What Are The Most Popular Rwanda Safari Activities

Rwanda has gorilla safaris as its most popular activity in Volcanoes National Park located on the Northwestern side of the country. Mountain gorillas in Rwanda are some of the few left over in the entire world with currently a total population of over 1000 living in the entire world.

The canopy walk over Nyungwe National Park is a unique activity and although it may stimulate some adrenaline its once in lifetime adventure following the trail from Uwinka.

Getting on a game drive in Akagera National park immerses you into the wildlife in Rwanda. The history of Akagera National Park has details of the 1994 Rwanda genocide that claimed the lives of several people and wild animals while others fled from the park. The glory of the once celebrated Akagera National Park was turned upside down but is slowly being rehabilitated to pick up the broken pieces.

3 day gorilla trekking in Rwanda

5 day gorilla trekking through Rwanda

6 day gorilla and wildlife safaris Rwanda

Chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park is stunning but you need a chimpanzee safari permit from Rwanda Development Board. Close to Nyungwe National Park is Cyamudondo where another population of chimpanzee is still undergoing habituation process but it is open to public visits.

Taking the golden monkey trek in Volcanoes is exciting. Golden monkeys are a special monkey specie with its physical features different from the normal monkeys. During the golden monkey trek, be sure to keep moving because in there nature, they are restless primates. The golden monkeys undergo habituation experience but never loose the natural characteristics.

Planning a workable itinerary inclusive of the best Rwanda safari activities is remarkable. With the help of a professional tour company, you can have a memorable visit in Rwanda.

What to do on a Rwanda visit for a Safari?

Scenic viewing on Rwanda safari

Rwanda is a land of a thousand hills and sometimes referred to as the country with an environment similar to the Swiss alps in Africa. The volcanic work that covers almost the biggest of Rwanda makes it stand out.

This country pauses evergreen vegetation that covers Rwanda’s biggest part and it is like this all year around. It is a pro-eco tourism country too with great concern for environmental protection. The government of Rwanda is very strict with dumping garbage careless and punishable by law which is not common to most African countries.

If you are tired of the chaotic environment in the city and want a getaway safari destination with some quiet, a visit to Rwanda is worth your choice.

Rwanda is slowly slipping away from the effects of the 1994 genocide offering more to the world than the horrific stories of the 100 days of ignorance. The country is trying to sell its better image internationally like it is one of the sponsor of Arsenal FC. With a campaign Visit Rwanda.

Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda

The topmost Rwanda safari activity is gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park. The mountain gorillas in Rwanda are some of the few leftover in the world sharing them with only Uganda and D.R.Congo.

One needs a gorilla permits from Rwanda Development Board to gain access to the mountain gorillas and the number of permits is restricted to maximum 8 per gorilla family. At the moment, Rwanda has 12 gorilla family open for trekking some of them include Susa, Hirwa, Amahoro, Umubano, Sabyinyo and others.

 With the limited number of gorilla permits for Rwanda and high demand for gorilla trekking worldwide, one need to book the permit in advance. To be on the safe side, purchase the gorilla permit atleast 6 months to a year upfront. The Rwanda gorilla permit is the only document that allows one to do a gorilla safari in Volcanoes National Park.

• What is the cost of Rwanda gorilla permit?

At the moment the cost of Rwanda gorilla permit is about approximately $1500 for foreign nonresidents, $500 for foreign residents and $200 for East Africans. Demand for Rwanda gorilla permits gets high during the peak season that is June to September, December to January. One need to secure the gorilla permit in advance as last minute gorilla permits for this season are quite hard to get.

Chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda

In Nyungwe National Park is an opportunity to do chimpanzee safaris in Rwanda. These chimpanzees are semi-habituated with another community living in Cyamudondo right at the periphery of Nyungwe National Park. Each day two chimpanzee trekking sessions happen in Nyungwe National Park that is in the morning and afternoon.

Uwinka is where the Nyungwe National Park headquarters are found and the briefing point for chimpanzee trekking safaris of this park. On the way, you have an opportunity to spot a number of other primates that roam Nyungwe National Park like olive baboons, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey and others.

Game safaris in Rwanda

Akagera National Park is the Rwanda game safari destination. The population of wild animals that lived in Akagera National Park was affected by the 1994 genocide. Some of the wild animals in this park were killed while others fled into close by forests for there safety.

The Akagera National Park is slowly regaining its wild animal population as they are being rehabilitated. During the early morning or late afternoon game drives, you may spot animals like lions, cape buffaloes, elephants, giraffes, waterbucks, zebras, impalas and others.

When you take a boat ride in Lake Ihema, you enjoy the stunning views of the surroundings of this park like the highlands, crater lakes, evergreen surroundings and others.

Birding safaris in Rwanda

 As a pro-eco friendly country, Rwanda’s various vegetation zones give a comfortable home to a huge population of birds over 700 bird species including the Albertine endemics. For a great Rwanda birding safari, one needs a well planned itinerary with a number of days where you get to different birding destinations around Rwanda. Rwanda celebrates over 44 regional endemic bird species and 4 pure endemics.

 Some of the Rwanda birding destinations include Nyungwe National Park with more that 283 bird species as residents and over 27 are endemics. Some of the Birds you may spot in Nyungwe National Park include Mountain Masked Apalis, Shelley’s Crimsonwing, White bellied Robin Chat, Kivu ground Thrush and others.

