7-Day Rwanda & Uganda Primate and Wildlife Adventure - Gorillas, Chimps & Golden Monkeys

Your safari begins with a pickup from your Kigali hotel. Start with a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, the final resting place for over 250,000 victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi a sobering but essential experience for understanding modern Rwanda. After exploring the city's markets and vibrant streets, drive east to Akagera National Park. Upon arrival and check-in at your lodge, enjoy an afternoon game drive across the savannah plains, spotting elephants, giraffes, zebras, and various antelope species as the golden light sets over the park.

Wake before dawn for a sunrise game drive, the best time to spot predators such as lions and leopards before temperatures rise. Akagera is Rwanda's only savannah national park and offers one of the most rewarding wildlife experiences in the country, including sightings of the Big Five: lions, leopards, elephants, buffaloes, and rhinos. Return to the lodge for breakfast and relaxation. In the afternoon, enjoy a tranquil boat safari on Lake Ihema, where you'll encounter hippos, Nile crocodiles, and a spectacular array of waterbirds, including the rare shoebill stork and African fish eagles. This combination of land and water exploration creates a perfectly balanced safari day.

After breakfast, bid farewell to Akagera and begin the scenic journey south to Nyungwe Forest National Park, one of Africa's oldest rainforests. The drive takes through Rwanda's lush hills, winding roads, tea plantations, and rural communities. Arrive at your lodge in the late afternoon, surrounded by montane rainforest. Settle in and prepare for tomorrow's chimpanzee adventure.

Wake before dawn for an early morning briefing at the park headquarters. Nyungwe is home to around 500 chimpanzees, with habituated troops available for trekking. Expert trackers head out before you to locate the chimps, and the trek itself can be challenging steep, muddy terrain requiring good fitness. Once located, you'll spend up to an hour observing them swinging through fig trees, vocalising, and moving constantly through the canopy. This is a dynamic, active encounter; the chimps are skittish and don't stay still. A porter is highly recommended. After the trek and lunch, transfer to Volcanoes National Park, drive through Rwanda's volcanic highlands. The dramatic silhouettes of the Virunga Mountains dominate the landscape as you arrive. Overnight near the park.

Start your morning with golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park. After a briefing at park headquarters, you'll enter the bamboo forests where these playful, energetic primates live. The trek is generally shorter and less strenuous than gorilla trekking, lasting 2 to 4 hours. Once located, you'll observe them leaping through bamboo, their golden fur vivid against the green, a delightful and photogenic encounter. After the trek, head out on the Dian Fossey museum, a tribute to the legendary primatologist who dedicated her life to mountain gorilla conservation. You'll hear stories of her passion and the controversy that surrounded her. In the afternoon, cross the border into Uganda at the Cyanika or Katuna border post and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park's Rushaga or Nkuringo sector. Arrive at your lodge in the late afternoon or early evening.

This is the crown jewel of your safari. After an early breakfast and morning briefing, set out to track a habituated gorilla family. The trek can last anywhere from 1 to 8 hours through dense, steep terrain. Once located, you'll have one unforgettable hour with the gorillas observing them feed, play, and interact at close quarters. In the afternoon, meet the Batwa (Pygmy) people, the forest's original inhabitants for over 60,000 years. The Batwa were displaced when Bwindi was gazetted as a national park in 1991. A Batwa elder will lead you through a guided walk on the forest edge, demonstrating fire-making using friction sticks, identifying medicinal plants, and showing traditional hunting techniques with bows and arrows. Women perform traditional songs and dances that tell the stories of forest life before displacement. This encounter offers a profound reflection on conservation, displacement, and the complex cost of protecting biodiversity. Dinner and overnight stay in Bwindi.

Enjoy one last breakfast in the misty hills of Bwindi. Begin the scenic drive back to Kigali, crossing the Rwanda-Uganda border. Arrive at Kigali International Airport in time for your departure flight, carrying memories of golden savannahs, misty forests, mountain gorillas, and the resilience of Rwanda's people.