Introduction

Our 18 days is a general wildlife tour and we are able to trek Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Golden Monkeys. We are also able to see hundreds of birdlife and animals of savannah including endemic birds to the Albertine Rift, mountain forest species, savannah and wetland-dwellers species. We are also visiting Akagera National Park, the lowland savannah and one of the African parks with the Big Five of Africa. The tour starts from Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda.

Day 1:

On arrival, the clients are welcomed at Kigali International Airport and are driven at the hotel for a briefing on the tour and accommodation.

Day 2:

The following day, we go to Nyandungu Urban Wetland Eco-tourism Park where we have a birding which gives us a picture on birds of Rwanda. The eco-park is a home to about 100 birds like Grey-crowned Crane, Spur-winged Goose, Hamerkop, Grey-backed Fiscal, Yellow-throated Longclaw, etc. We have our lunch at 12pm and afternoon we visit Kigali Genocide Memorial before we drive to Akagera NP; our accommodation is at Akagera Rhino Lodge.

Day 3:

On our day 3, we have a morning and afternoon game driving and birdwatching in Akagera National Park. The park is a home to 500 bird species including the rare Ruhuaha Chat and Red-faced Barbet. The park is also one of the few parks in Africa with the Big Five: Lion, Elephant, Leopard, Rhinoceros and Buffaloes. On the tour we can also see Zebra, Topi, Waterbuck, Giraffe, Impala, primates like Baboon, Velvet Monkey and Blue Monkey, etc. The morning tour ends at midday and we have our lunch at Akagera Game Lodge (or picknic at Mihindi area). We resume the tour at 3pm to try more animals and birds around the lodge and hills side. We stop at 5.30 and we drive at the hotel where we can relax at the veranda of the lodge with a nice view of the savannah forest, Lakes and the edge of western Tanzania; accommodation is at Akagera Game Lodge.

Day 4:

On Day 4, we have a morning game drive and animal viewing until lunch time offered at Akagera Game Lodge. After lunch, we relax a bit at the swimming pool. At 3pm, we drive at Lake Ihema where we have our sunset boat. We tour the lake and islands of the lake to see Hippopotamus and Crocodiles, mammals coming for watering at and flocks of waterbirds including the Goliath and Purple Herons, Great and Long-tailed Cormorants, African Darters, Striated Herons, etc. At 6pm, we drive back at the lodge for the evening relax and dinner.

Day 5:

On day 5, we have a morning drive to maximise the number of big mammals and see more birds. We cross the forest from south to exit from North and we can encounter lions and White Rhino. Afternoon we drive to Bugesera Lodge via Kigali and we can reach around 6pm when the dinner is ready.

Day 6:

On day 6, we have a morning birding around wetlands of Bugesera wetlands. This time we are trying the wetlands birds, mainly Papyrus-dwellers like Papyrus Gonolek, White-winged Warbler, Papyrus Canary, Carruther’s Cisticola, etc. After lunch, we proceed to Nyungwe NP (6 hours’ drive) and we reach our accommodation around 6pm; accommodation and dinner at Nyungwe Top View Hills Hotel. Our day 7-8-9 and 10 are spend in Nyungwe National, a home to 300 bird species and 13 species of Primates including Chimpanzees, Mona Monkey, Black and White Colobus Monkey, etc. Nyungwe protects a massive tract of montane rainforest and with a good network of trails which will allow us easy access to some of the best parts of the forest.

Day 7-8 and 9:

On Day 7-8 and 9 we spend 3 consecutive full days of birding in Nyungwe National Park in search of the Albertine Rift endemics and other mountainous birds. We shall try different trails to see endemics like Rwenzori Turaco, Kungwe Apalis, Ruwenzori Turaco, Blue-headed Sunbird, Stuhlmann’s Sunbird, Grauerr’s Swamp Warbler and Neumann’s Warbler which are certainly far easier to get here than in any other neighbouring country. The main target in Nyungwe NP is the endangered, Red-collared Mountain Babbler, with this being one of the only reliable places to find this species. Other notable species to look out for include Mountain Sooty Boubou, Willard’s Sooty Boubou and Dwarf Honeyguide. Dusky Crimsonwing are often seen feeding along the main road as are Handsome Francolin, a species that truly lives up to its name and must surely rate right up there as one of the prettiest of the francolins. As we are birding at different trials, we can also see some groups of primates like Silver Monkey, Mountain/L’hoesty Monkey, etc.

