37 days east africa combined safari Highlights

Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi

Day 2: Drive to Lake Nakuru

Day 3: Drive to Maasai Mara

Day 4: Full day game drive in Masai Mara national park

Day 5: Transfer to Nairobi

Day 6: Transfer from Nairobi to Kilimanjaro

Day 7: Transfer to Lake Manyara

Day 8: Transfer to Serengeti national park

Day 9 & 10: Game viewing in Serengeti national park.

Day 11: Transfer to Ngorongoro conservation area

Day 12: Ngorongoro Crater

Day 13: Transfer to Entebbe

Day 14: White Water Rafting in Jinja

Day 15: Kampala City tour

Day 16: Drive to Murchison falls

Day 17: Morning game drive and Boat cruise to the bottom of the falls.

Day 18: Transfer to Kibale National Park

Day 19: Chimpanzee tracking experience

Day 20: Morning game drive and afternoon boat cruise on Kazinga channel.

Day 21: Transfer to Bwindi via Ishasha

Day 22: Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park

Day 23: Batwa Cultural tour – transfer to Lake Bunyonyi

Day 24: Transfer to Mgahinga National Park.

Day 25: Golden monkey tracking in Mgahinga National park

Day 26: Transfer to Goma

Day 27: Nyiragongo hiking to the summit.

Day 28: Descend The Nyiragongo Volcano

Day 29: Goma Volcano Observatory.

Day 30: Transfer To Bukavu, D.R Congo.

Day 31: Low Land Gorilla Trekking In Kahuzi Biega National Park, D.R Congo

Day 32: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest

Day 33: Explore Nyungwe Forest

Day 34: Transfer to Akagera national park

Day 35: Game Drive In The Morning & Afternoon Boat Cruise On Lake Ihema

Day 36: Transfer Back To Kigali

Day 37: Departure

Detailed Itinerary 37 days east Africa Combined Safari

DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN NAIROBI

You will be welcomed by your driver / guide upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International and transferred to your hotel you will enjoy the rest of the day at leisure as you relax and unwind from the journey.

Accommodation

Jacaranda Hotel

Meal plan: Dinner

DAY 2: DRIVE TO LAKE NAKURU

Depart after breakfast and drive to the floor of The Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park making a brief stop at Nyahururu Thomson Falls. Arrive at Lake Nakuru Lodge in the afternoon for a game drive in the Park. Here you can expect to see buffalo, rhino, giraffe, zebra, antelope and the lions that prey on them as well as vast flocks of flamingos clustered near the lake shore.

Lake Nakuru is famous for having the highest concentration of flamingos in the world and is home to over three hundred bird species. It is a sanctuary for both the Black and White Rhinos.  Also found in plenty are zebras, waterbucks, buffaloes and warthogs.

Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Accommodation: Sewala Lodge, Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 3: DRIVE TO MAASAI MARA

After breakfast, you will have a morning game drive and depart for Masai Mara Game Reserve. Travel through the Masai country occasionally coming across Masai herdsmen with their livestock living harmoniously with the wildlife. After lunch at your residence lodge, another game run is planned in these vast rolling grasslands dotted by acacia trees and sweeping plains teeming with wildlife.

During your stay, you will also visit a village of the Masai people to witness the singing and dancing that are part of their daily lives and sacred rituals.

Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Accommodation: Nalepomara Lodge / Ol Moran Camp/Masai Mara Sopa Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 4: FULL DAY GAME DRIVE IN MASAI MARA NATIONAL PARK

Today, you will do Morning and afternoon game drives in this magnificent park. The rolling grasslands of the Maasai Mara offer ideal game viewing and photographic opportunities and the grassy plains are broken by rocky outcrops which are favourite midday resting places for lions.

Masai Mara is famous for the Annual Wildebeest Migration that takes place between the months of July and October. During this time over a million wildebeests accompanied by thousands of other herbivores, migrate from Serengeti National Park to the Mara in search for greener pastures. Hundreds of lions and hyenas follow them picking on the old and weaker ones.

A full day game drive with picnic lunch at the Mara River as you enjoy the scenic view of the crocodiles resting on the brown-muddy river banks gives a remarkable experience.

Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Accommodation: Nalepomara Lodge / Ol Moran Camp/Masai Mara Sopa Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Optional activities:

-Balloon ride

-Visit to a Maasai village

DAY 5: TRANSFER TO NAIROBI

After breakfast, drive to Nairobi, stopping briefly at The View Point to admire the breathtaking views of The Great Rift Valley. Arrive in the afternoon for a mouthwatering barbeque lunch at the famous Carnivore Restaurant. Later, transfer to your hotel for leisure and relaxation.

Accommodation: Nairobi Safari Club/ Jacaranda Hotel

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 6: TRANSFER FROM NAIROBI TO KILIMANJARO

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for your onward flight. On arrival at Kilimanjaro International Airport, meet your guide before being transferred to your hotel for overnight stay

Accommodation: Mount Meru Hotel/Moivaro Coffee plantation Lodge.

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 7: TRANSFER TO LAKE MANYARA

Driver /guide will pick you up in the morning from your hotel from where you will depart for Lake Manyara, via Arusha. Have a picnic lunch prior to taking on a game drive in Lake Manyara National Park. Though small in size, it has breath taking scenery. It is famous for its lush acacia forest, giant figs and permanent residents to this park include giraffes, elephants, lots of buffaloes and impalas. Special to this park are rare climbing lions and flamingos at the lake shore. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation:

Luxury: Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge

Standard: Manyara Kirurumu Camp

Basic: Manyara Wildlife Safari Camp

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 8: TRANSFER TO SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK

After an early breakfast, you will drive to the most famous National Park in the world, the Serengeti. It is a long but spectacular drive through the crater highland, making a quick stop at the rim for out of this world view of Ngorongoro crater. It is the home of the Great Migration and to 2 million wildebeests, hundreds of thousands of zebras and all kinds of antelopes including the abundant impalas and Thomson’s gazelles. Continue into the vast plains of the Serengeti, where you’ll hopefully start spotting animals before you get into the park.

Enjoy lunch, relaxation, dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Accommodation:

Luxury: Serengeti Sopa Lodge

Midrange: Serengeti Kati Kati Camp

Basic: Kijereshi Tented Camp (Bungalow)

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 9 & 10: GAME VIEWING IN SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK.

You will spend the whole day doing game drives in Serengeti National Park.  You will have breakfast and then go for an amazing game drive at The Serengeti National Park which is world-famous for its ecosystem, natural beauty and huge amount of animals, birds and insects. Expect an incredible backdrop of stunning landscape and see animals such as Thomson’s gazelle, wildebeest, lions, zebra and more. This park is also home to the Serengeti’s Annual Migration which happens every year when animals travel thousands of miles across East Africa. This park is so large that it is actually bigger than some small countries. It sits between The Great Rift Valley, Lake Victoria and Lake Eyasi.

You will be brought back for lunch to the lodge or you may opt for a picnic lunch within the park. Continue the adventure with an afternoon game drive. The word Serengeti means “endless plains” in Maasai and that explains the huge expanse of land you will encounter from forests to jungles and wilderness.  Return for Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Accommodation:

Luxury: Serengeti Sopa Lodge

Midrange: Serengeti Kati Kati Camp

Budget/Basic: Kijereshi Tented Camp (Bungalow)

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 11: TRANSFER TO NGORONGORO CONSERVATION AREA

Today, you will do an early morning game drive and see one of the best sunrises you’ll ever witness. It’s really one of the most beautiful experiences to have.

After the game drive, we return to the lodge for a rewarding brunch and then depart to explore the World’s largest intact volcanic caldera. Ngorongoro Crater is also known to be among the seven wonders of Africa! The crater is home to over 25,000 large mammals and was the result of an erupted volcano thousands of years ago. The animals live in harmony in the huge, walled crater which also houses stunning lakes, lush forests and vast plains. They wander through the lakes and forests. Some of the wildlife to be seen is bull elephants, rhinos, lions, hyena, buffalo, wildebeest and so many more in all their magnificence.

Due to its size and diversity, the crater floor is comprised of several distinct areas, ranging from forest, swamps, lakes and springs, to open grassland and some sandy dunes. It’s an awesome wildlife experience. A picnic lunch is served overlooking a small lake populated with hippos and continue exploring the crater.

Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Accommodation:

Luxury: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge

Midrange: Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge

Budget: Karatu Simba Lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 12: NGORONGORO CRATER

We will start the day very early and descend into the crater floor for an incredible morning of wildlife in one of the most stunning places on Earth. It’s one of the very rare locations in the whole continent where you can witness the black Rhino. The crater has a river, several swamps, a soda lake with a great concentration of flamingos, a forest and open plains.  After lunch, we will have time for a short game drive and then return to your hotel for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Accommodation:

Luxury: Ngorongoro Serena Safari Lodge

Midrange: Rhotia Valley Tented Lodge

Budget: Karatu Simba Lodge

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 13: TRANSFER TO ENTEBBE

Early in the morning, you will drive to Arusha and get a flight to Entebbe International Airport.

On arrival in Uganda, our guide will pick you up and drive you to your hotel in Kampala / Entebbe.

Accommodation

Standard: Boma Hotel

Comfort: Cassia Lodge

Luxury: Serena Hotel Kampala

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch, dinner

DAY 14: WHITE WATER RAFTING IN JINJA

Early in the morning after your breakfast, you will be transferred to Jinja for a white water rafting experience. This can either take a full day or half-day depending on your choice.

This is one of the most exciting rafting trips on earth which goes up to 31 km. You will have lunch and complimentary drinks after the trip. In the evening, you will be transferred back to Kampala.

Accommodation:

Standard: Boma Hotel

Comfort: Cassia Lodge

Luxury : Serena Hotel Kampala

Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 15: KAMPALA CITY TOUR

Your driver will pick you up from the hotel for a city tour after breakfast. Depending on the time, you will stop for lunch en route and visit the Namugongo shrines, Baha’i temple, National Museum, Makerere University, Kasubi Tombs, Gadhaffi Mosque, Namirembe Cathedral, Lubaga Cathedral, and Lubili King’s palace.

Having dinner and spending the night at your lodge.

Accommodation

Standard: Boma Hotel

Comfort: Cassia Lodge

Luxury: Serena Hotel Kampala

Meal plan: Full board

DAY 16: DRIVE TO MURCHISON FALLS

After breakfast, travel through small towns, villages, and scenic escarpment views to reach Murchison Falls National Park in the late afternoon. The several towns you pass through on your tour will give you a glimpse into how typical Ugandans live. While traveling, you will stop enroute to visit the Ziwa rhino reserve and for lunch in Masindi. Dinner and overnight at your lodge

Accommodation:

Luxury: Paraa Safari Lodge/Bakers Lodge

Standard: Pakuba Safari Lodge/Murchison River Lodge

Basic: Hornbill Bush Lodge/ Red Chilli Rest Camp

Meal Plan:  Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 17: MORNING GAME DRIVE AND BOAT CRUISE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE FALLS.

After breakfast, you will go for your morning game drive that will provide you an opportunity of spotting wild game that may include many of the park’s 76 species of mammals including Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Buffalos, Rothschild’s giraffes, spotted hyenas, Jackson’s hartebeests, Hippos, Warthogs, Oribis, Uganda kobs and Waterbucks. You will also have an opportunity to see several of the park’s 451 bird species.

You will then return to the lodge for a lunch break before proceeding to the pier for your two hour boat cruise to the bottom of the falls to witness how river Nile squeezes itself in a 7 meter wide gorge before dropping down while exploding out a 45 meters narrow gorge producing an experience of a lifetime.

On the launch cruise, you will be able to see passing hippos and crocodiles, elephants and waterbuck that come to the river to drink along with numerous birds such as shoebills, Goliath herons, Saddle billed storks, African Jacana, Senegal thick-knee, African quail finch, Squacco heron, kingfishers, skimmers, and Comrants.

Thereafter, you will undertake a challenging but rewarding hike to the top of the falls from where you will be marvelled by the power with which the Nile crashes through the narrow gap in the escarpment with a deafening roar and voluminous spray.

After this exciting afternoon, you will drive back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner and over night

Accommodation.

Luxury:- Paraa Safari Lodge/Bakers Lodge

Standard: – Pakuba Safari Lodge/Murchison River Lodge

Basic:-Hornbill Bush Lodge/ Red Chilli Rest Camp

Meal Plan: – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 18: TRANSFER TO KIBALE NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast, you will travel to Kibale National Park via Hoima and Fort Portal. After lunch, you will go on a nature walk to Bigodi swamp, which is home to the great blue Turaco bird.

Return to the lodge later in the evening for relaxation, dinner, and an overnight stay.

