12-Day Rwanda Safari Overview

These 12 days Rwanda Safari offers a great mixed variety of activities at Rwanda’s Best National parks, activities such as gorilla trekking in Rwanda, Chimpanzee tracking, Golden monkey tracking, game viewing, community Rwanda tours, relaxation, and beautiful scenery viewing all at a great price and this tour is a perfect tour package for exploring and discovering the best of Rwanda. This package can be budget, comfortable or luxury depending on your budget.

This 12 days Safari in Rwanda tour begins with a tour to Kigali city, one of Africa’s greenest and cleanest Cities. Then travel to Nyungwe National Park Forest to track wild chimpanzees on foot, spot rare monkeys, and walk across a treetop canopy walkway. From Nyungwe, go relax on the stunning, palm-fringed shores of Lake Kivu. Having relaxed and rejuvenated, hike into Volcanoes National Park to encounter rare mountain gorillas and golden monkeys in the wild. Then travel to Akagera National Park where you can see lions, leopards, giraffes, zebras, elephants, buffalos, hippos, antelopes, and even rhinos.

12 Days Rwanda Safari Tour Activities

  • Golden monkey tracking in Volcanoes National Park
  • Visit Iby’iwacu Cultural Village for a community experience
  • Trek for chimpanzees in Nyungwe Forest National Park
  • Experience a Canopy walk via a treetop walkway in Nyungwe Forest
  • Track Colobus Monkey in Nyungwe Forest
  • Relax on the sandy beaches of Lake Kivu
  • Stay at comfortable Rwanda safari lodges
  • Tour of the Ethnographic Museum and King’s Palace
  • Tour Kigali city’s top attractions & sites
  • Search for the Big 5 on game drives in Akagera National Park
  • Boat cruise on the tranquil waters of Lake Ihema in Akagera
  • Gorilla trekking in Rwanda Volcanoes National Park

12 Days Rwanda Safari Tour Destinations

Day 1&2: Kigali City and Kigali Genocide Memorial

Day 3, 4 & 5: Nyungwe Forest, King’s Palace and Ethnographic Museum

Day 6: Lake Kivu

Day 7, 8 & 9: Volcanoes National Park and Iby’iwacu cultural village

Day 10 & 11: Akagera National Park

Day 12: Departure

12 DAYS RWANDA SAFARI TOUR HIGHLIGHT

Day 1: Arrive at Kigali International Airport and Transfer to Your Accommodation facility

Day 2: Kigali Genocide Memorial Visit and Kigali City Tour

Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park via Butare

Day 4: Chimpanzee Trekking & Canopy Walk in Nyungwe Forest.

Day 5: Morning Colobus Monkey Tracking and Cultural Encounter

Day 6: Transfer to Lake Kivu Gisenyi town

Day 7: Boat cruise and Relaxation at Lake Kivu, transfer to Volcanoes National Park in the Evening

Day 8: Gorilla Trekking

Day 9: Golden Monkey Tracking and Visit Iby’iwacu Village.

Day 10: Drive from Kigali to Akagera National Park for A Game Drive & Boat Cruise.

Day 11: Morning Game Drive in Akagera and Relaxation

Day 12: Transfer Back to Kigali for Your Return Flight Home.

12 Days Safari Tour Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive at Kigali International Airport and Transfer to Your Accommodation facility

Upon arrival at Kigali international airport, you will be met by our safari driver who will be your guide throughout the trip, meet and greet, pack your luggage in the safari vehicle, and take you to your comfortable accommodation in Kigali city for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

Kigali city is the country’s financial, commercial, and cultural hub, served by an international airport and featuring a wide range of accommodation options. It also offers a collection of restaurants and points of interest, including the Kigali Genocide Centre, an atmospheric market, and numerous craft shops with its interesting architecture, busy streets, meandering roads, and green hillsides, Kigali is said to be one of the most attractive cities in Africa.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Activities

  • Pick from the Airport
  • Transfer to a hotel in Kigali

Optional Activity

  • Kigali city tour

Day 2: Kigali Genocide Memorial Visit and Kigali City Tour

On day two, after having a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, you will visit Genocide Memorial a place of commemoration for the 250,000 victims buried in mass graves here and an important remembrance of the unfathomable brutality of the 1994 genocide. The exhibit is an intensely emotional experience but also an educational one, where you will learn about the darkest hour in Rwanda’s recent history.

Thereafter, take a city drive and visit local markets, art galleries, craft centers, etc. You can even opt to have lunch at Hotel des Mille Collines, one of Kigali’s historic places. Return to your hotel for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Activities

  • Kigali Genocide Memorial visit
  • Kigali city tour

Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park via Butare

After breakfast, you will embark on a drive to the southwest of Rwanda to Nyungwe Forest National Park. It is a 268km about 6-hour drive via the verdant countryside that is shaped by hilly scenic views.

