Welcome to Rwanda! Arrive at Kigali airport on your international flight. After finishing the immigration and airport procedures, join your private transfer at the terminal building and proceed to your lodge.
You will be met at your hotel and we drive about 6 hours south through the hilly landscape of Rwanda. On the way, we stop in at the King’s Palace at Nyanza, which gives a sense of what was it was like when the King Ndahindurwa (the last Rwandan King) ruled in the late 1950s.
As we approach the forest edge, the road winds through the park, offering glimpses across the dramatic forest canopy. Located in the Albertine Rift, Nyungwe is one of the largest mountainous forests left in Africa. The forest’s biodiversity is renowned, and it hosts the widest variety of endemic species per square kilometre of any area on the continent. It is also one of the furthest sources of Africa’s two mighty rivers, the Nile and the Congo.
We depart the lodge to go Chimp tracking in nearby Cyamudongo Forest (an hour’s drive). This small forest was historically connected to Nyungwe, and is rich in bird species typical of the Albertine Rift Valley system. It also has a resident habituated Chimpanzee group, and being small, sightings are usually better here than for those tracking Chimps in Nyungwe Forest itself.
Later in the afternoon, we experience a canopy walkway that soars 50 metres above the forest floor.
Today, we hike the forest trails in Nyungwe Forest. The national park hosts a rich floral diversity, and is home to a staggering number of Albertine Rift endemic bird species, as well as 13 different types of primates. This includes Chimpanzees, L’Hoest Monkeys, Golden Monkeys, as well as the largest troops of Black and White Colobus found anywhere on the continent – a habituated group of up to 400 individual members are resident in the forest. In the afternoon, enjoy a nature waterfall walk in the Nyungwe Forest.
This morning we take a helicopter flight to Volcanoes National Park.
After early breakfast at the Lodge, we will be transferred to the park headquarters for a briefing, and from there we proceed on our gorilla tracking activity to one of the 10 Gorilla families that have been habituated to the presence of humans. In the afternoon, if time weather permits, we may visit the twin lakes Burera and Ruhondo, or the local markets in the Musanze town.
Today, we head back to the national park for our Golden Monkey trek, after which we will be transferred by road back to Kigali for your international departure flight.