Accommodation:

Exclusive: Kyaninga Lodge/ Ndali Lodge

Luxury: Crater Safari Lodge/ Primate Lodge Kibale

Mid-range: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House-Cottages

Budget: Chimpanzee Forest Guest House-Main House/ Kibale Forest Camp- Tents

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 19: CHIMPANZEE TRACKING EXPERIENCE

Today, the forest opens its doors for a thrilling chimp tracking adventure. After breakfast, you will receive a pre-tracking briefing before walking or driving to the trailhead to begin an unforgettable adventure – hiking in the footsteps of the habituated family of chimps.

Along the way, your guide will captivate you with stories and facts about the forest and its other inhabitants, which include other species of primates, birds, and large mammals. When you first see the chimps, you will spend an unforgettable hour with them in their natural habitat, feeding, playing, grooming, caring for their young, howling and screeching.

Aside from the chimps, you should keep an eye out for sightings of several other primates that live in this forest, such as black and white colobus monkeys, L’Hoest monkeys, and Grey monkeys. Return to the park center after the hour-long chimp encounter, where your trekking efforts are recognized with a trekking certificate.

You will return to the lodge for lunch and then drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Accommodation: –

Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge Mazike Valley Lodge/Katara Lodge

Standard: Engana Came Lodge/Bush lodge/kasenyi Safari camp

Basic: Pumba Safari Cottages/Park View Safari Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner.

DAY 20: MORNING GAME DRIVE AND AFTERNOON BOAT CRUISE ON KAZINGA CHANNEL.

After an early morning cup of coffee or tea, you will drive to Kasenyi plains for your game drive. Kasenyi plains boost of several wild animals whose chance of seeing them depends on your luck of the day. On a good day, you may spot big cats like lions and leopards hunting, buffaloes, elephants, several antelopes, warthogs and other small mammals.

After the game drive, return to the lodge for lunch and then drive to Mweya peninsular for a two hour boat cruise on Kazinga channel. Kazinga channel which connects Lakes George and Edward offers an opportunity to view on of the highest concentration of hippos in the world. You will also be fascinated by the large numbers of crocodiles and over 400 water bird species since most animals converge there to drink water. You will have high chances of spotting hippos, birds, elephants, buffaloes, crocodiles and so much more. Retreat from the cruise and do a game drive along the channel track as you connect to the lodge for dinner and overnight

Accommodation:

Luxury: Mweya Safari Lodge, Mazike Valley Lodge, Katara lodge

Standard: Enganzi Game lodge/Bush lodge/ Kasenyi safari Camp

Basic: Pumba Safari Cottages/Park View Safari lodge

Meal Plan: –Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 21: TRANSFER TO BWINDI VIA ISHASHA

Enjoy your breakfast and head southwest of Queen Elizabeth national park in search of tree climbing lions in the Ishasha sector where on a lucky day, you will be able to spot many of them lounging on trees and enjoying the sun! Continue and proceed to Bwindi impenetrable forest national park arriving in the evening. Check in to your hotel, unwind, and enjoy dinner and overnight stay at your lodge.

Accommodation:

Luxury: – Gorilla Forest Camp/Buhoma Lodge/Mahogany Springs

Mid-range: – Silverback Lodge/Haven Lodge Buhoma

Budget: – Buhoma Community Rest Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

DAY 22: GORILLA TREKKING IN BWINDI IMPENETRABLE NATIONAL PARK

After breakfast and with your packed lunch, you will walk to the park headquarters for briefing about gorilla trekking etiquette and experience. Your guide will take you through all the dos and don’ts while with mountain gorillas and after that, you will be transferred to the starting point of trekking your gorilla family.

Please note that gorilla family allocation depends on your interests, fitness and age. Please inform your guide of your interests and he will try to request for the gorilla family of your choice before you start the trek into the forest. Gorilla trekking can be strenuous and a certain level of fitness is required.  Gorilla trekking can take from 30 minutes to b hours so one needs to prepare for both. During your gorilla trekking adventure, you’ll also enjoy the breath taking natural scenery of Bwindi and a chance to see other fantastic creatures that inhabit Bwindi including monkeys, colourful montane butterflies, and unique forest birds that will have you wishing your trip was a little bit longer.

You will be allowed only one hour of photography and observing mountain gorillas as they go about with their daily day activities and then trek back to the park headquarters to pick your certificates and then have dinner and overnight at your Lodge.

