8 Days Rwanda Primate Adventure Safari

Arrive at Kigali International Airport where your driver and guide await. A short briefing on your safari ahead, then transfer to your hotel in Rwanda's immaculate, car-free capital. The evening is yours to settle in, stroll the city's hillside boulevards and enjoy dinner at the hotel.

After breakfast, your guide briefs you and introduces you to your safari driver before departing Kigali for Musanze. Time permitting, stop at the Kigali Genocide Memorial for a moving and important introduction to Rwanda's history, with lunch en route. Arrive in Musanze in the late afternoon: the gateway town to Volcanoes National Park, ringed by five dramatic volcanic peaks. Check in for dinner and an early night ahead of tomorrow's gorilla trek.

Rise early for breakfast before transferring to the park headquarters for a briefing from your ranger on the code of conduct with the gorillas. Then enter the ancient Virunga forest on foot in search of one of the habituated gorilla families. The trek may take 2 to 6 hours depending on the gorillas' movement, rewarded by a full hour in the company of these extraordinary primates: watching juveniles play, silverbacks survey their families, and mothers nurse their young. In the afternoon, visit the Iwacu Cultural Village for traditional music, dance, and a glimpse into the lives of the communities who have lived alongside these mountains for generations.

An early departure for an unforgettable crop-to-cup coffee experience at a hillside farm in Kinunu or Cyimbili: harvesting, processing and tasting Rwanda's celebrated arabica beans with views over the volcanic landscape. Afterwards, descend to Lake Kivu for a sunrise or morning boat excursion on this vast crater lake, exploring its islands, birdlife and the dramatic shoreline where the mountains meet the water. A scenic drive south with Lake Kivu views accompanies you to Nyungwe. Check in for dinner.

Nyungwe Forest is one of Africa's oldest and most biodiverse rainforests, home to 13 primate species including habituated chimpanzees. After breakfast, transfer to the park for a briefing before your chimpanzee trek: spending one hour with these remarkable primates in their forest home. Return to the lodge for lunch and refreshment, then set out in the afternoon for the celebrated canopy walk: a suspension bridge high above the forest floor offering sweeping views over the ancient canopy and, on fortunate days, encounters with additional primate species.

After breakfast, check out and drive to Huye in Rwanda's Southern Province, where a visit to the King's Palace Museum offers a fascinating insight into the traditional royal court of the Mwami (king), the sacred long-horned Inyambo cattle, and the history of the Rwandan monarchy. Continue northeast via Kigali to Akagera National Park, arriving by late afternoon. Check in, have lunch, and head out for an introductory evening game drive followed by a night game drive.

An early morning game drive across Akagera's sweeping savannah and open flood plains: the best time to find lions, leopards and hunting packs. Search for recently reintroduced black rhinos, massive elephant herds, buffalo and giraffe. Return to the lodge for lunch. After lunch, board a boat on Lake Ihema for a 2-hour cruise: hippos yawn at close quarters, Nile crocodiles bask on sandy shorelines, and over 500 recorded bird species make the papyrus channels extraordinary for birding.

A final full day deep in Akagera's northern wilderness, the most remote and rewarding section of the park. Carry a picnic lunch and spend the morning tracking predators and the afternoon covering the park's vast open plains in search of rhino. In the late afternoon, drive back to Kigali for hotel drop-off or airport transfer for your outbound flight home.