5 Days Rwanda Gorillas, Primates and Lake Kivu Safari

You are welcomed at Kigali International Airport by your driver-guide and begin with a guided visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. It offers an important introduction to the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and to Rwanda’s journey of remembrance and reconciliation.

After lunch at a local restaurant, and a short drive through the capital if time allows, you travel north towards Musanze through rolling hills, terraced farmland and rural communities. The landscape becomes more dramatic as you approach the Virunga volcanoes.

You check in at your lodge near Volcanoes National Park, where your guide confirms the next morning’s arrangements and reminds you what to carry into the forest. Dinner is at the lodge.

After an early breakfast you go to the park headquarters at Kinigi for a briefing by the rangers on trekking rules, forest safety and responsible wildlife viewing. You are then assigned to a gorilla family and set off into the forested slopes of the Virunga Mountains with rangers and trackers.

The trek can take several hours, depending on where the gorillas are, the terrain and the weather. Once you find the family, you spend the permitted hour watching them feed, groom and interact with their young. Sightings cannot be guaranteed.

You return to the lodge for lunch and a rest. In the afternoon you visit the Gorilla Guardians Cultural Village, formerly the Iby’iwacu Cultural Village, to enjoy traditional Intore dance, music and storytelling and to learn about local crafts and the medicinal use of plants. Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

After an early breakfast you return to the park headquarters for a briefing, then trek into the bamboo forest at the base of the volcanoes to find a habituated troop of golden monkeys. These endangered primates are small and very active, leaping between bamboo stems and feeding on shoots, and they are easy to recognise by their golden-orange fur.

After the trek you return to the lodge, check out and have lunch before driving west to Gisenyi, a lakeside town on the northern shore of Lake Kivu. You check in at your lakeside accommodation and have the rest of the afternoon to walk along the shore, enjoy the sunset or simply relax. Dinner and overnight in Gisenyi.

After breakfast you set out on a boat cruise across Lake Kivu, one of the Great Lakes of Africa, past green islands, fishing communities and terraced hills. Depending on the route, weather and local access, the cruise may include a visit to Napoleon Island, known for its hilltop views and fruit bat colony, with a guided walk to a viewpoint if conditions allow.

You have time to photograph the scenery and watch waterbirds. Lunch is at a lakeside restaurant or your lodge. The afternoon is free for optional activities such as kayaking, a guided lakeside walk or exploring Gisenyi town, or simply for resting by the water. Swim only in locally approved areas after checking current safety advice. Dinner and overnight at your lakeside accommodation.

After breakfast you check out and drive back to Kigali through Rwanda’s central highlands, with views of green valleys, cultivated hillsides and village life along the way.

If your flight allows, you stop at a local craft market such as Caplaki Crafts Village to browse handmade Agaseke baskets, wood carvings and textiles, then have a farewell lunch in Kigali. Your driver-guide then takes you to Kigali International Airport for your flight.

The day is planned around your confirmed flight time. If your flight leaves early, the craft market and lunch may be shortened or left out so that you reach the airport on time.