$8,313 to $8,372 pp (USD)
2 travelers on Start dateArrival
Arrival
Day 1
Arrival in Kigali and transfer to hotel
Arrival in Kigali and transfer to hotel
You will be met by your private Shadows of Africa driver, he will be waiting for you with a signboard with your name written on it. From the airport you will be whisked away to your hotel to recover from your flight and enjoy your first taste of African hospitality. Upon request, Shadows of Africa can assist in arranging additional guided tours and day trips. After a good night's rest you will be ready for the start of your safari tomorrow!
- Main Destination:
- Kigali (Rwanda)
- Accommodation:
- 5 Swiss Hotel
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 2
Kigali city tour
Kigali city tour
Your full day Kigali city tour covers some of the most historically and culturally significant sites in the Rwandan capital. The exact order of your tour will depend upon your start time, but your tour will include the following activities:
Natural History Museum
Formerly known as the Kandt House, the Natural History Museum was built by German explorer, Richard Kandt. The building itself has special significance as the first modern house built in what is today Rwanda.
Genocide Memorial
No visit to Rwanda would be complete without paying a visit to the heart-wrenching Genocide Memorial. Part heartfelt tribute and part educational experience, this memorial recounts the tale of the infamous 1994 Rwandan Genocide, discusses the work being done to heal the country today, and offers a window into the people whose lives were irreversibly changed by the Genocide.
Craft Market and Food Marke
Mille Collines Hotel (Hotel Rwanda).
- Main Destination:
- Kigali (Rwanda)
- Accommodation:
- 5 Swiss Hotel
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 3
Early departure to Akagera NP
Early departure to Akagera NP
In the morning, you will drive to Akagera National Park.
You'll then enjoy a day long game drive through the small but remarkably diverse park. Home to a huge variety of wildlife, including four of the Big Five, Akagera is sure to amaze with its landscapes and how much beauty it packs into a small package.
You will experience the sunset during a boat tour in the park.
- Main Destination:
- Akagera National Park (Rwanda)
- Accommodation:
- Ruzizi Tented Lodge
Wildlife in Akagera NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 4
Full day game drive in Akagara NP
Full day game drive in Akagara NP
While Rwanda is not often thought of as a Big Five safari destination, Akagera National Park in the country's east is emerging as one of the best off-the-beaten-path safari destinations in East Africa.
After the 1994 Rwandan Genocide led to an increase in poaching that threatened the park's viability, recent efforts to transplant rhinos and lions into the park have meant it is now a true Big Five park: with elephants, rhinos, lions, leopards, and buffalo now calling the park home.
- Main Destination:
- Akagera National Park (Rwanda)
- Accommodation:
- Karenge Bush Camp
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 5
Border crossing to Uganda
Border crossing to Uganda
Today, you will be taken from Akagera National Park across the border to Lake Bunyoni. Your driver will assist you with all border crossing and passport formalities.
Enjoy a good nights rest before your starting your hike tomorrow. A big adventure lies ahead of you.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Bunyonyi (Uganda)
- Accommodation:
- Mid-range camping
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 6
Three upland lakes hike - Lake Bunyoni
Three upland lakes hike - Lake Bunyoni
Lake Bunyoni
A short tour around the forested peninsula will show you some pretty interesting things.
After a detailed briefing session the paddling will begin at 10am. Under the auspices of young skippers who have grown up on the lake, this will be a piece of cake. The first program item on the terraced hillsides of the Kyabahinga peninsula will be a dancing and singing presentation by nursery school pupils.
The prize for your next activity, a relatively intense climb of about 30 minutes, will be tremendous lake vistas. Kyabahinga is uniquely located to give you an outlook over most of Lake Bunyonyi, its 29 islands and the distant Virunga volcanoes. You will hear the colourful tales, legends and historical facts related to the islands.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Bunyonyi (Uganda)
- Accommodation:
- Birdnest @ Bunyonyi Resort
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 7
From Lake Bunyoni to Lake Kayumbu
From Lake Bunyoni to Lake Kayumbu
Lake Bunyonyi — Echuya Forest Reserve — Lake Kayumbu
You will wake up on Habukomi Island some 30 minutes away from the Kyabahinga peninsula. On this island of pelicans our legendary nightwatchman Tom Karemire runs a homestay. He shows you around the island, tells you stories and prepares meals for you. For example, freshly made chapatis with local honey will be your breakfast delight.
The canoes will transport you to the other shore of Bunyonyi and from there you will slowly but surely ascend towards Echuya Forest Reserve, reaching it at around midday.
In Echuya you will be part of something unique: a Batwa “Pygmy”-guided nature trail.
There is a swamp in the middle of Echuya that calls for rubber boots. The crossing of the woods is expected to take about 2 hours.
Your picnic lunch will take place above the twin Lakes of Kayumbu and Chahafi.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Chahafi (Uganda)
- Accommodation:
- Lake Chahafi Resort
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 8
Lake Kayumbu to Lake Mutanda
Lake Kayumbu to Lake Mutanda
Following your lakeshore breakfast you will start hiking towards Kisoro Town, through rural but densely populated areas. Compared to the rest of the itinerary, this section is strikingly flat.
