The best way to explore Rwanda and the most convenient way to travel the country is by car. Therefore, gorilla safaris tours can arrange a vehicle with driver to help you explore Rwanda. Whoever plans to explore Rwanda is definitely recommend for Akagera, Volcanoes and Nyungwe National Parks if your budget is not too big to trek for gorillas as the permit cost $ 1500 and if you are traveling during low season (November – May) and you happen to visit all the parks you can do gorilla trekking tour at $ 1050.
More so, if this is beyond your budget it is much easier with us to cross to Uganda where the gorilla permit is halfway Rwanda price at $ 700 USD per person and we can take a very affordable 02-day gorilla tour in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park or Bwindi Forest National Park.
Those with limited time in the country can take a 01-week Rwanda Safari itinerary, and you can tick off most of what you might experience as those with a 10-day trip as you explore all the highlights of Rwanda in just one week trip though travelers on enough days get to know much more that the country offers.
Travel from the capital city of Kigali to the wilderness in Akagera National Park by car, it can with a guide of self-driving. You will enjoy a true jungle experience in Nyungwe Forest where you can track the chimpanzees and unwind on the shores of the beautiful Lake Kivu. Your safari ends with the ultimate highlight: a meeting with the world-renowned mountain gorillas of Rwanda.
If you’re interested, our guide will take you for Kigali City tour. You will visit some interesting historical sites. Learn more about Rwanda’s heart-rending history at the Genocide Memorial Centre and visit the Nyamata Church. You will also have the opportunity to stroll the colorful markets or buy traditional African handwork at the Craft Village. Visit the Rwanda museums too.
On your 10 days safari, our guide will drive you to Akagera National Park eastern part of the country. Akagera is the only protected area offering traditional Big Five safaris in Rwanda. Reaching Akagera National Park, you will be blown away by the amazing landscape and vegetation.
After checking in at your accommodation, you will go for an afternoon game drive for the first introduction to Rwanda’s wildlife. This is one of the most successful lion breeding grounds in the world. Predators and prey come out to play the game of life and death on a daily here. Have your camera ready. You can spend 2 to 3 days in this beautiful park because they are so many things to see and do.
Akagera’s amazingly diverse landscapes with mountains, lakes, swamps and open Savannah attract around 500 bird species, including the rare shoe bill and crested crane. Make time in your itinerary to spend a morning or afternoon with the freelance community guides affiliated to the park they’ll show your local life, from milking Ankola cows and making banana beer to contributing to a local nursery. And you’ll be helping to spread much needed income and benefits from tourism beyond the park gates.
Traverse to Nyungwe National Park for primate tracking. Nyungwe protects what is the largest and arguably the most impressive montane forest in East Africa. I’d rate it as one of the top birding sites anywhere in the region, the obvious highlight being the garish great blue turaco often seen gliding between the trees like psychedelic turkeys.
For more serious twitches, its checklist of almost 350 bird species includes 30 Albertine Rift endemics, of which three (Albertine owlet, red-collared babbler and Rockefeller’s sun bird) are only otherwise known from inaccessible parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo).
The main draw card for most visitors to Nyungwe is the opportunity to track a habituated community of chimpanzees, the closest evolutionary relative to humans. Chimps are now very habituated and you are almost certain to see them. That said, the main trekking site is quite remote from any accommodation, which enforces a 5.30am start, and conditions underfoot are very steep and muddy compared to most comparable destinations in Uganda and Tanzania.
You also opt for the canopy walkway. To be able to walk on a thin bridge, 200 feet in the sky, and be able to look down and to your side and see pure beauty. The skyline, to see that you’re up in the mountains, and then to look down and see a rain forest.
Next destination is Volcanoes National Park home of mountain gorillas. You shouldn’t miss it if you come to Rwanda for a few days or for several years. As far as I am concerned, I especially like hiking volcanoes. It’s a terrific activity, in a well-preserved nature. There are 5 volcanoes you can hike in this park: Mount Gahinga, 3,474 m, ideal for a first hike; Mount Muhabura, 4,127 m, the most challenging one.
Mount Bisoke, 3,711 m, the most popular (there is a scenic crater lake at the top); Mount Sabyinyo, 3,669 m, the most forested one (several people have spotted gorillas and other animals on this hike); and last but not least, Mount Karisimbi, 4,507 m, the highest one, the roof of Rwanda, with a layer of snow at the very top, during the rainy season. You can get a permit and a guide to climb them at the RDB, in Kigali, or at the Volcanoes National Park headquarters in Ruhengeri. Have fun!
RTB the Rwandan authorities responsible for Volcanoes National Park and the primates run a top-notch operation with military precision. From trackers that monitor each gorilla family to highly experienced guides this is the finest gorillas in the wild operation anywhere.
Volcanoes National Park is one of the best parks in Africa if you allow sufficient time to partake in the broader range of activities on offer. The gorilla tracking itself is amazing, and with its upmarket accommodation and ease of access, it’s best suited to those who want a taste of the African rain forest without too much discomfort.
The gorilla and monkey treks are phenomenal. Group size is limited to 8 and they strictly limit total to under 100 to minimize stress on gorilla family. They have extensive tracking and scout programs to know where family is settling for the day. Safety is thorough and protection of ape’s paramount. There is a striking visible line you cross when you hike through some agriculture patches to the border of the park.
It is amazingly clean. It is rain forest so dress and act accordingly. The Volcanoes and their history are visible and well guided. You realize the vastness and understand the Rwanda side can be very different from the Congo side. This is a story of very insightful people preserving an area before shortsighted people wiped it out. A victory of preservation especially for mountain gorillas and the golden monies.
And the trip ends at Lake Kivu. Lake Kivu is one of the Great African Lakes that lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. It is part of the Albertine Rift. Lake Kivu provides its water to the great Ruzizi River that flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika. It has a surface area of 2,700 sq. km, with a maximum width of 48 km and a length of 89 km.
It is a lifeline of Gisenyi town. On the Rwandese side, the lake forms many spectacular sandy beaches. Rubavu Public Beach is one of the most famous ones among others. It is an interesting trip there, boat riding on Lake Kivu, and enjoying interesting stories about the lake and its islands. The guides can explain the biodiversity of the islands, as well as the distinct Geography of the area.
The volcanic islands you can visit are tiny but stunning, you can see many birds, but also monkeys. You can hike to the top of Napoleon Island where you enjoy a breathtaking view over the whole region, went swimming in the lake and even saw a monkey. I recommend Gorilla Safaris Tours for a person interested in in exploring Rwanda on a safari tour.