Day 10:

On day 10, we are trekking the rare and endangered Chimpanzees in Cyamudongo, a small fragmented forest of only 19km2 located in 1.5 hours’ drive from the Nyungwe NP. As we are heading to the group of Chimpanzees, we can also see Mona Monkey. The trekking of Chimpanzees normally goes until 11am when we drive back to the lodge for lunch. After a brief break at the lodge, we drive along Kivu Belt to Kibuye and our accommodation is at Cormorant Lodge.

Day 11:

On day 11 we have a boat cruise on Lake Kivu to see the the beauty of the lake and hiking Nyamunini Island, a home to more than 5000 population of Fruit Bat. The cruise and hike go until lunch time before we proceed to the lodge for. We have an afternoon birding at the garden of the lodge and along Lake Kivu to see waterbirds like Great Cormorant, Common Sandpiper, Malachite Kingfisher, etc. Accommodation and dinner are at Cormorant Lodge.

Day 12:

On day 12, we take a boat to Gisenyi and we can very clearly see the Islands of the lake and experience the life of local people on the Islands and farmers along the lake. We have a lunch stop at Kinunu Guest House, where we also experience the coffee processing at Boneza Coffee washing station and learn how it is grown and processed from plantation to final product. After lunch at this Guest House, we continue on boat to Gisenyi, a colonial town along the lake Kivu and our accommodation is at Gorillas Lake Kivu Hotel.

Day 13:

On day 13, we have morning on Mount Rubavu, where on the top we can see clearly the lake but also a nice view of twin towns: Goma in DRC and Gisenyi/Rubavu in Rwanda. We will also see some birds like African Paradise Flycatcher, African Dusky Flycatcher, etc. After lunch we visit the one border post of migration of Rwanda – DRC and the small border which is the busiest border in the region with people crossing for business purposes on both side. Later afternoon we drive back to the lodge and we can also have an evening walk along Lake Kivu; our accommodation and dinner are at Gorillas Lake Kivu Hotel.

Day 14:

On Day 14, after breakfast, we drive to the Twin lake of Burera and Ruhondo. We have a stop at Pfunda Tea Factory to learn how tea is planted, harvested and we have time at the factory to understand different quality produced at this factory. We have our lunch in Musanze, a town of Mountain Gorillas, before we drive to My Eco-hill at Ruhondo Lake, where the accommodation is booked.

Day 15:

On Day 15, we have a brief birding around the lake to see birds like Pied Kingfisher, Red-chested Sunbird, etc. After lunch we drive back to Musanze where are staying to prepare our tourism activities in and around Volcanoes national Park; our accommodation is at Davinci Gorilla Lodge.

Day 16:

On day 16, we have a morning nature walk in Volcanoes National Park where we can really feel the nature of a mountain forest. The walk goes until lunch time and after a brief break, we have an afternoon bird walk around Volcanoes NP headquarters; accommodation is at Davinci Gorilla Lodge.

Day 17:

The day 17 is a life time experience day where we are trekking the famous Mountain Gorillas. The trekking start at 7am at the park headquarters with an introduction on the trek. There are 10 habituated Mountain Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park and the tourists are allocated to the group of Gorillas according to their fitness; there is easy group (1 to 3 hours hike), medium groups (2-5 hours hike) and hard groups with 3 to 6 hours two round hike. In the afternoon, depending on the time of trekking, we can relax with the former poachers who are gathered in Gorilla Guardians Village/Ibyiwacu Cultural Village (http://cbtrwanda.org/) where we are entertained with dances and learn the Rwandan community life; the accommodation is at Davinci Gorilla Lodge

Day 18:

Day 18 is our last day of the tour in Rwanda and we are trekking the Golden Monkeys, endangered and endemic primates in Volcanoes Massif. The trek starts at 7am at the headquarters of the park. After briefing on the tour, we are heading to Kabatwa Hill, which gives the name of this habituated group. You will find easily these creatures swinging in bamboos and feeding on bamboos leaves. The trekking of Golden Monkeys goes until 11am to 12am and we have our lunch and change the clothes at the lodge, we drive to Kigali (3 hours’ drive) and we drive straight at the airport to capture the night flight.