5 Days Rwanda Safari Tour –  Overview

The 5 Days Rwanda Safari is an amazing Rwanda tour offering gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park and a wildlife safari in Rwanda in Akagera National Park. This short 5-day safari to Rwanda gives you an opportunity to encounter wonderful primates and the unique wildlife in Rwanda.

Mountain Gorillas thriving in the Volcanoes National Park provide a lifetime experience for a traveler on Rwanda safari as they walk with them in their natural habitat covered by mist, especially in the morning hours which is a very rewarding unique experience to undertake.

The wild game viewing in Akagera National Park is very rewarding to encounter. The counts of buffaloes, elephants, Masai giraffes, waterbuck, Eland, Topi, Impala, Warthogs, and Zebras might be encountered.

5 Days Rwanda Safari Tour – Highlights

• Day 1: Arrival at the airport & do a Kigali city tour including genocide memorials & transfer to Volcanoes National Park in the evening
• Day 2: Gorilla trekking in the morning & evening twin lakes walk or Caves tour
• Day 3: Drive to Volcanoes National Park to Akagera NP via Kigali city
• Day 4: Do a morning game drive & an afternoon boat cruise on Lake Ihema
• Day 5: Drive to Kigali city, Nyamata genocide memorial& drive to the Airport

5 Days Rwanda Safari – Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival at The Airport & do the Kigali City Tour Including the Gisozi Genocide Memorial and transfer to Volcanoes National Park in The Evening

Arrive in Rwanda through Kigali International Airport which is the main Airport in Rwanda where you will be picked up by your driver guide for a courteous introduction about the safari and Rwanda in general.

From here, you embark on the tour of the Kigali city exploring how the local Rwandese make ends meet through their businesses.

The range of products that are sold will be an experience of its own. You will also visit the Gisozi genocide memorial where great counts of the remains of the Rwandese people especially the Tutsi and the moderate Hutus are kept in memory of the bloody genocide that hit Rwanda in 1994.

From here, you will embark on the 116km transfer about 2 ½ hours’ drive to Volcanoes National Park for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge (Upmarket/Luxury) / Hotel La Palme (Midrange/Standard) or Muhabura Hotel (Budget/Basic).

Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in The Morning & Evening Twin Lakes Walk or Musaze Caves Tour

Wake up in the morning for a cup of coffee at your place of stay after which you transfer to Kinigi Park Headquarters in Volcanoes National Park for the gorilla trekking encounter.

At 8 am, you catch up with the briefing exercise by the park rangers about the gorilla trekking conduct.

In this session, you will be allocated a specific gorilla family that you are going to track and in case of special concerns such as mobility issues, you can notify the responsible personnel to allocate you a suitable family.

For the sake of the adventurous ones, you can also notify the responsible personnel to allocate you a more strenuous and challenging gorilla family to track.

After this encounter, you head to the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes where the Park is located in search of the critically endangered mountain gorillas that only thrive in the Virunga Massif and the famous Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in neighboring Uganda.

The activity which may last between 2 – 8 hours depending on the gorilla’s movements will involve a 1 hour of direct encounter with gorillas coupled with unlimited opportunity to take as many photos as you wish after which you will descend back to the gorilla trekking point.

The gorilla trekking in Rwanda is most times brief as the gorilla families tend to be closer to the starting point.

After returning, transfer back to the lodge for short relaxation after which you visit the Twin lakes of Ruhondo and Bulera for amazing scenic views and a recreational boat cruise or undertake the Musaze caves walk to encounter the ancient caves that acted as a refugee for the Rwandese Royals during the times of war at a store for supplies or. Retire in the evening for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge (Upmarket/Luxury) / Hotel La Palme (Midrange/Standard) or Muhabura Hotel (Budget/Basic).

Day 3: Drive From Volcanoes National Park to Akagera NP via Kigali City

After breakfast, embark on the drive to Akagera National Park in the east of Rwanda. You will drive through the impressive rolling hills of Rwanda that have earned it a dub as the land of a thousand hills.

You will pass through Kigali city and then continue to Akagera National Park arriving in the evening for relaxation, dinner, and overnight

Accommodation: Akagera game Lodge (Upmarket/Luxury), Ruzizi Tented Camp (Midrange/Standard) or Dereva Hotel (Budget/basic).

Day 4: Do a Morning Game Drive & an Afternoon Boat Cruise on Lake Ihema

After an early cup of coffee, you will embark on the game drive in the park to look for Buffaloes, elephants, Masai giraffe, waterbuck, Eland, Topi, Impala, Warthogs, and Zebras among other animals.

In the afternoon, you will embark on the boat cruise on Lake Ihema which is the second largest lake in Rwanda with the possibility of encountering Crocodiles and Hippos not forgetting a range of water birds. This boat cruise can be done in the afternoon or at the sun set.

Accommodation: Akagera game Lodge (Upmarket/Luxury), Ruzizi Tented Camp (Midrange/Standard) or Dereva Hotel (Budget/basic).

Day 5: Drive to Kigali City, Nyamata Genocide Memorial & Drive to The Airport

After breakfast embark on the drive back to Kigali city. Drawing closer to Kigali, you will visit the Nyamata genocide memorial to have an encounter with other groups of Rwandese who were found in a church where they had sought a refugee and were mercilessly killed.

After this encounter, you will embark on the transfer to the Kigali International Airport for the flight back home.

End of The 5 Days Rwanda Safari