14 Days Rwanda Albertine Rift Endemics Birding Safari
14 Days Rwanda Albertine Rift Endemics Birding Safari: This is a 14 days Rwanda Albertine Rift Endemics Birding Safari takes you to several notable birding destinations in Rwanda including Kigali City, Volcanoes National Park, Nyungwe Forest National Park, Akagera National Park, Bugesera and many others.
Highlight for 14 Days Rwanda Albertine Rift Endemics Birding Safari.
Day 1: Arrival
Day 2: Visit Kigali Genocide Memorial and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park.
Day 3: Gorilla Trekking and Afternoon Birding
Day 4: Golden Monkey Tracking and Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Day 5: Chimpanzee Trekking and Afternoon Birding.
Day 6: Full Day Birding in Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Day 7: Birding in Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Day 8: Full Day Birding in Nyungwe National Park.
Day 9: Morning Birding and Transfer to Huye.
Day 10: Coffee Tour and Transfer to Akagera via Kigali.
Day 11: Morning Birding and Sunset Boat Cruise.
Day 12: Morning Birding and Transfer to Kigali.
Day 13: Birding at Umusambi Village and Transfer to Bugesera Lodge.
Day 14: Birding in Bugesera and Transfer to Kigali Airport.
Detailed 14 Days Rwanda Albertine Rift Endemics Birding Safari.
Day 1: Arrival
Upon arrival at the airport, you are tested the COVID-19 and a representative from the hotel will welcome you and transfer you to the quarantine Hotel, where you are having the dinner and accommodated while waiting the results of the test. Dinner and overnight at Milles Des Collines Hotel.
Day 2: Visit Kigali Genocide Memorial and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park.
COVID test results are generally ready before noon. After lunch, we’ll get a short overview of the two weeks we’ll be spending experiencing Rwanda’s natural beauty and friendly people. We’ll take a quick tour of Kigali.
City, Africa’s cleanest city, and then we visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial till lunchtime. The monument will help you comprehend the events that led up to the 1994 genocide. After lunch, we head north to Musanze, a town known for its mountain gorillas and golden monkeys.
We can observe various bird species along the journey, including the Yellow-billed Kite, Hooded Vulture, Common Kestrel, Sacred Ibis, Northern Gray-headed Sparrow, and Angola Swallow.
We make a brief stop at the Mukungwa River to see common and widespread African birds as well as some migrants, such as the Barn Swallow, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, Red-billed Fire finch, Common Sandpiper, Chubb’s Cisticola, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Black-headed Weaver, African Yellow Warbler, Speckled Mousebird, Chin-spot Batis, Gray-crowned Crane, Bronze Sunbird, Western Citril, and Yellow- fronted Canary among others. Dinner and Overnight at Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge.
Day 3: Gorilla Trekking and Afternoon Birding
The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to observe gorillas in their native environment is unforgettable, and for others, life-changing. Encounters with gorillas in their natural habitat are meticulously orchestrated, with skilled trackers and guides taking small groups of visitors up bamboo-covered hills to spend a rare and awe-inspiring hour just a few feet away from the gentle creatures.
The Volcanoes National Park is home to twelve habituated gorilla families, with a few others kept strictly for scientific research. The groupings, or soldiers, are made up of at least one silverback, as well as multiple females and children.
After breakfast, we drive to Volcanoes National Park headquarters in Kinigi at 7am (as it is required), and were allocated a family group according to fitness levels, as well as being briefed on protocols and rules for visiting the gorillas. After trekking, which can go until lunch time, we drive to the lodge for lunch.
In the afternoon we have 2 hours birding around the HQ of Volcanoes NP, 20 minutes drive from our lodge, where we can see common birds around the mountain areas including Speckled Pigeon, Red-eyed Dove, Hadada Ibis, Yellow-billed kite (Black Kite), Augur Buzzard, Northern Fiscal, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, Chubb’s Cisticola, Mountain Yellow- Warbler, Plain Martin, Rock Martin, Red-rumped Swallow, Black Saw-wing, Abyssinian Thrush, White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher, Cape Robin-Chat, White-browed Robin-Chat, African Stonechat, Collared Sunbird, Bronze Sunbird, Baglafecht Weaver, Holub’s Golden-Weaver, Yellow Bishop (with many Juveniles), Black-crowned Waxbill, Bronze Mannikin, Pin-tailed Whydah, Northern Gray-headed Sparrow, Cape Wagtail, African Pied Wagtail, African Pipit, Yellow-fronted Canary and Streaky Seedeater; accommodation and dinner at Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge.
