Top 5 Days Rwanda Gorillas and Nyungwe Forest
Top 5 Days Rwanda Gorillas and Nyungwe Forest
This 5-day Rwanda Gorillas and Nyungwe Safari will take you to Rwanda to tour a country with “a thousand hills”. Rwanda, Uganda, and DRC are the only countries home to the endangered mountain Gorillas in the world. Besides trekking Rwanda gorillas, you may go for a Kigali city excursion, and visit Nyungwe Forest National Park for chimpanzee trekking and a canopy walk.
Highlights
- Chimpanzee Tracking
- Canopy Walk
- Gorilla Tracking
- Kigali City Tour (if time allows)
On arrival in Kigali, you will meet our experienced tour guide who will take you for a city excursion in and around Kigali. Depending on the time available, you'll visit the Kigali Genocide memorial, a place that was built to commemorate the big number of people who lost their lives to the anti-human tragedy that befell the people of Rwanda in 1994. Then after, you'll embark on a scenic drive in the park for 3-4 hours to view the breathtaking, beautiful landscapes to Nyungwe National park, Southern Rwanda.
Lodge: Nyungwe Top View Hotel
Meal Plan: Full Board
Drive time: 4-5 Hour Drive
After an early breakfast, you will then drive to the Uwinka visitor center for a briefing about the chimpanzee trekking dos and don'ts to start the trekking of chimpanzees, During the trek, you will have the chance to see other primates such as the Silver monkey, the Grey-cheeked Mangabey, L’hoests monkey and the Owl faced monkey. You’ll spend a maximum of one hour observing the chimpanzee in their natural setting. The tracking will be a 2-5 hour exercise after which you will return to the starting point to have your packed lunch and relax for a while.
In the afternoon, enjoy an exciting canopy walk in Nyungwe National Park, offering a unique perspective of one of Africa’s oldest rainforests. The experience includes a guided forest walk leading to a suspended canopy walkway high above the forest floor. From the bridge, enjoy spectacular views across the lush treetops and surrounding hills while looking out for monkeys, colorful birds, butterflies, and other forest wildlife.
Lodge: Nyungwe Topview Hotel
Meal Plan: Full Board
Drive time: Approximately 30 minutes
After breakfast, depart Nyungwe National Park and travel north toward Volcanoes National Park, enjoying one of Rwanda’s most scenic road journeys. The drive offers beautiful views of Lake Kivu, with its sparkling waters, surrounding hills, rural communities, and lush countryside. Continue through Rwanda’s spectacular “Land of a Thousand Hills” landscapes before arriving in the Volcanoes region, where the dramatic Virunga Mountains dominate the horizon.
Lodge: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel
Drive time: 6-7 Hour drive
Meal Plan: Full Board
You will have an early breakfast and report at the Park Headquarters for a briefing on the rules to be observed during Gorilla trekking. You will be allocated a Gorilla family to track and guides to lead you to the Gorillas. Tracking ideally will last anywhere between 1 to 6 hours depending on the movements of the primates in the jungle that day. You will spend one hour with them once you encounter them and take notes and plenty of pictures before you return to the headquarters/ Lodge to relax after the experience.
Lodge: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel
Meal Plan: Full Board
After breakfast, you will drive back to Kigali via Butare to visit the National Museum depending on the time of your scheduled flight.
Drive time: 3 Hour Drive
Meal Plan: Half-Board
Includes
- Airport transfers on first and last day,
- Transport in a 4×4 safari Landcruiser
- Services of an English speaking driver-guide
- Fuel for the whole trip
- Gorilla permit of USD1500 per person
- Chimpanzee permit and a canopy walk
- Accommodation and meal plan as per the itinerary
- All park entrance fees
- Drinking water while in the vehicle
Excludes
- Pre and post-tour accommodation
- International airfares
- Rwanda Visa fees
- Items of personal nature such as tips, drinks, and laundry
Frequently Asked Questions
The safari combines three of Rwanda’s signature rainforest experiences: chimpanzee trekking and the canopy walk in Nyungwe National Park, followed by mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park. It also includes scenic road transfers through Rwanda’s mountainous countryside.
You will trek through the rainforest with experienced guides in search of one of Nyungwe’s semi-habituated chimpanzee communities. Nyungwe currently lists chimpanzee tracking at Cyamudongo, Mayebe and Gisovu, with a maximum of eight visitors per community per day.
The canopy walk is a suspended walkway above Nyungwe’s ancient montane rainforest. It provides impressive panoramic views over the forest canopy, some birds, primates, and butterfly species and it begins from Uwinka Visitor Centre.
After a morning briefing, you undergo a briefing at the visitor center, then join ranger-guides and trek through the forest in search of an assigned habituated mountain gorilla family. Once the gorillas are located, you have a regulated viewing period of one hour to observe and photograph them while following the ranger’s instructions.
The minimum age for both mountain gorilla trekking and chimpanzee tracking is 15 and 12 years respectively under Rwanda’s published tourism experience guidelines.
A reasonable level of fitness is recommended. Nyungwe classifies chimpanzee tracking among its more demanding activities, while the canopy walkway is considered moderate. Gorilla trekking difficulty varies considerably depending on the location of the gorilla family, terrain and weather conditions.
Bring sturdy waterproof hiking shoes, long trousers, long-sleeved shirts, a lightweight rain jacket, gardening gloves, insect repellent, sunscreen, a small backpack and a reusable water bottle. A camera and binoculars are also useful for wildlife and landscape viewing.
The safari can be operated throughout the year. Drier periods generally provide more comfortable trekking conditions, while wetter months bring particularly lush forest scenery. Rain is possible at any time in Rwanda’s rainforest environments, so suitable trekking clothing is recommended regardless of travel month.
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