This Rwanda safari will give you the two ultimate safari experiences i.e., game drives in Akagera national park and gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park. The Akagera National Park is the only Savannah park in Rwanda hosting a number of big mammals with the most sought-after being Lions, Buffaloes, Giraffes, Zebras and Hippos which will provide for great photographic moments. After this experience proceed to the Volcanoes National Park for an unforgettable encounter with the Rwanda mountain gorillas.
On arrival in Rwanda, transfer to Akagera National Park. The journey takes about 2 hours 30 minutes with stopovers en route to Akagera park for photo moments of the beautiful landscape washrooms. Later arrive at the park and check in to your lodge.
Go for the whole day game drive on a next day. Wake up early and leave right after breakfast to explore Akagera national park in search of the big mammals like Elephants, Giraffes, Buffaloes, several Antelope species and recently the re-introduced Lions.
Most of the game drives happen in the northern part of the park where we will spend the better part of the day and return to the lodge later that afternoon. Akagera national park is the biggest in Rwanda with beautiful scenery and landscape. It has varied habitats for wildlife and a birders haven with over 500 species in the park.
If all is maximized, transfer to Volcanoes national park for yet another everlasting memory. After breakfast, start the journey to volcanoes national park where the massive gentle giants inhabit. It is a natural habitat for the mountain gorillas providing the perfect environment and food for the gorillas. Volcanoes National Park is located in northern Rwanda about 2 hours 30 minutes from Kigali in Kinigi, Musanze.
The drive from Akagera National Park to Musanze will be through Kigali city, enjoy several villages with great landscape views. You can ask the driver to stop for picture moments at different viewpoints as you see the endless hills and understand why indeed Rwanda is referred to as ‘the land of a thousand hills. Arrive to the lodge later that evening ready for the gorilla hike the next day.
After a restful night, your agenda today is meeting the mountain gorillas in the lush and dense jungles of the Virunga ranges – the Volcanoes National Park. Your driver guide will transfer you to the briefing place right after your early breakfast to listen from the ranger guide on how to behave while in the park and divide you into the different gorilla groups.
In the meantime, as you wait for the briefing enjoy the Rwandan cultural dances and the freshly brewed Rwandan coffee. After a briefing from the visitor’s centre, embark on the trek that will eventually bring you to the gorillas in their natural habitat. The trek can last anything from an hour to several hours depending on where the gorillas nested the previous night – you need to be relatively fit to enjoy this experience.
