Our 4 days Nyungwe NP Safari is the perfect package for travelers who wish to get up close with the wildlife of Nyungwe Forest National Park including our closest relatives in the animal Kingdom (Chimpanzees) and appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature. Kick-starting in Kigali, the Capital and largest City known for being the cleanest City in Africa, you will make your way to the southern Province with stopovers at places of interest for photography and at the Palace Museum or Ethnographic Museum along the way.
Highlights
- Spend quality time with the chimpanzees of Nyungwe Forest National Park.
- Experience the canopy walk.
- Undertake guided tea tours.
- Expect unmatched birding experiences.
Brief Itinerary
- Day 1: Drive to Nyungwe Forest, in the Southern province.
- Day 2: Chimpanzee trek and canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest.
- Day 3: Monkey tracking and tea plantation walk.
- Day 4: Depart Nyungwe Forest for Kigali City, the International flight.
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Drive from the Capital to Nyungwe Forest in the Southern Province
This morning, have breakfast and set off for a brief City tour, then continue to Nyungwe Forest National Park. Visit Kigali Genocide Memorial Site while making your way to the Southern Province of Rwanda where the oldest surviving montane rainforest is found.
While you make your way South of Rwanda, stop to visit the former King’s Palace for an opportunity of learning about Rwanda’s pre-colonial history and learn about the famous “Inyambo” cattle for their large horns. Your late lunch is on arrival and checking-in at the Safari Lodge within Nyungwe Forest National Park.
Accommodation:
- One & Only Nyungwe House for luxury.
- Nyungwe Top Hill View Lodge for midrange.
Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner.
Journey time: 6-7 hours including stopovers.
Day 2: Chimpanzee trek and the canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest
You will spend a full day in Nyungwe Forest National Park. Have breakfast and walk or drive to Uwinka Visitor Center for registration and briefing on the guidelines to be followed by tracking the chimpanzees.
The briefing will be done by RDB Park Rangers, afterwhich you will be allocated one of the chimpanzee communities. Immediately start the search for the chimpanzees while walking through the forest, but also pay attention to other creatures like mammals, birds and reptiles along the way. It takes 1-4 hours to finally find these Great Apes and when you do, get out your cameras immediately because the clock starts ticking immediately and one hour is all you have to take photos and observe them go about their routine activities.
Rest for a while and with the help of the Park Ranger find a nice place to enjoy your picnic lunch then continue for the canopy walk as you go through the 160-meter-long bridge that towers about 50 meters above the forest floor. This should be done in about 2 hours before you retire to the Lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation:
- One & Only Nyungwe House for luxury.
- Nyungwe Top Hill View Lodge for midrange.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Day 3: Monkey tacking and tea tours
Be up early for breakfast and converge at the Visitor Center for a briefing and later monkey tracking tour. You will be tracking the Colobus monkeys, which also live in troops and it will take you 1-3 hours before they are found. While tracking the monkeys, also look out for the birds, tree species, butterflies, and other natural features along the way.
Hot and delicious lunch at the Lodge and later continue to the nearby Gisakura Tea Estates within Nyungwe Forest’s northern edge to learn about tea growing, wedding, picking and processing, and also tasting the fine tea. Lots of birds will be encountered during this tea tour.
Accommodation:
- One & Only Nyungwe House for luxury.
- Nyungwe Top Hill View Lodge for midrange.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Day 4: Depart Nyungwe Forest for the Capital, International flight
Have breakfast at the Lodge ad bid farewell to the verdant Nyungwe Forest National Park as you make your way to Kigali City. Safe travels!
Meal Plan: Breakfast.
4 Days Nyungwe National Park Safari Inclusions:
- Chimpanzee permit.
- 3 nights’ accommodation.
- Park entry fees.
- Canopy walk fees.
- Bottled water.
- Services of a private, professional, and English-speaking driver.
- Relevant Government Taxes and levies.
- Park Ranger fees.
- Road transfer by air-conditioned safari vehicle.
- Airport transfers on the first/last day of the trip.
- Monkey tracking fees.
- Tea tours.
Exclusions
- Domestic and International flights.
- Travel and medical insurance.
- Telephone calls.
- Gratuities.
- Porter fees.
- Laundry fees.