8-Day Rwanda Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari

8 Day Rwanda Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari is one of the most popular safari packages in Rwanda because it combines both gorilla trekking and wildlife safaris. It ensures the visitors get the full experience, and this is so much fun. This safari will make you learn more about the culture of Rwanda and the gorilla trekking safari. Learn and enjoy the very interesting scenes as you encounter the gorillas of Rwanda’s volcanoes national park, then the wildlife game drives in the Akagera National Park and the hiking of the Dian Fossey, which is so wonderful and you will gain the most wonderful experience e on this safari. Our safari starts and ends in Kigali city. The gorilla trekking safari will help you enjoy the ultimate gorilla trekking experience. The activity starts and ends with the briefing at the park headquarters in the Volcanoes National Park before you engage in the gorilla trekking safari. The moment you engage with the gorillas in the wild, you will be allowed to spend the only hours as you watch the gorilla trekking and you watch a lot of the activities as you watch the gorillas feeding, taking photos and seeing how the gorillas take care of themselves.

What to count on our 8 Day Rwanda Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari

• Boat cruise safaris on Lake Ihema
• A game drive in Akagera National Park
• Gorilla trekking experience
• The beautiful hills and mountains of Rwanda
• Visitations to the Kandt House museum

Day 1: Arrival, pick-up, and transfer to your Kigali hotel.

8 Days in Rwanda Gorilla trekking and wildlife safari starts today with your arrival at Kigali International Airport. Here you will be picked by Africa Adventure Vacations Limited representatives together with the safari guide for a meet and greet encounter. Later, you will be briefed on your safari itinerary and be driven to your booked hotel in Kigali, where you will be picked the following morning for a day’s safari activity.

Mille Colline Hotel (luxury), Marriott Hotel, and Iris Guest House (budget).

Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner

Day 2: Depart from your Kigali hotel and drive to Akagera National Park for an afternoon game drive.

Today is our 2nd day of your 8 day Rwanda Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari. You will wake up early in the morning, prepare yourself, have your breakfast, and by the time you finish your breakfast, your safari guide will be waiting for you outside your hotel. Get into the car and start the journey to Akagera National Park. Akagera National Park is close to the Rwanda-Tanzania border and as you drive to the park, you will be amazed by the various scenes and the beautiful scenery of Rwanda’s landscapes, as well as meet the Rwandan people as they are doing their own business. You will reach the park on time and check in at your booked lodge, have lunch and a short break, and after this short break, you will embark on the afternoon game drive where you will get a chance to spot animals such as elephants, buffaloes, among others. You will also spot some of the bird species in the park before you return back to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay. This will be the most memorable day that you will ever have on an African safari.

Accommodation options include Akagera Game Lodge and Ruzizi Tented Lodge.

Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner

Day 3 includes a morning game drive and an afternoon boat cruise on Lake Ihema in Akagera National Park.

Today is a fully packed safari day in Akagera National Park. Our day will start early in the morning with a cup of tea, which will be served to you by the well-trained service providers, and after that, you will proceed to the jungle to spot more wildlife in Akagera National Park. We wake up early so that we can spot the early morning risers and the cats, such as lions and leopards, as they go to their hideouts. We hope that this game drive will be rewarding with the wonderful views of the herd of elephants, buffaloes, the impala, the rhinos, the topis, zebras, bush bucks, among other several animal species. As time goes by, you will return back to the lodge after spending about four hours on the game drive in the Akagera wilderness. At the hotel, you will have a short break and later have lunch. After lunch, you will drive to Lake Ihema to participate in the boat cruise where you get up close to various aquatic and land species, such as crocodiles, hippos, and several bird species that will be spotted. After two to three hours of the boat cruise, you will return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Accommodation options include Akagera Game Lodge and Ruzizi Tented Lodge.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 4: From Akagera National Park to Musanze

After the early morning game drive, you will check out of the lodge, pack your belongings into the vehicle, and transfer to Musanze, where Volcanoes National Park is found. We shall again first drive back to Kigali city where we shall have lunch and visit the Kigali genocide memorial site, where you will learn more about the genocide that happened in Rwanda in 1994 and the reason for its cause, as well as the consequences and how people have united and reconciliation, has been enforced to ensure that Rwanda is peaceful as of now. After visiting the genocide memorial site, you will now drive to the northern side of Rwanda in the Musanze district, where you will find the Volcanoes National Park. As you pass through the terraced hilly areas of Rwanda, you will really appreciate that Rwanda’s land is dotted with several hills, up to 1000 hills. Mountain gorillas can be found in Volcanoes National Park. We shall take about 2 to 3 hours from Kigali City to Volcanoes National Park. Arrive in Volcano National Park and check into your hotel.