Day 4: Golden Monkey Tracking and Transfer to Nyungwe Forest National Park.
As previous day, we report at the office at 7am; after briefing on tracking of Golden Monkeys we drive the foot hill of Sabyinyo Volcano, at Kabatwa Hill, which give the name of this group of Golden Monkey. The monkeys are easily found where they are swinging from the bamboo trees in the forest while others are collecting the remaining of Irish potatoes in the recently harvested farms. You stay 1 hour taking pictures, learning the family behaviours and ecology of these endemics primates to the Albertine Rift, from guides. The trekking ends between 11am and 12am when we start our drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park.
On our drive, we have a brief stop at Nyirakiguhu Pond, one hour from Volcanoes National Park, and we spend one hour at this place and we can also see Yellow-billed Duck, Little Grebe, Red- knobbed Coot, Three-banded Plover, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Great Cormorant, Pink-backed Pelican, Hammerkop, Gray Heron, African Sacred Ibis, African Spoonbill, Yellow-billed Kite (Black Kite), Pied Kingfisher and Mackinnon’s Shrike. We have a brief stop for lunch in Rubavu before we proceed to Nyungwe Forest National Park via Kivu Belt road and we reach Ken Barham Guest House/ Gisakura Guesthouse/ Nyungwe Hill Top View around 6pm.
Day 5: Chimpanzee Trekking and Afternoon Birding
Nyungwe Forest National Park is a home to over 13 species of primates including Chimpanzees. We start our journey to trek chimpanzees at 5am with our packed breakfast and trekking can go up to lunch time. We spend only one hour with the Chimpanzees and also get another opportunity of observing them very closely in the treetops.
Afternoon transfer we have a brief birding around the guest house and we can see African Golden Breasted Bunting, Black-and-White Casqued Hornbill, Mackinnon’s Fiscal, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, and White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher. Accommodation and dinner at Ken Barham Guest House/ Gisakura Guesthouse/ Nyungwe Hill Top View.
Day 6: Full Day Birding in Nyungwe Forest National Park.
We have the first full day to try Albertine Rift Endemics at Umuyove trail and Rangiro road where we can see endemics like Rwenzori Turaco, Rwenzori Batis, Stripe-breasted Tit, Grauer’s Warbler, Rwenzori Apalis, Black- faced Apalis, Kungwe Apalis, Red-faced Woodland-Warbler, Rwenzori Hill Babbler, , Purple-breasted Sunbird, Northern Double-collared Sunbird, Regal Sunbird, Strange Weaver, Dusky Crimsonwing. We can also see other eye-catching species like Black-billed Turaco, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, White-headed Wood-hoopoe, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Gray Cuckoo-shrike, Black-tailed Oriole, Chinspot Batis, Lühder’s Bushshrike, Albertine Boubou, Doherty’s Bush-shrike, African Paradise- Flycatcher, Blue-headed Sunbird, Olive Sunbird, Forest Weaver, we continue after lunch and at 5pm when we drive back to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 7: Birding in Nyungwe
On the 7th day of your 14 Days Rwanda Albertine Rift Endemics Birding Safari, Second full day birding in Nyungwe National Park to continue with photography and observation of Mountain species and Albertine Rift Endemics; we take Ndambarare Trail, a trail on the western side of Nyungwe NP. We can see Great Blue Turaco, Red-collared Mountain-Babbler, Yellow-eyed Black-Flycatcher, Black- and-white-casqued Hornbill, Elliot’s Woodpecker, Northern Double-collared Sunbird, White-breasted Nigrita, Fawn-breasted Waxbill, Blue-headed Sunbird, Rwenzori Hill Babbler, Mountain Illadopsis, Yellow-bellied Wattle-eye, Rwenzori Batis, Neumann’s Warbler, Willard’s Sooty Boubou, White-tailed Blue Flycatcher, White-browed Crombec, Black-throated Apalis, Black-faced Apalis, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Gray Apalis, Black- faced Rufous-Warbler, Chubb’s Cisticola, Black Saw-wing, Yellow-streaked Greenbul, Waller’s and Stuhlmann’s Starling, African Dusky Flycatcher, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Scarlet-chested Sunbird, Black-billed Weaver, Forest Weaver, Black-crowned Waxbill and Streaky Seedeater. At this trail we can also see the rare primates of the forest; Grey-checked Mangabey and Mona Monkey along with the Rwenzori Sun Squirrel.
