Into the Wild: Rwanda’s Big Five & Gorilla Trekking Adventure

Day 1 – Kigali Welcome

Murakaza neza! That’s ‘welcome’ in Kinyarwanda, the language of almost all Rwandans and a phrase you’ll hear a lot over the next 14 days as you tick off some of the region’s top attractions.

When you’re clear of immigration, it’s straight to the hotel for you under the guiding hand and brimming smile of someone from our local team. After some time to relax, there will be more greetings as you come together as Team Fencox for the first time over dinner. There’s a table reserved for you at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant, from where you start to understand just why Rwanda is called ‘the land of a thousand hills.’

Accommodation: Mythos Boutique Hotel (or similar), Kigali
Included: Dinner

Day 2 – Kigali

You’ll begin your first full day in Rwanda surrounded by heavily-laden market stalls in Kigali’s Nyamirambo district. Select the freshest of local ingredients, from easily recognisable tomatoes to more unusual crops like cassava leaves, all in preparation for a cooking class with a local chef. She will teach you a little of what she knows about Rwanda’s culinary influences, which will make the resulting dishes all the tastier!

In the afternoon, you’ll face Rwanda’s dark history head-on. Although a very different country from the one it was in the 1990s, Rwanda’s reputation still sits in the shadow of its genocide, which led to the deaths of more than 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu.

You’ll learn more about this tragic event’s background at Camp Kigali Belgian Memorial, dedicated to 10 UN peacekeepers killed at the start of the genocide. You’ll continue to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, a difficult but essential visit to understand today’s Rwanda. 

We’ve left tonight free – rest up, or gather the Fencox crew for a dip in the hotel’s pool, followed by a Sundowner on the lawn.

Accommodation: Mythos Boutique Hotel (or similar), Kigali
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 3 – Akagera National Park

It’s just a two-hour drive to Akagera National Park, Rwanda’s only Big Five reserve. You’ll head out on your first game drive in the early afternoon, marrying anticipation with – hopefully – close encounters with some of Africa’s most iconic species.

You’ll then step aboard a small boat for a sunset cruise on Lake Ihema, where potential sightings include elephant, hippo, crocs and bird species as varied as cormorants and crowned cranes.

You’ll finish the day at a lodge set high above the savannah, with Akagera and Lake Ihema views. Kick off your shoes, grab a cold drink, and settle into your comfortable home for the next two nights.

Accommodation: Mantis Akagera Game Lodge (or similar), Akagera National Park
Included: Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, and Dinner

Akagera’s Remarkable Recovery

It’s hard to imagine it now, but just twenty years ago, Akagera was almost empty of wildlife. Today, the park is home to around 13,000 large mammals, including the iconic Big Five – lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo – a turnaround that still surprises many first-time visitors. Years of underfunding and poaching had taken a heavy toll, but carefully managed reintroductions of lions and both black and white rhinos sparked a remarkable recovery.  This resurgence has been followed by a steady increase in the populations of zebra, hippo, giraffe, elephant, topi and roan. To add to the spectacle, almost 500 birds have been recorded, including the much sought-after shoebill.

Day 4 – Safari Drive and Park Ranger Sneak-Peaks

Set your alarm nice and early to max out your game viewing at dawn, when Akagera’s animals are at their most active (around 6.30am). You’ll spend the whole morning exploring the park’s different habitats, but do remember to put your camera down and enjoy being in the moment.

The afternoon sees you head behind the scenes at the park’s headquarters, chatting to staff to discover just what it takes to make Akagera the success story it has become.

Accommodation: Mantis Akagera Game Lodge (or similar), Akagera National Park
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner 

Day 5 – The Park Savannah and Bushland

Today’s full-day game drive takes you to the furthest reaches of the park in search of  Akagera’s wealth of predator and prey species.

You’ll break for lunch at a shaded picnic spot in the park, swapping stories from the morning with your ranger-guide – whether you’ve ticked off big sightings or been quietly impressed by their tracking skills. Akagera protects far more than classic savannah, and you’ll keep exploring its varied landscapes through the afternoon. Eventually, it’s time to wave goodbye to your trusty safari driver and ranger-guide, to head back to Kigali for the night. 

It’s only Day 5, yet you’ve already seen and done so much!

Accommodation: Mythos Boutique Hotel (or similar), Kigali
Included: Breakfast, Picnic Lunch, and Dinner

Day 6 – Azizi Life Weavers

Today you’ll head south to the city of Butare (also known as Huye), breaking up the drive with a stop at Azizi Life, a women’s weaving cooperative rooted firmly in everyday village life.

Instead of standing back and watching, you’ll roll up your sleeves and pitch in –  whether it’s harvesting crops, feeding animals or collecting water from the nearby spring – depending on what needs doing that day.

You’ll also have lunch with some of the women and try your hand at sisal weaving before you depart for a meeting with some very regal cows on the way to your Butare hotel. But don’t worry, all will be revealed!

Accommodation: Centre d’Accueil Mater Boni Consilii (or similar), Butare
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 7 – Nyungwe National Park

Your Rwandan odyssey continues in Nyungwe National Park, the largest area of protected high-altitude forest anywhere in East Africa.

Situated at the meeting point of the Congo and Nile river watersheds, Nyungwe is a biodiversity hotspot home to 13 different species of primate alone, including chimps and black and white colobus monkeys. Yep – we’re talking about this. This is one of the highest concentrations of primate species anywhere in Africa, so keep an eye and an ear out as you follow your guide along its forest trails to Ndambarare Waterfall, an elegant ribbon of water tumbling more than 15 metres.

