The trip links Rwanda’s three national parks over eleven nights, opening and closing in the capital. From Kigali you travel east to Akagera, the country’s only Big Five park, where forested hills give way to savannah, papyrus swamps and a chain of lakes. A night back in Kigali then breaks the run south-west to Nyungwe, one of the oldest mountain rainforests in Africa, before you finish in the Virunga Massif at Volcanoes National Park.
You move by road and air transfer, with a private driver-guide in the city. The days run from savannah game drives and boat trips to forest tracking on foot for chimpanzees and mountain gorillas. The accommodation suits each area in turn: a downtown hotel on arrival, a tented camp on an Akagera lake, a rainforest lodge on a tea estate and a lodge on the edge of the gorilla park.
You land in Kigali, usually after dark and after a long flight, with one settled night before the parks begin. The city spreads across a series of ridges at the centre of Rwanda, and we can arrange a private driver-guide for the Genocide Memorial at Gisozi or the studios at Inema Arts Centre if your schedule allows. Downtown on KN 3 Avenue in Nyarugenge, the Marriott keeps large, quiet rooms, a proper heated pool and buffet dining at Soko, with coffee and baskets that come from Rwandan women's cooperatives.
Three nights in eastern Rwanda, in the one park in the country where the Big Five are present, its open plains, woodland, swamp and lakes carrying plains game and predators that had once vanished from this corner. Days combine game drives across varied savannah with boat excursions on Lake Rwanyakazinga, which holds one of Africa's highest densities of hippo alongside large crocodiles and the chance of a shoebill. Lions returned in 2015 and black rhinos in 2017. Set on the lakeshore in a private concession, Magashi has eight tented suites turned towards the water, with a deck, fire pit and pool.
Coming back from Akagera, you pause for a night in Kigali before the long drive south-west. It is a chance to slow the pace, and with a private driver-guide you can add Kimironko Market, Caplaki Craft Village or the Genocide Memorial to the day. In the leafy Kiyovu district, Hemingways Retreat is a twenty-room boutique hotel of stone, teak and handcrafted Rwandan design, with a solar-heated saltwater pool and farm-to-table dining at Fusion and Heaven.
Three nights on the edge of Nyungwe, one of the oldest and largest mountain rainforests in Africa and Rwanda's first UNESCO World Heritage Site. Mornings begin early for chimpanzee tracking, following habituated groups on foot through dense undergrowth, while black-and-white colobus move in troops through the upper canopy. Guided walks reach the Kamiranzovu marsh and the forest waterfalls, the birding runs to close to 300 recorded species, and the canopy walkway carries you high above the valley floor. On the Gisakura tea estate at the forest edge, Nyungwe House has twenty-two rooms and suites, each with an open fireplace and a deep soaking tub.
Volcanoes National Park protects the Rwandan side of the Virunga Massif, home to mountain gorillas. Treks depart from the Kinigi park headquarters, around twenty minutes by road, and follow guides up the forested slopes to spend time with a habituated family. From the lodge's higher decks the panorama spans six volcanoes, among them Bisoke, Karisimbi and Mikeno. Set on former farmland now being reforested, Bisate has six spherical, thatched villas rising from the hillside, each raised on its own deck around a central volcanic-stone fireplace.
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.
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rwanda & tanzania
Fifteen nights across Rwanda's parks and the Serengeti, from Akagera and the gorillas to the calving plains and cheetah country.
01 of 14
rwanda
Twelve nights across Rwanda, from Akagera's savannah to Nyungwe's rainforest, Lake Kivu and the mountain gorillas.
01 of 14
rwanda & tanzania
Rwanda's mountain gorillas, private Serengeti reserves in Tanzania and a finish on the Zanzibar coast.
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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.
