Day 1: Arrival at Kigali
On the first day of the 11 Days Rwanda Safari tours: Gorilla trekking and Wildlife tour, guests are met at the Kigali International Airport by our Safari guide, taken to a hotel in Kigali and given a briefing on the next few days activities on the african safari holiday. Time permitting, the guide can take them on a tour of Kigali city, including the Genocide Memorial Center and possibly a local market or handicraft workshop. Kigale is a robust, vibrant city with lots of activity, including a number of new hotels, a variety of restaurants, bars and clubs on the safari vacation.
The city itself is very green with each district distinguished by one of the "hills" that compose the metropolitan area. Exploring both the city center and its environs, is most interesting; Kigali is very different from other East and Central African urban areas, in that there is no pollution, traffic jams and piles of unsightly garbage on the sides of the road. A concerted effort by the government to clean up the environment has proven to be most successful and it stands out from the rest in terms of its cleanliness and organization on the african safari tours.
When ready to relax, guests are taken back to the hotel, have a little rest and enjoy dinner in the hotel.
Day 2: Akagera National Park, Carter Lake -- Boat Drive & Game Drive
After breakfast, guests are taken by their guide to the Akagera National Park. The drive is 2 -- 4 hours, depending on how many of the optional stops they choose to make on the safari adventures. The safaris guide enlightens them of the options that are available along the way; local handicraft workshops, villages with cultural centers and the like, are available.
When they arrive at the accommodation, lunch is served.
After lunch, they are taken on a boat ride on one of the Crater Lakes in the National Park, as well as a game drive through the park, in search of the many wildlife species there on the safari holiday. When ready for a rest, the guide takes them back to the accommodation.
Dinner is served at the hotel.
Day 3: Game Drive & return to Kigali
After breakfast, guests are taken on a game drive to the Northern sector of Akagera National Park; the best location in the park to view the big game. The park roads are not tarmacked and traveling through the park is at a slower pace; in terms of sighting the animals, this is much more appropriate, and they are not disappointed with the variety of wildlife that they encounter on the african safari tours.
Lunch is in form of a picnic en route in the park, as traveling to a lodge or restaurant only lessens exposure to the game on the safari vacation.
In the afternoon, they return to Kigali, and check into the hotel. Depending on the time of arrival, the guide is happy to give information on the optional activities that are available in Kigale. Guests can choose to explore the city with their guide, or just relax in the hotel.
Dinner is served at the hotel.
Day 4: Kigali City Tour
Today guests are given a full-day guided tour of the Memorial and Genocide sites as well as many other attractions within the environs of Kigali; they have the opportunity to visit both Nyamata, about 30 kilometers from the city center and Nyamirambo, one of the oldest and most culturally mixed district of Kigali City, where the community is centered by a most innovative and active Women's center on the african safari holiday.
Lunch is in a typical Rwandan restaurant, either in Kigali town, or en route to Nyamata. There are many opportunities to visit local markets, handicraft workshops and boutiques along the journey.
When ready to relax or go for a swim, the guide takes them back to the hotel; dinner is at the hotel.
Day 5: Virunga National Park
After breakfast, guests are driven to the Virunga National Park. It is about a 2 hour drive, but again, the guide keeps you informed of any interesting stop they might want to make along the route on the safari vacation. When you reach the park, they check in to the hotel, rest up and have some lunch.
After lunch, you are taken on a Cultural encounter to a couple of the local villages to meet with the community and see some of the cultural offerings they have to offer; this could be in the form of a dance, with local musicians accompanying the performers as well as handicrafts and artwork that is locally produced on the african safari tours. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Gorilla Trekking
After breakfast, guests are taken on a Gorilla Trek to seek out the Silverbacks and their families; depending on where the gorillas are that morning, it takes from 3 to 8 hours. The Ranger guide takes them through the light mountainous forest in search of these amazing Silverbacks. Because of the uncertainty of how long they roam the forest, a packed lunch is given to consume during the tracking on the safari holiday.
After encountering the Gorillas, and spending about an hour watching them in their daily routine, guests are taken back to their accommodation for dinner and overnight on the african safari vacation.
Day 7: Lake Kivu
After breakfast on the seventh day of the 11 Days Rwanda Safari tours: Gorilla trekking and Wildlife tour, guests take a most beautiful drive from the Virunga National Park to and around Lake Kivu.
Lunch is en route in a traditional Rwandan restaurant, which gives them the opportunity to taste the local delights.
After lunch they continue the safari around the lake. When they have completed the tour, they are taken to their accommodation, checked in, and given some time to rest up on the african safari holiday.
Day 8: Nyungwe Forest National Park
After breakfast, guests drive to the Nyungwe Forest in western Rwanda. This involves a couple of hours of driving. Along the way, they stop in Butare, the Intellectual Capital of Rwanda; a university and seminary town on the safari vacation.
In Butare, they are taken to a local restaurant for some Rwandese food. There are also opportunities both in Butare and along the way, to visit handicraft workshops and local markets to see what the local people are producing on the african safari tours.
After lunch they continue their drive to the Forest; check into their accommodation for dinner and overnight.
