rwanda & tanzania
three parks and the serengeti
Fifteen nights across Rwanda's parks and the Serengeti, from Akagera and the gorillas to the calving plains and cheetah country.
- Private Safari
- From $26,105 pp
- 2 guests
- 15 nights
This seven-night route runs from Kigali down to the mountainous south-west and back up to the volcanoes of the north. It opens in the capital, then reaches the Gisakura tea estate on the edge of Nyungwe rainforest, drops to a sand beach on Lake Kivu at Gisenyi, climbs to a ridge above the twin lakes for Volcanoes National Park, and closes with a last night in Kigali.
You travel by road and, where it suits, by air, with private driver-guides handling the transfers. The days hold chimpanzee tracking and forest walks, time on the lake, and gorilla trekking at altitude. The properties range from boutique city hotels to a rainforest lodge, a lakeside resort and an early eco-lodge on the ridge, each chosen for its position.
Begin in central Kigali at a boutique hotel of stone, teak and Rwandan craft in the leafy Kiyovu district, a short drive from the airport and the city's markets, galleries and memorials. It is a calm base to ease off a long-haul flight. Kigali sits at the centre of the country across a series of ridges, widely regarded as the cleanest city in Africa. If time allows, the Kigali Genocide Memorial at Gisozi makes for a quiet, essential few hours.
Move down to the Gisakura tea estate, where waist-high green tea runs to the treeline of Nyungwe National Park, one of the oldest and largest mountain rainforests in Africa. Mornings begin early for chimpanzee tracking on foot, with black-and-white colobus monkeys moving through the upper canopy. Days fill out with guided forest walks to the Kamiranzovu marsh and the waterfalls, birding across close to 300 recorded species, and the park's suspended canopy walkway strung high above the valley floor.
Drive to Gisenyi on Lake Kivu's northern shore, where a private sand beach runs down to water that holds no crocodiles, so guests swim off the sand. The Virunga volcanoes cut the skyline to the north and the green hills of the Congolese shore lie across the water. This is a place to sit still: a guided cruise to the coves and islands, a kayak off the sand, or dinner of crisp-fried isambaza and tilapia at the Ziwani Café as fishermen pass at dusk in three-hulled canoes.
Climb to a ridge high in northern Rwanda, with the Virunga volcanoes and the Musanze valley to the west and Lakes Bulera and Ruhondo to the east; six of the eight volcanoes in the chain are visible on a clear day. The lodge, one of Rwanda's first eco-lodges, is the base for gorilla trekking in the park. Between treks, walk the terraced gardens and the ridge trails, take in the long views from a private terrace, and use the volcanic-stone spa and sauna.
Return to Kigali for a final night on Boulevard de la Révolution, the city's established five-star address, roughly twenty minutes from the airport. Built around a polished granite atrium hung with Rwandese art and craft, it does the quiet work of departure well. Dining centres on the Milima Restaurant, with terrace seating over the gardens and pool.
Very high, though these are wild animals and the park promises nothing.
Rwanda publishes no official figure, but we put success at better than 95 per cent, and the reason is method, not luck. Trackers go out before dawn to the place where each habituated family built its night nests and stay with it, so by the time you leave the briefing at Kinigi someone usually knows where your gorillas are.
If a family moves so far that visitors cannot reach it all day, Rwanda's permit rules allow for another chance. Once you arrive you have one hour, in a party of no more than eight, wearing a mask while you are close.
One thing can stop you on the day: anyone with a cold, flu or other contagious illness is asked not to visit, so look after yourself on the journey out.
It can be harder on the lungs than on the legs.
Treks here are generally judged easier than Uganda's, but they are higher: the gorillas live between about 2,500 and 4,000 metres on the slopes of the volcanoes, and thin air makes a steady climb feel steeper than it looks. Reaching them can take half an hour or four hours and more, through bamboo, stinging nettles and mud, and nobody knows which until the day.
Virunga Lodge sits on a ridge some way from the park, so expect to leave at about 6am for the 7am briefing at Kinigi. There the rangers allocate the families with fitness in mind, so say plainly if you want a shorter walk.
Porters can be hired at the start to carry your bag and lend a hand on the steep parts, and we would always take one. The minimum age is 15. If altitude worries you, speak to your own doctor before you book.
Less reliable than the gorillas, and it is better to know that before you go.
Nyungwe's chimpanzee communities are only semi-habituated, there is no official success rate, and we rate it harder than tracking chimpanzees in Uganda or Tanzania.
The day starts very early, at about 5.30am, only eight visitors a day go to each community, and once the chimpanzees are found you have a maximum of one hour. Of the tracking sites, the small Cyamudongo forest is generally reckoned the more reliable.
Two nights at Nyungwe House leave room for the forest's more dependable rewards as well: the park tracks a troop of more than 400 black-and-white colobus, and the canopy walkway hangs 70 metres above the valley floor.
June, July and August are the months we rate highest at every stop: the long dry stretch firms the trails on the volcanoes, fig trees fruit in Nyungwe and draw the chimpanzees, and Lake Kivu is calm. They are also when gorilla permits and the small lodges sell out furthest ahead.
January and February are the second choice, a shorter dry spell that we rate well for the gorillas and the lake.
The gorillas are tracked all year, so the wetter months change the comfort of the walk, not your chance of finding them. The in-between months of May, October and December bring rain and muddier trails, and real advantages with them: permits are easier to come by, lodges may discount, the forest is at its greenest and Nyungwe's birding is strong.
March, April and November are the months we rate lowest for the gorillas, with the heaviest rain and the hardest going on the volcanoes.
Rwanda is small but mountainous, so the distances are short and the drives are not.
Kigali to Nyungwe takes five to six hours. Nyungwe to Gisenyi follows the winding road along Lake Kivu for around five hours, which is why the lake night sits where it does, as a rest between the two forests.
From Gisenyi it is about an hour to Volcanoes National Park, with Virunga Lodge up to an hour beyond it. The last drive back to Kigali takes about three hours.
The first leg is the one worth flying. The national airline has a scheduled flight from Kigali to Kamembe, about 45 minutes by road from Nyungwe House, or a helicopter, typically an Agusta, covers the journey in about half an hour. Helicopters also link Kigali with the volcanoes in a similar time.
Tell us if long drives are a worry and we will build the flights into your plan.
Yes. We plan the week around you, and the route shown is a starting point.
The most popular additions are at the volcanoes: a second gorilla trek on another morning, which takes the pressure off the first, or a morning tracking golden monkeys, with an hour in their company. Strong walkers can climb to the crater lake on Mount Bisoke at 3,700 metres, which takes from five hours to a full day.
For open savannah, Akagera National Park is two to three hours east of Kigali: buffalo, zebra, topi, hippos and crocodiles are reliably seen, and lions and both black and white rhino have been reintroduced since 2015, though the cats take luck. Lake Kivu is the easiest night to drop or to double.
What cannot be improvised is the gorilla permit. Only eight are issued for each family each day, so we secure those first and the dates follow them.
Ed Charles, BBC Producer
Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.
rwanda & tanzania
Fifteen nights across Rwanda's parks and the Serengeti, from Akagera and the gorillas to the calving plains and cheetah country.
rwanda & kenya
Seventeen nights from Rwanda's gorilla forests through Kenya's conservancies to a private house on Kilifi Creek.
rwanda
Eight nights across Rwanda, from Nyungwe's rainforest and Lake Kivu to the gorilla trailheads of the Virunga volcanoes.
rated five stars by our clients
our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.
Get in touch to start planning yours.