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Kigali Serena Hotel/Nyungwe Forest Lodge/ Lake Kivu Serena Hotel/Mountain Gorilla View Lodge or Mountain Gorilla Lodge or Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge or Virungas Volcanoes Lodge

This six night safari begins with two nights in the Nyungwe Forest. Sightings of the forest's numerous mammals, bird, reptile, amphibian and plant species makes it worthwhile - enjoy forest walks and a visit to a local tea plantation. Spend two nights in the Volcanoes National Park where you will have the opportunity to track both Golden Monkeys and Mountain Gorillas.

Day 1: Rwanda

Today you arrive in Rwanda, where you will be met at the Gregoire Kayibanda International Airport and taken to a nearby hotel for welcome drinks and a briefing.

Day 2-3: Nyungwe Forest

Today we drive to the south west, stopping in at the King's Palace at Nyanza.  Our journey undulates through the terraced hills until we stop for lunch at Butare.  Our drive from her to the Nyungwe Forest results in a road that gets increasingly steeper and more serpentine as we go along.  This allows us spectacular views over Nyungwe at bird's eye level.

This high altitude rainforest covers some 970 square kilometres, and as you enter it, it is apparent that it creates its own climate.  The forest offers up a number of superlatives; outstanding biodiversity, even by African standards; the largest protected high altitude rain forest in East Africa; the source of both the Nile and the Congo rivers - the list goes on.

Nyungwe's most significant feature is that it is part of the Albertine Rift Valley system.  This results in a high species endemism, and for those who are lucky enough to visit here, a sighting of the forest's numerous mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian and plant species makes it worth the effort to come out here.  Enjoy a forest walk this evening.

Accommodation at Nyungwe Forest Lodge for two nights is on a full board basis.

On day three an early morning start gets us to the forest for a walk along one of its many trails.  The going can be tough due to the terrain and the altitude, but the trails are tailored and colour coded according to visitors' fitness levels.  Return for lunch and this afternoon visit a local tea plantation.

Day 4: Kibuye

Today we drive to the border town of Cyangugu and then north to Kibuye, a drive of about 4 hours.  From here we take an hour and a half boat ride on Lake Kivu to Gisenyi.

Accommodation for one night at the Lake Kivu Serena Hotel is on a full board basis.

Day 5-6: Volcanoes National Park

We have an early breakfast today and drive to the Volcanoes National Park.  This one hour drive undulates over Rwanda's extremely hilly and picturesque countryside, and as you near the end of your journey, you will (weather permitting) begin to catch glimpses of the Virungas, a chain of 9 impossibly steep and lofty volcanoes straddling the western branch of the Rift Valley from east to west.

Each mountain possesses its own unique character and silhouette, but together they form one of the most isolated and visually dramatic ecosystems in the world.  A "true island in the sky", the Virunga National Park was Africa's first, and it was granted status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.  The park is home to some of the worlds' few remaining Mountain Gorillas, which were first studied here in 1959 by George Schaller, and later by Dian Fossey and her colleagues.

We arrive at the park headquarters and register to track Golden Monkeys, the "little primates" of the volcanoes National Park, followed by an afternoon at leisure.

Accommodation for the next two nights is on a full board basis.

On day six the activities may be amongst the most exciting and challenging you have undertaken.  The Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda are part of a worldwide population of just 720 individuals.  The gorillas we are allowed to track belong to either one of seven habituated family groups.  For up to five years each, these groups have undergone an extremely delicate process that has gradually brought them to tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day and allowed a few privileged visitors to interact with them in the wild.

After breakfast, head off to the park headquarters at Kinigi to register and have our gorilla family for today allocated to us.  Once this is done, set out by vehicle to the start of the tracking point where we meet up with our guides and porters to begin the track.

The gorillas are by no means tame, and are completely wild animals.  However, experienced guides will accompany you on your tracking, many of whom have been involved in the habituation process themselves.  The guides will use their knowledge of the gorillas' habits and information from the previous day to locate the group's whereabouts.

Because of this, the time taken to track the gorillas varies enormously, from as little as half an hour to as much as 9 hours before one returns to camp.  Once the gorillas are located, our group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them.   This is one of the world's truly memorable experiences; a look into one of these magnificent creature's eyes brings home the bond that exists between them and us.  It also brings home the poignant fact that they are on the edge of extinction, and that our presence here contributes to ensuring their continued survival.  The hour is often over all too quickly, and we slowly make our way back to the lodge to recount the day's adventures.

On the first afternoon, there may be an opportunity to visit with the local communities or take a drive out to the scenic Lakes Bulera and Ruhondo.

Day 7: Depart

This morning, we drive to Kigali, and for those who wish to, there is the opportunity to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre.  The centre in Kigali was created by a joint partnership between the Kigali City Council and the UK based Aegis Trust.  It contains a permanent and extremely moving exhibition of the Rwandan genocide and an exhibition of other genocides from around the world.  Rest of the day at leisure to prepare for your flight out.