Rwanda Primate and Lake Kivu Safari (6 Days)

Wake up to a hefty breakfast before departing your hotel for a short City tour where you will visit the Rwanda Art Muesum and Inema Art Centre where you will find alot of art pieces rich in Rwandese culture. Return to the hotel for hot lunch and after freshening up head out to the Kigali Genocide Memorial. This is a memorable emotional experience which will take you back to the events of the  100 day genocide slaughter that happened in 1994. An audio guide will prove very useful as some of sites especially outdoor have no signage. The experience is moving and many of the guests here are emotional. We will return to the hotel to relax as we await dinner.

In the morning, enjoy breakfast before setting off with your safari guide north to Volcanoes National Park, the home of the rare mountain Gorillas. Volcanoes National park as well as the neighboring Bwindi and Mgahinga National Parks in Uganda boost of the remaining rare mountain Gorillas. The journey will last approximately four hours and is a scenic drive through the beautiful hills lined with terraces.On arrival check in to your hotel and have your lunch. Afterwards,  if you wish, and are not tired, we will head out for a short evening nature walk to stretch your legs as well as enjoy the scenery of the mountains and rolling hills. You will Head back to the lodge and enjoy the rest of the evening to yourself as you await for dinner.

This day will be one of the days you will live to remember. You will leave the lodge after an early breakfast, with packed lunch and proceed into the park for a briefing with the rangers. This briefing will cover mostly safety as well as what to expect while on the trail. The ranger guides will lead you through the Gorilla trails for the tracking experience. There are game rangers who will head out before you and track the location of the gorillas. There will then communicate the location to the game rangers moving with you. This is meant to shorten the time you spend hiking the jungle trails. This however does not mean the hike will be easy. Be prepared to climb steep slippery slopes as well as dense thickets. Being a rain forest it may rain at any one point and therefore make sure you carry along your rain jacket.  You will also encounter many bird species so do not forget your binoculars to easily spot the feathery beauties. When you reach the gorillas who will keep your distance and view them for upto an hour. This will be the crowning moment where you will be rewarded for all your efforts and it is well worth it. You will return to the lodge for an overnight stay as well as dinner.

Begin the morning with early breakfast, and set off to the Park Headquarters with your packed lunch again. Today, you go for the golden monkey tracking experience in the park. After a briefing the game rangers will lead you into the forest where you will have a chance to meet the endangered golden monkeys of Volcanoes National Park. The monkey unlike the mountain gorillas you visited yesterday are found in the bamboo forests at the base of the mountain. This would normally mean they are easier to find but the golden monkeys are more agile than the gorillas and therefore cover more ground by jumping in between branches on tree tops. In the afternoon, you will visit the Iby’Iwachu cultural communities for a cultural experience. You will learn about their culture, dances and general way of life.  In the evening dinner and overnight stay at your preferred lodge.

Following an early breakfast, report to the park headquarter and from there have a short drive to the Karisoke research camp from there you will have a short walk to the trail start where you will be briefed on the history of the place as well as what to expect. The trail hike takes anywhere from 1.5 hours to 3 hours depending on your physicality. The trail guarantees great views of the hills and valleys that are sometimes covered in fog. You will also see a number of birds and sometimes wildlife like monkeys, hogs among others. At the site you will find the house from where Dian Fossey was mysteriously murdered in 1985. Now serves a museum for the primate conservation efforts she was engaged in. You will also visit the graveyard where she was buried just next to her favorite gorilla friend, Digit and about 20 other mountain gorillas either killed by poachers or died for a number of reasons. After the hike, enjoy your lunch and check out of the hotel for your trip south to Lake Kivu.

After days of strenuous hiking and physical activity we will spend today relaxing at the shores of Lake Kivu. The lake is one of the cleanest and you can even see the fish in the water below. You can choose to go for boat ride or speed boat on the lake or participate in the beach games on the shores. After lunch, we shall set off for the capital Kigali arriving in the late evening where our travels shall end.