Mountain View Lodge (luxurious), Lap-Lame Hotel (midrange), or Kinigi Guest House (budget).

Meal plan: Dinner and breakfast

Day 5: Meet the Volcanoes National Park’s endangered gorillas.

Because this trip is billed as a Gorilla Trek and Wildlife Safari, you will get up early in the morning, have breakfast, and then go to the Volcanoes National Park in Musanze. Go straight to the park offices for information on gorilla trekking and the distribution of gorilla  family groups and guides. From there, enter the equatorial and tropical rain forests and search for mountain gorillas, starting from where they were the day before until you find them. You’ll see them going about their daily routines, such as taking care of their children, climbing trees, and simply unwinding. Take your best photographs after you’ve turned off your flash. This entire activity should take little more than one hour, following which you should return to the Volcanoes Park headquarters for your gorilla traveling authentication or certificate. Return to the accommodation for lunch and some relaxation. Then, in the evening, go to the Diane Fossey area and observe where she was covered in the aftermath of being killed by mountain gorilla hunters in the fog or mist. Return to the lodge for supper and an overnight stay.

Mountain View Lodge (luxurious), Lap-Lame Hotel (midrange), or Kinigi Guest House (budget).

Meal plan: Dinner and breakfast

Day 6: Visit the Karisoke Research Center before embarking on the City Tours.

This activity will start early in the morning with the early morning breakfast. Today we will leave the lodge with our packed lunch and go on the cultural tour as we learn more about the culture of Rwanda and the historical commencement of this center. This will start with the tours to the Dian Fossey Tomb, which is at the Karisoke Research Center, where the late spent most of her time enjoying the gorilla trekking activities and making her research about the gorillas until she was murdered by the poachers of the gorillas. She is greatly remembered for her tremendous efforts towards protection and conservation of the gorillas. You will see a lot of natural life on the way to and from Karisoke, as you pass past the volcanic pinnacles of Karisimbi and Bisoke. On this day, we will also go on a Musanze city tour to learn more about the city. This tour will last an entire day, and you will return to your lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.

Mountain View Lodge (luxurious), Lap-Lame Hotel (midrange), or Kinigi Guest House (budget).

Meal plan: Dinner and breakfast

Day 7: Gorilla trekking in Rwanda for the second time.

Today is the main highlight of your 8 Day Rwanda Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari! Gather at the park’s main offices after your first morning breakfast. You have the option of visiting a different gorilla group or returning to the previous one. Be brave and go back to the forest to see the gorillas once again. Compare the experiences of day one of gorilla trekking and this one. After that, you will return to the park headquarters for the certificate. Relax in the early evening while we wait for cocktails, eat with Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project veterinarians, and learn about ongoing efforts to preserve the mountain gorillas’ survival and later return to your lodge for the overnight stay.

Mountain View Lodge (luxurious), Lap-Lame Hotel (midrange), or Kinigi Guest House (budget).

Meal plan: Dinner and breakfast

Day 8: The 8 Day Rwanda Gorilla Trekking and Wildlife Safari comes to an end.

Have a wonderful, relaxing final morning where we may take in the ambiance of the site, reflect on our week’s adventures, and pack. Depending on our flight dates, we may have lunch at the lodge before departing for Kigali to catch your return flight, bringing the 8 day gorilla trekking and wildlife safari to a close.

What is included in this safari?

• In a Jeep car vehicle, you can get around on the ground.
• Meals + lodging + bottled water.
• Entrance fees to the park
• Permit for Gorillas.
• Permit to Be a Gorilla Guardian
• Service of an English-speaking driver-guide
• Kigali city tours
• Cultural tours

What is excluded from this safari?

• Tickets for international flights
• Insurance and a visa card
• Laundry service
• Tipping
• Soft and hard drinks.