Gorillas, Chimps, Savanna and Lake Kivu in Ten Days
This 10-day private tour covers all of Rwanda’s main national parks, with time on Lake Kivu in between. It begins in Akagera National Park with two days of game drives and a boat trip on Lake Ihema, then heads southwest to Nyungwe National Park for chimpanzee and colobus monkey treks, the canopy walk and a zipline over the forest.
Two nights in Kibuye give you a slower stretch on Lake Kivu, with a boat trip to Napoleon Island and a morning on the water. The tour ends in Volcanoes National Park with a gorilla trek, a golden monkey trek, a cultural village visit and a stop at the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Why You’ll Love This Safari
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Trip Details
Trip Details
Price
1 Solo: $9,250 2 Pax Sharing: $6,630 3 Pax Sharing: $6,398 4 Pax Sharing: $5,998 5 Pax Sharing: $5,905 6 Pax Sharing: $5,502
Meeting point
Kigali
Availability
Year-round, 7 days a week
Duration
10 days
Group size
Min. 1 person
Included
- Park fees (for non-residents)
- All activities (unless labeled as optional)
- Mid-range accommodations (unless listed as upgrade)
- A professional driver/guide
- Private safari vehicle: a 4×4 Land Cruiser, Toyota Prado or safari van, depending on group size
- All transportation (unless labeled as optional)
- All taxes/VAT
- Roundtrip airport transfer
- Meals (as specified in the day-by-day section)
- Drinks (as specified in the day-by-day section)
- Gorilla permits (one per person, non-resident)
- Golden monkey permits (one per person, non-resident)
- Chimpanzee trekking permits (one per person, non-resident)
Not included
- International flights (from/to home)
- Additional accommodations before and at the end of the tour
- Tips
- Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
- Porter fees
What to bring
- Waterproof jacket
- Warm jacket (early mornings can be cold)
- Neutral-colored clothing (avoid bright colors)
- Long-sleeved shirt
- Long pants
- Good hiking shoes
- Gaiters (for mud and nettles)
- Hat
- Gloves
- Light backpack
- Sunscreen
- Snacks
- Light face mask
- Binoculars
- Insect repellent
Participation requirements
Min. age of 15 years old required to participate in this tour. A reasonable level of fitness is recommended for the gorilla, golden monkey and chimpanzee treks.
About your guide
Your safari will be led by an experienced local guide who will share facts about the wildlife, landscapes, and culture. Your guide is dedicated to ensuring your safari is safe, informative, and tailored to your interests.
What You’ll See & Do
Day 1: Arrival in Kigali
Welcome to Rwanda. Your guide will meet you at Kigali International Airport, give you a short introduction to the 10 days ahead, and take you to your hotel in the city.
The rest of the day is free to settle in and recover from your flight, whether you want to sleep, unpack or take a short walk nearby. In the evening, you’ll have dinner at the hotel and an early night, because your safari starts before sunrise tomorrow with the drive to Akagera National Park.
Meals Included: Dinner
Overnight: Kigali
Day 2: Akagera Game Drive and Lake Ihema Boat Trip
Your driver will collect you from your hotel at 5:00 AM for the drive east to Akagera National Park. You’ll start with a morning game drive, looking for elephants, zebras, giraffes, lions and several kinds of antelope while the animals are most active.
In the afternoon, you’ll take a boat trip on Lake Ihema. Hippos and crocodiles are common here, and the birdlife is rich, from African fish eagles to, with luck, the rare shoebill stork. You’ll spend the night at a lodge in the Akagera area.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Akagera National Park
Day 3: Full Day of Game Drives in Akagera
After an early breakfast, you’ll spend the whole day exploring Akagera on game drives. Moving between the park’s lakeshores, open grassland and wooded hills, you’ll look for lions, rhinos and elephants as well as the giraffes, buffalo and zebras that graze the plains, with plenty of time to stop when you find something worth watching.
A full day in the park means you’re not rushing between sightings, and your guide can take you further into the different habitats. Lunch is included during the day, and you’ll be back at the lodge by evening for dinner and a second night in Akagera.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Akagera National Park
Day 4: King’s Palace, Ethnographic Museum and Drive to Nyungwe
After breakfast, you’ll leave Akagera and drive southwest across Rwanda. In Nyanza, the old royal capital, you’ll stop at the King’s Palace to see the traditional royal residence and learn how the kingdom was run.