Coffee Pot Cafe in the middle of Kisoro is owned by a German lady who makes excellent food. After lunch you will take about 3 hours to reach Lake Mutanda, visiting a coffee farming family on the hill in between. Even those who aren’t ardent coffee drinkers appreciate the expert guidance and the outlook over the lake.
A short motorboat ride will then bring you to a narrow island in the south of Mutanda, called Gahiza. Unmarried pregnant girls were traditionally left on this Punishment Island as a warning to other youngsters. With loads of rabbits on the island you won’t be surprised by what comes on the plate.
- Main Destination:
- Lake Mutanda (Uganda)
- Accommodation:
- Mutanda Lake Resort
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 9
Lake Mutanda to Bwindi National Park
Lake Mutanda to Bwindi National Park
The isle of Gahiza is pleasant enough that you will love a slow morning. By midday the island’s motorboat will start moving towards Chameleon Hill Lodge, your fantastically colourful lunch break place on the extreme northern tip of Lake Mutanda.
On another island, Buhingiro, a colonial-era chief would set up camp while hunting hippos. Locals say hippo meat was at first a delicacy beloved by Batwa ”Pygmies” but later became everybody’s interest. Now they are long gone, but there is a peculiar hippopotamus tale from 2013 that connects Lake Mutanda and Lake Bunyonyi …
You have had astonishing surface-level views of the Virungas by now, but Chameleon Hill Lodge lies a bit higher and new panoramic dimensions will embrace as you eat. At 2pm you will hit the village trails for 3-4 hours, taking you nearly to the outer edge of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
Once at Rushaga, a place with one of Bwindi’s four entry gates, you may start preparing for the national park fun you have chosen.
- Main Destination:
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)
- Accommodation:
- Rushaga Gorilla Lodge
Wildlife in Bwindi Impenetrable NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 10
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi NP
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi NP
After breakfast at your hotel, you'll proceed directly to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park's headquarters to meet your guides. After completing the briefing, you'll embark on the once in a lifetime experience of tracking the enigmatic mountain gorillas.
There is no guarantee how long or difficult your tracking experience will be as it depends on where the family of gorillas is and on weather conditions, It can take anywhere from two up to six hours of trekking through the mountain forest at relatively high altitudes. Fitness is definitely recommended for those wishing to undertake the excursion.
One of the most memorable experiences you're likely to ever have, you'll be allowed an hour of close contact with the gorillas once you've found them. You'll be privileged enough to come within mere metres of a family of these rare and beautiful animals, observing their family dynamics and getting to learn a bit about each gorilla's distinct personality in serene silence.
- Main Destination:
- Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (Gorillas)
- Accommodation:
- Rushaga Gorilla Lodge
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 11
Full day journey from Bwindi to Nyungwe Forest
Full day journey from Bwindi to Nyungwe Forest
Today you will embark on the long but beautiful journey from Bwindi in Uganda to Nyungwe in Rwanda.
Nyungwe is home to no less than 280 different bird species, 26 of which are endemic to the Albertine Rift. You will look for great blue turacos, paradise flycatchers, green pigeons, Ross’ turacos, red-breasted sparrow hawks, handsome francolins and strange weavers, to name just a few. There are a lot of interesting primates living in the park, such as busy babies and sloths, but the most notable of Nyungwe’s inhabitants are the chimpanzees of which at least 500 are currently living in the park.
- Main Destination:
- Nyungwe National Park (Chimps)
- Accommodation:
- Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
Wildlife in Nyungwe NP
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 12
Meet the Chimps
Meet the Chimps
You will rise early to enjoy breakfast and embark on a quest to locate Rwanda's elusive and endangered chimpanzee population. With only four hundred chimpanzees in the country, there is no guarantee that you will see chimpanzees during your day hike, but your Shadows of Africa guide will do everything possible to provide you with a glimpse of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.
Even if you are not lucky enough to see a chimpanzee, the national park is a wonderfully diverse place that you can explore both in the morning during your chimpanzee hunt and after lunch.
In the afternoon, you will set out in search of another primate in the park—the cheeky black-and-white colobus monkey. These playful primates are easier to spot than chimpanzees, and you will enjoy watching their antics.
- Main Destination:
- Nyungwe National Park (Chimps)
- Accommodation:
- Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 13
Canopy and waterfall hike in Nyungwe Forest
Canopy and waterfall hike in Nyungwe Forest
You will start the day with a guided waterfall hike and a walk on the famous Canopy Walk in Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Both offer a unique perspective on this beautiful park, and you will learn to appreciate Rwanda's natural beauty anew as you make your way through the dense forest.
- Main Destination:
- Nyungwe National Park (Chimps)
- Accommodation:
- Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel
- Meals & Drinks:
Day 14
Culture on the way back to Kigali
Culture on the way back to Kigali
After these adventurous days, you will be taken to the airport to begin your journey home.
On the way, you will visit the ethnographic museum and the royal palace.
- Main Destination:
- Kigali (Rwanda)
- Accommodation:
- No accommodation (End of tour)
- Meals & Drinks:
