5-Day Rwanda Primates Safari - Nyungwe Chimps & Volcanoes Gorillas

After pickup from your hotel or Kigali International Airport, the drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park in southwestern Rwanda takes approximately five hours. En route stops include the Gisozi Genocide Memorial in Kigali, the King's Palace Museum in Nyanza documenting Rwanda's royal heritage, the Ethnographic Museum in Butare, and the Murambi Genocide Memorial — each site approached with the gravity it deserves. After an en route lunch, the drive concludes at Nyungwe for check-in, dinner, and overnight.

Distance: Approximately 5 hours from Kigali to Nyungwe, with en route stops

Activity: Cultural stops en route; evening arrival at Nyungwe

Accommodation: Lodge near Nyungwe National Park

Meals: Half Board

An early start for chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest. After the briefing at park headquarters, rangers and trackers lead the trek into the ancient rainforest in search of the habituated chimpanzee communities. Along the way, Angola colobus troops, L'Hoest's monkeys, and other of Nyungwe's 13 primate species are regularly encountered. After returning for a late breakfast or early lunch, the afternoon is spent on the Uwinka canopy walk — spanning the treetops at heights of up to 90 metres above the forest floor.

Distance: Trekking and canopy walk within Nyungwe National Park

Activity: Morning chimpanzee trekking; afternoon Uwinka canopy walk

Accommodation: Lodge near Nyungwe National Park

Meals: Full Board

After breakfast and checkout, the drive to Musanze in the Northern Province takes approximately four hours through Rwanda's spectacular countryside. The route passes through the Western Province and across the volcanic northwest, with increasingly dramatic scenery as the Virunga volcanoes come into view. Dinner and overnight near Volcanoes National Park in preparation for gorilla trekking the following morning.

Distance: Approximately 4 hours from Nyungwe to Musanze

Activity: Scenic transfer to Musanze

Accommodation: Lodge or hotel near Volcanoes National Park, Musanze

Meals: Half Board

After breakfast, transfer to the Rwanda Development Board headquarters at Kinigi by 7:00 AM for the morning briefing. Your group is assigned to a specific gorilla family and sets out with an armed ranger escort. Trek duration ranges from one to four hours depending on where the gorillas have ranged. One hour of observation is permitted at a minimum distance of 7 metres. After the trek, lunch is followed by an afternoon visit to the Iby'wacu Cultural Village — the Gorilla Guardians Village — where former poachers now work as cultural ambassadors, sharing traditional Rwandan practices and the community's history with the gorillas.

Distance: Trekking within Volcanoes National Park

Activity: Mountain gorilla trekking; afternoon Iby'wacu Cultural Village visit

Accommodation: Lodge or hotel near Volcanoes National Park, Musanze

Meals: Full Board

After breakfast, the final trekking experience of the safari: golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park. Golden monkeys are endemic to the Virunga Massif and found only in the bamboo forest zones of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are notably fast-moving and active, foraging through bamboo shoots and occasionally venturing into surrounding fields. After the trek, lunch at your lodge before the return drive to Kigali for drop-off at your hotel or the airport.

Distance: Trekking within Volcanoes National Park; approximately 2 hours return to Kigali

Activity: Golden monkey trekking; return to Kigali

Accommodation: N/A – return to Kigali

Meals: Half Board

Extend your trip

Add Akagera National Park for a complete Rwanda wildlife circuit — see our 4-day Akagera safari and 2-day Akagera wildlife safari.