Overview

Tour duration - 11 Days / 10 Nights

SRS- Stands for Single Room Supplement. We do not have triple rooms in most of the hotels in Rwanda. Most of the hotels have double rooms (A room with one big bed for 2 people or a room with 2 single beds occupied by 2 people) this means the 3rd person will be left without a room to stay and the alternative would be to occupy the single room (a room with one bed ). SRS apply for non-even (3, 5, 7, 9,11…) travellers. Therefore the SRS fee is be paid by the person occupying a room alone.

Summary: 

In this 11 Days tour, you track the critically endangered mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park located in the Virunga Mountains. You will also get to encounter the ancient Batwa tribe and learn their way of life.

• Destination –Nyungwe National Park, Virunga Mountains and Volcanoes National Park
• Activities - Chimpanzee Trekking + Nature walk, Columbus Monkey Trekking and Canopy Walk, boat ride, City Tour and Intercultural Exchange, Gorilla Trekking, Bisoke Hike
• Tailor-Made- We are specialists in personalized, tailor-made travel and your holiday will be custom-designed to suit your requirements. We are all individuals, so why be tied to a set group tour or a set itinerary? Our experienced staff can help you design your own individualized holiday. Explore at your own pace, choose your own style of accommodation, and include your own choice of sightseeing and activities.
• Accommodation – It is valid and will greatly depend on your budget. We can and will help you choose from the list when planning your trip. At whatever level, we provide the very best for our guests. Kubwa Five Safaris reserves the right to substitute equivalent or superior hotels. If a hotel of equivalent standard is not available Kubwa Five Safaris may substitute the next best quality hotel or suggest a superior at an extra charge. There is free Wi-Fi in hotels.
• Transportation – 4x4 Safari Landcruiser / Minivan (up to eight passengers) with pop-up tops and seven window seats for game viewing. Groups of twelve or more people who would like to travel in one vehicle are offered 25-28 seat coasters that have about 16 window seats. Our Safari vehicles are well maintained to provide maximum level of comfort and safety. 
• Our Drivers /Guides - We recognize this for a fact! The success of your safari will largely depend on your driver/guide.  It is because of this that we have a great team of carefully selected drivers /guides, well trained.
• Package includes – Ground transportation, full board accommodation and enroute meals as indicated in the itinerary, one gorilla permit per person to be secured and paid for well in advance, park fees and relevant government taxes, services of an expert guide, airport transfer.
• Package excludes – Airfares, Visa fees, Personal insurance, Expenses of personal nature such as; drinks, tips, laundry, telephone, cigarettes, accommodation and meals not indicated in the itinerary

• Day One: Arrive at Kigali International Airport

  On arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be met by Kubwa Five Safaris driver/guide and be transferred to your hotel in Kigali arriving for overnight on bed and breakfast.

  Driving distance: 15 Minutes

  Activity: 0

  Overnight: Overnight: Great Seasons Hotel | Lemigo Hotel | Kigali Serena Hotel

  Meal Plan: Bed & breakfast

  Great Seasons Hotel is a modern facility, comfortable and conveniently located in the quiet and high end suburb of Gacuriro/Kagugu hills, just 15 minutes drive from Kigali International

  Airport, 10 minutes to the city centre and only 5 minutes drive away from the famous RWANDA GENOCIDE MEMORIAL CENTER. The hotel has standard rooms, Twin rooms, Junior Suites and Executive Suites. The Executives suites have two bedrooms, a large sitting room and a fully equipped kitchenette.

  Lemigo Hotel: Situated in Kigali, 300 m from International Gorilla Conservation Program, Lemigo Hotel features rooms with air conditioning and free WiFi. Units at the hotel offer mountain views and guests can enjoy access to a hot tub and a sauna. The accommodation provides free shuttle service and a 24-hour front desk for guests. Guest rooms is fitted with a flat-screen TV with satellite channels, a coffee machine, a bath or shower, free toiletries and a desk. All rooms come with a private bathroom, and some units at the hotel have a terrace. All units at Lemigo Hotel are equipped with a seating area. Lemigo Restaurant ranks among Kigali's best fine dining establishments and features a delightful menu prepared by Executive. The accommodation features a fitness center.

