How To Plan Rwanda Chimpanzee, Gorilla Trekking and Game safari

The pleasure of a Rwanda Visit to do chimpanzee trekking, gorilla trekking and game tour is an unforgettable Africa safari adventure. Rwanda has plenty of attractions from the welcoming locals to the rich wildlife encounters to the stunning serried highlands where the country gets its name the land of a thousand hills.

To do gorilla trekking in Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park is the only destination and at the moment has about 12 gorilla families open to the public. Chimpanzees trekking in Rwanda is in Nyungwe National Park only plus there are numerous other primates living in this forest too. Game safaris in Rwanda happen in Akagera National Park with several wild animals.

The best plan for this Rwanda safari is knowing the flow of the itinerary and the possible amount of time you hope to spend at every destination. Other than the activity for which each Rwanda National Park is known for, there are other activities you may be part of too.

For Gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda, you need permits for each but there supply is restricted for conservation reasons. For one to confirm being part of the Rwanda gorilla chimpanzees, booking the permits in advance is a great decision. The Rwanda Development Board has the mandate to sell and regulate these permits.

Knowing the type of accommodation you wish to book for this Rwanda safari is very vital to this safari. There are three categories of accommodation you can choose from on Rwanda safari that is luxury, mid-range and budget.

Plan for the transport means to get to these Rwanda safari destinations as each is situated some distance from another. You need at 4×4 wheel drive vehicle to get comfortably to these destinations.

Which Plan To Use For Rwanda Visit To Do Chimpanzee, Gorilla And Game Safari

Day1 Drive to Nyungwe National Park Rwanda

Get on the road to drive to Nyungwe National Park the chimpanzees trekking destination of Rwanda. Nyungwe National Park is a tropical natural forest and home to the only chimpanzees in Rwanda. Cyamudondo on the outskirts of Nyungwe forest is home to a community of a chimpanzee in Rwanda too.

Enjoy the outstanding lash green cover on the highlands you pass by during the drive to this park. You may make some optional stops to visit interesting sites enroute.

A number of accommodations are available to book for chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park Rwanda. Nyungwe accommodations include Nyungwe Forest lodge, Gisaku Family Hostel, Nyungwe Top View Hotel, Gisaku Guest House.

Day 2 Chimpanzee Trekking in Nyungwe National Park

Chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda happens in the morning or afternoon. If booked for the morning session, report to the ranger station at Uwinka. After all location you to the chimpanzees troop you are to trek, follow the trails leading where these primates may be spending the day like Usamo trail, Igishigishigi trail and others.

 The walk on the trail of Nyungwe forest is interesting with different features you may come across like the sparkling Usamo falls, undulating highlands with shades of green and others. Watch out for other primates like blue monkeys, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys and others. A number of birds flock Nyungwe forest to enjoy its freebies.

You may hear the chimpanzees before tracing them because of they are always in communication with each other. They may even know about your presence in the forest before you trace them because chimpanzees operate a spy network.

Remember to keep the rules of chimpanzee trekking while in there presence because even though they are habituated, they still possess there natural characteristics. The chimpanzees can also charge when agitated or run into hiding so try to stay calm and remember the rules of this adventure in order not to fall out with these closest human relatives.

An hour is the only time allowed with the chimpanzees when with them so that you allow them go about there daily life. This time is minimized to reduce on the chances of falling out with the chimpanzees and allow them carry on with there day today activities like grooming, feeding napping, playing and much more.

Day 3 Drive to Volcanoes National Park

Wake for breakfast and start the transfer to Volcanoes National Park a drive that takes about 6 to 7 hours but very scenic. Volcanoes National Park is situated in the North Western part of Rwanda in the super ragged environment as five of the six Virunga volcanoes make part of its topography. These Volcanoes include Mountain Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhavura, Sabyinyo and Gahinga these influences the terrain of this park and make the trek quite challenging.

Having a plan to spend the night before the gorilla trek accommodation closer or within Volcanoes National Park is very important as the adventure starts early morning. There are different categories of accommodations you can book for gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda including luxury, mid-range and basic. The categories of accommodation have a big role in determining the package of Rwanda safari you are booked into.

Volcanoes National Park accommodations include Virunga Volcanoes lodge, Sabyinyo Silverback lodge, Kinigi guest house, Mountain Gorillas view lodge and others.

Day 4 Gorilla Trekking In Volcanoes National Park

Get up for breakfast and with your packed lunch in your backpack plus other gorilla trekking gears, move to the ranger station which is the ORTPN for briefing. Here you may meet other tourists with whom you are to share your experience. You may hire a porter at this moment to help you carry your gorilla trekking gears.

After briefing, you are allocated to a Rwanda Gorilla family with maximum 7 other tourists. The ranger guide leads the way but stay closer to the people in your group so that you are not forgotten in the jungle. The ranger guide follows the pace of the slowest trekker but sometimes people sneak away without recognition.

The time of locating the mountain gorillas is quite hard to determine but keep your mind open to seeing other forest dwellers along the way. Time flies without realizing how much you have covered when you focus on enjoying other interesting features in the wilderness.

