13 Days - Best of Rwanda

Day notes

Arrive at Kigali International Airport. On your arrival you will be met by an Inspired Journeys representative and your driver/guide. 

Having passed immigration and luggage collection, look out for your guide who will be holding up a signboard with your name. Transfer to Heaven Retreat Hotel, a 20 minutes’ drive, depending on traffic.

Day notes

Today enjoy a full day city tour of Kigali. This private tour starts at 09h00 from your hotel. 

Stops include: a trip to the top of Mt. Kigali for views of the city and the countryside, a milk bar, a neighborhood market, a mural walk, a great Rwandan lunch, the best coffee in Rwanda supporting sustainable tourism, a ride on a water taxi, a neighborhood walk and ends at the Kigali Genocide Memorial. The tour will end around 17h00.

After your tour you will return to Heaven Retreat for dinner at the Fusion Restaurant.

Day notes

After breakfast transfer by road with a packed lunch for a 5 hour journey through the winding roads and hills of Rwanda to Nyungwe Forest National Park. You may  choose to break-up the journey by stopping at the King's Palace and/or National Art Gallery in Nyanza and the Ethnographic museum in Huye.  

Arriving at One & Only Nyungwe House in the afternoon, where you can relax and soak in the sounds of nature and the ancient forest around you.

Day notes

Early morning to head out on your track to find the colobus monkeys.

There are two troops that can be tracked in Nyungwe Forest. They have not been allocated names but are easy to distinguish purely by the number of members and the areas within which they live.

The smaller group has 30 - 40 members and can be tracked every day. Trekking to see this family takes 2 - 2.5 hours, including your time spent observing them. Be prepared for steep terrain that can also be muddy. If you are trekking this group, you will check in at the RDB (Rwandan Development Board) office in Gisakura.

The larger group has an astonishing 400 members, this is the largest troop found throughout Africa. As they are only semi-habituated and tend to move great distances it cannot be guaranteed that you can trek to see them. On days when it is possible, expect the trek to take between 2- 5 hours and for the terrain to be both steep and muddy.

After you your colobus experience, you will return to the lodge for lunch and some relaxation time, before heading out in the afternoon to hike the Umuyove Trail which covers  a distance of 5.5 kilometers, and takes you approximately 3.5 hours. 

*This is one of the famous hikes within the park and is relatively short and filled with fantastic views of the waterfalls and the orchids along with many other wild flowers for you to enjoy along the hike. The Umuyove means Mahogany as you will see these trees line the trail, and you will also have the opportunity to see many bird species and primates along the way. So be sure to have your camera ready!

Day notes

A very early start as you need to check in at 05h00 at the Nyungwe Park Office at Giaskura. Once registered and you’ve been assigned your guide, you will drive deeper into the forest (1-1.5 hours) before you reach the start of your Chimpanzee trek.

There are two habituated chimpanzee families in Nyungwe Forest, Cyamudongo and Uwinka. You are most likely to find the Cyamudongo family which has around 40 members. The terrain here is very hilly with steep inclines and likely to be muddy, so this is not an activity for the frail or injured and a reasonable level of fitness is required.

In contrast to the Mountain gorillas who are very sedentary and often sitting in clearings, the chimps are more likely to be found high up in the trees and regularly on the move. Although this may present more challenges for getting that perfect photo, the experience itself will be no less memorable. The chimps will no doubt enthral you with their intelligent and complex social behaviour. But be prepared for their noisy communication techniques with loud hoots and banging of trees and their stumps.

After lunch back at the lodge, head out for your canopy walk.

You will start by checking in at the Uwinka visitors centre in the Nyungwe Forest. After a short briefing by your guide, you will begin the 2.1km trek. This first part of the trek underneath the treetops is about 200 metres, where after you will greet East Africa’s only canopy walkway and begin your trip into the skyline.

The canopy walkway can be split into 3 sections.

An initial 45 metres of metal walkway will lead you onto one of the impressive support legs, which joins onto the next and longest stretch of a 90 metres bridge. This gravity challenging section is suspended 60m above the forest floor and is a great place to get some perspective on the scale of this magnificent rainforest. Offering breath-taking views over the misty forest below you and into the tree canopies surrounding you where you might see blue monkeys and a variety of butterflies. The final section is a shorter distance of only 25 metres, bringing the total length of this walkway to 160 metres.

