9 Days Rwanda Primate & Big 5 Safari

9 Days Rwanda Primate & Big 5 Safari

This journey doesn’t just take you across Rwanda—it brings you back to yourself.

Overview

This is the safari for those who want it all. In nine unforgettable days, you’ll stand eye-to-eye with a silverback gorilla in Volcanoes National Park, track wild chimpanzees in Nyungwe Forest, and watch lions yawn under acacia trees in Akagera. It’s a deep dive into Rwanda’s dual soul—lush green forests and sun-baked savannahs—with time to breathe, reflect, and fall in love with the in-between moments.

If you’ve never been to Africa, this is the introduction it deserves—intimate, emotional, and never rushed.

Summary Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Kigali – City Tour – Transfer to Nyungwe
Day 2: Chimpanzee Trekking – Canopy Walk
Day 3: Waterfall Hike or Cultural Encounter
Day 4: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 5: Gorilla Trekking
Day 6: Golden Monkey Tracking – Transfer to Akagera
Day 7: Game Drive in Akagera
Day 8: Boat Safari – Afternoon Relaxation or Optional Game Drive
Day 9: Return to Kigali – Departure

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 – Kigali City Tour & Into the Forest

Upon your arrival in Kigali, you shall be picked by your Friendly Gorillas safari guide who smiles like he already knows the road ahead will change you. After a quick refresh, you’ll take a relaxed city tour—visiting the Genocide Memorial, art galleries, and market corners where life hums at its own pace.

Then it’s off to Nyungwe. The drive isn’t short, but it flows. Hills roll by. Tea plantations stretch into the sky. By evening, you arrive at your forest lodge where frogs sing and the air smells like green itself.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Gisakura Guesthouse
• Standard: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
• Luxury: One&Only Nyungwe House

Day 2 – Wild Chimps & A Walk Among the Treetops

Before sunrise, you’re in the forest. A ranger leads the way, ears tuned to the language of the wild—hoots, snaps, rustles. And then… chimps. Not posed or polite, just alive. You watch them leap, fight, groom, and play like they’ve never heard of schedules or silence.

Later, you take on the canopy walk: suspended in air, above a sea of green. Some people grip the railing. Others close their eyes. Everyone remembers it.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Gisakura Guesthouse
• Standard: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
• Luxury: One&Only Nyungwe House

Day 3 – Waterfalls or Culture, Your Call

Today is slower. You choose:

• Hike to a hidden waterfall deep in the forest where butterflies dance and mist kisses your skin.
• Or, step into a nearby village for a cultural experience—banana beer brewing, traditional drumming, and stories told the old way: face to face.

By evening, you’re stretched out at the lodge with forest sounds filling the silence.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Gisakura Guesthouse
• Standard: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
• Luxury: One&Only Nyungwe House

Day 4 – Road to Volcanoes
The drive to Volcanoes National Park is not a transfer—it’s a journey. Rwanda’s hills rise and fall like waves. You pass towns where goats cross roads like they own them and kids wave like you’re a visiting hero.

As the Virunga mountains appear, the landscape shifts. The air is cooler, sharper. Your lodge near the park feels carved out of time—stone, firewood, and quiet.

Accommodation:

• Budget: La Locanda or Fatima Hotel
• Standard: Da Vinci Lodge or Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge
• Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel or Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge

Day 5 – Gorilla Trekking: A One-Hour Lifetime

You hike through farmland, mist, and tangled green. Then your guide raises a hand. Silence. You step forward… and there they are. Gorillas. A whole family. The silverback watches you, not as prey or threat—but as something curious. The young ones tumble. The mothers glance but stay calm.

That hour changes you. It’s raw, humbling, and strangely human.

Accommodation:

• Budget: La Locanda or Fatima Hotel
• Standard: Da Vinci Lodge or Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge
• Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel or Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge

Day 6 – Golden Monkeys & A Shift to Savannah

Golden monkeys are the opposite of gorillas. Loud. Flashy. Chaotic. You follow their bouncing shapes through bamboo, laughing as they chatter and pose like forest comedians.

After the trek, you drive east toward Akagera. The green fades into gold. Lakes sparkle. You arrive as the sun drops low and the air gets thick with that slow savannah stillness.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Akagera Rhino Lodge
• Standard: Akagera Game Lodge
• Luxury: Ruzizi Tented Lodge

Day 7 – Game Drive: Lions, Giraffes & Big Skies

You’re up with the sun. Akagera wakes slowly—first the birds, then the antelope, then the cats. Your guide knows the rhythm. You spot elephants pulling trees apart, zebras playing tag, maybe a lioness watching it all with quiet power.

There’s no rush. Just you, the wind, and the wide-open African sky.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Akagera Rhino Lodge
• Standard: Akagera Game Lodge
• Luxury: Ruzizi Tented Lodge

Day 8 – Boat Safari & Wind Down

A boat safari on Lake Ihema starts your day. Hippos bob, crocs drift like driftwood, and birds flash blue and gold above the water. It’s slow, easy, beautiful.

The afternoon is yours. Nap, journal, sip something cold. Or, if you’re still chasing moments, go for one more short game drive. Either way, the sun will set just right.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Akagera Rhino Lodge
• Standard: Akagera Game Lodge
• Luxury: Ruzizi Tented Lodge

Day 9 – Back to Kigali & Farewell

You drive back across Rwanda—one last pass through banana groves and hills that never get boring. Your Friendly Gorillas guide drops you at the airport or your hotel.

And though your trip ends, something inside you doesn’t. That gorilla stare. That chimp shriek. That lion’s yawn. They all stay.