You will have a stopover in Butare and pay a visit to the ethnographic national museum, Nyanza, and Murambi genocide memorial sites as well as the King’s palace in Nyanza. You will have Lunch en route and arrive in Nyungwe Forest National Park in the evening and check in to your lodge for dinner and overnight

Nyungwe Forest National Park is one of the world’s oldest and most beautiful rainforests in Africa. The forest is incredibly biodiverse with 13 known primate species residing here, from colobus monkeys, mangabeys, blue monkeys, and, of course, our nearest relatives, the chimpanzees. Nyungwe Forest is also famous among the birding community who come to spot some of the 310 bird species recorded here, 26 of which are endemic to Rwanda.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Distance and Time: Approximately 268km/ 6 hours

Activities

  • Drive to Nyungwe
  • Visit Ethnographic Museum & King’s Palace

Day 4: Chimpanzee Trekking & Canopy Walk in Nyungwe Forest.

Have an early breakfast and then head to the Park’s headquarters in Uwinka where you will be briefed by the park’s head ranger and placed in trekking groups of 8 members per group. Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe forest national park begins at exactly 8 am, so endeavor to keep time. Nyungwe Forest National. After a short briefing, embark on your 2-6 hours trek in the forest in search of the resident chimps. Nyungwe Park is home to approximately 80 habituated chimpanzees. While tracking chimps in the forest, you might as well spot other primate species such as; the black and white colobus monkey, red-tailed monkey, golden monkey, and other monkey species. Return to your hotel for lunch and a good rest.

In the afternoon, you will go for the stunning two-hour walk across the canopy walkway: a 160-meter bridge suspended between giant trees, 70 meters above the forest floor. You’ll have incredible views of the forest’s upper canopies and spot monkeys and birds and return back to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities

  • Chimp trekking
  • Canopy walk

Day 5: Morning Colobus Monkey Tracking and Cultural Encounter

After an early breakfast, transfer to Park’s Visitor Center for another adventure colobus monkey tracking. These charming old-world monkeys tend to form “super-groups” comprising over 400 members, a phenomenon that has been observed to happen only among the colobus monkeys in Nyungwe. The trek starts at 8 am after a briefing. It takes you through green tea plantations to an isolated forest patch where you can see these beautiful primates jumping through the trees. You spend one hour with them before returning to the lodge for relaxation and lunch. Spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Later in the evening, you can opt to go on a cultural encounter in one of the nearby villages. While there, you will get to learn more about the Rwandan culture, interact with the local people, get to see their daily lifestyles and even enjoy performances from the local dance groups.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities

  • Colobus monkey tracking

Optional

  • Waterfall hike
  • Tea experience, or Community tour

Day 6: Transfer to Lake Kivu Gisenyi town

After a soothing breakfast amidst the cozy air from the virgin forest of Nyungwe, you will travel north along the shores of Lake Kivu, one of the African Great Lakes in the Albertine Rift, creating a natural border between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is 7- an hour’s drive passing through lush tea and coffee plantations, along the scenic Congo Nile Divide Trail to Gisenyi on the northern shore of Lake Kivu.

Lake Kivu is known for its immaculate beaches and warm, safe swimming waters, Lake Kivu is one of Africa’s Great Lakes and a wonderful destination for relaxation. Your will be taken straight to your hotel, where you will have dinner and the night.

Distance & Time: Approximately 294km/7-8 hours

Activities

  • Scenic drive to Lake Kivu

Day 7: Boat cruise and Relaxation at Lake Kivu, transfer to Volcanoes National Park in the Evening

On this day after breakfast, you are free to do any relaxing activity around and at the lake, you can hire a boat to visit some of the nearby islands on the lake, go swimming in the hotel pool, or in the lake itself. You can decide on the day what you’d like to do and your guide or driver will help you with all of your arrangements. Return to your hotel for lunch.

In the afternoon, after exploring the Lake in detail, you will set off for the Volcanoes national park in Musanze, it is 2-hour drive north to Virunga Volcanoes. These mountains are linked by fertile saddles, formed by lava flows, and are one of the most striking sights in East Africa. Check in to your hotel and enjoy the beautiful views of the Virunga volcanoes before retiring early in bed (You need to be fresh and ready for gorilla trekking)

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Distance & Time: Approximately 110km/2 hours

Activities

  • Transfer to Volcanoes
  • Relaxation activities

Day 8: Gorilla Trekking

Have your breakfast early in the morning and proceed to the park’s headquarters in Kinigi, where you will be briefed and placed in groups of 8 members each. Usually, tracking Gorilla groups can take between 2-8 hours with an hour of direct contact with the gorillas once they have been located. The hike up to the gorillas’ preferred habitat of bamboo forest involves a combination of steep muddy slopes, dense vegetation, slippery underfoot conditions after rain, and high altitude. It’s helpful to have a general level of fitness.

