14 Day Ultimate Rwanda Safari With Gorilla Trekking
Overview
The 14 Day Ultimate Rwanda Safari With Gorilla Trekking is the most comprehensive safari experience Rwanda has to offer. This adventure takes you through the country’s most spectacular destinations, including Akagera National Park, Nyungwe Forest National Park, Lake Kivu, and Volcanoes National Park. Experience thrilling game drives, boat safaris, chimpanzee tracking, canopy walks, mountain gorilla trekking, golden monkey tracking, cultural encounters, and breathtaking scenery across the Land of a Thousand Hills.
This safari is ideal for travellers seeking an in-depth exploration of Rwanda’s wildlife, primates, culture, and natural beauty while enjoying comfortable accommodations and expertly guided experiences.
Safari Highlights
- Chimpanzee trekking
- Gorilla trekking
- Canopy walks
- Nature walks
- Kigali city tour
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival in Kigali
Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be welcomed by your professional driver-guide and transferred to your hotel. Depending on your arrival time, enjoy a brief orientation tour of Kigali before settling in for the evening.
Accommodation Options
Budget: Iris Guest House
Mid-range: Hotel des Mille Collines
Luxury: Kigali Serena Hotel
Meals: Dinner
Day 2: Kigali City Tour and Transfer to Akagera National Park
After breakfast, enjoy a comprehensive Kigali City Tour. Visit cultural landmarks, local markets, art centres, and the Kigali Genocide Memorial for a deeper understanding of Rwanda’s history and resilience.
After lunch, drive to Akagera National Park. Arrive in the afternoon and enjoy a short game drive before checking into your lodge.
Accommodation Options
Budget: Akagera Rhino Lodge
Mid-range: Akagera Game Lodge
Luxury: Ruzizi Tented Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Full Day Wildlife Safari in Akagera National Park
Spend the entire day exploring Akagera National Park. Search for elephants, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, lions, leopards, and rhinos across the park’s diverse habitats.
Enjoy a picnic lunch within the park before continuing your wildlife adventure.
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4: Morning Game Drive and Boat Cruise on Lake Ihema
Begin the day with an early morning game drive when predators are most active.
After lunch, enjoy a boat safari on Lake Ihema. Expect sightings of hippos, crocodiles, elephants along the shoreline, and numerous bird species.
Return to the lodge for relaxation and dinner.
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park
After breakfast, depart Akagera and travel through Rwanda’s beautiful countryside towards Nyungwe Forest National Park.
The journey offers spectacular views of rolling hills, tea plantations, and traditional villages.
Arrive in the evening and check into your lodge.
Accommodation Options
Budget: Gisakura Guest House
Mid-range: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
Luxury: One&Only Nyungwe House
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 6: Chimpanzee Tracking and Canopy Walk
Rise early for chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest. Accompanied by expert guides, search for habituated chimpanzees and other primate species.
After lunch, experience the famous Nyungwe Canopy Walk, suspended high above the rainforest floor and offering magnificent forest views.
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 7: Colobus Monkey Tracking and Waterfall Hike
After breakfast, head into the forest for a colobus monkey tracking experience. Nyungwe is home to one of Africa’s largest populations of Angolan colobus monkeys.
In the afternoon, enjoy a guided waterfall hike through the rainforest, discovering unique plants, birds, and smaller primates along the trail.
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 8: Transfer to Lake Kivu
After breakfast, depart Nyungwe and drive to the beautiful shores of Lake Kivu.
Upon arrival, check into your lakeside resort and spend the afternoon relaxing by the lake.
Enjoy the peaceful atmosphere and stunning sunset views.
Accommodation Options
Budget: Paradise Malahide
Mid-range: Kivu Lodge
Luxury: Lake Kivu Serena Hotel
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 9: Lake Kivu Exploration
Spend the day enjoying Lake Kivu and its surroundings.
Take a boat ride to nearby islands, visit local fishing communities, swim in the lake, or simply relax while enjoying the scenery.
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 10: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
After breakfast, depart Lake Kivu and travel north to Volcanoes National Park.
Arrive at your lodge in the afternoon and spend the remainder of the day relaxing while enjoying views of the Virunga Volcanoes.
Your guide will brief you on the upcoming gorilla trekking experience.
Accommodation Options
Budget: Kinigi Guest House, Hotel Muhabura
Mid-range: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge, Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge
Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Virunga Lodge
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 11: Gorilla Trekking Adventure
After an early breakfast, report to the park headquarters for a briefing before starting your gorilla trek.
Accompanied by experienced rangers and trackers, hike through the forest in search of a habituated mountain gorilla family.
Once found, spend one unforgettable hour observing these magnificent primates in their natural habitat.
Return to the lodge for relaxation after this extraordinary experience.
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 12: Golden Monkey Tracking and Cultural Experience
After breakfast, return to Volcanoes National Park for golden monkey tracking.
Observe these energetic and colourful primates as they move through the bamboo forests of the Virunga Mountains.
In the afternoon, visit the Gorilla Guardians Village for cultural performances, traditional dances, local crafts, and insights into Rwanda’s cultural heritage.
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 13: Twin Lakes Excursion and Community Visit
Enjoy a scenic excursion to the Twin Lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. The area offers some of Rwanda’s most spectacular landscapes with views of the surrounding volcanoes.
Visit local communities, interact with residents, and learn about rural life in northern Rwanda.
Return to the lodge in the evening.
