On this 8 days Rwanda wildlife tour and safari, you will be offered the privilege of visiting 3 out of 4 Rwanda national parks of Akagera, Nyungwe and Volcanoes. You start with the beautiful Akagera national park located in the east, continue to Nyungwe forest national park in the southwest, and end with the home of mountain gorillas, volcanoes national park in the northwest. Enjoy the beautiful scenery of the country. The parks are a combination of Savannah, forest, and mountainous giving you varied sights of Rwanda. From Elephants, lions, Zebras to Chimpanzees and Gorillas including boat cruise on Lake Kivu are some of the highlights of this safari and cultural encounter.

8 Days Wildlife Tour Rwanda highlights

Day 1: Arrival for the 8 days Rwanda wildlife safari

Day 2: Explore Akagera national park

Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe forest national park

Day 4: Chimpanzee tracking and canopy walk

Day 5: Transfer to volcanoes national park

Day 6: Gorillas in the mist

Day 7: On the shores of Lake Kivu

Day 8: End of Rwanda wildlife safari

Detailed itinerary                

Day 1: Arrival for the 8 days Rwanda wildlife tour

You will be welcomed to the land of a thousand hills by our driver guide who will pick you at the airport, transfer to Kigali for a city tour before driving to Akagera national park for wildlife encounter the following day.

Meal plan: Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Magashi camp – luxury, Ruzizi tented camp – mid range, Mutumba campsite – budget

Day 2: Explore Akagera national park

Akagera national park is located in eastern Rwanda and is the only savannah park in the country on the borders of Tanzania. It’s home to several big mammals that cannot be found anywhere else in Rwanda. After early morning breakfast, our driver will take you for a morning game drive in Akagera national park where you are expected to see animals like elephants, lions, zebras, impalas, topis, giraffes, hyenas, hippos, buffaloes, bushbucks, duikers among many others. The game drive in Akagera national park normally takes place in the northern sector because of the high concentration of animals in that sector. After a game drive, you’ll return to your lodge for relaxation and lunch. After lunch in the afternoon, you will drive to Lake Ihema for a boat safari where you have chances of seeing hippos and crocodiles not forgetting water birds like African fish eagle, rare shoebill stork as well as papyrus gonolek. If you don’t want to go for a boat ride you can stay at your lodge enjoying nature as you read books.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Magashi camp – luxury, Ruzizi tented camp – mid range, Mutumba campsite – budget

Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe forest national park

After morning breakfast, we start on our journey to Nyungwe forest national park located in the southwestern part of Rwanda with a stopover for lunch in Huye. In Huye is where you find The Ethnographic museum of Rwanda that was previously known as the national museum of Rwanda. At this place, you will learn about the culture and history of the Rwandan people. We shall arrive in Nyungwe forest national park later in the evening.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Nyungwe House – luxury, Nyungwe Top View Lodge – mid-range, Gisakura Guest House – budget

Day 4: Chimpanzee tracking and canopy walk

Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe  national park takes you deep into the thick forest to experience and appreciate the nature of the park. Chimpanzee trekking starts early in the morning with a briefing at the park headquarters. It’s at the park headquarters that you are told about the dos and don’ts. After the briefing, you are paired into groups not exciding8 and headed by a ranger guide into the forest to search for these primates. On finding the chimpanzees, you are given a maximum of 1 hour to stay with them while observing their behaviors, taking photos, and recording videos. Nyungwe forest national park is a home of 13 primates namely chimpanzees, blue monkey, l’hoest monkey, owl-faced monkeys, golden monkeys, golden monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, vervet monkeys, crowned monkey, red-tailed monkey, and Dent’s Mona monkey. After chimpanzee trekking, you will return to your lodge for lunch.

In the afternoon, you will drive to Uwinka Centre to start your canopy walk raised 50 meters above the ground to explore the park, the forest, and some animals

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Nyungwe House – luxury, Nyungwe Top view lodge – mid-range, Gisakura guest house – budget

Day 5: Transfer to volcanoes national park

In the morning after your breakfast, you will prepare and start on your journey to volcanoes national park. The park is located on the northwestern side of the country. On your way to volcanoes national park, you can have stopovers for photography while enjoying beautiful views of the rolling hills of the country. You will also have great views of Lake Kivu which is the biggest lake in Rwanda.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge – luxury, Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge – mid range, Garden Place Hotel – budget