Day notes

After breakfast transfer by road on a 2 hour drive to Kibuye, following the picturesque Lake Kivu.  Once you have checked in at Comoran Lodge you will head out on an afternoon of  kayaking on the lake. 

Enjoy the evening looking out over the tranquil lake.

Day notes

After breakfast, transfer by road along the picturesque Lake Kivu to Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. 

If you are feeling energetic in the afternoon, you can visit the Africa Rising Cycling Team and go out for a ride with an ex-member of the National Rwandan cycling team. This is a great way to discover this beautiful country and interact with local people.

Day notes

Depart after an early breakfast, to reach the Park HQ in Kiningi by 7h00 for your check in and briefing. Treks can take anywhere between 2-8 hours including your 1 hour with the gorillas themselves.

A visit to a mountain gorilla family is a life changing experience. Mountain gorillas are highly intelligent, good natured, and fascinating to observe. The silverback’s powerful presence is awe-inspiring, yet his calm demeanor clearly earns him the title, 'gentle giant'. People are equally struck by the tenderness and care that mothers show their young. And then, of course, there are the juveniles who spend most of every waking hour at play and never cease to make visitors smile.

Mountain gorillas (gorilla beringei beringei), live in colder climates than the other gorilla species, with their longer and thicker fur providing additional warmth. They are usually smaller than their close cousins the Eastern Lowland Gorilla (gorilla beringei graueri). To the untrained eye, all gorillas may appear very similar in appearance, but they have unique nose prints that help to identify individuals.

After your mountain gorilla trek, if time allows: enjoy a relaxing canoe trip on the Mukungwa river, watching out for abundant birdlife and looking out for otters.

Day notes

Depart after an early breakfast, to reach the Park HQ in Kiningi by 7h00 for your check in and briefing.  The trek starts at 7h30am and takes 1 – 5 hours including your return trip and 1 hour spent with the Golden monkeys.

Golden monkeys live within bamboo vegetation, their diet consisting of young bamboo branches, leaves, shoots, fruits and some insects. There are 2 habituated Golden monkey groups in Volcanoes National Park named Kabatwa & Musonga. The largest group encompasses about 80 to 100 members and can be found at the base of Mt Sabyinyo. Expect the hike to be muddy and through vegetation including stinging nettles, but easier than the treks to the gorillas, due to the lower areas they inhabit.

Day notes

After breakfast transfer to Volcanoes NP HQ in Kiningi, arriving in time for the briefing at 07h00 and to be assigned park rangers to guide you.  At 08h00 drive 30-45 minutes to the start of the Mt Bisoke hike. Expect to hike 6-7 hours  (3 -4 hours to ascend, 30mins - 1 hour exploring the top and looking down into the crater lake, and 2 hours descend). 

This hike is a great day activity to expose you to the beauty of Volcanoes National Park ascending through farmlands of local communities, bamboo, Hagenia Hypericum & sub-alpine forests, ending with the spectacular crater lake at the top. Visoke (aka Bisoke) volcano lies in both D.R.C & Rwanda, but its highest point peaks at 3,711m on the Rwandan side, so can be summited from within Volcanoes National Park.

Day notes

Today is a long driving day to Akagera National Park.  On the way you have the option to stop to look at the Nyabarongo river or the Nyamata Genocide Memorial. Once through the park gates you can start your first game drive. Visitors can expect to find large animals such as buffalo, elephant, zebra, giraffe and 12 species of antelope including the graceful Impala. Akagera is made up of three types of habitat, savanna, mountain and swamp, which encourage a large variety of birds numbering close to 500.

Day notes

After an early breakfast, you will head out on a morning  game drive, returning for lunch at the lodge. Afterwards head out to do a boat trip on Lake Ihema. A boat safari on Lake Ihema offers a different perspective to the traditional game drive. Cruise along the forest-fringed lake edge, past basking crocodiles and thirsty elephants. With one of the highest concentrations of hippopotamus in Africa you are certain to see a few pods and a multitude of bird species including the rare Shoebill Stork. 

Day notes

Enjoy your last morning game drive and drive out of the park. Continue (2.5 hours) back to Kigali International Airport in time for your international flight back home.