 5-6 hours
Accommodation: Top view Hill hotel (Midrange accommodation in the vicinity of Nyungwe National Park which harbours a number of tourism attractions including various primates)
Meal Plan: Breakfast and dinner

Day 3: Chimpanzee Tracking & Canopy Walk

Today after an early morning breakfast, you will venture deep into Nyungwe Forest National Park in search of its inhabitants, the chimpanzees.
On a Chimpanzee Trekking experience in Nyungwe Forest, you follow an experienced guide into the forest to observe these fascinating creatures at a close range. Watching them interact with each other and go about their daily routine of grooming, playing and foraging is an incredible experience.
While your chances of encountering chimpanzees are high,it is never 100% guaranteed. These are, after all, wild animals with wills and minds of their own!
From the trails below the foliage, you will head up high into the forest canopy on one of East Africa’s first canopy walks. The network of suspension bridges will lead you on a 1.5 hour walk over a deep gorge, through beautiful and lush vegetation and different animal habitats.
The canopy walk is an optional activity. Should you want to spend your afternoon enjoying the luxurious comforts of the lodge or doing one of the complimentary activities on offer there, just let your guide know in advance

Key Facts
Journey Time: 1-2 hours
Accommodation: Top View Hill Hotel (Midrange accommodation in the vicinity of Nyungwe National Park which harbours a number of tourism attractions including various primates)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 4: Explore Lake Kivu

Today, after an early breakfast, you will set off from the rainforests of Nyungwe travelling northwards along the shores of Lake Kivu, one of the African Great Lakes in the Albertine Rift, creating a natural border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The stunning shores of Lake Kivu contain some of the best inland beaches on the continent. Among today’s activities, you will have a boat cruise on the lake, and also have time to take a stroll on the long stretch of beach near the property, or explore the shorelines and bays on a half-day kayaking tour. Let your Travel Consultant know if you want to add a guided half-day kayaking tour to your programme for the day.

Key Facts
Journey Time: 3-4 hours
Accommodation: Rushel Kivu (Midrange a full service beach resort located on the shores of lake Kivu away from the city, between the Kinunu hills)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, packed Lunch and Dinner

Day 5: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

Today, after an early morning breakfast, you will be transferred to Volcanoes National Park. The national park contains parts of the Virunga mountain range and its 5 volcanoes that form the border between Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Besides being one of the most scenic sights in Africa, the park is also the gateway to face-to-face encounters with the iconic mountain gorillas.
While the main draw of visiting Volcanoes National Park is to see the real gorillas in the mist, there are other fantastic activities to experience here like, tracking excursions to find the rare golden monkeys, spectacular volcano hikes and a visit to the Dian Fossey research centre. Speak with your Mahanda Safaris Travel Consultant if you would like to extend your stay in the park for an additional day to include one or more of these activities.

Key Facts
Journey Time: 4 hours
Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View lodge (Midrange accommodation located just 1 km away from the Volcano National Park, amidst real wilderness with panoramic views of Rwanda’s volcano mountains, making it the desired location for Gorilla trekking enthusiast)
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 6: Gorilla Trekking

Today, you will be woken up by the sounds of the jungle, and served an early morning breakfast. Your Mahanda Africa Safaris guide will pick you up from your lodge and transfer you to the tracking point, where you will be briefed about the day's trekking activit. Encountering the rare and endangered mountain gorillas is an experience of a lifetime.
In the company of an experienced park ranger, you will be tracking the whereabouts of one of the habituated family groups who live in the park and can tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day.
Your gorilla tracking experience will be an exciting, yet challenging, journey along forested (sometimes muddy and slippery) slopes, tangled vines, thick vegetation and bamboo forests before you reach the territory of these gentle giants.
En-route, your ranger will point out tell-tale signs of previous gorilla activity like dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots. Depending on the location of the gorillas on any given day, the walk can take anything from 1 to 7 hours. Once the family of gorillas have been located, settle into the environment and enjoy the hour you have to quietly observe these fascinating primates whose habits and mannerisms remind us so much of our own.
Encountering the mountain gorillas in the wild is a truly humbling and emotional experience, one that you are sure to remember for the rest of your life.

Key Facts
Journey Time: 15-30 minutes each way
Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View lodge (Midrange accommodation located just 1 km away from the Volcano National Park, amidst real wilderness with panoramic views of Rwanda’s volcano mountains, making it the desired location for Gorilla trekking enthusiast)
Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner

Day 7: Return to Kigali

Enjoy your last morning in the rainforest today before your guide drives you back to Kigali for your departure flight.

Key Facts
Journey Time: 2.5 hours
Accommodation :Not included today
Meal Plan: Breakfast