This 10 Days Rwanda primate’s safari with Birding experience takes you to different travel destinations in Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills. Here are a few highlights for your experience as you Visit Rwanda. You have to wake up early morning, meaning that you must find accommodation closer to the park entrance. Your African gorilla guide will be briefing you at 7 am about safety precautions as well as the etiquette. There are over 80 gorilla tracking guides provided the Rwanda Development Board, well trained and speaking English and French.
Day 1: Check with Immigration for Visa
After your arrival in Kigali, you will check with Immigration for Visa and all other necessary documents to allow you enter Rwanda, please note for Rwanda Visa you will always get it on arrival at $30 per person for single entry Visa. Later you will look for someone with a placard having your name or Booking Agent on it transfer to the accommodation for overnight or resting.
Day 2: Proceed to Nyungwe Forest National Park
Morning breakfast, proceed to Nyungwe Forest National Park. In the afternoon go for a canopy walk where you will have a clear view of the forest and it is possible to spot many bird species and few monkeys. For people with heights this will be an endless adventure and those without it will be a close to nature walk and life time rewarding experience. This is the third Canopy walk in the world and the only one in East Africa.
The starting point is Uwinka visitor’s information Centre, and this activity requires advance booking or be ready to pay with credit card if it has not been booked! Later overnight at your accommodation. Please Note! Depending on the weather this activity is subject to change the park Authorities for the safety of clients and then be res-scheduled to another possible time.
Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking day
Chimpanzee tracking day! Today you will have a short night as you are advised to start your journey between 4:00am and 5:00am depending on where you stayed (Kitabi or Gisakura). You will pick the ranger from the ranger post and go to Uwinka information center, there you will be assigned a community of Chimpanzees to track. Two places where fully habituated chimpanzees are found are: Nyungwe National Park (Main) and the fragmented Cyamudongo forest which is also park of Nyungwe National Park. Cyamudongo has the largest community of Chimpanzee, but the park authority determines where tracking will take place.
All visitors are required to have some level of fitness as this will be a walk-through unmarked trails and sometimes walking fast is a requirement in order to catch up with these apes. Observing them eat, caring for babied, play and knowing their social life will be your days highlight! Later drive back to the information center and check in to your accommodation. For those who may not have had a chance to do Canopy walk today is also another opportunity to do
Day 4: Birding walk
Today, open activities where you can pick from include: Birding walk along the forest edges, go for Imbaraga walk to the 4 water falls with great view points, Birding on the way, go for Irebero trail where a variety of birds and monkeys can be spotted, please notify the guide a day before since these activities have/must be paid for using a credit card of Bank transfer and in the afternoon Kibuye for overnight and lake shore relaxation.
Day 5: Proceed to Volcanoes national park.
Optional boat cruise on the Lake Kivu and later proceed to Volcanoes national park. In the afternoon you can choose to do any of the activities below; forest walk in Buhanga eco park where there are chances of spotting primates and variety of bird species. Community encounter where you will be taken through the cultural norms of the Banyarwanda both Tutsis’ and Hutus’ how they used to live and perform a cultural ceremony where one of you will be crowned a King or Queen it is also possible to visit the Dian Fossy research centre in Musanze and get to know how gorilla conservation started and the efforts being done to keep the numbers high.
Day 6: Gather at the park offices in Kinigi for briefing.
Early morning after your breakfast, gather at the park offices in Kinigi for briefing. A ranger will be assigned to you and the hike starts from the park or depending on their feeding pattern you may be required to have a vehicle transfer till the hiking starting point. The Golden monkeys are one of the old-world monkeys which live in groups called troops and they are a sub specie of the blue monkeys which are highly endangered, and it is estimated to be about 20,000 remaining in the wild. Watching them play and swing in tree branches will be a reward for this walk, they have been habituated and so the level of shyness is low, and they are free with photography. Later walk back to the hotel for check out and proceed to Bwindi national park.
Day 7: Mountain Gorilla tracking!
Mountain Gorilla tracking! Wake up early morning with your packed lunch, drive or walk to the park offices for briefying and entertainment from a local tribe that live near the park, and these are the first keepers of the gorillas. You will be told does and don’ts while in the park. In the afternoon relax at the lodge or take another walk through the community and visit the indigenous tribe and one of the oldest tribes in Africa “The pygmies”
Day 8: Head out to Rwanda’s only Savanah Park
Morning breakfast, head out to Rwanda’s only Savanah Park; Akagera National Park. Passing through the Gatuna border, you will arrive in the afternoon with good chances of doing an evening games drive.
Day 9: Embark on your journey to the game drive tracks to look for big game.
Early morning breakfast, embark on your journey to the game drive tracks to look for big game, on a lucky day you will easily spot the big cats, elephants, Masai Giraffes and rare black rhinos. In the afternoon go for a boat cruise on Lake Ihema. This boat is a perfect platform for bird viewing and photography. Later drive back to the lodge with evening at leisure.
Day 10: Morning game drive as you check out of the park.
Morning game drive as you check out of the park, arrive in Kigali in time for your lunch. relax at the hotel for dinner and prepare for your outbound flight back home or extend your trip to Tanzania’s Serengetti or Kenya’s Masai Mara or Zanzibar beach!