Forests, Lakes & Mountains

Nature & Wildlife in Rwanda

DAY 1 Arrive in Kigali

The flight lands in the Rwandan capital Kigali early this morning, and you will be met by your driver for the private 20-minute transfer to your hotel in town. Take your time to freshen up and enjoy a relaxed morning by the pool before lunch. You will then be met by your local guide for a private tour of the harrowing but fascinating Genocide Museum, which chronicles the appalling ethnic attacks that threw the country into turmoil in 1994. Today's Kigali is a very different city, with an infectious sense of renewal.

DAY 2 To Nyungwe Forest National Park

The next part of your nature and wildlife holiday in Rwanda begins today as you meet your driver post-breakfast for the five-hour transfer across Rwanda to your next destination, Nyungwe Forest National Park, home to a fifth of all the apes in Africa. It's a long drive but the last hour-and-a-half is through national parks, so there's plenty to watch out for as the world goes by. Alternatively, there is a flight from Kigali to Kamembe, 45-minutes away from the lodge in Nyungwe. Or you can take a helicopter for amazing views (including of nearby Lake Kivu) and landing at the resort's own helipad. Whichever way you travel, on arrival you can settle into your supremely stylish room, built to feel like you are almost living in the rainforest canopy. From your balcony you can spot cheeky colobus monkeys and other wildlife. Rwanda is known for its tea production, so this afternoon you can enjoy some of the country's finest produce before sundowner cocktails and a first evening in your new home.

DAY 3 To Lake Kivu

It's a change of scenery on your nature and wildlife holiday in Rwanda today. Enjoy one last morning and lunch in Nyungwe National Park before the three-and-a-half-hour drive along the shores of nearby Lake Kivu to your next lodge.

You will arrive in time for drinks and dinner in your next hotel, on the shores of the sixth largest lake in Africa.

DAY 4 Going to the Gorillas

After breakfast at the hotel, you will be met for your transfer to your next lodge, just outside the legendary Volcanoes National Park, one of the only places in the world where you can see mountain gorillas. You will arrive at your lodge in time for lunch and you have the rest of the afternoon to relax at the lodge, go for a walk or visit the nearby grave of Dian Fossey, the legendary primatologist who is buried alongside many of the gorillas she studied plus others killed by poachers.

Tonight it's best to have an early night as tomorrow sees you rising bright and early.