7-Day Highlights of Rwanda

On arrival in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, you are swiftly met by our representative and transferred to your accommodation. With the rest of the day free, take the opportunity to leisurely explore the city, including the bustling local markets and the Caplaki craft co-operative, where local craftsmen work in wooden huts selling jewellery, paintings, batik, fabrics, wood carvings, traditional masks, baskets, bags, scarves and beading.

Distance: Airport transfer to your accommodation

Activity: Arrival and free time to explore Kigali

Accommodation: Hotel in Kigali

Meals: Meals at own expense

After breakfast, drive through spectacular scenery to Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda’s mountainous southwest. The rainforest within the park is home to chimpanzees and monkeys, alongside an abundance of birdlife and butterflies. Accommodation upgrades are available at an extra cost.

Distance: Road transfer from Kigali to Nyungwe Forest

Activity: Travel day

Accommodation: Lodge near Nyungwe Forest National Park

Meals: Breakfast & dinner, lunch not included

Join a guided hike through the dense forest of Nyungwe National Park to track chimpanzees, a phenomenal wildlife experience on par with gorilla trekking. The trek is exciting but can be challenging, since the chimps are highly mobile and constantly on the move through the canopy. During your time in the park, you also have the opportunity to cross the canopy walkway, a 200-metre bridge suspended between giant trees 50 metres above the forest floor, offering incredible views of the upper canopy and excellent chances of spotting primates, birds and butterflies that live in the treetops. Accommodation upgrades are available at an extra cost.

Distance: Morning chimpanzee trek, plus optional canopy walkway crossing

Activity: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walkway

Accommodation: Lodge near Nyungwe Forest National Park (second night)

Meals: All meals included, drinks not included

Depart Nyungwe and head to your next accommodation on the white sandy shores of Lake Kivu. Relax on the palm-fringed beaches, kayak on the calm waters of the lake, take a boat tour to nearby islands or coffee and banana plantations, hike in the surrounding hills, or visit the Imbabazi Orphanage. Accommodation upgrades are available at an extra cost.

Distance: Road transfer from Nyungwe Forest to Lake Kivu

Activity: Travel day, choice of lakeside activities on arrival

Accommodation: Lodge or hotel on Lake Kivu

Meals: Breakfast & dinner, lunch not included

After breakfast, drive from Lake Kivu to Volcanoes National Park, roughly a four-hour journey through breathtaking scenery. On arrival, settle in and receive a briefing about the following day’s gorilla trek. Accommodation upgrades are available at an extra cost.

Distance: Road transfer from Lake Kivu to Volcanoes National Park, approx. 4 hours

Activity: Travel day, gorilla trekking briefing on arrival

Accommodation: Lodge near Volcanoes National Park

Meals: All meals included, drinks not included

After an early breakfast, head to Kinigi, at the foothills of the Virunga Mountains in Volcanoes National Park, to begin the trek. Your guide and tracker lead you deep into the forest in search of your allocated gorilla family, a trek that can last anywhere from 30 minutes to eight hours depending on the family’s exact location that day. Once you find them, you have up to one magical hour quietly observing the gorillas, likely just a few metres away, going about their daily lives, feeding and interacting under the watchful gaze of the silverback. In the late afternoon, transfer back to your accommodation to reflect on the experience. Accommodation upgrades are available at an extra cost.

Distance: Full-day gorilla trek, duration varies with gorilla location

Activity: Gorilla trekking

Accommodation: Lodge near Volcanoes National Park (second night)

Meals: All meals included, drinks not included

In the morning, drive back to Kigali, where you have the opportunity to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial and Education Centre, a permanent memorial to those killed during the 1994 genocide. Afterwards, transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Distance: Road transfer to Kigali, then airport transfer

Activity: Genocide Memorial visit and departure

Accommodation: N/A, end of trip

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner not included