7 Days Primate Tour Rwanda

7 Days Primate Tour Rwanda

7 Day Primate Tour Rwanda leads you to Rwanda’s primates and a touch of wildlife, offering the best of the country in the shortest time possible. Rwanda is famous as the land of a thousand hills because of its hilly landscapes that are very rich in biodiversity such as the endangered mountain gorillas, abundance of lush and vibrant flora and fauna. The 7-day primate trekking safari will lead you to the 970 km2 Nyugwe Forest National Park, which contains 13 primate species (25% of Africa’s total), 275 bird species, 1068 plant species, 85 mammal species, 32 amphibian and 38 reptile species.

Chimpanzee trekking

While here, you will do chimpanzee trekking with rewards of nature’s scenic views during the canopy nature walks within the park. You will see the chimpnazees play and make their mind-blowing moves within the trees. From Nyungwe, you will be transferred to Lake Kivu from where you’ll have boat cruises during which you’ll witness a variety of bird species and water loving animals on the lake shore. You’ll also visit a number of fishing villages on this gorilla, chimps trekking tour.

More about chimpanzee trekking

Finally, the 7 Day Primate Tour Rwanda will bring you to the Volcanoes National Park for gorilla trekking, the most popular tour in Rwanda. The Mountain Gorillas are unique to only three countries including Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Each of these three countries offers the trekking experience but Rwanda is by far the best country for the gorilla trekking adventures. Volcanoes National Park is home to a population of over 400 mountain gorillas, including the 10 families that are habituated for tourism. Each of these gorilla families can be tracked everyday within the forests.

Only 8 people are allowed to track each gorilla group every day. The rangers will locate your assigned gorilla group by finding where the gorillas built their night nests and then following the trail of crushed vegetation left behind as the group moved away in the morning. It is a very humbling experience as you reach them and watch them eat and play. Besides the mountain gorillas, the park is also home to the endangered golden monkeys, buffalos, black-fronted duiker among others. Therefore, you should also prepare for golden monkey trekking! For bird enthusiasts, Volcanoes National park is an Important Bird Area and hosts an estimated 200 species of birds with 12 endemics.

This 7 Day Primate Tour Rwanda, involving chimpanzee and gorilla trekking safaris will reward you with memorable nature experiences in Rwanda’s lush mountain rainforests where you trek to see the gorillas and golden monkeys in Volcanaoes National Park, and chimpanzees as well as several species of monkeys in Nyungwe Forest National Park. In between trekking you will spend some quality relaxing with boat cruises at Lake Kivu, one the most beautiful lakes in Central Africa!

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Kigali/7 Days Primate Tour Rwanda

Arrival at Kigali International Airport, meet the tour-driver and transfer to your hotel in Kigali. Depending on your arrival schedule, we can do a short us of Kigali City, one of Africa’s cleanest and fastest growing cities.

Location: Kigali

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits throughout

Day 2: Kigali- Transfer to Nyungwe National Park/7 Days Primate Tour Rwanda

After breakfast your tour driver shall pick you up from the hotel at 7am and drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park which is located in the south west of Rwanda. Along the way we shall visit the ethnographic museum in Huye district. The ethnographic museum is popular for its collection on Rwanda’s rich cultural history and way of life.

Location: Kigali

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits throughout

Day 3: Nyungwe National Park-  Chimpanzee tracking and Canopy walk/7 Days Primate Tour Rwanda

After early breakfast we shall transfer to the ranger station at Gisakura at 4.30am to meet the park guides for briefing and thereafter drive to the starting the point of your trek into the forest to find the habituated chimpanzees. About 500 chimpanzees are said to inhabit the Nyungwe Forest, and two groups have been habituated for the chimpanzee trekking experience. After a couple of hours’ trek in the jungle you will find chimps and spend one hour them. We shall drive back to the lodge for lunch.

