9 Days Congo and Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari
9 Days Congo and Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari: This is a 9 days Congo and Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari that will give you an opportunity to encounter the highly sought after and endangered Mountain gorillas in Volcanoes national park in Rwanda, and the Eastern Lowland Gorillas in Congo’s Kahuzi Biega National Park. During this 9 days Congo and Rwanda Safari, you will also get to do chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest National Park and wildlife viewing in Akagera National Park.
Highlights for 9 Days Congo and Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari.
Day 1: Pick-up and cross to Bukavu
Day 2: Lowland gorilla trekking – Cyangungu
Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe forest national for afternoon canopy walk
Day 4: Chimpanzee tracking
Day 5: Transfer to Volcanoes national park.
Day 6: Gorilla Trekking Rwanda in Volcanoes national park.
Day 7: Transfer to Akagera national park, for Lake Ihema boat and evening game drive.
Day 8: Morning game drive and evening game drive.
Day 9: Transfer back to Kigali
Detailed Itinerary for 9 Days Congo and Rwanda Primates & Wildlife Safari.
Day 1: Pick-up and cross to Bukavu
Depending on your location in Kigali, our company representative-guide/driver will pick you up and drive for about 5 hours through Nyungwe national park with amazing rolling hill in Rusizi with stopovers for lunch and refreshing. Cross through Cyangugu border to Bukavu town in Democratic Republic of Congo. On arrival at Bukavu, nearest town to Kahuzi Biega, advance to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.
Day 2: Lowland gorilla trekking – Cyangungu
After enjoying your breakfast at the lodge, drive to the park headquarters for about 45 minutes for briefing about the Eastern lowland gorillas. You will then set off to your fascinating experience of the lowland gorillas in the valleys of Kahuzi as you encounter different mammals, birds and primates. It’s usually a 1-6 hours’ experience of the jungle, depending on their movement while watching them interact/play with each other as you take photos and videos.
You will then descend back and meet up with your driver back to your hotel for dinner and overnight at your lodge as night before.
Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe forest national for afternoon canopy walk
In the morning after a relaxed breakfast, you will drive back to Rwanda crossing via Ruzizi 1 border. You will connect to your hotel to check in and have lunch.
After lunch, you with your driver guide will connect to the park for the 2 pm canopy walk in Nyungwe forest. The canopy walk in Nyungwe forest is a 200 metre long bridge suspended 9 meters high to give you a view of the forest from above. Enjoy the breathtaking sounds and sights and fresh air of the untouched tropical rain forest from the bird’s view. Drive straight to your hotel in time for dinner at the hotel as the night before. Spend your first night in Nyungwe in hotel/lodge.
Day 4: Chimpanzee tracking
Enjoy breakfast and go for briefing about the endangered chimpanzees before entering the forest in search of the active and playful fellows in Nyungwe forest. The Chimpanzees are much easier to spot as they jump from one tree to another, chattering and laughing. Chimpanzee tracking usually takes about 3 hours. On finding them, spend an hour while taking pictures and videos. You will then return to your hotel to freshen up and spend the rest of the day at leisure.
You may have an optional tea plantation visit or community visit. Connect back to your hotel in time for dinner and overnight stay at your hotel/lodge.
Day 5: Transfer to Volcanoes national park.
Once breakfast has been served, you will drive to connect to Kibuye for a lunch. Drive further to arrive in Volcanoes national park for your cultural tour at the Iby’iwacu cultural center. You will drive to check in at your hotel.
Dinner and overnight at your lodge.
Day 6: Gorilla Trekking Rwanda in Volcanoes national park.
Breakfast will be served early and lunch will be packed. The briefing is at 7 am. Your guide will give you highlights of specific details about the way of life of the gorillas you will be tracking. The hike can take anything from one to seven hours.
Trekking through the steep, bamboo slopes and then finally coming across the gorillas camouflaged in the vegetation is an inspiring and privileged moment. Once you reach the gorillas, you are allowed to spend one hour with them as you stand 6 meters away.
Upon completion of this magical encounter, you will connect again with your driver / guide and return to your lodge.
Day 7: Transfer to Akagera national park, for Lake Ihema boat and evening game drive.
Right after breakfast, transfer to Akagera national park via Kigali where you will arrive in time for lunch. Right after lunch, you will embark on the afternoon boat cruise on Lake Ihema where you will see game like hippopotamuses, Crocodiles and many bird species that live around the lake and the surrounding swamps.
In the evening, go for a game drive with great anticipation of seeing the different animals that are more of nocturnal. After the game drive, return to your lodge to freshen up and spend the evening at leisure and relaxing as you wait for dinner and overnight at your accommodation.
Day 8: Morning game drive and evening game drive.
Early in the morning after breakfast, you will go for a Northern circuit game drive to search for animals that you may have missed out in the previous game drive. It was not a guarantee that all the animals can be seen in the evening game drive.
There are some that are early risers and can only be seen in the morning. Return back to the lodge for a small relation as you wait for lunch. After lunch, you may go for another evening game drive if you are feeling energetic enough. Return back to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay at lodge/camp as above.
Day 9: Transfer back to Kigali
After breakfast, embark on your transfer back to Kigali. If you didn’t have a city tour of the Kigali Genocide Memorial grounds or the Kimironko market on the first day, you may have it on this day before you are dropped off in Kigali at the hotel as you may advise.
