After arriving at Kigali International Airport, meet your private guide, who will transfer you to your hotel. After settling, spend the afternoon at your own leisure – you may choose to explore the vibrant city (visiting the Genocide Memorial site and art and craft centre) or simply relax and rejuvenate at your hotel, knowing you’ll be heading to the jungle the next day.

Wake up to the sounds of Africa and enjoy a sumptuous breakfast as your driver guide waits to take you through Rwanda’s beautiful countryside, dotted with calming nature scenery and colour. It’s a 5-hour road trip with stops at local markets and the traditional palace in Nyanza. You’ll proceed to Butare, the cultural heart of Rwanda, and visit the Botanical Gardens and the cultural museum.

Enjoy scenic views of the tea plantation scattered across the hillsides, and soon, small, unique wooden cottages nestled around Nyungwe Forest will come into view. Eventually, you’ll arrive and check in at your reserved lodge.

For the rest of the day, make yourself comfortable with nature’s own ambiance around the lodge. Relax in the cozy lounge or meet new people with amazing cultures.

After breakfast, you’ll be transferred to the park headquarters for a safety briefing and led by armed ranger guides into the forest jungle to search for the chimps. Not long, you’ll find your designated chimpanzee troop, which you’ll stick to for one hour.

The chimps keep moving, catapulting from canopy to canopy above the forest floor, making noise, grooming, and stopping for snacks or naps. Your challenge is to keep up with them with the expert guidance of the ranger guide. Enjoy every moment as these charismatic creatures surprise and delight you in their natural habitat, then head back to base for lunch.

After breakfast, you’ll check out with a picnic lunch and be driven along Lake Kivu’s picturesque shores to Gisenyi, a beautiful lakeside town known for its awe-inspiring shoreline, colonial-style hotels, and relaxing atmosphere before retiring at the Lake Kivu Serena Hotel.

Situated right on Lake Kivu, this lakeside resort boasts its own stretch of sandy beach and offers stunning lake and surrounding Virunga Mountain views! Enjoy activities like kayaking, swimming, and sundowners.

After breakfast, you’ll depart to Volcanoes National Park, known for hosting the rare mountain gorillas and golden monkeys. Enjoy the 5-star luxury experience of One & Only Gorilla’s Nest, offering spectacular views of surrounding Virunga Volcanoes and rainforest.

Few experiences compare with trekking through the forested slopes of the Virungas to meet the world’s remaining mountain gorillas. After a hearty early breakfast, you will be driven to the park headquarters for a safety briefing (45 minutes). This excursion highlights your 7 Day Rwanda Primate Safari, so prepare for a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

You can pack your lunch, wear appropriate clothing and shoes, and carry a walking stick when venturing into this gigantic forest. The time spent gorilla trekking is unpredictable. It varies from 2 to 8 hours before finding a family of these gentle creatures.

The location of each gorilla family depends on their feeding range, temperature, and movement from the previous day. Trackers will go before your tracking group to find the gorillas. Strict guidelines will be issued at the briefing point. So, make sure you remember the most important ones.

Trekking through the habitat of these gentle giants is a fulfilling and unforgettable experience that many people look to undertake. Enjoy the one hour allotted – the only time allowed in the presence of each gorilla family per day. Watch and capture this memorable experience then retire to the lodge for lunch and an overnight stay.

After breakfast, you will pack up your baggage, check out, and transfer to Kigali for your departure flight while enjoying breathtaking views of the countryside (3 hours road trip).