Accommodation
As above
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 14: Return to Kigali and Departure
After breakfast, check out and drive back to Kigali.
Depending on your flight schedule, enjoy last-minute shopping or visit local craft markets before being transferred to Kigali International Airport for your departure flight.
Meals: Breakfast and Lunch
Optional Activities
Akagera National Park
- Night game drive
- Behind-the-scenes conservation tour
- Fishing on Lake Shakani
- Bird watching safari
- Guided walking safari
- Community cultural visits
Nyungwe Forest National Park
- Tea plantation experience
- Bird watching excursions
- Orchid and butterfly walks
- Additional primate tracking
- Photography tours
- Forest nature walks
Lake Kivu
- Kayaking adventure
- Coffee plantation tour
- Sunset boat cruise
- Island hopping excursions
- Sport fishing
- Lakeside cycling tours
Volcanoes National Park
- Dian Fossey Tomb hike
- Mount Bisoke hike
- Mount Karisimbi trek
- Nature walks
- Bird watching tours
- Community development project visits
Kigali
- Rwanda Art Museum
- Inema Arts Centre
- Kimironko Market tour
- Coffee tasting experience
- Local culinary tour
Tour Includes
- Travel in a 4×4 car
- Professional guide
- Park fees
- Accommodation
- Meals
- All Activities In Itinerary
Tour Excludes
- Alcoholic drinks
- Laundry
- Tips
- Shopping
- Insurance
- Anything not included per itinerary
Rwanda’s Most Comprehensive Itinerary
At fourteen days, this is one of our most complete single-country Rwanda itineraries, giving genuine time to virtually every major destination: Volcanoes National Park for gorilla and golden monkey trekking, Nyungwe Forest for chimpanzee tracking and the canopy walkway, Akagera for Big Five game viewing, and typically a closing stay on Lake Kivu.
This length suits travelers who have the time and interest to see Rwanda in full depth rather than a highlights-only circuit, with deliberate rest points built in between the trip’s more demanding trekking and game-drive activities.
Practical Notes
Rwanda requires a yellow fever certificate for entry if arriving from an at-risk country, and most nationalities can apply for a Rwanda e-visa online before travel. Travel insurance covering trekking activities and medical evacuation is strongly recommended, and malaria prevention is worth discussing with a travel health clinic ahead of your trip.
US dollars printed after 2009 are widely accepted for permits, park fees and lodge bills, while Rwandan francs are more practical for tips, markets and smaller day-to-day purchases along the route.
Because gorilla permits are limited and non-refundable once issued, sell out well in advance during the June to September and December to February peak seasons. We recommend booking this itinerary at least four to six months ahead of your intended travel dates.
Tipping is customary though not compulsory. Rangers and trackers typically receive a tip at the end of any trekking activity, generally scaled to group size, while your driver-guide is usually tipped separately at the end of the full trip.
A private 4×4 safari vehicle with an experienced English-speaking driver-guide accompanies you throughout this itinerary.
Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes National Park protects the Rwandan side of the Virunga Massif, a chain of dormant and active volcanoes shared with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and is where Dian Fossey carried out much of the mountain gorilla research that first drew international attention to the species. Treks here tend to reach gorilla families faster on average than in Bwindi, since the park’s habituated groups generally range at somewhat lower altitudes on the volcanoes’ lower slopes, though the terrain is still often steep and can be muddy. A visit to the Dian Fossey Tomb and former research camp, reached by a moderately strenuous hike, is a popular add-on for travellers interested in the conservation history behind the park.
Big Five Safari at Akagera National Park
Akagera National Park, in Rwanda’s far east along the Tanzanian border, is the country’s only savannah park and, following a sustained reintroduction and anti-poaching programme, is once again a genuine Big Five destination — lions were reintroduced in 2015 and eastern black rhinos in 2017, joining the park’s existing elephant, buffalo and leopard populations. The park’s landscape of rolling savannah, papyrus swamp and a chain of lakes along its eastern edge supports one of the richest bird lists in Rwanda, alongside substantial herds of zebra, impala and topi. A boat cruise on Lake Ihema is one of the park’s highlights, bringing close sightings of hippo pods, crocodiles and fish eagles against a backdrop that feels markedly different from Rwanda’s mountainous west.
Canopy Walk and Chimp Trekking in Nyungwe
Nyungwe Forest National Park protects one of Africa’s oldest and most biodiverse montane rainforests, home to thirteen primate species including chimpanzees and large troops of Angola colobus monkeys that can number in the hundreds. The park’s canopy walkway, suspended around 60 metres above the forest floor and stretching roughly 200 metres between three viewing platforms, offers a rare perspective on the rainforest ecosystem below and views across the forested valleys toward Lake Kivu. Chimpanzee trekking here is generally more physically demanding than in Uganda’s Kibale Forest, since Nyungwe’s chimps range across steep, hilly terrain, but the reward is time with one of the largest habituated chimp communities in East Africa.
Relaxing at Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu, one of Africa’s Great Lakes straddling the border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, offers a genuinely restful counterpoint to the physical demands of gorilla trekking. Unlike many of Africa’s lakes, Kivu is free of both crocodiles and the bilharzia parasite, making it one of the few large lakes on the continent that is safe to swim in. Towns along the Rwandan shoreline, particularly Gisenyi and Kibuye, have developed a relaxed lakeside atmosphere with waterfront lodges, and a boat trip out to one of the lake’s islands or simply an evening watching local fishermen head out in their traditional wooden boats makes for an easy final day before flying home.
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