Day 6: Gorilla trekking experience

Meet face to face with mountain gorillas in the thick forests of Virunga ranges. Gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park starts with a briefing at Kinigi headquarters where you are told about how to behave when you meet the gorillas, assigned a ranger guide and a gorilla family to trek. Trekking mountain gorillas in volcanoes national park is an exciting activity that people look to undertake. Trekking, mountain gorillas can take you 2 to several hours depending on the gorillas’ location. After gorilla trekking, you will return to your lodge for lunch and relaxation. Later in the afternoon, you can go for a community walk or visit a cultural village.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge – luxury, Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge – mid range, Garden Place Hotel – budget

Day 7: Explore Lake Kivu

As you have memories of your experience with the mountain gorillas, we leave for Gisenyi on the shores of Lake Kivu after morning breakfast. This will be more of a rest day for you to think through your entire safari exploring Rwanda on the shores of the gorgeous lake Kivu. The activities you can engage in while at Lake Kivu include a visit to the hot springs, kayaking on Lake Kivu, take a boat trip to an island, visit DR Congo – Rwanda border, and relax at the lakeside in the evening sipping away at your favorite and enjoying the cool fresh breeze. If you don’t want to explore Lake Kivu, you can spend a day at your lodge relaxing or reading books.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Accommodation: Lake Kivu, Serena – luxury, Inzoni Lodge – mid-range, Paradise Malahinde – Budget

Day 8: End of Rwanda wildlife tour

Today is your last day on this Africa Adventure Vacations – Rwanda wildlife safari. The day will start with a morning breakfast and driver to Kigali international airport for your return flight.

Meal plan: Breakfast and Lunch

Tour includes 

Transportation

Park entrance fee

Game drives

Chimpanzee trekking permit

Gorilla trekking permit

Boat cruise

Drinking water

Accommodation

Meals

Service of the English-speaking driver-guide

All mentioned activities except for optional ones

Tour excludes 

Personal expenses

Extras at accommodation

Tips

International flights

Visa

Optional activities

Best time for 8 Days Wildlife Tour Rwanda

Best season or time to tour Rwanda destination: Rwanda as the destination can be toured all the year-round. There is no kind of weather season when you are not allowed to touring Rwanda destination especially for endangered gorilla trekking or exploring the big 5 animals in Akagera National park. Most tourists prefer going for Rwanda holidays during drier conditions or seasons because in the wet season the trails used for game drives tend to become muddy and sometimes slippery.

The best season or moth or time of the year that is convenient for Rwanda destination is described below;

From June to September and December to up the end of February: These are the months or times of the year when there are sunshine/dry conditions favorable for any traveler planning to tour or visit Rwanda’s destination. Thus this is regarded as the best season or time of the year to travel to Rwanda for safaris.

During this dry season, the trails used with6in with parks for game drives and other activities such as nature walks and canopy walks are passable and favorable. However, it is important to note that some of the activities done in tropical rains forests such as canopy walks and trekking therefore it is important that you carry a coat just in case the weather conditions change.

Hiking is also comfortable during these conditions. Most of the wild animals are seen during the dry season on the water sources within different parks such as Akagera and this makes it possible for travelers on the game drive and boat cruise to come closer to these animals unlike during the rainy season when they rarely converge around water points. During the dry season, it’s a guarantee that animals will be spotted.

From March up to mid-May and October to December: During this period Rwanda receives heavy rainfall. But this shouldn’t scare you as it doesn’t rain daily or entire season or month. Thus some actives can still go on even during this rainy season.

Travelers for example on holidays or vacation to Rwanda might not even notice or encounter any rain during this trip in this period. Like any other east African country, in Rwanda, it can rain for even one hour then shines the whole day making it easy for activities to carry on.

On the other hand, the Rainy season is the best time for plants to undergo flowering which attracts a lot of birds. Therefore birding safaris in Rwanda can be best done during this rainy season however this depends on the type of bird species that you’re interested in.

Photographers can also enjoy the green vegetation cover and well-rejuvenated plant species during the rainy season. As earlier said most of the tourist travel from June to September you can travel during this time as you are likely to travel on a reduced budget as compared to the peak season. You need to book in advance and as early as possible in the case, you decide to travel to Rwanda during this season.

What to pack for 8 Days Wildlife Tour Rwanda

Energy giving snack

Drinking water

Long-sleeved shirts

Rain jacket

Hiking boots

Camera and extra batteries

Binoculars

Insect repellents

Hat and sunglasses