7 days / 6 nights
7-Day Rwanda Discovery
Gorillas, rainforest and the lake in between
- Duration
- 7 days, 6 nights
- Destinations
- 4 places
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- From
- Price on request
01Overview
This is the classic western circuit, and the most complete week Rwanda offers. It runs the length of the country's western side, from the volcanoes in the north to the rainforest in the south, with Lake Kivu as the hinge.
Gorillas at the start, chimpanzees and the canopy walk at the end, and two nights on the lake in the middle where the pace drops and you can swim.
It leaves out Akagera's savannah. If the Big Five matter more to you than the rainforest, take the five-day route instead or stretch to ten days and have both.
Highlights
- Mountain gorilla trekking in the Virungas
- Two nights on Lake Kivu, with swimming and island boat trips
- Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe
- The suspended canopy walkway above the rainforest
02Day by day
The itinerary
Every day, in order, with what is included. Open a day to see the detail.
Day 01
Arrival in Kigali
Land, get your bearings, and start where the country's recent history is explained.
- Meals
- Breakfast not includedLunch not includedDinner included
- Overnight
- Hotel in Kigali
- Transport
- Airport transfer
- Afternoon
Kigali Genocide Memorial
Half a day at Gisozi. It sets the context for the whole trip.
- Evening
Dinner in Kigali
A first look at a city most visitors underestimate.
Day 02
About 2 to 2.5 hours driving
North to the volcanoes
The drive to Musanze, with the Virunga chain filling the windscreen.
- Meals
- Breakfast includedLunch includedDinner included
- Overnight
- Lodge or guesthouse near Kinigi
- Transport
- Private vehicle with driver-guide
Day 03
Trek duration varies widely
Gorilla trekking
The briefing at Kinigi and one hour with a habituated family.
- Meals
- Breakfast includedLunch includedDinner included
- Overnight
- Lodge or guesthouse near Kinigi
- Transport
- Private vehicle to the trailhead
Day 04
About 1.5 to 2 hours driving
Down to Lake Kivu
A short drive to the lake, and the first afternoon in weeks with nothing scheduled.
- Meals
- Breakfast includedLunch includedDinner included
- Overnight
- Lakeside hotel at Rubavu
- Transport
- Private vehicle with driver-guide
Day 05
About 4 to 5 hours driving
Lake Kivu to Nyungwe
A morning on the water, then the long, beautiful drive south along the lake.
- Meals
- Breakfast includedLunch includedDinner included
- Overnight
- Lodge on the Nyungwe boundary
- Transport
- Private vehicle with driver-guide
Day 06
Full day in the park
Chimpanzees and the canopy
A pre-dawn start after the chimps, then the walkway above the forest.
- Meals
- Breakfast includedLunch includedDinner included
- Overnight
- Lodge on the Nyungwe boundary
- Transport
- Private vehicle with driver-guide
Day 07
About 5 to 6 hours driving
Nyungwe to Kigali
The long drive back through the southern hills, and home.
- Meals
- Breakfast includedLunch includedDinner not included
- Overnight
- Departure day
- Transport
- Private vehicle with driver-guide
03What is included
- All transport in a private vehicle with an English-speaking driver-guide
- Accommodation as specified, on a twin-share basis
- Meals as listed in the itinerary
- Nyungwe park entry, canopy walkway and guided activities
- Lake Kivu boat trip
- Airport transfers and drinking water in the vehicle
04What is not
- International flights
- Gorilla, chimpanzee and golden monkey permits
- Visa fees
- Travel and medical insurance
- Porters, tips and gratuities
- Drinks and items of a personal nature
Accommodation
One night Kigali, two near Kinigi, one on Lake Kivu and two at Nyungwe. If you can add a night anywhere, add it to Kivu.
Transport
Private vehicle throughout. The Kivu shore road and the drive back from Nyungwe are long but genuinely scenic — they are part of the trip, not just transfers.
05Where you go
Destinations on this route
Kigali City
Kigali
Rwanda's capital, spread across a series of ridges and valleys — the arrival point for almost every trip, and a city worth more than the night most itineraries give it.
1 to 2 nights
Northern Province
Volcanoes National Park
Rwanda's gorilla country: bamboo and hagenia forest climbing the flanks of five volcanoes, home to habituated mountain gorilla families and golden monkeys.
2 to 3 nights
Western Province
Lake Kivu
One of the African Great Lakes, held between steep green hills on the Congolese border — islands, fishing boats, lakeside towns and the country's best place to stop moving.
2 nights
Western Province
Nyungwe National Park
A vast montane rainforest in Rwanda's southwest, holding thirteen primate species, a canopy walkway suspended above the trees, and waterfalls at the end of long forest trails.
2 to 3 nights
06What you do
Experiences on this route
Gorilla Trekking
One hour with a habituated mountain gorilla family
The reason most people come to Rwanda: a guided climb into the Virunga forest to spend an hour with a wild mountain gorilla family.
Half to full dayChallenging
Golden Monkey Trekking
Endangered monkeys crashing through the bamboo
A shorter, easier trek in the Virunga bamboo zone to find troops of endangered golden monkeys — fast, bright and far more animated than the gorillas.
Half dayModerate
Lake Kivu Experiences
Islands, night fishermen and somewhere to swim
Boat trips to the islands, going out with the singing fishermen, kayaking the shoreline, and the rare pleasure of an African lake you can swim in.
2 hours to several daysEasy
Chimpanzee Trekking
Following the calls through Nyungwe at dawn
An early start into one of Africa's oldest rainforests to track habituated chimpanzees, guided by their calls and by trackers who set out before you.
Half day, from a very early startChallenging
Canopy Walk
A suspension bridge level with the crowns of the trees
A walkway strung high above a forested ravine in Nyungwe, reached on the Igishigishigi trail — the clearest way to grasp the scale of the forest.
About 2 to 3 hoursModerate
Cultural Experiences
Time with people, not a performance staged for you
Community cooperatives, Intore dance, craft workshops and village visits arranged so the money stays where the visit happens.
2 hours to a full dayEasy
Kigali City Tours
The day that gives the rest of the trip its context
The Genocide Memorial, a walking tour of Nyamirambo, Kimironko market and the city's working art studios — treated as a destination, not a transit night.
Half to full dayEasy
Geography. Akagera is in the east and this route runs down the west. Fitting both properly takes ten days; squeezing it in would mean two very long transfer days and less time everywhere.
This route, your dates
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