Primates Aplenty Safari

After a good night’s rest, enjoy an early breakfast before heading off with your guide on a Kigali City tour.  One of the highlights of the tour is the Rwanda Genocide Memorial, which commemorates the tragic events of 1994.  The tour also visits a local craft market, giving a glimpse of traditional Rwandan culture.

We’ll then set off for your first primate destination: Volcanoes National Park.  The scenic 3-hour journey passes through lush landscapes before arriving in Musanze, at the foot of the Virunga Mountains.  At your designated accommodations, lunch will be served, and you may have the rest of the day to get acclimatised.

Volcanoes National Park came to the attention of the world thanks to the pioneering work of the renowned primatologist Dian Fossey.  Of the area, she said, “In the heart of Central Africa, so high up that you shiver more than you sweat, are great, old volcanoes towering up almost 15,000 feet, and nearly covered with rich, green rainforest – the Virungas”.

Volcanoes National Park covers an area of 160km² (62mi²) at an altitude of between 1,881 and 4,202m (6,171-13,786ft).  The park was created in the country’s northwest to protect the steep slopes that are home to the highly endangered mountain gorilla.

Finding gorillas requires an early start, so breakfast will be served at 06h30.  We suggest wearing the appropriate clothing and hiking boots, as these are essential for navigating wet, uneven terrain.

After breakfast, we’ll head over to the Volcanoes National Park headquarters, where you will meet your guides.  They will then brief you on the correct protocols for gorilla encounters before setting off in search of one of the habituated troops.  

Rwanda’s gorilla guides are an elite team of professionals who have received specialised training related to gorillas and the rainforest they inhabit.  We recommend using the porter service at US$10 per person/ per day/ porter.

As the gorillas are free-ranging, it can take anything from minutes to several hours to locate them.  Along the way, your guide will point out interesting plants and share their wealth of knowledge about the rainforest.  Once the gorillas have been located, you will spend one precious hour observing them go about their lives.

Gorillas are an endangered species, their numbers slashed by mostly human-induced causes.  These include loss of habitat, as swathes of jungle were sacrificed to agriculture.  Additionally, they are persecuted by poachers and are highly susceptible to human-borne diseases.  

After the trek, we’ll return to the lodge for lunch.  In the afternoon, you will be taken to the Gorilla Guardians Village, also known as the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village.  This community-based operation showcases Rwandan conservation and culture through interactive demonstrations and performances.

We will then return to the lodge in time for dinner and bed.

This morning, after breakfast, we will return to the park headquarters for your second primate experience: a golden monkey trek.  Once again, guides will brief you before leading you into the rainforest to meet these enigmatic creatures.  As before, please be sure to wear the appropriate clothing and footwear.  While generally not as strenuous as gorilla treks can be, the trek may take several hours in uneven and wet terrain.

Endemic to these high-altitude forests, the golden monkey (Cercopithecus mitis Kandti) is a local subspecies of the widespread Sykes Monkey, also known as the “Blue Monkey”.  They are playful, curious and a delight to watch as they cavort in the bamboo branches and forage on the forest floor.  

Afterwards, you’ll have lunch before departing for your next primate destination: Nyungwe National Park.  The journey should take about five hours.  We expect to arrive in time for dinner before heading off to bed.

Nyungwe National Park is situated in southwest Rwanda.  The park covers an area of 1,015km² (392mi²) at altitudes ranging between 1,629 and 2,870m (5,344-9,416ft).  The rainforest is a major biodiversity hotspot, with 1,068 plant species, 275-320 bird species, and 85 mammal species.

After an early wakeup call, enjoy a hearty breakfast before we set off for Nyungwe to meet your chimpanzee trek guides at the park office.  After a briefing, you’ll be led deep into the rainforest in search of free-roaming chimpanzees.  The park is home to several habituated troops, and it may take some time to find them in the dense vegetation.  Please note that wearing appropriate clothing and footwear, as well as a reasonable level of fitness, is essential.

The forest is thought to be one of the oldest on the African continent, even staying green through the last Ice Age, a major contributor to its biodiversity.

The forest is thought to be one of the oldest on the African continent, even staying green through the last Ice Age, a major contributor to its biodiversity.

The Nyungwe Forest is home to an estimated population of around 500 chimpanzees.  An endangered species, chimp numbers plummeted due to poaching, habitat loss and conflict with humans.  As such, to minimise impact, your time with the troop is limited to one precious hour.  

Nyungwe is home to 13 primate species, including olive baboons, black and white colobuses, L’Hoest’s monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabeys, blue monkeys and owl-faced monkeys.

Today, you will return to Nyungwe Forest, this time to take a breathtaking walk in the rainforest canopy.   Under the supervision of well-trained guides, you will depart on a guided walk through the forest, which includes a 160-metre-long and 70-metre-high suspension bridge which stretches over the top of the forest canopy.  

From this vantage point, you get a chimp’s perspective of the forest.  Few people get to appreciate the incredible array of life that exists in the forest canopy, including colourful birdlife, bizarre-looking insects and uniquely adapted plant species. Savour the peaceful rush of air through the leaves, while listening to the calls of various bird and mammal species.

Departing Nyungwe after the walk, we’ll stop for lunch en route back to Kigali, with the journey expected to take 4-5 hours.

Then, it is time to say our farewells, extending an open invitation to return to East Africa, where Africa Flash McTours would love to host your next adventure.