After a lunch break, we head to Karamba trail, a few minute driving from the western entrance of the forest and we can see Blue Malkoha, White-headed Wood-hoopoe, Willard’s Sooty Boubou, African Paradise-Flycatcher, Dusky Tit, White-browed Crombec, Black-faced Apalis, Archer’s Robin-Chat, Northern Double-collared Sunbird and White-breasted Nigrita. We stop our day birding at 5.30pm and we head back to your lodge for dinner and accommodation.
Day 8: Full Day Birding in Nyungwe National Park.
This is a third day birding and this time we try Handsome Francolin at Pindura-Bweyeye road. We can also see Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle, Strange and Forest Weavers, Abyssinian Thrush, Albertine Boubou, Doherty’s Bush- shrike, Mackinnon’s Shrike, White-necked Raven, Black-throated Apalis, Chubb’s Cisticola, Cinnamon Bracken-Warbler, Eastern Mountain Greenbul, Common Bulbul (Dark-capped), African Yellow White-eye, African Dusky Flycatcher, Yellow-eyed Black- Flycatcher, White-eyed Slaty-Flycatcher. During the migration period, we can also see raptors like European Honey-buzzard, Black Kite and Mountain Buzzard.
After lunch we head again at Rangiro road to see Dwarf Honeyguide, Archer’s Robin-Chat, Black-tailed Oriole, Northern Puffback, Albertine Boubou, Rwenzori Apalis, Black- throated Apalis, Black-faced Apalis, Chestnut-throated Apalis, Cinnamon Bracken- Warbler, Eastern Mountain Greenbul, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul, African Yellow White-eye, White-starred Robin, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Regal Sunbird. We will end up our day birding at the office of the park (Gisakura) where we stop for some minutes to see the African Green-Pigeon, Black-billed Weaver, and we can also try Rwenzori Nightjar in communities’ farm around the Lodge.
Day 9: Morning Birding and Transfer to Huye.
We have a morning birding at Waterfall trail; this trail shows really how Nyungwe NP is an indigenous forest. At this trail we shall see Lemon Dove, White-bellied Robin-Chat, Many-colored Bush-shrike, Siffling Cisticola, White-bellied Crested-Flycatcher, African Green-Pigeon, Great Blue Turaco, Barred Long-tailed Cuckoo, Rwenzori Batis, Northern Puffback, African Paradise- Flycatcher, Grauer’s Warbler, Rwenzori Apalis, Black-faced Apalis, Gray Apalis, Black- faced Rufous-Warbler, Rock Martin, Angola Swallow, Red-rumped, Swallow, Black Saw- wing, Yellow-whiskered Greenbul. After lunch we head to Kigali and on the way we stop at Uwasenkoko Swamp to try Grauer’s Swamp Warbler and wetland species endemic to the Albertine Rift region. After lunch we drive to Huye and our accommodation is at Gallileo Hotel/ Motel du Monte Huye.
Day 10: Coffee Tour and Transfer to Akagera via Kigali.
