5 Days Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari
The 5 days Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari is an exceptional safari that starts and ends in Kigali Rwanda. The safari will take you to Nyungwe Forest National Park which is known for harbouring chimpanzees and Volcanoes National Park located in the northwestern part of Rwanda which is famously known for harbouring the endangered mountain gorillas and other primates like golden monkeys, vervet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys among others. During the 5 days Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari, you will be able to engage in adventurous chimpanzee trekking where you will spend time with the chimpanzees, canopy walk and gorilla trekking activity where you will be able to spend one hour with the mountain gorillas in the habitat. You will also be able to visit the Ibyi’wacu village where you will be able to interact with the local people in the neighbouring communities.
Highlights of the 5 Days Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park
Day 2: Rwanda Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park and Ibyi’wacu cultural tour
Day 5: Departure to Kigali
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park
Depending on your location in Kigali on the first day of the 5 days Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari, you will be picked up in the morning from your hotel or Kigali International Airport by a driver guide from Achieve Global Safaris who will brief you about the safari and then go for a short city tour in Kigali where you will be able to visit the Kigali Genocide memorial centre, Kimironko market, art centres among others. After the Kigali city tour, you will start the journey to Nyungwe Forest National Park with en-route lunch on the way and a stopover at the Royal Kings Palace in Nyanza for a short tour and then proceed to Nyungwe Forest National Park. Upon arrival in Volcanoes National Park, you will check into the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Chimpanzee trekking
After an early breakfast on the second day of the 5 days Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari, your driver guide will pick you up from the lodge to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about chimpanzee trekking. After the briefing, you will start trekking in the forest which takes about 2 to 6 hours depending on their location because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking, you will be able to view other primates like red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, l’hoest monkeys and different bird species. Once the chimpanzees are located, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them which gives you a chance to learn about their habits, and lifestyle, watch them feed, play, rest, hunt, breastfeed, take photos and videos. After the encounter with the chimpanzees, you will drive back to the lodge for lunch.
Canopy walk
After lunch, you will transfer to the Uwinka Reception Centre for the breathtaking canopy walk where you will enjoy aerial views of the park, primates like chimpanzees, and monkeys, view colourful birds, butterflies, trees and plant species among others. After the canopy walk, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight as above.
Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
After breakfast on the third day of the 5 days Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari, you will check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Volcanoes National Park. On the way, you will have an en-route lunch and enjoy great views of the scenery, Lake Kivu among others. Upon arrival in Volcanoes National Park, you will check into the lodge for evening relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park
Gorilla trekking experience
On the fourth day of the 5 days Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari, you will have an early breakfast, carry your lunch box and later meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a gorilla trekking briefing. After the briefing, you will be subdivided into groups of 8 people where each group will be allocated a habituated gorilla family to trek and an experienced park guide. Mountain gorillas trekking in Volcanoes National Park takes about 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on where the gorilla family/group is located because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. During trekking, you will be able to spot other primates like red-tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys, and different bird species among others and once the mountain gorillas are located, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their environments which allows you to learn more about their habits, behaviours, watch them carry out their daily activities like feeding, playing, resting, breastfeeding, grooming young ones, take photos and record videos.
After the one hour with the mountain gorillas, you will trek back to the starting point where you will meet up with your driver guide to go for an interesting Ibyi’wacu cultural tour where you will be able to interact with the local people, learn about their culture, way of living, enjoy their traditional performance among others. After the cultural tour, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight as above.
Day 5: Departure to Kigali
On the last day of the 5 days Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari, you will have breakfast at leisure, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer back to Kigali. Upon arrival, you will go for a short Kigali city tour in case you missed it on the first day or your driver guide will drop you off at Kigali International Airport for your departure flight/ drop off at your hotel depending on your schedule.
End of 5 days Rwanda gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari
Tour includes
- Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Canopy walk
- Ibyi’wacu cultural tour
- Kigali city tour
- Professional English-speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Ground transfers (in a 4WD vehicle)
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled drinking water
Tour excludes
- International air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Life insurance
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, hiring a porter, and tips among others.