Accommodation:

Luxury: – Gorilla Forest Camp/Buhoma Lodge/Mahogany Springs

Mid-range: – Silverback Lodge/Haven Lodge Buhoma

Budget: – Buhoma Community Rest Camp

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Things to note

• Contact time with gorillas is limited to one hour
• Group size is limited to 6 visitors
• Trekking is limited to participants 15 years and over
• Hiking shoes are recommended
• If you’re unwell with anything contagious, even a common cold, you will not be allowed to trek gorillas.
• Minimum distance to keep with gorillas is 10 meters

Dinner and overnight stay at Buhoma Lodge Meal plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

DAY 23: BATWA CULTURAL TOUR – TRANSFER TO LAKE BUNYONYI

You will leave after breakfast to enjoy the Batwa cultural experience. This gives you a great opportunity to see how the people surrounding Bwindi Impenetrable Forest live and learn their ways. It also is a great way to support the local community in a direct way.

Return to your lodge for lunch and then drive to Lake Bunyonyi. The afternoon is spent relaxing and sightseeing around the Lake.

Accommodation:

Budget: Lake Bunyonyi Overland lodge

Midrange: Bunyonyi Eco-Lodge

Luxury: Bunyonyi BirdNest Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

DAY 24: TRANSFER TO MGAHINGA NATIONAL PARK.

Take a lake cruise after breakfast to see some of the lake’s islands. Before leaving for Kisoro, you can go swimming or on a nature stroll.Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Accommodation:

Midrange: Lake Mulehe safari lodge

Luxury: Lake Mutanda safari Resort

DAY 25: GOLDEN MONKEY TRACKING IN MGAHINGA NATIONAL PARK

After eating breakfast, you will go to the headquarters with your packed lunch for the briefing. Depending on the monkeys’ movements, the hiking time ranges from 2 to 5 hours. While the exercise is demanding, it is also rewarding. You will drive back to the resort after your adventure for a relaxing dinner and an overnight stay there.

Accommodation:

Midrange: Lake Mulehe safari lodge

Luxury: Lake Mutanda safari Resort

DAY 26: TRANSFER TO GOMA

After breakfast you will transfer to Goma town where you will have a city tour of the town and the Goma caves.  You will have lunch from the Lodge, relaxation and later overnight.

Accommodation

Luxury/ Upmarket: Mikeno Lodge

Midrange/Standard: Bukima

Tented Camp Budget/Basic: Hotel Cape Kivu

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

DAY 27: NYIRAGONGO HIKING TO THE SUMMIT.

The driver will pick you from your hotel very early in the morning and drive you to Virunga national park headquarters for briefing and you will be given a well knowledgeable guide after which you will be ready to embark on the day long adventure hike to the one of the few remaining active and violent volcanoes on African continent featuring the most fluid and expanse lava lake on global scale. You will then set off for hiking from Kibati starting point, it’ll take around 5 hours to reach the summit of Nyiragongo Mountain. You will pass in steep, muddy and slippery route, thorns and tall trees will be on the way.

Upon arrival at the summit, you will have the beautiful view of the lava lake although best views can be seen at night. The overnight is spent at the crater rim.

Accommodation and dinner: Mountain Camps

DAY 28: DESCEND THE NYIRAGONGO VOLCANO

Have breakfast and then descend from Nyiragongo Volcano Mountain. You will meet your driver and return to Goma. You will then be driven back to Kigali for your post-tour accommodation or you may choose to fly out of Kigali on the last day of your tour.

Since you will use the same route back, you will have another stop at the Rwanda-Congo border crossing for photo moments, buying souvenirs or to just relax before continuing to Kigali.

Accommodation

Luxury/ Upmarket: Mikeno Lodge

Midrange/Standard: Bukima

Tented Camp Budget/Basic: Hotel Cape Kivu

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

DAY 29: GOMA VOLCANO OBSERVATORY.

You are going to the Goma Volcanic Observatory today. The Observatory has a significant duty to keep an eye on Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira, which are located around 20 kilometers from the observatory. The observatory uses equipment and teams of scientists who travel to the locations periodically to keep an eye on any Nyiragongo, Nyamuragira, and other natural disasters that may occur in the area.

Accommodation

Luxury/ Upmarket: Mikeno Lodge

Midrange/Standard: Bukima

Tented Camp Budget/Basic: Hotel Cape Kivu

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

DAY 30: TRANSFER TO BUKAVU, D.R CONGO.

After breakfast, you will drive to Bukavu town. You will have lunch enroute and dinner at your designated lodge

Accommodation:

Luxury/Midrange: Orchid Safari Lodge

Budget: Hotel Horizon

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

DAY 31: LOW LAND GORILLA TREKKING IN KAHUZI BIEGA NATIONAL PARK, D.R CONGO

After breakfast, you will walk to the Park Headquarters with your packed lunch for briefing about gorilla trekking. Your guide will take you through all the Dos and Don’ts while you are with the low land gorillas. Thereafter, you will be transferred to the starting point to begin your trek into the forest to look for the gorilla family you have been assigned.

PLEASE NOTE; Gorilla family allocation depends on your interests, fitness and age.

You may inform your guide of your interests and he will try to request for the gorilla family of your choice before you start the trek into the forest.

Gorilla trekking can take between 1-7 hours so one needs to prepare for both.

You guide will try to provide information about trees, birds and other wildlife in the forest until you reach a given family of gorillas.

You will be allowed only one hour to observe the gorillas as they go about their daily activities and take photographs of the gorillas after which you will take a nature walk in the Park to explore the astonishing Tshibati falls before you trek back to the park Headquarters.

You will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation:

Luxury/Midrange: Orchid Safari Lodge

Budget: Hotel Horizon

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

DAY 32: TRANSFER TO NYUNGWE FOREST

You will be picked up by our guide and driven to Nyungwe Forest National Park from your hotel or place of residence. As you approach Nyungwe Forest, you will see modest, distinctive wooden homes and rolling hills covered in green tea fields.

Accommodation: Gisakura Guest House

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

DAY 33: EXPLORE NYUNGWE FOREST

You’ll go on a chimpanzee walk with a guide in the early morning to witness a variety of creatures and some of the 300 bird species that may be found here, like the Rwenzori Turaco and black-and-white casqued hornbill. You will move through a completely developed canopy of lush green filled with different species of birds and primates.

After lunch, you will return to the lodge and in the late afternoon, you will go on a tour of the nearby tea plant to observe how the locally grown tea is turned into one of Rwanda’s best exports. You’ll stay the night in the chosen lodge.

Accommodation: Gisakura Guest House

Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

DAY 34: TRANSFER TO AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK

You will travel to Akagera National Park after breakfast. Prior to stopping for lunch in Kigali, this drive takes you through Rwanda’s stunning countryside scenery. Along the way, you’ll also stop at the Butare Museum, the Nyanza Palace, and the Murambu Genocide Museum. You will travel to Akagera National Park after lunch, travelling through the picturesque Rwamagana region and possibly coming across inyambo cows. You’ll arrive at Akagera National Park in the evening, where you can unwind, eat, and spend the night.

Accommodation:

Luxury: Ruzzi Tented Lodge

Standard: Akagera Game Lodge

Basic: Dereva Hotel Wild

DAY 35: GAME DRIVE IN THE MORNING & AFTERNOON BOAT CRUISE ON LAKE IHEMA

After an early breakfast, embark on the thrilling game drive encounter in the savannah landscapes of Akagera National Park. Game drives in Akagera national park are done in safari vehicles starting early morning in search of the leopards, hyenas, and the re-introduced lions. Along the carnivores, enjoy the scenery of this beautiful park and several other animals like elephants, buffaloes, antelopes, zebra and giraffes and birds. You will then retreat from the game drive and get to the lodge for relaxation and lunch after which you connect to Lake Ihema for an afternoon boat cruise. Lake Ihema is the second largest lake in Rwanda inhabited by Hippos and Nile crocodile and counts of birds. Birding on Lake Ihema will accord one the pleasure of water species which are otherwise not seen while on the game drive in the Savannah grassland. Thus the boat cruise on this lake presents a memorable encounter on the Rwanda safari.

Retire for relaxation, dinner and overnight.

Accommodation:

Luxury: Ruzizi Tented Lodge

Standard: Akagera Game Lodge

Basic: Dereva Hotel Wild Camping

DAY 36: TRANSFER BACK TO KIGALI

After a relaxed breakfast, you will drive back to Kigali City. There you will take a tour of the genocide memorial. The tour to Kigali genocide memorial allows you to pay tribute to the counts of Rwandese that lost their lives in the bloody genocide that befell Rwanda in 1994. Retreat from the memorial centre to mark the end of the safari. You will send the rest of the afternoon touring Kigali city.

DAY 37: DEPARTURE

Depending on the time of your flight, you will have breakfast and be driven to the airport by our guide.