  Kigali Serena Hotel is perfectly situated within one of the city’s most vibrant boulevards. Here, guests are welcomed into a gleaming granite atrium, adorned with fantastic Rwandan artworks, where they are then ushered to contemporary rooms that feature air conditioning, Wi-Fi connectivity, and  a satellite television. The hotel offers a wonderful selection of dining options; from the Milima Restaurant that overlooks the sparkling swimming pool to the Sokoni Restaurant that has become a popular meeting place for both locals and travellers alike. 

   

  Day Two: Depart for Nyungwe National Park

  After breakfast a guide from Amahoro tours will be waiting to pick you up and you will depart for Nyungwe National park which takes about 6 ½ hrs drive via Butare visiting enroute, the famous National Museum at Butare and the ancient King´s Palace at Nyanza. The museum was donated in 1989 by the Belgium government with some ethnic collection, the design and concept all realized in co-operation with the Royal Museum for Central Africa of Tervuren; Belgium. Ethnographic objects are grouped together according to the theme giving premium information on the daily life. Traditional ceramics and basketry are still manufactured and belong to the finest handicrafts of the region.

  The National Museum remained surprisingly untouched during the civil war in 1994.  Have Lunch in Butare and thereafter continue to Nyungwe national park arriving for dinner and overnight at your hotel.

  Driving distance: 6 ½ hours

  Activity: At Leisure

  Overnight: Nyungwe Top View Hotel | Nyungwe Top View Hotel | One & Only Nyungwe House

  Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, dinner, Bed & breakfast

  Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel is idyllically situated on top of one of the hills of Nyungwe forest area; the largest single forest block in East Africa and the biggest water reservoir for Rwanda.

  One & Only Nyungwe House Located in the heart of a tea plantation with a stunning jungle backdrop, the former Nyungwe Forest Lodge, now part of the famous One & Only chain, is one of the most exclusive lodges in all Rwanda, with 22 fancy rooms and suites in six opulent wooden villas.

   

  Day Three: Chimpanzee Trekking + Nature walk

  Take an early morning breakfast then with your packed lunch drive to this park for the starting point of your chimpanzee trek. Two species of chimpanzee occur in Africa. There is the Bonobo and the Common Chimpanzee Pan troglodytes (often shortened to Chimpanzee, and sometimes referred to as the Robust Chimpanzee). The largest remaining populations occur in central Africa (Gabon, DR Congo and Cameroon). About only 400 individuals, the population in Rwanda is an endangered one. However; it should be mentioned that it is not guaranteed to see the chimps as they are unpredictable and can move long distances in one day. Nyungwe National Park is the largest block of montane forest in East and Central Africa and it is an incredibly rich area of biodiversity. Later depart for your nature walk visiting Kamiranzovu waterfall. The forest comprises amongst many things at least 200 tree species over 280 bird species and more than 100 different types of colorful butterfly which make it a true feast of the senses for the nature lover. Later return for dinner and overnight at your hotel.

  Activity: Chimpanzee Trekking + Nature walk

  Overnight: Nyungwe Top View Hotel | Nyungwe Top View Hotel | One & Only Nyungwe House

  Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, dinner, Bed & breakfast

   

  Day Four: Columbus Monkey Tracking + Canopy Walk

  After breakfast today with your packed lunch we head again to the National Park, you will have the opportunity to do the Columbus monkey trekking. The most famous of Nyungwe primates is the Ruwenzori Columbus a race of the further wide spread Angola Columbus which is confined to the Albertine Rift. The Ruwenzori Columbus is extremely arboreal as well as acrobatic leaf-eater, simply differentiated from any different primate discovered in Nyungwe by its contrastive

  black general colour in addition to snow-white whiskers, shoulders plus tail tip. Have your lunch then go for the canopy walk which sets 50 meters above the ground with a 150-meter walkway and is the first of its kind in East Africa and third on the continent after South Africa and Ghana. It allows visitors to see the forest from above the trees and be at eye level with birds and monkeys that inhabit the upper storeys of the forest. Return to your hotel/lodge for dinner and overnight.

