Ultimate Guide on How to Spend the Perfect 5 Days in Rwanda

Tour Overview: 5 Days in Rwanda

The Exciting 5 Days in Rwanda includes Primates tracking and a Canopy walk in Nyungwe. 5 Days Rwanda Safari includes activities like Chimpanzee tracking, canopy walk, Gorilla trekking, and Golden monkey trekking.

This is the REAL RWANDA – Nyungwe Forest, Canopy Walk & Tea Plantation

5 Days Rwanda Safari itinerary includes activities like Chimpanzee tracking, canopy walk, Gorilla trekking, and Golden monkey trekking in the two national parks. The tour package is available all year round and can be taken as an individual, a couple, or a group. Nyungwe forest is home to about 400 chimpanzees as well as over 13 primate species. Chimpanzees share about 98.7% of DNA with humans and have several human-like behaviors that are amazing to watch for a maximum of an allocated 1 hour. These chimpanzees are habituated and safe to track easily noticeable by their deafening screams, loud hoots, and booming hitting of the tree barks and buttress. 

The canopy walk of Nyungwe Forest National Park is a suspended bridge covering 160 m through the lush montane rainforest and 70 m high from the forest floor. This is one extraordinary activity that offers a spectacular view of the ancient forest treetops as well as birdlife and other species within. Volcanoes National Park is the only park with Mountain Gorillas in the country offering a lifetime experience to world travelers who have a chance to spend a maximum of 1 hour in the presence of these gentle giants. Golden monkeys are endemic to the Virunga massif of which Volcanoes National Park is a part. You will trek these beautiful primates within the park before the end of your trip.

Safari Highlights: 5 Days Rwanda Safari

• Day 1: Transfer from Kigali to Nyungwe Forest National Park.
• Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest National Park.
• Day 3: Transfer from Nyungwe Forest National Park to Volcanoes National Park.
• Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. (5 Days in Rwanda)
• Day 5: Golden monkey trekking and transfer back to Kigali town or Kigali International Airport marking the end of 5 Days Rwanda Safari

Detailed itinerary of the 5 Days in Rwanda

Day 1: Transfer from Kigali to Nyungwe Forest National Park.

On this first day of your 5 Days in Rwanda, upon arrival at Kigali International Airport or from Kigali city, you are transferred to Nyungwe Forest National Park by a tour guide. Driving on the fastest route, it’s about a 4 h 36 min drive from Kigali International Airport to the park. Arriving in the evening, you check in to your lodge or hotel, relax, have dinner and spend the night.

Meal Plan: Dinner
Accommodation Options: Luxury: Nyungwe Forest Lodge / One & Only Nyungwe Forest House, Mid-range: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel, Budget: Gisakura Guest House

Day 2: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest National Park.

Meeting the Nyungwe Forest Chimps

Early morning you will have breakfast and then be driven to the park headquarters for the start of a Chimpanzee trekking experience. You walk for some time till you find where the chimps spent their previous night. Chimpanzees can be seen jumping from tree to tree at high speeds while making noise, the speed at which they jump and play around determines how many photos you take and how much time you spend viewing them. After the trek, you return to your trek start point where you meet the driver-guide for a transfer to the hotel for lunch and relaxation. In the evening, you undertake a canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest for about 2 hours. Later on, you return to the hotel for relaxation and Diner. You spend your night at the previous nights’ accommodation.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Diner

Day 3: Transfer from Nyungwe Forest National Park to Volcanoes National Park.

This morning you have breakfast at leisure, then transfer to Volcanoes National Park. The road distance between the two parks is about 5-6 hours depending on the route. Arriving in the afternoon, you check in to a booked hotel or lodge where you relax, have dinner, and spend the night.

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Diner
Accommodation: Luxury: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Mid-range: Gorilla Solution Lodge, Budget: Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge

Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.

Gorilla Trek at Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Following breakfast, your driver-guide picks you up from the lodge for a drive to the park headquarters. Arriving at the park headquarters in Kinigi you first have a briefing on the dos and don’ts of Gorilla trekking in Rwanda by the park warden. By 8:30 am, the park ranger guide will transfer you to the trekking starting point for a gorilla trek. A total of 8 tourists with a trekking permit from Rwanda which costs USD 1500 per permit are allocated one gorilla family. Every 8 individuals take about 2-6 hours in the jungle trekking through the bamboo forest along with armed ranger guides. However, only 1 hour (60 minutes) is spent in the presence of the mountain gorillas. The trek lasts an unpredictable time depending on the Gorilla group movements but the population in Rwanda is known to move for shorter distances and therefore making it easy to trek. After 1 hour in the presence of a gorilla family, you walk back to the park headquarters where you meet the tour guide for a transfer back to your lodge. Dinner and accommodation in the previous day’s hotel. 

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Diner

Day 5: Golden monkey trekking and transfer back to Kigali town or Kigali International Airport.

The Cutest! 🐒🐵🌳❤️😊 Golden Monkeys in RWANDA! TRAVEL VLOG!

In the morning you will go for Golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park where they co-exist with the mountain gorillas. Golden monkeys have unique characters and can easily be identified by their color. You must be at the park headquarters as early as 7:00 am for briefing before the trek. There are two troops of golden monkeys in Rwanda with the largest found in mount Sabinyo it has about 80-100 monkeys and is the most visited in the park. After trekking, you are driven back to your hotel for lunch and then be driven to Kigali International Airport for a departure flight.

Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch

End of 5 Days Rwanda safari

Safari Inclusions

• English speaking driver-guide
• Entry fees and taxes including
• Gorilla permit
• 4×4 Safari van
• Meals
• Water on board
• 4 nights’ accommodation

Safari Exclusions

• Any purchases of personal kind
• Any changes to the Itinerary
• International flights and visas

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