In the afternoon we shall transfer to the park’s head office at Uwinka and set out for the canopy walk hike. The canopy walk is one of the highlights of Nyungwe Forest National Park. Suspended 60 meters above the ground, the canopy walkway offers breathtaking views across the forest and chances of sighting monkeys at the eye-level in the forest canopy.

Location: Nyungwe National Park

ommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits throughout

Day 4:  Nyungwe National Park- Nature walk in Nyungwe and transfer to Lake Kivu kibuye/7 Days Primate Tour Rwanda

After breakfast, we shall have a 3+ hour hike in Nyungwe Forest National Park to observe array of nature including several species of monkeys, rare endemic birds, beautiful plant life, sparkling waterfalls, and stunning views of the forest. Upon return from the hike we shall depart to Kibuye and check into your hotel at the edge of Lake Kivu one of the most beautiful Cetral Africa lakes and relax away the rest of the day.

Location: Nyungwe National Park

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits throughout

Day 5: Nyungwe National Park- Transfer to Volcanoes N.P.

Boat excursion on Lake Kivu and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

We shall set out for an early boat ride on Lake Kivu to explore the beautiful scenery.  Visit some of the islands where you shall observe some nature including bats and several species of birds. Later check out and depart to Volcanoes National Park in the north of Rwanda.

Location: Nyungwe National Park

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits throughout

Day 6:Nyungwe National Park-  Gorilla trekking.

We shall wake up quite early, have breakfast and transfer to the park office at 7am. We shall take lunch boxes as we cannot predict how long the trek may take. At the park office we meet the park guides to allocate you to a gorilla group you are going to track in Volcanoes National Park, and thereafter we shall drive to starting point of trek located just outside the park, and off you shall trek up the volcano to find the gorillas.

More than 400 gorillas live in the Volcanoes National Park and ten families have been habituated for the trekking experience. A hiking a stick will be provided free of charge, and a porter can be hired at only $10 to carry your backpack and provide support. After you find the gorillas you will spend one hour following these incredible apes! After the gorilla trek you will spend the rest of the day relaxing at the lodge.

Location: Nyungwe National Park

Accommodation Option:

Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Drinking Water and Fruits throughout

Day 7: Golden monkeys trekking and transfer to Kigali/7 Days Primate Tour Rwanda

Depending on your flight schedule we may do another trek in the Volcanoes National Park to see the stunning golden monkeys. This is a light trek and the monkeys are easy to find because they in the bamboo forests in the lower zones of the mountains.

We shall depart to Kigali for flight back home.

Location: Kampala (City)

Accommodation Option: No (End of tour)

Meals Plan: Breakfast, Lunch

Drinking Water and fruits throughout

Tour Includes:

Airport transfers

4×4 transport with English speaking local guide/driver for all road transport

Accommodation & all meals above

All park entrances fees

Drinking water in the vehicle

Mentioned activities

Gorilla and chimpanzee permits

Tour Excludes:

• International visas
• Accommodation facilities while in Kampala
• All expenses of personal nature such as tips and drinks

Health:

• Yellow fever and malaria prophylactics are required
• COVID19 certificate

Officials have a right to refuse entry if you are found to have or show any signs of communicable diseases

Visas:

Most nationalities require a visa to enter Uganda which can be obtained on arrival at USD 50 per person, single entry. Passport must be valid for a minimum of 6 months

Flights:

It is imperative that you basically confirm your onward /return flights.  Please contact our offices for assistance.

We believe in value for money. Every guest would like to have the most reliable and comfortable vehicles on safari. In response to the clients’ needs, we have a very strict vehicle replacement policy that ensures a young fleet at all times. We have a total fleet of 225 well-maintained motor vehicles, predominantly 4-wheel drives. This does away with the problem of sub-contracting vehicles and driver-guides, which may compromise the quality of services. Our safari vehicles are specifically converted for maximum space and comfort. All of them have hatched roof and sliding windows to facilitate good viewing and convenient photography during game drives and sight seeing.