  Activity: Columbus Monkey Trekking + Canopy Walk

  Overnight: Nyungwe Top View Hotel | Nyungwe Top View Hotel | One & Only Nyungwe House

  Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, dinner, Bed & breakfast

   

  Day Five: Depart For Kibuye

  After breakfast you will depart for Kibuye which lies at the eastern tip of Lake Kivu. Kibuye is often hailed as the most impressive scenic spot of the lake. The unpaved road gently curves back and forth as it weaves through hills and mountains beside the lake from Gisenyi to Cyangugu. Eucalyptus trees line the road, while every corner of the hills is terraced with bananas. Villagers smile and wave; you'll end up with hands tired from waving, and feel like royalty at the end of the trip! Arrive for lunch at Moriah Hills Resort then take a boat trip to the island of Amahoro Napoleon's island -with its' colony of fruit bats (aptly known as one bar island as all it has on it is one bar). Deeply incised creeks, towering mountain ranges and islands offer a magnificent panorama. Later stay dinner and overnight at Moriah Hills Resort.

  Driving distance: 3Hours

  Activity: 1 Hour boat ride

  Overnight: Moriah Hills Resort | Moriah Hills Resort | Cormoran Lodge

  Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, dinner, Bed & breakfast

  Moriah Hill Resort has a lovely lake-side location in Kibuye, with views across Rwanda’s Lake Kivu to many small islands. Moriah Hill Resort which offers you a menu of flexible services to choose from, so you can create the stay experience you desire. All in a space that combines the freedom, privacy and convenience of a resort.

  Cormoran Lodge is located in the village of Kibuye on the eastern shores of Lake Kivu in Rwanda. Cormoran Lodge is a pleasant place to stay, perfectly situated to break the journey between Virunga Mountains and Nyungwe Forest. Cormoran Lodge consists of elegant little

  public areas and just a handful of rooms, all set up on stilts on steep slopes above a small raised beach.

   

  Day Six: Depart for Gisenyi

  After breakfast continue on to Gisenyi, Rwanda, the largest port on Lake Kivu arriving in time for check in and later lunch at your hotel. Take a swim at Lake Kivu one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. The afternoon is spent in this largest port on the Rwandan shore of Lake Kivu (You will be in the company of our guide to show you around). Enjoy a boat ride to one of the islands in Lake Kivu. Simply explore the town, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the local market or wander through the leafy streets admiring the old colonial buildings .Later stay for dinner and overnight at your hotel.

  Driving distance:  3Hours

  Activity: 1 Hour boat ride

  Overnight: Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel | Palm Garden Beach Hotel | Kivu Serena Hotel

  Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

  The Discover Rwanda Youth Hostel - Rwandas first youth hostel - located near the centre of Kigali in Kacyiru, is the perfect place for you to start exploring the heart of Africa. The Hostel boasts great value accommodation, a fun atmosphere, excellent customer service, and a wealth of information about what to see and do. With a relaxing environment from the bar terrace, private rooms, dormitories, camping, hot showers and catering available, you are guaranteed to find just what you are looking for.

  The Hostel has great views over the green hills of Rwanda at the end of the Nyaratarama golf course and views of the city which can be enjoyed from our large garden and balcony areas.

  The Palm Beach Resort: Situated 200 meters from Rwandan Adventures, The Palm Beach Resort offers rooms with air conditioning in Gisenyi. The property is within a 19-minute walk of Viewpoint, The Congo Nile Trail Path One and Primus Brewery. Each room is equipped with a terrace with lake views and free WiFi. Guest rooms at the resort are fitted with a seating area. Rooms are complete with a private bathroom equipped with a bath, while some rooms include a balcony. All guest rooms will provide guests with a wardrobe and a coffee machine.

  Lake Kivu Serena Hotel is located just 3 km from the center of Gisenyi-the western edge of Rwanda. It's a large, international-style hotel with a range of facilities and activities, and fronted by a long beach. The 66 en-suite rooms at Lake Kivu Serena are set in two diagonal lines, one overlooking the gardens and the other facing the communal areas below and with views over the lake; we would definitely recommend the lake-view rooms. The facilities at the Lake Kivu Serena are excellent. There's a large swimming pool overlooking the lake, with plenty of sun loungers and umbrellas dotted around. A shallow children’s 

  swimming pool adjoins the main pool, although parental supervision is recommended. Loungers and umbrellas are set out, too, along the beach that runs in front of the hotel. There are tennis courts that guests can use as well as a watersports center with catamaran, jet skis and more.

   

  Day Seven: Depart for Ruhengeri + Intercultural Exchange

  After breakfast you will depart for Ruhengeri area the second largest town in Rwanda, with its stunning backdrop of five volcanic mountains – The Virungas; arriving for lunch then an afternoon visit to Red rocks Intercultural Exchange centre to join the local brew makers to understand the chemistry about the process of brewing a local beer from bananas fruits. If you find the activity interesting enough you can join the women in squeezing the juice out of the bananas and drink a glass of juice (Optional). Understand how long juice takes to turn into alcohol after adding in sorghum floor. Enjoy the big glass of our local brew. Among other activities they also do basket weaving and with your visit this local community will be proud of this activity and families supported financially. Later drive to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

  Driving distance: 2 hours

  Activities: City Tour + Intercultural Exchange

  Overnight: Garden Place Hotel | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Virunga Lodge

  Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

  The Garden Place Hotel is a uniquely spacious hotel offering comfortable stylish accommodation to both business and holiday travelers. Strategically located near the Rwanda Volcanoes. The Hotel offers distinctive blend of comfort, warmth and personalized hospitality. The luxury rooms boast a view of volcanic mountains. The Garden Place Hotel is a perfect option location for those wishing to do gorilla tracking or simply to come relax in the serenity and beauty that the Virunga Mountains of the Northern Rwanda has to offer.

  Mountain Gorilla View Lodge is located in Kinigi in northern Rwanda and on the edge of the Volcanoes National Park, home to the endangered Mountain Gorillas.

  The lodge is located on the foothills of the Mount Karisimbi, one of the volcanic mountains that make up the Virunga Massif. The lodge is about 10 minutes’ drive to the main entrance of the Volcanoes National Park where gorilla trekking starts. Mountain Gorilla View Lodge is an Eco-lodge with 30 spacious chalets. To ensure the least disruption of the surrounding environment, the Eco lodge was constructed with locally available material. Every chalet comes with a sitting area with a fireplace and has a tea/coffee making machine. The Eco-lodge supports the 

  surrounding rural community by purchasing farm-fresh produce that is served in the lodge’s restaurant.

  Virunga Lodge is the premier luxury gorilla lodge of Rwanda and one of Africa’s finest and most renowned lodges. The lodge is perched high on a ridge with stunning views of the Virunga Volcanoes and the Musanze valley to the west and Lake Bulera and Ruhondo to the east. It offers the finest views in Africa, uniquely decorated rooms in the Rwandese style, fantastic food and exceptional and personalised service by our carefully trained staff. It is the first accommodation choice for the luxury traveller tracking the endangered mountain gorilla. In 2017 Virunga Lodge has been ranked on Condé Nast Traveler’s list of the best Africa Resorts in their 30th annual Readers' Choice Awards.

  Day Eight: Gorilla Tracking

  After an early breakfast, you will proceed to the National Park headquarters – Kinigi to meet your guides for the day. After completing our park formalities, we are embark on a once in a life time experience of tracking mountain gorillas. Once you spot them you are allowed to spend an hour watching your closest long lost cousin. This is perhaps one of the most breath-taking wildlife experiences on earth!!! You get so close to these awesome giant primates. You stare at each other blankly not knowing who to break the long silence first. Tracking the gorillas through the light mountain forest on the slopes of the Virunga is a magical experience. These massive primates are extremely rare, with less than 700 living today. You will get within meters of the family, and be privileged to spend an hour amongst them. The trekking may be fairly strenuous; up to six hours or longer at a relatively high altitude. We encourage for your own enjoyment to make sure that you are perfectly fit and healthy. (We’ve had people as old as 70 years old do gorilla tracking so this should not be a problem; all you need is to ask your driver guide to request a shorter group for you if cannot you trek far) It is important to bring good hiking boots, long trousers, gloves for protection against stinging nettles, some snacks & sweets (for you, not the gorillas) as well as sufficient water as the rain forest gets hot and humid during the day. You will spend one hour with the gorillas, but it is an hour you will never forget. Return to your hotel for lunch and later dinner and overnight. 

  Driving distance: 45 minutes

  Activities: 1 Gorilla Trek

  Overnight: Garden Place Hotel | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Virunga Lodge

  Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

  Day Nine: Goldne Monkey Tracking + IBY’IWACU Village Visit

  This day is set out for Golden Monkey tracking in the Volcanoes National Park. Entering dense stands of bamboo interspersed with open glades; you will make your way deep into golden monkey territory. Guides lead visitors to the habitat of groups of ‘habituated’ golden monkeys – monkeys that have become accustomed to human presence. Though viewing is kept to a maximum of one hour, travelers can get an up-close look at the golden monkey in its natural habitat. Adult monkeys frolic in plain view, feeding on bamboo leaves and leaping from perch to perch. Females carry their young, completely comfortable among onlookers. Later visit Iby’iwacu Cultural Village a Non-Profit umbrella organization that aims at improving the lives of reformed poachers and communities around Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park through provision of conservation incentives, supporting community enterprise development and livelihood based projects. Return to your hotel to freshen up and have lunch then later dinner and overnight.

  Driving distance: 45 minutes

  Activities: 1 Golden Monkey Trek

  Overnight: Garden Place Hotel | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Virunga Lodge

  Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

   

  Day Ten: Bisoke Hike

  After an early breakfast and with your packed lunches; you will depart for Kinigi and on to the starting point of your hike. Mt Bisoke stands at 3700m; it has the typical conic shape of a “perfect” volcano and in its crater lays a deep crater lake. The volcano does not present an exceptionally demanding climb but it is nevertheless still a tough hike. The high elevation demands extra strength of climbers and the whole excursion can take between 5 hours and the whole day depending on the speed of the walk and the frequency of stops. The ascent typically takes around 3 hours. During the climb, you will cross a series of different vegetation habitats starting with bamboo forests, then moving into Hagenia - Hypericum forest and finally moving through Senecio - Lobelia bush near the summit. The trek starts at 07:00am from the Park’s

  headquarters in Kinigi. Porters can also be hired from the park headquarters but a professional guide from the park will accompany you for the hike. Return for dinner and overnight at your hotel.

  Driving distance: 45 minutes

  Activities: Bisoke Hike

  Overnight: Garden Place Hotel | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Virunga Lodge

  Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

   

  Day Eleven: City Tour + Depart

  After breakfast you will depart for Kigali and your day starts with a complementary tour of the city. Named in 1907 by Dr. Richard Kandt, the first colonial resident governor of Rwanda; Kigali city is surrounded by lush hills of green and is referred to as the land of a thousand hills. Get to visit interesting spots which may include; the craft market, Gisozi genocide memorial site & Kigali museum. Also engage in last minute shopping in one of the friendliest African capitals, before returning to the airport for your onward international flight back home.

  Driving distance: 2 Hours

  Activities: City Tour

  Overnight: 0

  Meal Plan: Breakfast