RESPONSIBLE TOURISM & ECO-TOURISM IN RWANDA, UGANDA, & THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Rwanda on the Spot! (11 days / 10 nights)

DAY 1: ARRIVE KIGALI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

On arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be met by Amahoro driver/guide and be transferred to your hotel in Kigali arriving for overnight on bed and breakfast.

Driving distance: 15 Minutes

Activity: 0

Overnight: Overnight: Scheba Hotel |Marriott Hotel | The Retreat by Heaven

Meal Plan: Bed & breakfast

DAY 2: DEPART FOR AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK

Depart for Akagera National Park located along the eastern border of Rwanda, where the typically hilly countryside gives way to the savannas of the Great Rift Valley. Dominated by lakes, swamps and marshland, the area boasts a huge compliment of nature and wildlife that cannot be found elsewhere in the country. We will arrive before lunch at the lodge. Have lunch then in the afternoon your exploration starts with a boat trip on Lake Ihema which is a very rewarding for seeing the large number of hippos, the huge Nile crocodiles and many birds. They are the most interesting part of the park especially for birders.Return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 3 hours

Activity: 1 Hour Boat Exploration

Overnight: Akagera Game Lodge | Ruzizi Tented Camp | Magashi Camp

Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, dinner, Bed & breakfast

DAY 3: AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast leave the lodge by 07:00 hrs to engage on a full day game drive and your exploration starts with a visit to the giraffe valley. Akagera National Park is characterized by woodland, swamps, low mountains and savannah. The varied terrain shelters wildlife including zebras, giraffes, elephants, lions and hundreds of bird species, such as the rare shoebill stork. In the southern part of the park, vast Lake Ihema is home to hippos and crocodiles. Later drive back to your hotel at around 16:00 hrs for the evening at leisure then later dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 3 Hours

Activity: Full day Game drive

Overnight: Akagera Game Lodge | Ruzizi Tented Camp | Magashi Camp

Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, dinner, Bed & breakfast

DAY 4: DEPART FOR KIGALI

After breakfast depart for a 3 hours drive to Kigali arriving in time for lunch then a tour of the city. Named in 1907 by Dr. Richard Kandt, the first colonial resident governor of Rwanda; Kigali city is surrounded by lush hills of green and is referred to as the land of a thousand hills. Get to visit interesting spots which may include; the craft market, Gisozi genocide memorial site & Kigali museum. Drive on to your hotel for check in and overnight on bed & breakfast basis.

Driving distance: 3 Hours

Activity: Kigali City Tour

Overnight: Scheba Hotel |Marriott Hotel | The Retreat by Heaven

Meal Plan: Half board – Lunch, Bed & Breakfast

DAY 5: DEPART FOR NYUNGWE NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast depart for Nyungwe National park which takes about 6 ½ hrs drive via Butare visiting enroute, the famous National Museum at Butare. The museum was donated in 1989 by the Belgium government with some ethnic collection, the design and concept all realized in co-operation with the Royal Museum for Central Africa of Tervuren; Belgium. Ethnographic objects are grouped together according to the theme giving premium information on the daily life. Traditional ceramics and basketry are still manufactured and belong to the finest handicrafts of the region. The National Museum remained surprisingly untouched during the civil war in 1994.Have Lunch in Butare and thereafter continue to Nyungwe national park arriving for dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Driving distance: 6 ½ hours

Activity: At Leisure

Overnight: Nyungwe Top View Hotel | Nyungwe Top View Hotel | One & Only Nyungwe House

Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, dinner, Bed & breakfast

DAY 6: CHIMPANZEE TREKKING & CANOPY WALK

Take an early morning breakfast then with your packed lunch drive to this park for the starting point of your chimpanzee trek. Two species of chimpanzee occur in Africa. There is the Bonobo and the Common Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes (often shortened to Chimpanzee, and sometimes referred to as the Robust Chimpanzee). The largest remaining populations occur in central Africa (Gabon, DR Congo and Cameroon). About only 400 individuals, the population in Rwanda is an endangered one. However; it should be mentioned that it is not guaranteed to see the chimps as they are unpredictable and can move long distances in one day. Nyungwe National Park is the largest block of montane forest in East and Central Africa and it is an incredibly rich area of biodiversity. Later go for the canopy walk which sets 50 meters above the ground with a 150-meter walkway and is the first of its kind in East Africa and third on the continent after South Africa and Ghana. It allows visitors to see the forest from above the trees and be at eye level with birds and monkeys that inhabit the upper stories of the forest. Return to your hotel/lodge for dinner and overnight.

