Rwanda Safaris

Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park.

Endangered gorilla trekking in solely found in Volcanoes national park, a UNESCO world heritage site. This is more suitable in the dry months of mid-May to mid-October and December to February. The only gorilla nest found in Rwanda is this park. A gorilla permit goes for 1,500$, per person while for other primates, the costs vary.

The park is about 80km from the capital city Kigali, giving short distanced wildlife holidays. Airway transport is available for transfers with glimpses of the glorious chain of Virunga mountains to the luxury lodges, conservatively crafted and built to blend into the beautiful greenery of the highlands.

Nyungwe forest, one of Africa’s oldest rain forest, high-altitude canopy walks, is the ultimate spot for primate variety breeds, especially for chimpanzee tracking and colobus monkey tracking.

Golden monkey tracking in Volcanoes national park. More on Rwanda’s tourist buffet are; guided nature walks in the lush rain forests of the mountain side, fishing excursions on lake Shakani, safari game drives to especially see the Big 5 (lions, rhinos, elephants, leopards and buffaloes), bird watching for the bird enthusiasts eager for Rwanda’s impressive amount of bird species of over 500 in the parks of Akagera National Park, Volcanoes National Park and Rugezi swamp. These offer sightings of birds like rare shoebill stork, Red-faced Barbet, Archer’s robin, yellow billed stork, African spoonbill.

Cultural and historical tours in the Kigali capital, with special stop overs at Kigali genocide memorial built to remember mass massacre in 1994, visiting the Dian Fossey grave, the American primatologist who founded the first gorilla habituation center in Karisoke along with the grave of the first habituated gorilla, Digo at Karisoke Research Center.  Iby’iwacu cultural village near volcanoes national park, is a non-profit community run organization established by reformed poachers geared towards conservation of nature and gorilla protection.

Experience Rwanda’s diverse culture in music, dance, drama and craft, finishing with a relaxing beachside experience at Gisenyi, lake Kivu.

Akagera national park, the most protected savannah in Africa with unbeatable biodiversity of papyrus swamps, lakes and savannah grasslands, offers top notch boat cruises on calm, glassy lake Ihema, savannah day and night game drives to see the big 5 (lions, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, leopards), birding trips of 520 different species, guided nature walks in the gorgeous greenery. An added plus to this wonder, it is a wildlife and nature conservation model, self-sustaining with a whopping 97% of its revenue going back to the local community for education and healthcare purposes.

The best time to visit Akagera national park is in the dry season to experience the best game as they all gather around the lakes and swamps for sustenance. This is where boat cruises become the most popular. The months of January to February, June to September facilitate this highly sought-after season, which is why prior booking is highly emphasized.

Another safari activity Rwanda is famous for is; cycling safaris. A very popular local and tourist bonding experience in the lush countryside. The most common trails are;

• The Congo Nile trail, running along lake Kivu bordering Democratic Republic of Congo. This trail is commonly used for hiking and cycling in the fairly mountainous terrain.
• The Kigali trail which runs through the hilly terrain of the city, known as the cleanest city in Africa. The riders are able to enjoy a cultural tour through the Kigali genocide memorial center, markets, churches among others.
• The twin lakes trail that envelopes you in sparkling water realm of the twin lakes Ruhondo and Burera. These two are connected by a one-kilometer length strip of land. The view is spectacular, the interactions with locals are rich, so much fulfillment on this trail.

Other significant activities done in a Rwanda safari are community tours where one can engage in village walks, going through the local villages, stopping at coffee and tea farms to taste the locally produced coffee and tea. Onto that local music and dance performances alongside banana-beer brewing sites are the marvel of village walks. For a more intimate cultural experience, one can lodge with a local family for a few days known as home stays.

Rwanda cultural tours are also common, with different cultures of pastoralists with the types of cattle, and farmers with the different types of food grown. Rwanda’s Bugesera (Mbyo) reconciliation village guided experience is humbling and eye opening to the impact of the April 1994 genocide that saw mass massacre of the minority Tutsi tribe by majority Hutu tribe which lasted a hundred days.

This village alongside five other reconciliation villages, was a formed as a unity movement towards a unified Rwanda by the government where survivors and repentant perpetrators live side by side supported by an NGO called International Alert.  The experience is truly a spiritual awakening one. Rwanda is one of Africa’s leading tourism magnets and it is all yours for the taking.