Gorillas are our close cousins and susceptible to our diseases and if one ill visitor infects a gorilla, they’ll have no resistance and this could cause the death of the whole gorilla family. After your captivating hour with the gorilla, return to your lodge and spend the remainder of the day resting. Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities

  • Gorilla trekking

Day 9: Golden Monkey Tracking and Visit Iby’iwacu Village.

You will have another day to explore Volcanoes National Park today, starting with Golden Monkey Tracking in the early morning.

Golden Monkeys are endemic to the volcanic mountains of the Virunga Range and typically live in the bamboo vegetation zones near the base of the volcanoes. You will be tracking them with an experienced ranger and once you find them, will have one hour to spend watching these active creatures. Return to the lodge for some relaxation and lunch.

After lunch, you will visit Iby’iwacu cultural village where you will be taken through the interesting cultural history of the people of Rwanda. While there, you will have a short peek into the day-to-day lifestyle of the locals, get to check out their traditional handcrafts, and also watch dance performances from the local dance and drummer’s troupe. Later head back to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities

  • Golden monkey trekking
  • Ibyiwacu Cultural Village visit

Optional

  • Dian Fossey Hike
  • Mount Bisoke hike

Day 10: Drive from Kigali to Akagera National Park is a beautiful destination to explore. for A game Drive & Boat Cruise.

In the morning, have an early breakfast and check out of your lodge, embark on a 214km long drive to Akagera National Park, which will last about 4-5 hours from Kinigi to the park. Upon your arrival at the park, you will check in at your hotel have lunch, and rest.

Akagera National Park is an absolutely stunning destination that must be explored!is located in north-eastern Rwanda and covers 2500 km² of savannah plains. the park is filled with savannah plains, woodlands, lakes, acacia forests, and wetlands. Crocodiles and hippos wallow in its watery basins. Predators prowl through its acacia groves. And elephants, zebras, giraffes, buffalos, antelopes, and other animals roam across its grassy plains.

In the afternoon, go for a relaxing boat trip on Lake Ihema, from your boat, you will see the park and its inhabitants from a different vantage point as you cruise along the shoreline. Crocodiles bask on the banks of the lake and it is home to numerous hippos and bird species. You may even see elephants and buffalo at close range as they come down to the shoreline for a drink. Retire for relaxation, dinner, and overnight.

Distance & Time: Approximately 214km/5 hrs.

Activities

  • Transfer to Akagera
  • Game drive
  • Boat cruise

Optional

  • Night game drive

Day 11: Morning Game Drive in Akagera and Relaxation

After an early breakfast, you will explore the northern sector of the park up to the height of Mutumba, the highest elevation in Akagera to gain stunning views of the plains of Akagera and the Karagwe highlands of Tanzania. The sights of Lake Rwanyakizinga, Lake Mihindi, and Lake Gishanju in the far north are quite rewarding. The northern sector is rich in wild game including; elephants, zebra, Impala, Giraffe, Buffalo leopard among other animals. The Park is also a birder’s haven. Return to the lodge for lunch and spend the rest of the day at leisure.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Activities

  • Morning game drive

Optional

  • Sportfishing
  • Sunset boat cruise
  • Night game drive

Day 12: Transfer Back to Kigali for Your Return Flight Home.

Enjoy a leisurely breakfast at your lodge today, take a scenic 3-hour drive back to Kigali city of 135km long. Depending on the time of your flight, continue to the airport for your return flight home or to the hotel for the night stay which marks the end of the remarkable 12 days Rwanda Safari Tour.

Meal Plan: Breakfast

Distance and Time: Approximately 135km/3 hours

Activities

  • Transfer back to Kigali City

General 12 Days Rwanda Safari Inclusions

  • Transportation in either 4X4 Safari Van or 4X4 Safari Land Cruiser all with Pop up roof & AC
  • Fuel
  • Professional English-Speaking driver guide. Any other foreign language speaking guide can be arranged on request.
  • Entrance fees to the tourist sites including Protected areas mentioned
  • Activity fees of the tourist activities mentioned
  • Bottled water while on safari
  • Chimpanzee Permit (for chimpanzee trekking safaris)
  • Gorilla Permit (for gorilla trekking safaris)
  • Full Board Accommodation on Safari

General 12 Days Rwanda Safari Exclusions

  • All purchases of personal nature like toiletries and alcoholic beverages.
  • Tips
  • Rwanda visa
  • Flight tickets
  • Porter fees
  • Optional Activity fees
  • Other extras not mentioned in the Itinerary
  • Airport Transfer (Arranged on request)
  • Accommodation in Kigali unless it is part of the Itinerary (Arranged on request)
  • Budget Accommodation in Volcanoes National Park