Gorillas & Chimps: Volcanoes, Kivu & Nyungwe Forest

This morning you visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, a deeply moving and beautifully presented tribute to the lives lost in 1994 and to Rwanda's extraordinary journey of reconciliation, before a short city tour through the clean, green capital. You then drive north to Volcanoes National Park, winding through the glorious Land of a Thousand Hills, past endless terraced slopes, banana groves and neat villages, with the misty Virunga volcanoes rising ahead. On arrival near Musanze you settle into your comfortable lodge at the forest edge, the peaks towering above the farmland. In the afternoon you might visit a community project or the interpretation centre, learning about the gorillas and Dian Fossey's Karisoke legacy. As the day ends, you dine at your lodge, filled with anticipation. Rest well tonight, for tomorrow brings an unforgettable morning with the mountain gorillas.

Today brings the first great primate encounter: tracking wild mountain gorillas. After an early breakfast and a briefing at park headquarters, you set out with expert rangers and trackers into Volcanoes National Park, climbing through bamboo, nettles and dripping montane forest on the slopes of the Virunga volcanoes. The trek can be short or strenuous depending on where your gorilla family is feeding, and a porter is a worthwhile hire. When you reach the group, your permitted hour begins: a mighty silverback at rest, mothers cradling infants, youngsters tumbling and playing just metres away. To sit quietly among these gentle giants in the wild, meeting their calm brown eyes, is one of the most profound wildlife encounters on earth. As the day ends, you return to your lodge, elated. This evening, celebrate an unforgettable day among the volcanoes.

This morning you enjoy a gentler trek to find the rare and playful golden monkeys, endemic to the Virungas, leaping through the bamboo in flashes of amber fur, a delightful and far easier walk than the gorillas. You might also visit a local community project or coffee cooperative at the forest edge. In the afternoon you drive down to Lake Kivu, one of Africa's Great Lakes, through more beautiful terraced scenery, arriving at a lakeside town such as Gisenyi or Kibuye. You settle into your lakeshore lodge as the sun sinks over the water and fishermen paddle home singing. The contrast from misty mountains to shimmering lake is magical. As the day ends, you dine by the water, savouring fresh lake tilapia. Rest well, ready for a restful day on beautiful Lake Kivu before you continue south to the rainforest.

Today you relax on the beautiful shores of Lake Kivu, the perfect interlude between the volcanoes and the rainforest. This vast, calm and safe freshwater lake is fringed by green hills, sandy coves and easygoing towns, and its warm water is free of bilharzia and crocodiles, ideal for swimming. You take a boat excursion among the lake's little islands, perhaps visiting a bird island or a fishing village, and can kayak, paddle or simply laze on the beach. You might follow part of the scenic Congo Nile Trail by bike or on foot, or visit a lakeside coffee estate. As the day ends, you watch a glorious sunset over the water, with the hills glowing on the horizon. This evening, savour the peace of the lakeshore. Rest well amid the beauty of Lake Kivu, ready to journey to Nyungwe tomorrow.

Today you follow the beautiful southern shore of Lake Kivu and climb into the mountains to Nyungwe Forest National Park, one of Africa's oldest and richest montane rainforests. The scenic drive is a glorious journey through the Land of a Thousand Hills, past terraced ridges, fishing villages and, as you approach the forest, the vivid, geometric green of the great Gisakura and Pfunda tea estates that fringe Nyungwe. You might stop to visit a tea estate, seeing how Rwanda's celebrated tea is grown and picked, and tasting it at source. On arrival you settle into your lodge at the forest edge, surrounded by the sounds of the rainforest. As the day ends, you dine amid the misty trees, filled with anticipation. Rest well tonight, for tomorrow you rise early to track wild chimpanzees deep in the ancient forest.

Today you rise before dawn to track wild chimpanzees in ancient Nyungwe Forest. Setting out with expert trackers, you follow the excited hoots and drumming of a chimp community through the dense, misty rainforest until you find them feeding, grooming and swinging high in the canopy, watching these intelligent, boisterous, endlessly expressive apes in the wild, an exhilarating and unforgettable encounter. The trek can be strenuous on steep, slippery forest trails, so reasonable fitness helps. Later, you experience Nyungwe's famous canopy walkway, a swaying suspended bridge 70 metres above a forest ravine, level with the treetops, for a breathtaking view over the endless green canopy, and you may spot great troops of black-and-white colobus monkeys. As the day ends, you return to your lodge, exhilarated. This evening, celebrate your day among the primates of the ancient forest.

This morning you enjoy a gentler forest walk in Nyungwe, perhaps tracking the great troops of Angolan colobus monkeys, sometimes hundreds strong, that cascade through the trees in flowing black-and-white, or walking one of the beautiful forest trails amid ferns, orchids, waterfalls and abundant birdlife, for Nyungwe is one of Africa's finest birding destinations. After a final immersion in the ancient rainforest, you begin the long, scenic drive back to Kigali through the Land of a Thousand Hills, past terraced ridges, tea estates and busy roadside markets. On arrival in the capital you have time to browse the craft markets for souvenirs and Rwandan coffee, or relax at your hotel. As the day ends, you reflect on the extraordinary primates and forests you have experienced. This evening, enjoy a final Kigali dinner. Rest well ahead of your departure tomorrow.

After a final morning in clean, calm Kigali, perhaps a last coffee or some souvenir shopping in a craft cooperative, you are transferred to Kigali International Airport for your onward international departure. You leave having completed the ultimate primate safari: an unforgettable morning among wild mountain gorillas in the Virungas, the playful golden monkeys, restful days on Lake Kivu, and wild chimpanzees, the thrilling canopy walkway and cascading colobus troops in ancient Nyungwe Forest, all amid the emerald scenery of the Land of a Thousand Hills. The images stay vivid long after you land: the calm eyes of a silverback, chimps swinging through the misty canopy, and the vivid green of the tea estates. Rwanda offers wildlife, beauty, adventure and warmth in abundance, and you depart already dreaming of a return to its forests, lakes and savannas.