Finally when you get to the mountain gorillas, you need to compose yourself even amidst the burning sensation on excitement to find these primates. You have an hour of watching, taking photos and witnessing some of the unspoken facts about the mountain gorillas and much more. Your ranger guide will direct you on how to go about some situations while on gorilla trek like in case they charge.  Return to your lodge later for the night.

Day 5 Drive to Akagera National Park

From Volcanoes National Park, head to Akagera National Park the only game park of Rwanda. Akagera National Park is still recovering from the effects of the 1994 genocide memorial as the animals in this Park were poached and its land encroached on.

The different wild animals on the park fled into hiding while others were killed to feed the survivors of this 100 days of terror in Rwanda. The scenery around the park is exciting with a number of features to watch out for like lake Ihema, rolling hills, stunning vegetation to mention but a few.

You need to plan for the accommodation to stay at during the Rwanda safari to Akagera National Park. Accommodations Akagera National Park Ruzizi Tented lodge, Akagera game lodge, Magashi Safari Camp. During the peak season, the demand for accommodations around Akagera National Park is high creating scarcity for last minute bookings.

Day 6 Game drive and boat trip on Lake Ihema

Wake up early for a game drive in Akagera National Park using the different tracks constructed within the park. look out for different park dwellers like giraffes, waterbucks, bushbucks, elands, herds of elephants, lycanos, hyenas to mention but a few. Enjoy the stunning views of the evergreen shade of vegetation along the slopes of these islands.

Later in the day, head to lake Ihema for a relaxing boat trip. Enjoy the cool breeze and feel the freshness around this Park. There are numerous birds that make there way around this lake to collect a meal for the day as others enjoy taking a bath.

Get back to your lodge to relax.

Day 7 Return home

After the Rwanda gorilla, chimpanzees trekking and game drive, return home to catch up with your home bound flight.

How Much Is The Cost Of Rwanda Safari To Do Chimpanzee, Gorilla Trekking And Game Tour

At Arch safaris and tours, we package our safaris according to Up-Market, mid-range and budget. The cost of either the gorilla or chimpanzee trekking permit stands out as the only confirmation to this tour. Rwanda Development Board opens a few gorillas or chimpanzees trekking permits to the public each day.

At the moment, the cost of Rwanda gorilla trekking permit goes for $ 1500 for international nonresidents, $500 for international residents and $200 for East African Nationals. The cost of Rwanda gorilla trekking permit covers the ranger guide fees, park entrance fees,  mountain gorilla conservation and others.

The Rwanda chimpanzees trekking permit cost is currently $100 per person.

Is The Gorillas, Chimpanzees And Game Safari In Rwanda Family Friendly?

The chimpanzees, gorilla trekking and game safari in Rwanda is great for a family get a way however, some activities have age restrictions. The age limit for gorilla trekking in Rwanda is 15 years and over while age limit for chimpanzee trekking is 12 years and over.

The age limit is set to this for the Rwanda primate safaris because of the nature of both gorilla and chimpanzee trekking experiences. The nature of the topography of Nyungwe and Volcanoes forest is jagged with several highlands resulting from Volcanic action in this area.

Children below this age may not be in position to with stand the conditions in the wilderness and may get tired before completing the trek. Both gorilla and chimpanzee trekking are exciting and quite tiring adventures but you need to have some level of fitness and patience. Wear the right gears for both gorilla and chimpanzee trekking that can protect your body from the roughness of the wilderness.

Is Rwanda Safe To Visit For A Safari?

Rwanda is safe to visit for safari as the country has enjoyed tremendous peace since the 1994 genocide.  Each Rwanda National Park is under the supervision of the Rwanda Development Board with well trained ranger guide ready to protect these parks, there inhabitants and visitors.

On a personal level, you need to also mind your safety while on safari so never move into the forest without a ranger guide. Even though the Volcanoes and Nyungwe forests are often visited by tourists, there are changes that may occur in the forest anytime. Not all the forest dwellers are habituated to humans presence so you need security back up from ranger guides.

It is best to abide by the rules of gorilla, chimpanzees and game parks as the dynamics of these conservation areas vary so your presence and moments must are influenced by how you bide by the rules.

What Are The Rwanda Safari Rules

Chimpanzees and mountain gorillas are susceptible to human infections therefore protecting them is also human mandate to give them a chance to live.

Donot enter the forest if you are sick. This puts the chimpanzees and mountain gorillas at risk of contracting diseases like Covid-19, influenza.

While in front of the chimpanzees and mountain gorillas do not eat anything because it may entice them to grab it from you and take a bite too.

The age limit for chimpanzee trekking is 12 years, gorilla trekking age limit is 15 years for safety reasons. Walking in the forest with children below this age may be quite tedious as they get worn-out fast.

Avoid entering the forest without a guide because the forest has other occupants like forest elephants that may be not friendly to your presence.

In case you want to have a long call, ask your ranger guide to dig a hole at least 30 cm deep and cover up beyond recognition so that the forest occupants are not curious to exhume it.

Chimpanzees or mountain gorillas are sensitive primates and very much observant of what is in there locality so try not to provoke them or scare them. You may not know how they will gang up against the entire crew that has visited. Respect there boundaries.

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