Next, you’ll continue to Huye (formerly Butare) for the Ethnographic Museum, whose collections trace Rwandan crafts, customs and traditions. From Huye, the road winds through green hills to Nyungwe, where you’ll check in for two nights on the edge of the rainforest.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Nyungwe National Park
Day 5: Chimpanzee Trekking and Canopy Walk
Start early for a chimpanzee trek in Nyungwe Forest. Your guide leads you along rainforest trails to find a chimp community, and along the way you’re likely to see other monkeys and some of the forest’s colorful birds. Lunch and a rest back at the lodge follow the trek.
In the afternoon, you’ll walk the Nyungwe canopy walkway, a suspended bridge about 60 meters above the forest floor that gives you a bird’s-eye view of the treetops and the valleys below.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Nyungwe National Park
Day 6: Colobus Monkey Trek, Zipline and Drive to Kibuye
After breakfast, you’ll head back into Nyungwe with a guide to find black-and-white colobus monkeys, which move through the canopy in large, noisy troops. Next comes the zipline, a fast ride high above the forest that shows you Nyungwe from a completely different angle.
After lunch, you’ll drive north to Kibuye, a quiet lakeside town on the shore of Lake Kivu, and check in for two nights by the water. The rest of the afternoon is free to relax.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Kibuye, Lake Kivu
Day 7: Napoleon Island Boat Trip and Kibuye
After breakfast, a boat takes you out to Napoleon Island, known for its large colony of fruit bats, with walking trails, birdlife and wide views over Lake Kivu. You’ll then stop at another island nearby for a short hike up to a viewpoint over the water.
In the afternoon, you’ll visit the museum in Kibuye to learn about the area’s history, culture and traditions. The evening is free to enjoy the lake from your hotel.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Kibuye, Lake Kivu
Day 8: Canoeing on Lake Kivu and Drive to Volcanoes National Park
Start the day at an easy pace, with breakfast and a morning canoe outing on Lake Kivu. Then you’ll head north to Volcanoes National Park, driving through rolling hills and green valleys as the Virunga volcanoes come into view.
You’ll arrive in the afternoon with time to settle into your lodge, enjoy the mountain views and lay out your boots and rain gear for two days of primate trekking. Dinner is served at the lodge.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Volcanoes National Park
Day 9: Gorilla Trekking and Gorilla Guardians Village
After an early breakfast, you’ll go to the park headquarters for the morning briefing, where your group is assigned a gorilla family. Expert guides then lead you up through the forest, and once you find the gorillas, you’ll spend one hour watching them feed, play and rest.
In the afternoon, you’ll visit Gorilla Guardians Village (formerly Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village), where people from the communities around the park share Rwandan music, dance and traditions. The evening ends with dinner at the lodge on your last night of the safari.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Volcanoes National Park
Day 10: Golden Monkey Trekking and Return to Kigali
Your last morning starts with a golden monkey trek in the park’s bamboo forest, where these lively gold-and-black primates feed and leap between the stems. It makes a fitting final trek after yesterday’s hour with the gorillas.
Afterward, you’ll stop at the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, where you’ll see how researchers and rangers protect the gorillas and other primates of the Virungas. Then you’ll drive back to Kigali, about two and a half hours, for drop-off at your hotel or Kigali International Airport.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Frequently Asked Questions
It suits travelers who want to see Rwanda’s main wildlife in one trip without rushing: gorillas, golden monkeys, chimpanzees and Akagera’s savanna animals, with two quieter days on Lake Kivu in the middle. There are early starts and several forest treks, so you should be comfortable walking for a few hours on uneven ground. Everyone on the treks must be at least 15 years old.
The gorilla, chimpanzee and golden monkey treks all follow forest trails that can be steep, muddy and slippery. The gorilla trek can take two to five hours in total, depending on where your assigned family is. A reasonable level of fitness is recommended. Local porters can carry your bag on the gorilla trek and help on steep ground; porter fees are not included.
Your price includes one gorilla permit, one golden monkey permit and one chimpanzee trekking permit per person, plus park fees for non-residents and the activities listed in the itinerary. The Rwanda gorilla permit alone costs $1,500. International flights, tips, porter fees and personal costs such as visas and travel insurance are not included. For how gorilla permits are priced and booked, see our gorilla trekking permit cost guide and our guide to the full cost of a gorilla trek.
Book as early as you can, because only a limited number of gorilla permits are issued for each day. For July and August, the busiest months, we recommend booking about six months ahead. A 50% deposit confirms your booking. Booking early also gives the widest choice of lodges for each night of the tour. Our guide to the best time for gorilla trekking compares the dry and rainy months.
Yes. Some travelers add a second gorilla trek or extra nights in Kigali at the end. If you have a week rather than ten days, our 7-day Rwanda Wildlife & Primates Safari Adventure covers Akagera, Nyungwe and the gorillas on a shorter route, without the two nights in Kibuye. Send us your dates and we’ll suggest the best fit.