Afterwards, catch your breath with a refreshing cuppa at Gisakura Tea Estate. Here you’ll learn the secrets of producing Rwanda’s celebrated teas from those who pluck, ferment and package.

Wrap up the day at your hotel,  with views across the treetops and to the mountains you’ve just explored.

Accommodation: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel (or similar), Nyungwe National Park
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 8 – Chimpanzees or Colobus Monkeys – What to Choose!

This morning, you’ve got a choice: get up early at 5 am for a chimpanzee trek, or take a gentler walk in search of black-and-white colobus monkeys, which is a later start, more relaxed and a favourite for most guests.

If you didn’t see the colobus monkeys on your way to Ndambarare Waterfall yesterday, this is your chance. With nearly 400 in the park, you might spot them prancing through the branches, grooming one another, or hunting out the juiciest fruits.

The chimp trek starts at Cyamudongo, where most of Rwanda’s chimps live. You’ll meet your ranger at a small visitor centre, then head off along the forest paths. We’ll be honest – this trek is a bit of a challenge, and it won’t be for everyone. It’s quite the workout, with some steep forest paths. Keep your eyes and ears open – you might spot chimps swinging overhead, or even running around nearby.

Whichever you pick, it’s going to be a morning to remember – and with so many primates in Nyungwe, you never know who else might pop up along the way.

This afternoon, share your primate stories up to Nyungwe’s 200-metre canopy walkway. From above the forest floor, butterflies, orchids, and even a rare Shelley’s Crimsonwing might cross your path.

Accommodation: Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel (or similar), Nyungwe National Park
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 9 – Lake Kivu

Today you’ll swap the enclosed forest for Lake Kivu, Africa’s eighth largest. On arrival at the resort town of Kibuye, you’ll explore some of the lake by boat, heading to Kinunu by way of Nyamunini Island, better known as Napoleon Island because its shape resembles the bicorn hat he wore.

Impressions of le petit corporal aside, the island’s hilly terrain provides a perfect vantage point for taking in the lake’s landscapes without interruption – that is, except for the near-constant chatter of the thousands of fruit bats that roost on the island.

Come evening, you’ll be back on the water to join local fishermen on their rustic canoes as they go night fishing for sardine-like sambaza, luring the fish into their nets with powerful torches. You’ll want to wrap up well against the evening chill, prepare for the possibility of getting a little wet and be aware that seating is basic wooden planking.

Accommodation: Rushel Kivu Lodge (or similar), Kayove
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 10 – Crafts and Coffee

Get your creative juices flowing this morning with a visit to a local craft cooperative for a lowdown on wood carving and basket weaving using traditional techniques and tools. Then it’s over to you to try these crafts for yourself, but there’s also a shop full of expertly produced items should you not entirely succeed!

In the afternoon, turn your attention to another of Rwanda’s celebrated crops – coffee. You’ll visit a plantation providing sustainable livelihoods for local families, where the whole process of coffee production – from raw berry to roasted bean – will be explained. There will also be time to put what you’ve learnt into practice by sampling the plantation’s finished products!

Accommodation: Rushel Kivu Lodge (or similar), Kayove
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 11 – Volcanoes National Park

Today you’ll say goodbye to Kinunu and hello to Volcanoes National Park. You’ll spend the morning winding through the lush mountainous roads of the region. This is followed by a journey along the Mukungwa River by canoe, allowing you to feel much more a part of the rural landscape where you’ll be spending the next couple of days as you absorb the sights, sounds and smells that swirl around you as you paddle.

Accommodation: Ingagi Park View Lodge (or similar), Kinigi
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 12 – Gorilla Trekking

Max out your camera memory cards with an unforgettable trek into the forests of Volcanoes National Park in search of a habituated group of mountain gorillas, one of the world’s most endangered – and charismatic – species.

Keep your excitement in check as your small group of no more than eight follows a local ranger into the shade of the tree canopy. It’s a journey that can last anywhere up to three hours, during which you’ll be enveloped in jungle life, from the squelch of wet leaves to the calls of unseen birds.

The locations of the gorilla families can change, and we never know exactly which members you’ll encounter, but the experience always leads to a very special hour just a few metres from them. You might find mothers and babies, tottering toddlers and playful youngsters – all under the watchful eye of a silverback in the prime of his life.

When you must tear yourself away, relive the experience at a celebratory lunch. Then take a tour of Handspun Hope, creating sought-after woollen clothing from merino sheep grazing on Mount Sabyinyo.

Accommodation: Ingagi Park View Lodge (or similar), Kinigi
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 13 – Golden Monkey Walk

Make the most of your final day in Volcanoes National Park by going in search of another of the forest’s primates, the golden monkey, which sports a ‘jacket’ of burnished gold fur.

Like yesterday’s gorilla trek, you’ll have around an hour to watch these sublime acrobats as they leap from tree to tree and go about their lives as if you’re not even there.

You’ll also visit The Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, where you’ll learn about the latest on gorilla conservation before a change of pace at a banana plantation. Here you’ll have the chance to make banana beer accompanied by the rhythms of traditional song and dance.

Accommodation: Ingagi Park View Lodge(or similar), Kinigi
Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Day 14 – Farewell

It’s time to pack your bags one last time for the two-to-three-hour drive back to Kigali and your flight home. But save your goodbyes for the farewell lunch at the capital’s Repub Lounge. It has a menu of mouthwatering East African dishes such as choma (grilled goat meat), isombe (cassava leaf stew) and Nile perch alongside views of Rwanda’s rolling hills. It’s also your last chance to swap photos and ‘see you later’ hugs with your fellow Fencoxers, and perhaps keep your adventure ‘on’ by planning ahead to the next one.

Included: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner