8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike

8 DAYS PRIMATE SAFARI RWANDA & MOUNT KARISIMBI HIKE

8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike: This 8 days/ 7 Nights Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike is an amazing Rwanda safari package offering you a chance to encounter the gentle endangered mountain gorillas and Hike up Mount Karisimbi in Volcanoes national park. You will as well delightful encounter with chimpanzees in Nyungwe Forest national park. This 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike starts and ends in Kigali Rwanda and it combines 2 stunning national parks including Nyungwe forest national park and Volcanoes national park.

Highlights of 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike

  • Day 1: Arrival in Rwanda
  • Day 2: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest national park
  • Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest national park
  • Day 4: Transfer to Volcanoes national park
  • Day 5: Mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park
  • Day 6: Mount Karisimbi Hike
  • Day 7: Descend Mount Karisimbi & Transfer to Kigali city
  • Day 8: Departure

DETAILED ITINERARY

Day 1: Arrival in Rwanda

Welcome to Rwanda: On the 1st day of 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike, you will be picked from Kigali international airport upon your landing and transfer to your hotel, you will go for a Kigali city tour depending on the time of your arrival. On the city tour you are to visit Kigali genocide memorial center, Kandt Museum and the craft market. Later return to your hotel, have dinner and stay overnight.

Meal plan: Lunch and Dinner

Day 2: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest national park

Kigali to Nyungwe forest national park: After breakfast on day 2 of 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike, you will checkout and drive to Nyungwe Forest national park, on your way you will enjoy various scenery. Nyungwe Forest national park is a primate haven situated in South Rwanda, the park is a home to 13 species of primates including chimpanzees, olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys and many more. You will have a stopover in Nyanza visiting the Kings Palace museum then proceed to Huye for a tour at the ethnographic museum. These two museums show the history of Rwanda’s culture, you will have enroute lunch, arrive in the park in the evening, check in your lodge and stay overnight.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking & Canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest national park

Chimpanzee trekking: Have early breakfast on the 3rd day of 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike, and head to the reserve for a chimpanzee tracking experience as early as 05:00 am, you will transfer to the briefing area for a briefing session where you will be given an insights of the rules and regulations to follow while in the presence of the chimpanzees. You will be divided into groups and assigned a chimpanzee group to trek then head into the forest on Uwinka trail or Cyamudongo trail.

8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike
Chimpanzee Trekking in Nyungwe

The tracking experience takes about 2-4 hours and when you find the chimpanzees you are to stay in their presence for only hour of watching these beautiful creatures and take amazing pictures. After the experience you will head back to your lodge for lunch.

Canopy walk: In the afternoon you will go for a canopy walk enjoying views of the park’s forests, primates such as chimpanzees, Rwenzori colobus and many birds.  Later return to your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.

Day 4: Transfer to Volcanoes national park

Nyungwe forest national park to Volcanoes national park: After breakfast on day 4 of 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike, you will checkout and drive to volcanoes national park a home to the endangered mountain gorillas dominated by volcanoes of the Virunga chain, on your way you will enjoy the beauty of winding roads and scenery dominated by thousands of hills. You will have en-route lunch and when you arrive in the park, you will check into your lodge, have dinner and stay overnight.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 5: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park Rwanda

Rwanda Gorilla trekking: On this day 5 of 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike, you need to arise from the comfort of your bed as early as possible, have breakfast that will be served at your lodge. Wear your best gorilla trekking gear including the best waterproof yet light trekking shoes, long sleeved attire, a cap, sun glasses, garden gloves and pack your insect repellant in your backpack, lunch box and enough drinking water then meet your guide/ driver to be transferred to the park headquarters to attend briefing about gorilla trekking. At the end of briefing, you will be divided into different groups each with a maximum number of 8 persons. Keep in mind that all trekkers MUST be aged 15 years and above below which you won’t be allowed to participate in Gorilla trekking in Rwanda. Well, after briefing and grouping, each group will be allocated experienced rangers and guides and embark on a forest walk to search for the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. The entire forest walk might take you about 30 minutes to about 8 hours depending on the movement of Gorillas, and the trekkers since the entire group has to move together in favor of the slowest person. Upon meeting gorillas, you will spend a maximum duration of 1 hour closely viewing gorillas and taking photographs.

8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike
Mountain Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park

After this, exit the forest and head back to your lodge. You have lots of options to choose from. First and foremost, you may decide to chill at your balcony, or have an optional guided walk to twin lakes of Burela and Ruhondo or have an optional cultural tour to Ibyiwacu cultural village also known as Gorilla guardian village.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Day 6: Hike Mount Karisimbi (Ascend) up to 3700m

Mount Karisimbi Hike: On the 6th day of your 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike, you will start your day with morning breakfast after which you will park everything needed during the Mount Karisimbi hike. Keeping in mind that you will spend a night along the hike, you need to pack appropriate equipment including warm attire, wear light hiking boats as you need not to have heavy shoes that will be heavy and uncomfortable to walk with. You will then check out of your lodge with a packed lunch box and be transferred to the briefing grounds to join the group of other hikers. You are advised to hire a porter that will assist you in carrying an extra backpack. After briefing, you will start ascending the mountain where you will be rewarded with some encounters with primates, view the neighboring volcanoes, have a view of Karisoke research center where the primatologist Dian Fossey was murdered and buried at her research center. You will then enjoy your enroute lunch and get to camp for overnight at 3,700M high above the sea level.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Packed lunch & dinner

Day 7: Ascend to the summit and descend back and transfer back to Kigali

Ascend to the summit and descend back & drive to Kigali City: On day 7 of your 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike, you will arise on a cup of coffee at your camp then proceed ascending to the summit of Mount Karisimbi at 4,507M. While at the summit of mount Karisimbi, you will be able to view plenty of stunning attractions including the caldera at the summit, neighboring volcanoes, an aerial view of Volcanoes national park and many more. Later on, you will start descending back to meet your driver who will be waiting for your return. You will then be driven to Kigali city with an enroute lunch.

Meal plan: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 8: Kigali city tour and departures

Kigali city tour and departures: There are lots of attractions to visit while on a Kigali city tour. Well, on the  last day of your 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike and depending on your flight details, you will have breakfast then meet your driver for a city tour visiting Genocide memorial sites, Craft shops, market places to mention but a few. After the city tour, you will have lunch then be dropped at Kigali international airport for a flight back home or to the next travel destination.

8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike
Mount Karisimbi Hike

Meal plan: Breakfast and Lunch

END OF 8 DAYS PRIMATE SAFARI RWANDA & MOUNT KARISIMBA HIKE

 Inclusive 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike

  • A 4×4 safari vehicle for all ground transportation
  • Chimpanzee trekking permit
  • Canopy walk
  • Rwanda Gorilla trekking permit
  • Mount Karisimbi Volcano hiking permit
  • Accommodation for 7 Nights as per itinerary
  • English speaking safari driver/ guide
  • Rangers
  • Pick up and drop off

Exclusive in 8 days Primate Safari Rwanda & Mount Karisimbi Hike

  • International travel Visa and flight air ticket
  • Optional activities
  • Tips and gratuity
  • Porter hire fees
  • Accommodation in Kigali before and after safari can be arranged upon request
  • Personal expenses like Cigars, beers, tips, souvenirs, laundry services among others
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