Driving distance:

Activity: Chimpanzee Trekking + Nature walk

Overnight: Nyungwe Top View Hotel | Nyungwe Top View Hotel | One & Only Nyungwe House

Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

DAY 7: NATURE WALK + DEPART FOR GISENY

After breakfast return to this park for the nature walk activity visiting the Kamiranzovu waterfall. The forest comprises amongst many things at least 200 tree species over 280 bird species and more than 100 different types of colorful butterfly which make it a true feast of the senses for the nature lover. Drive on to Gisenyi arriving in time for check in and lunch at your hotel. Take a swim at Lake Kivu one of the African Great Lakes that lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. The afternoon is spent in this largest port on the Rwandan shore of Lake Kivu (You will be in the company of our guide to show you around). Enjoy a boat ride to one of the islands in Lake Kivu. Simply explore the town, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the local market or wander through the leafy streets admiring the old colonial buildings. Later stay for dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Driving distance: 3 hours

Activities: 1 Hour Boat Ride

Overnight: Palm Beach Resort | Kivu Serena Hotel | Kivu Serena Hotel

Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

DAY 8: DEPART FOR RUHENGERI + INTERCULTURAL EXCHANGE

After breakfast you will depart for Ruhengeri area the second largest town in Rwanda, with its stunning backdrop of five volcanic mountains – The Virungas; arriving for lunch then an afternoon visit to Red Rocks Intercultural Exchange center to join the local brew makers to understand the chemistry about the process of brewing a local beer from bananas fruits. If you find the activity interesting enough you can join the women in squeezing the juice out of the bananas and drink a glass of juice (Optional). Understand how long juice takes to turn into alcohol after adding in sorghum floor. Enjoy the big glass of our local brew. Among other activities they also do basket weaving and with your visit this local community will be proud of this activity and families supported financially. Later drive to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 2 hours

Activities: Intercultural Exchange

Overnight: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | One & Only Gorillas Nes

Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

DAY 9: GORILLA TRACKING

After an early breakfast, you will proceed to the National Park headquarters – Kinigi to meet your guides for the day. After completing our park formalities, embark on a once in a life time experience of tracking mountain gorillas. Once you spot them you are allowed to spend an hour watching your closest long lost cousin. This is perhaps one of the most breath-taking wildlife experiences on earth!!! You get so close to these awesome giant primates. You stare at each other blankly not knowing who to break the long silence first. Tracking the gorillas through the light mountain forest on the slopes of the Virunga is a magical experience. These massive primates are extremely rare, with less than 700 living today. You will get within meters of the family, and be privileged to spend an hour amongst them. The trekking may be fairly strenuous; up to six hours or longer at a relatively high altitude. We encourage for your own enjoyment to make sure that you are perfectly fit and healthy. (We’ve had people as old as 70 years old do gorilla tracking so this should not be a problem; all you need is to ask your driver guide to request a shorter group for you if cannot you trek far.) It is important to bring good hiking boots, long trousers, gloves for protection against stinging nettles, some snacks & sweets (for you, not the gorillas) as well as sufficient water as the rain forest gets hot and humid during the day. You will spend one hour with the gorillas, but it is an hour you will never forget. Return to your hotel for lunch and later dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 45 minutes

Activities: 1 Golden Trek

Overnight: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | One & Only Gorillas Nest

Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

DAY 10: GOLDEN MONKEY TRACKING + IBY’IWACU VILLAGE VISIT

This day is set out for Golden Monkey tracking in the Volcanoes National Park. Entering dense stands of bamboo interspersed with open glades; you will make your way deep into golden monkey territory. Guides lead visitors to the habitat of groups of ‘habituated’ golden monkeys – monkeys that have become accustomed to human presence. Though viewing is kept to a maximum of one hour, travelers can get an up-close look at the golden monkey in its natural habitat. Adult monkeys frolic in plain view, feeding on bamboo leaves and leaping from perch to perch. Females carry their young, completely comfortable among onlookers. Later visit Iby’iwacu Cultural Village a Non-Profit umbrella organization that aims at improving the lives of reformed poachers and communities around Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park through provision of conservation incentives, supporting community enterprise development and livelihood based projects. Return to your hotel to freshen up and have lunch then later dinner and overnight.

Driving distance: 45 minutes

Activities: 1 Golden Monkey Trek

Overnight: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | One & Only Gorillas Nest

Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

DAY 11: CITY TOUR + DEPART

After breakfast you will depart for Kigali and your day starts with a complementary tour of the city. Named in 1907 by Dr. Richard Kandt, the first colonial resident governor of Rwanda; Kigali city is surrounded by lush hills of green and is referred to as the land of a thousand hills. Get to visit interesting spots which may include; the craft market, Gisozi genocide memorial site & Kigali museum. Also engage in last minute shopping in one of the friendliest African capitals, before returning to the airport for your onward international flight back home.

Driving distance: 2 Hours

Activities: City Tour

Overnight: 0

Meal Plan: Breakfast

Cost Includes