Day 9: Chimpanzee Trekking in Rwanda
After an early breakfast, guests are taken to the Ranger Station to begin their Chimp Tracking Safari. This takes 2 or 3 hours in length, depending on how soon they meet up with a chimpanzee family on the safari holiday.
Lunch at Gisakura Guest House, next to the Tea Plantation.
After lunch there is a choice of either a forest walk or a visit to the tea plantation; if time permits, both are possible on the african safari vacation. When they have completed their afternoon activities, the guide takes them back to their accommodation for dinner and overnight.
Day 10: Return to Kigali
After breakfast on the tenth day of the 11 Days Rwanda Safari: Gorilla trekking and Wildlife tour, guests begin their journey back to Kigali; with a stopover in the town of Nyanza, the old capital of the Kingdom of Rwanda (1958 -- 1962), and the site of the Royal Palace, now known as the Rwesoro Art Museum. The town of Nyanza was the site of one of the largest massacres of Tutsis and Moderate Hutus on the safari tours.
The guide takes you to a local restaurant in Nyanza to taste Rwandese food.
After lunch, they continue their journey to Kigali. There are a number of possible stops en route; the guide informs them of what is available, particularly in terms of handicraft workshops and local markets on the african safari holiday. When they reach Kigali, they are taken to their hotel; if they would like to investigate some of the attractions in the city, the guide is available to take them around; alternately, they may wish to rest or go for a swim.
Dinner at the hotel in Kigali.
Day 11: Kigali Tour
After breakfast, depending on the time of their flight, guests continue their tour of Kigali. There are many attractions available to visit, including local markets and handicraft workshops; for those people that like entertainment, Kigali is a good place for local music and cultural exhibits on the safari vacation.
When the time is appropriate, the guide escorts them to the airport for their onward flight or to their accommodation in Kigali on the african safari tours.
Accommodation is booked in accordance with guests' preferences and depending on budget and availability
PROMINENT DESTINATIONS FOR THIS SAFARI
Akagera National Park
akagera-parkAkagera National Park, founded in 1934, is the largest protected wetland in central Africa. The park is 1,200 square kilometers and consists of 3 ecosystems, savannah, mountain and swamp. Along the eastern boundary is the Kagera River, which the park takes its name from on the safari holiday. The park is home to many large plains game species such as Elephants, Buffalo, Topi, Zebra, Waterbuck, Roan Antelope and Eland. Other antelopes in the park include, dulker, orbi, bohor reedbuck kilpspringer, bush-buck and impala. Primates are in abundance as well; olive baboons, vervet monkeys, and blue monkeys, as well as bushbabies are regularly seen, especially at night on the african safari vacation.
Lions were re-introduced into the park recently; in addition there are leopards, hyena and side-striped jackal. There are plans to introduce the black rhino shortly, which gives Akagera National Park, Big 5 status. There are over 500 bird species in the park, as well as countless water birds that inhabit the vast wetlands on the safari tours.
Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park is Africa's most biologically diverse protected area. The Park is 7,800 square kilometers in size and includes forest, savannas, lava plains, swamps, erosion valleys, active volcanoes, and the glaciated peaks of the Rwenzori mountains on the african safari holiday.
In addition to being the home of a quarter of the world's Mountain Gorillas, Virunga National Park also has two other Great Ape species, the eastern lowland gorillas and chimpanzees. Another interesting inhabitant of the park is the Okapi; an endangered specie that resembles a zebra but is more closely related to the giraffe on the safari vacation. There are lots of hippo, forest and savanna elephants, lions and many rare bird species.
Lake Kivu
kivu_01Lake Kivu forms the Western boundary of Rwanda, together with a string of smaller freshwater lakes; the other side being the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The drive between the Nyungwe Forest National Park and Volcanoes National Park is best done with this route around Lake Kivu; the gorgeous views at every turn, the eucalyptus trees lining the road, and the miles of terraced hills filled with banana forests, make the journey most pleasant on the african safari tours. Visitors are greeted along the way; the 3 towns en route are roughly 3 -- 4 hours apart from one another, each one offering quiet but busy encounters for the traveler. These towns are Gisenyi, Kibuye and Cyangugu on the safari holiday.
Nyungwe Forest National Park
The Nyungwe Forest National Park, in the southwest corner of Rwanda, is a vast untouched tropical rainforest, with a high dense canopy. Here in the park, there are huge tall old mahoganies, ebonies and giant tree ferns that tower above; at the same time there are orchids and other epiphytes clinging to the branches on the african safari vacation. In addition to the flora and fauna, Nyungwe Forest is renowned for the variety of primates (25% of Africa's total) that co-exist with the over 300 brightly coloured bird species and hundreds of different butterflies everywhere. To get a real sense of the magnitude of the forest, one can walk the 50 meter metal suspension bridge that has been built above the canopy; truly a memorable experience on the safari tours.
Activities in Nyungwe Forest National Park are for the active trekkers. There are many treks available, the most popular being the Chimpanzee Trek; but other primates are there to be sought, such as the grey-cheeked mangabey and Rwenzori colobus monkeys. Forest hiking trails are available; a total of 130 kilometers have been created on the safari holiday. The trails last from 1 to 8 hours. The Igishigishigi Trail is one of the shortest, but includes East Africa's highest canopy walk with spectacular views of Nyungwe Forest.