Volcanoes national Park hosts over 200 bird species and 13 are endemic, these birds roam the forested  in the Virunga volcanoes chain. Some of the birds you may have chance to see include Rwenzori Turaco, Archers’ Robin chat, shelley’s Crimsonwing

Akagera national Park is too a birding destination of Rwanda and others.

Rwanda cultural experience during a visit to Rwanda

Rwandese are proud of there unique culture and are not afraid to share it with the world. you can witness this through there dances and folk songs. The Intore dance is accompanied by the rhythmic sounds of long drums and lulunga a harp like instrument with 8 strings. Intore locally means the chosen one and was a royal dance performances done in the royal courts of Rwanda. With prior arrangements, you may have chance to attend this engaging Rwandese dance.

A visit to the Ethnological museum of Rwanda immerses you into the traditional life of the Rwandese. This museum was inaugurated in 1989 in the southern province of Rwanda. Within the Ethnological Museum is a collection of items used in the day life of the ordinary Rwandese like hunting materials, pottery, fishing, dress code and others. Here you can also participate in crafts and art making.

The royal museum in Rukari Nyanza

This is worth visiting to learn how royal life was like in Rwanda. At the site is the royal traditional palace of Rwandan king  and the Inyambo ( traditional royal cows). On the close by hill are the tombs of King Mutara III and his Queen Rosalie Gicanda who passed in 1994.

Environmental Museum built to boost environmental awareness to the local people in Rwanda.

Kigali city tour

How do you visit Rwanda and forget to take a tour through its capital Kigali. Kigali city pauses as one of the cleanest cities in Africa, while on tour, you can visit the genocide memorials like Blue Beret Memorial site, Gisozi genocode memorial and others.

Canopy walk over Nyungwe National Park

Taking a walk on the Nyungwe National Park suspension bridge is amazing. The 90 meters long bridge is elevated over the dense canopy of Nyungwe forest. From Igishigishi tail in Nyungwe forest, you get to this bridge. Enjoy the stunning environment around the pack, green vegetation cover and several birds that fly from the forest.

The canopy walk over Nyungwe forest cannot be attempted by a faint-hearted person. The canopy walk is the only one of its kind in East Africa so far.

Is Rwanda safari safe?

Rwanda safaris are safe and so is the country. Although Rwanda has a dirty history o the 1994 genocide, they learnt from there mistake and are trying to move forward. For any Rwanda safari, a professional ranger guide must accompany tourists. At least two ranger guides one holding a rifle while another carries a machete.

For every Rwanda safari activity, tourists are taken through the rules of that activity like gorilla safari rules, chimpanzee safari guidelines and others to protect the animals and there visitors from  possible clash.

The Rwanda Development Board Ranger guided cooperate with other Rwanda security agencies to keep law and order in and around safaris destinations.

How Much Is The Cost Of Rwanda Safaris

The cost of Rwanda safaris depends on the package you choose. At Arch Safaris and Tours, we cost our Rwanda safaris according to Upmarket, Mid-range and Budget. All these are inclusive of different components. The permits may be the common costs amongst these packages like the Rwanda gorilla permit costs, chimpanzees permits, park entrance fees and others

To cost a Rwanda safari, we consider the number of people on Rwanda safari, activities to do in Rwanda, number of days on Rwanda safari, booking time of your safari and others.

When you send us an enquiry of your Rwanda safari, state the activities you wish to engage in so that the preparation can be done in advance. In case you hope to do gorilla trekking in Rwanda you need to reserve the gorilla permit in advance.

Uganda safaris from Kigali Rwanda

From Rwanda, you can also connect to Uganda for safaris. To cross into Uganda, you can use the Cyanika or Gatuna Border and arrive in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for gorilla trekking or habituation experience. The drive time from Kigali to Bwindi Impenetrable national Park is about 5 to 6 hours

Other Uganda safaris destinations you can visit through Kigali Rwanda include Queen Elizabeth National Park the home to wonderful game safaris on the floor of the rift valley and enjoy the backdrop of rugged Rwenzori ranges, Kibale National Park for Chimpanzee safaris in Uganda, Lake Mburo National park for excursion mountaineering.

It is possible to also visit the source of River Nile in Jinja, engage in white water rafting on River Nile and others Uganda safari activities as per your itinerary.

What to Pack for Rwanda safari?

Safari attire in colors that are wilderness friendly like brown and Khaki.

Foldable safari hat to cover your hair from buzzing insects that wander in this area.

Warmers as this area gets so cold early morning and late evening so you need to get warm.

Insect repellant to keep away stinging insects that may harm you

A torch as solar energy is the main source of power in this area yet the sun doesn’t normally sun bright all the time.

Hard cash to exchange into local currency in case you need in ground purchase.

Extra clothes but a few that are relevant to your safari as over packing may be an inconvenience to you.

A pair of sneakers to use when walking through the different parts of Rwanda

A light waterproof backpack in which you carry some safari gears so as not to scatter them while on the walk.

The camera where to store the memories of your Lake Bunyonyi safari experience .

Extra fully charged batteries which you can exchange with when one runs low.

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