On the 10th day of your 14 Days Rwanda Albertine Rift Endemics Birding Safari, following our morning breakfast, we had the opportunity to learn about coffee processing at the Maraba Coffee washing station. We study how coffee is planted and additional processes are carried out till the final product is ready for consumption. Following coffee, we go to the Ethnographic Museum to learn more about Rwandan culture and life before, during, and after the colonial period. After lunch, we drive to Akagera National Park after passing a fast exam to enter the park; we stay at Akagera Game Lodge.
Day 11: Morning Birding and Sunset Boat Cruise.
We begin birding in the grounds of Akagera Game Lodge in search of the Red-faced Barbet. After that, we’ll spend the rest of the day on the hillsides, bird watching and watching animals. Coqui Francolins, Brubru, Eastern Grey Plantain-eater, Red-chested Cuckoo, Striped Kingfisher, Woodland Kingfisher, Common Scimitarbill, Green Wood Hoopoe African Grey Hornbill, Grey Kestrel, Meyer’s Parrot, Black-headed Gonolek Sulphur-breasted Bush-shrike, Black-crowned Tchagra, Chinspot Batis, White-crested Helmet-shrike, and the Crested Barbet. You will also be able other wildlife species in the park such giraffes, elephants, Cape Eland, Rhinos and may others.
We go on a sunset boat ride on Lake Ihema from 4.30pm to 6pm, and we can see flocks of water birds at the breeding area, including Great Cormorant, Striated Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Common Squacco Heron, Rufous-bellied Heron, Goliath Heron, Purple Heron, Reed Cormorant, African Darter, African Fish Eagle, Black Crake, Water Thick-knee, Spur-winged. Dinner and accommodation at Akagera Game Lodge.
Day 12: Morning Birding and Transfer to Kigali.
We have a morning birding and game viewing on Lake Circuit and we can see Senegal Lapwing, African Jacana, Crowned Lapwing, African Wattled Lapwing, Broad-billed Roller, Saddle-billed Stork, African Palm Swift , Little Swift, African Green Pigeon, Ross’s Turaco, Little Bee-eater, African Hoopoe, Lesser Striped Swallow, Red-faced Crombec, Yellow-fronted Tinkerbird, Spot- flanked Barbet, Cardinal Woodpecker, Bearded Woodpecker, Stout Cisticola, Short- winged Cisticola, Tabola (Long-tailed) Cisticola, Tawny-flanked Prinia, White-chinned Prinia, MiomboWren-warbler, Green-capped Eremomela, after lunch we drive to Kigali; with dinner accommodation in Kigali town.
Day 13: Birding at Umusambi Village and Transfer to Bugesera Lodge.
After breakfast, we proceed at Umusambi Village, a restored wetlands, providing a sanctuary for over 50 endangered Grey Crowned Cranes saved from the illegal pet trade to try the rare White-collared Oliveback.
After a cup of coffee at the village, around 10am, we drive to Bugesera for lunch and afternoon we have a brief birding around Bugesera Lodge. At the lodge we can see savannah species like Brown-backed Scrub-robin, Ring-necked Dove, Laughing Dove, Little Swift, African Harrier-Hawk, African Paradise-Flycatcher, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Trilling Cisticola, Yellow-throated Greenbul, Arrow-marked Babbler, Violet-backed Starling, Rüppell’s Starling, African Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Green-winged Pytilia, Yellow-throated Long claw.
Day 14: Birding in Bugesera and Transfer to Kigali Airport.
After an earlier breakfast, we head to wetlands of Bugesera to see Papyrus Gonolek at Gashora Wetland where can also see easily Papyrus Canary, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Hottentot Teal, White-winged Swamp Warbler, Banded Martin, White-faced Whistling-Duck, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Spur-winged Goose, Yellow-billed Duck, Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove, Eurasian Moorhen, Red-knobbed Coot, Black Crake, Long-toed Lapwing, Wattled Lapwing, African Jacana, Wood Sandpiper, Long-tailed Cormorant, Pink-backed Pelican, Little Bittern, Gray Heron, Fan-tailed Widowbird, Grosbeak Weaver, Common Waxbill, Red-billed Fire finch, Western Yellow Wagtail, African Pied Wagtail, Yellow-fronted Canary, later afternoon we drive to the airport for the evening flight.
