Travelpack

Highlights: Kigali Genocite Museum - Akagera National Park - Volcanoes National Park - Gorilla Trek - Golden Monkey Trek - Chimpanzee Trek & Canopy Walk - Nyungwe National Park - Lake Kivu

Other Departures: Manchester - £6545, Edinburgh - £6655, Birmingham - £6619, Glasgow -£6655, Bristol - £6695, Newcastle - £6655

Itinerary:
Day 1: Flight

Day 2: Arrive at Kigali International Airport
On arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be met by your driver/guide and be transferred to your hotel in Kigali.
Rwanda is fairly easy to enter at the moment with a PCR test on arrival and less than 24 hours quarantine whilst waiting on your results.

Driving distance: 15 Minutes
Overnight: Scheba Hotel
Accommodation Upgrade: Mille Collines Hotel | The Retreat by Heaven
Meal Plan: Bed & breakfast

Day 3:Kigali city Tour
After breakfast, your day starts with a tour of the city.
Named in 1907 by Dr. Richard Kandt, the first colonial resident governor of Rwanda; Kigali city is surrounded by lush hills of Greenland and is referred to as the land of a thousand hills.

Get to visit interesting spots which may include; the craft market, Gisozi genocide memorial site & Kigali museum. Drive to Nyamirambo to have lunch at a local and enjoy local food then later visit the Gaddafi mosque that has a history owing to saving lives during the 1994 genocide.

It also serves as a school, clinic, and community center for the surrounding area that takes in people from all regions in the country in a unique setup where people dwell together regardless of their religion or background. The mosque is named by the locals as ‘Gaddafi mosque ‘However, it was named as such for the road that Muammar Gaddafi did build that runs parallel to the mosque. The mosque’s official name is the Islamic Cultural Center. Drive to the peak of Mount Kigali, one of the highest hills in Kigali and it gives you a clear view of the city. Later Return to the city visit the Uburanga studio-Uburanga is a Kinyarwanda word that means ‘beautiful and it’s a perfect name to describe both the work that this art studio produces and the setting they do it in.

It’s a beautiful setting with a large garden decorated with murals and sculptures. It’s a creative space that’s home to artists who are producing some of Rwanda’s finest contemporary art. The artists are friendly and welcoming and are happy for you to hang out in their garden and chat or watch them at work. Later stay overnight at your hotel in Kigali.

Driving distance: 15 Minutes
Activity: Kigali City Tour
Overnight: Scheba Hotel
Accommodation Upgrade: Mille Collines Hotel | The Retreat by Heaven
Meal Plan: Bed & breakfast

Day 4: Depart for Akagera National Park
After breakfast depart for Akagera National Park located along the eastern border of Rwanda, where the typically hilly countryside gives way to the savannas of the Great Rift Valley. Dominated by lakes, swamps, and marshland, the area boasts a huge compliment of nature and wildlife that cannot be found elsewhere in the country. We will arrive before lunch at the lodge. Have lunch then in the afternoon, your exploration starts with a boat trip on Lake Ihema which is very rewarding for seeing a large number of hippos, the huge Nile crocodiles, and many birds.

They are the most interesting part of the park, especially for birders. Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 3 hours
Activities: 1 Hour Boat Exploration
Overnight: Akagera Game Lodge
Accommodation Upgrade: Ruzizi Tented Camp | Magashi Tented Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 5: Akagera National Park
After breakfast leave the lodge by 07:00 hrs to engage on a full day game drive and your exploration starts with a visit to the giraffe valley.
Akagera National Park is characterized by woodland, swamps, low mountains, and savannah.

The varied terrain shelters wildlife including zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions, and hundreds of bird species, such as the rare shoebill stork.
In the southern part of the park, vast Lake Ihema is home to hippos and crocodiles. Later drive back to your hotel at around 16:00 hrs for the evening at leisure then later dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 3 Hours
Activities: Full day Game drive
Overnight: Akagera Game Lodge
Accommodation Upgrade: Ruzizi Tented Camp | Magashi Tented Camp
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 6: Depart for Volcanoes National park
After breakfast depart for Volcanoes national park arriving for lunch in Ruhengeri the second largest town in Rwanda, with its stunning backdrop of five volcanic mountains – The Virungas.

Drive on to Red Rocks Intercultural Exchange center to join the local brew makers to understand the chemistry of the process of brewing a local beer from banana fruits. If you find the activity interesting enough you can join the women in squeezing the juice out of the bananas and drink a glass of juice (Optional). Understand how long juice takes to turn into alcohol after adding sorghum flour.

Enjoy the big glass of our local brew. Among other activities, they also do basket weaving and with your visit, this local community will be proud of this activity and families supported financially. Later drive to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 2 hours
Activities: Intercultural Exchange
Overnight: La Palme Hotel
Accommodation Upgrade: Five Volcanoes View Lodge | Bisate Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board

DAY 7: Gorilla Tracking
After an early breakfast, you will proceed to the National Park headquarters – Kinigi to meet your guides for the day. After completing our park formalities, embark on a once-in-a-lifetime experience of tracking mountain gorillas. Once you spot them you are allowed to spend an hour watching your closest long-lost cousin. This is perhaps one of the most breath-taking wildlife experiences on earth!!! You get so close to these awesome giant primates. You stare at each other blankly not knowing who to break the long silence first.

Tracking the gorillas through the light mountain forest on the slopes of the Virunga is a magical experience. These massive primates are extremely rare, with less than 700 living today. You will get within meters of the family, and be privileged to spend an hour amongst them.

