Chimpanzees, Gorillas and Golden Monkeys in Five Days
This 5-day private tour is built around Rwanda’s primates. You’ll drive from Kigali to Nyungwe National Park, stopping at the King’s Palace Museum in Nyanza on the way, then spend a full day in the rainforest with chimpanzees in the morning and Angolan colobus monkeys in the afternoon. A boat trip to Napoleon Island on Lake Kivu breaks up the drive north to Volcanoes National Park.
There you’ll trek to a mountain gorilla family, visit the Gorilla Guardians Village and finish with golden monkeys in the bamboo forest. Unlike our 5-day Rwanda gorilla tour, it leaves out Akagera and adds chimpanzees, and unlike our 7-day wildlife and primates safari, it includes golden monkeys in two fewer days.
Why You’ll Love This Safari
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Trip Details
Trip Details
Price
Price on request. Tell us your dates and group size, and we’ll send you a quote.
Meeting point
Kigali (hotel or airport pick-up)
Availability
Year-round, 7 days a week
Duration
5 days
Group size
Min. 1 person
Included
- Park fees (for non-residents)
- Gorilla permits (one per person, non-resident)
- Chimpanzee trekking permits (one per person, non-resident)
- Golden monkey permit for Volcanoes National Park (one per person, non-resident)
- Colobus monkey trek in Nyungwe National Park
- Boat trip on Lake Kivu to Napoleon Island
- Visits to the King’s Palace Museum in Nyanza and the Gorilla Guardians Village
- All activities (unless labeled as optional)
- All 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)
- Drinking water (on all days)
Not included
- International flights (from/to home)
- Additional accommodations before and at the end of the tour
- Tips
- Porter fees
- Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
- Some meals (as specified in the day-by-day section)
What to bring
- Waterproof jacket
- Rain pants (trails can be wet and slippery)
- 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
- Face mask (worn near the primates)
- Binoculars
- Insect repellent
Participation requirements
Min. age of 15 years old required to participate in this tour. No fitness test is required, but the treks can be steep and muddy, and a reasonable level of fitness helps.
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: Kigali to Nyungwe via the King’s Palace Museum
After an early breakfast in Kigali, your driver/guide will set off with you for Nyungwe National Park in the southwest of Rwanda. The road climbs and dips through the country’s green hills and farmland, and on the way you’ll stop in Nyanza for the King’s Palace Museum, where you’ll learn about Rwanda’s royal history and traditional culture.
Back on the road, you’ll pass small villages and the tea plantations that border the forest before checking in at your lodge for lunch. The afternoon is yours to rest, walk the grounds and listen to the forest. Dinner is at the lodge, followed by an early night before the chimpanzee trek.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Nyungwe area
Day 2: Chimpanzee Trek and Colobus Monkeys
You’ll be up early for a ranger briefing, then follow the trackers into the rainforest in search of a chimpanzee community. Chimps are wild and cover a lot of ground, so the walk can be longer or shorter depending on conditions and where they spent the night. When you catch up, you’ll watch them feed, call and climb through the trees. As with all primate treks, you’ll wear a face mask near them to protect them from human coughs and flu.
In the afternoon, you’ll head back into the forest to find Angolan colobus monkeys, which move through Nyungwe’s canopy in large troops, their black coats and white fur easy to pick out against the leaves. Then it’s back to the lodge for dinner and a second night near the forest.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Nyungwe area
Day 3: Lake Kivu Boat Trip and Drive to Volcanoes National Park
After an early breakfast, you’ll leave Nyungwe and head north toward Volcanoes National Park. It’s a long day on the road, broken up by a stop on the shore of Lake Kivu for lunch and a boat trip.
The boat takes you out to Napoleon Island and a few of the smaller islands nearby, with wide views across the water to the hills on either side. Keep watching the islands’ trees, as vervet monkeys are sometimes seen there. Back on land, you’ll continue north through the countryside and reach your lodge near Volcanoes National Park later in the day. Over dinner, your guide will run through what to expect on tomorrow’s gorilla trek.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Volcanoes National Park area
Day 4: Gorilla Trekking and Gorilla Guardians Village
After an early breakfast, you’ll drive to the park headquarters at Kinigi for the 7:00 AM briefing. Rangers go over the trekking rules and assign your group to a habituated gorilla family, then lead you into the forest on the slopes of the volcanoes. Most treks take two to five hours, but they can be longer or shorter depending on conditions and where the gorillas are. Once you reach the family, you’ll have one hour to watch them at close range, with your face mask on.
You’ll return to your lodge for lunch and a rest. In the afternoon, you’ll visit the Gorilla Guardians Village (formerly Iby’Iwacu) for traditional music and dance and an introduction to Rwandan customs.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Volcanoes National Park area
Day 5: Golden Monkey Trek and Return to Kigali
After an early breakfast, you’ll go back to the park with a ranger guide to look for golden monkeys in the bamboo forest at the foot of the volcanoes. These rare, orange-backed monkeys are quick and playful, and you’ll watch a troop feed and leap between the bamboo stems.
Afterward, you’ll drive back to Kigali through the hills, about two and a half hours. If time allows, your guide can take you to the Kigali Genocide Memorial and to the busy Kimironko Market before dropping you at your hotel or Kigali International Airport.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Frequently Asked Questions
It fits all three of Rwanda’s best-known primates, chimpanzees, mountain gorillas and golden monkeys, into five days. Our 5-day Rwanda gorilla tour spends its first days in Akagera and has no chimp trek. Our 7-day wildlife and primates safari adds Akagera but leaves out golden monkeys. If you only want chimps, our 3-day Nyungwe tour is shorter. This tour has no savanna game drives.
No fitness test is required, but the chimpanzee and gorilla treks can be steep and muddy, and a reasonable level of fitness helps. Rain can make the trails slippery, so pack waterproof gear. Treks can be longer or shorter depending on conditions and where the animals are. The colobus and golden monkey treks are usually gentler. Porters can carry your bag; porter fees are not included.
We quote the price for your dates and group size. It includes one gorilla permit, one chimpanzee permit and one golden monkey permit per person, park fees for non-residents, the colobus trek, the Lake Kivu boat trip, the museum and village visits, four nights’ accommodation, meals as listed, drinking water, your driver/guide, a private safari vehicle and airport transfers. Tips, porter fees and visas 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.
Everyone on the tour must be at least 15 years old, which is the Rwanda Development Board’s minimum age for gorilla trekking. Please bring a face mask and wear it when you are near the chimpanzees, gorillas and golden monkeys. Primates can catch human illnesses such as coughs and flu, so a mask helps protect them.
Book as early as you can, since gorilla permits are limited each day, and about six months ahead for July and August. A 50% deposit confirms your booking. Day 1 starts with breakfast in Kigali, so plan to arrive the day before; we can arrange that night for an extra cost. As this is a private tour, we can also add days, such as Akagera game drives.
Our guide to the best time for gorilla trekking compares the dry and rainy months.