The trekking may be fairly strenuous; up to six hours or longer at a relatively high altitude. We encourage your own enjoyment to make sure that you are perfectly fit and healthy. (We’ve had people as old as 70 years old do gorilla tracking so this should not be a problem; all you need is to ask your driver guide to request a shorter group for you if cannot you trek far)

It is important to bring good hiking boots, long trousers, gloves for protection against stinging nettles, some snacks & sweets (for you, not the gorillas) as well as sufficient water as the rain forest gets hot and humid during the day. You will spend one hour with the gorillas, but it is an hour you will never forget. Return to your hotel for lunch and later dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 45 minutes
Activities: 1 Gorilla Trek
Overnight: La Palme Hotel
Accommodation Upgrades: Five Volcanoes View Lodge | Bisate Lodge
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 8: Golden Monkey tracking + Depart for Gisenyi
This day is set out for Golden Monkey tracking in the Volcanoes National Park.

Entering dense stands of bamboo interspersed with open glades; you will make your way deep into golden monkey territory. Guides lead visitors to the habitat of groups of ‘habituated’ golden monkeys – monkeys that have become accustomed to human presence. Though viewing is kept to a maximum of one hour, travelers can get an up-close look at the golden monkey in its natural habitat. Adult monkeys frolic in plain view, feeding on bamboo leaves and leaping from perch to perch. Females carry their young, completely comfortable among onlookers. Later visit Iby’iwacu Cultural Village a Non-Profit umbrella organization that aims at improving the lives of reformed poachers and
communities around Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park through the provision of conservation incentives, supporting community enterprise development and livelihood based projects. Return to your hotel to freshen up and have lunch then later dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 45 minutes
Activities: 1 Golden Monkey Trek
Overnight: Palm Beach Resort
Accommodation Upgrade: Kivu Serena Hotel | Kivu Serena Hotel.
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 9: Gisenyi
After breakfast, the day is spent in this largest port on the Rwandan shore of Lake Kivu (You will be in the company of our guide to show you around). Enjoy a boat ride to one of the islands in Lake Kivu.

Simply explore the town, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the local market, or wander through the leafy streets admiring the old colonial buildings. Later stay for dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Driving distance:
Activities: 1 Hour Boat ride
Overnight: Palm Beach Resort
Accommodation Upgrade: Kivu Serena Hotel | Kivu Serena Hotel
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 10: Depart for Nyungwe National park + Nature Walk
After breakfast depart for Nyungwe National park. Located in the South West corner of Rwanda, Nyungwe National park is an untouched natural rainforest that is filled with exciting biodiversity. Covering over 1000 square kilometers, Nyungwe is surely one of the world's most beautiful and pristine mountain rainforests. Drive on to the park for your nature walk activity visiting the Kamiranzovu waterfall.

The forest comprises amongst many things at least 200 tree species over 280 bird species and more than 100 different types of colorful butterflies which make it a true feast of the senses for the nature lover. Continue to your hotel arriving for lunch and the afternoon at leisure then later dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 2 hours
Activity: Nature walk
Overnight: Nyungwe Top View Hotel
Accommodation Upgrade: Kivu Marina Bay Hotel | One & Only Nyungwe House
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 11: Chimpanzee Tracking + Canopy Walk
Take an early morning breakfast then with your packed lunch drive to this park for the starting point of your chimpanzee trek. Two species of chimpanzees occur in Africa. There is the Bonobo and the Common Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes (often shortened to Chimpanzee, and sometimes referred to as the Robust Chimpanzee). The largest remaining populations occur in central Africa (Gabon, DR Congo, and Cameroon). About only 400 individuals, the population in Rwanda is an endangered one.

However; it should be mentioned that it is not guaranteed to see chimps as they are unpredictable and can move long distances in one day.
Nyungwe National Park is the largest block of montane forest in East and Central Africa and it is an incredibly rich area of biodiversity. Later go for the canopy walk which sets 50 me­ters above the ground with a 150-meter walkway and is the first of its kind in East Africa and third on the continent after South Africa and Ghana. It allows visitors to see the forest from above the trees and be at eye level with birds and monkeys that inhabit the upper stories of the forest. Return to your hotel/lodge for dinner and overnight.

Driving distance:
Activity: Chimpanzee Trekking + Canopy walk
Overnight: Nyungwe Top View Hotel
Accommodation Upgrade: Kivu Marina Bay Hotel | One & Only Nyungwe House
Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 12: Depart
After breakfast depart for Kigali which takes about 6 ½ hrs to drive via Butare visiting en route, the famous National Museum at Butare. The museum was donated in 1989 by the Belgium government with some ethnic collections, the design and concept all realized in cooperation with the Royal Museum for Central Africa of Tervuren; Belgium. Ethnographic objects are grouped together according to the theme giving premium information on daily life. Traditional ceramics and basketry are still manufactured and belong to the finest handicrafts of the region. The National Museum remained surprisingly untouched during the civil war in 1994. Have Lunch in Butare and thereafter continue to Kigali arriving for a drop-off at the Kigali International airport for your late evening flight back home.

Driving distance: 6 ½ hours
Activity: At Leisure
Overnight: 0
Meal Plan: Breakfast & Lunch

Excludes
Visas
Travel Insurances
Drinks and dining rooms tips, porterage, personal travel, and baggage
Telephone bill, laundry, and any items of a personal nature
Activities not mentioned in the program

Offer Includes

Meal Plans