7-Day Visit to Remarkable Rwanda
Local community based experience will take you through the real rural life experience of Rwandans, you will learn about the country’s history, culture, and social life as you will have enough time to explore the different part of the country with minimum long distance drive.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arriving At Kigali International Airport
Welcome in Rwanda! Arrival at the airport, and transfer to the designated hotel while waiting for Covid test results, you will stay at Mille Collines known as hotel Rwanda. Dinner and the overnight stay.
Meal Plan: Lunch and dinner
Day 2: Transfer from Kigali to Musanze
In the morning, after breakfast, transfer to Northern part of the country 2.5 hours’ drive and enjoy Kayaking at Twin Lakes.
About the Twin Lakes:
Burera and Ruhondo are referred to as the twin lakes because they are interconnected at a point where one lake pours water into the other, they were formed as the result of volcanic eruption (Lava dammed Lakes)
They are extremely beautiful, surrounded by rolling hills with 6 volcanoes view when the sky is clear.
The lakes are fishing grounds and this makes them not only important to those on Safari in Rwanda but also to the nearby local communities.
Activity Highlights
- Breathtaking view of the chain of 6 volcanoes.
- Two hours of Kayaking while enjoying the scenic view.
- Different islands exploration
Inclusion:
- Guided activity
- Tasting of the fresh fish from the Lake
- Kayaking equipment and professional guide
- Photo shoot
Later in the afternoon after lunch, you will enjoy the evening at Gorilla guardians village.
About the village
Gorilla Guardians provide a chance to meet local people, in their environment, with a taste of the Rwandan culture and traditions. The community you visit will genuinely welcome you as a special guest while they proudly present to you aspects of their traditions and beliefs. This will truly be an experience of a lifetime as you are being entertained by Intore dancers (traditional dancing troop)
The village is fascinating with a variety of cultural experiences it can offer, and probably the best way to get to know the local people, their culture, and their ‘ways of living” is to take part in daily life activities.
Activity Highlights
- Visiting the king’s house replica and listening to all the Kings stories.
- A rare chance of being a King or Queen and wear the outfit
- Traditional wedding experience (recommended for couples)
- Eight different types of traditional dances by all community categories; men, women, youths and the children, and other local and traditional musical instruments
- Visiting a local traditional healer to hear about the different medicinal trees, shrubs, grass and their traditional medicinal uses and how they are administered to local patients.
- Ex-poachers ways of hunting /techniques, methods and stories from ex-poachers in particular Batwa (pygmies).
Inclusion:
- Guided activity
- Participating
- Photoshoot
Dinner and overnight stay at Amarembo gorilla lodge.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 3: golden monkey trekking and cattle grazing experience
Early morning after breakfast, pick-up from the Amarembo gorilla lodge and drive 30 minutes to the Volcanoes National park reception,
Arrival, check-in, and completing the park formalities and receive the general briefing and start the short hike on the foot of the volcanoes to trek the golden monkeys, one of the 13 primate species found in Rwanda.
Lunch and afternoon relaxation at the Lodge.
Cattle grazing experience and drive back to the hotel for dinner the overnight stay.
Activity Highlights
- Joining the cattle keepers on the field
- Cow milking experience
- Interpretation about the cattle grazing and what it means in Rwandan culture
Day 4: Transfer from Musanze to Rubavu (shore of Lake Kivu)
With a morning cup of coffee, enjoy breakfast and then drive to Gisenyi, the journey which is a bit short and exciting with windy road surrounded by green rolling hills and genuine smile and hand waves from the locals, you will have tea experience at Pfunda factory area, visit tea plantation, the processing factory and test fresh tea.
About tea experience
Within 2 hours you will Joining the local farmers while picking (fresh tea leaves) from the tea tree, and you will be explained how it grows, how to care for it, and more before visiting the factory and experience the different stages of the process until you taste the tea.
Activity Highlights
- Breathtaking view of the greenery tea plantation field.
- Joining the locals and participate in tea picking.
- Tasting the tea
- Learn how coffee is processed from crops to cup
Inclusion
- 250g of black and green tea bags (as souvenir).
Lunch on the shores of the lake
In the afternoon, you will visit Ubumwe community center in Gisenyi town (10 minute drive or walk)
The Ubumwe Community Center serves more than 400 children and adults with counseling, primary education, vocational training and workshop employment. The center provides a meal for its students, they are taught literacy, computer skills, the deaf learn sign language, and all are trained to make a variety of crafts including dolls, jewelry and souvenirs.
https://ubumwecommunitycenter.org/
Activity Highlights
- Visiting the center and meet the beneficiaries.
- Volunteering
Later in the evening you will enjoy night fishing experience with a local fisher me
About the night fishing experience
This activity brings you very close to the fishermen and you become one of them.
Join the singing Fishermen of Lake Kivu in the late evening on the lake as they fish for sambaza, the famous small fish of Lake Kivu. This tour is as real as it gets. You will join a real fishing crew during their normal fishing activity so be prepared to
get your hands dirty. The tour starts on board one of the cooperatives comfortable moto boats and the guide will accompany you out to join one of the fishing boats as they paddle out for a night of fishing on the lake.
Activity Highlights
- Joining the locals fishermen and participate in traditional fishing.
- Learn how traditional fishing is being done.
The overnight stay at Kivu Serena Hotel
https://www.serenahotels.com/serenalakekivu/en/default.html
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner.
Day 5: Transfer Back To Kigali
In the morning after breakfast, check-out, depart from the lodge and drive back to Kigali (3-4 hours driving)
Lunch at Mille Collines hotel and spend the evening relaxation
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and dinner
Day 6: Game drive/Akagera National Park
A quick escape routed at just 2.5-3 hours journey from Kigali which will transfer you into a world of the big 5, birds & more as you drive through the central Africa’s largest protected wetland and the last remaining refuge for savannah-adapted species in Rwanda.
Highlights:
Pick up at your hotel (Mille Collines), and transfer to Akagera National Park, arrival at the reception, check-in, and briefings. Start a full day game drive in the park in search of animals, get the opportunity to see over 12 species of antelopes, over 525 species of birds, the big 5 animals i.e. Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Buffalo and Elephant, your favorite reptiles, amphibians, plants, magnificent landscapes, 10 lakes, historical sites a place with the highest concentration of birds per square kilometer than any national park of Africa.
You will have a packed lunch box with a nice wilderness picnic setup.
Transfer back to Kigali, dinner and the overnight stay at Mille Collines hotel.
Day 7: Bugesera Reconciliation Village and Airport Drop-Off
In the morning after breakfast in Kigali, drive to Nyama in Eastern side of the country (40min-1 hour drive from the hotel) to learn how unity and reconciliation is being done in one of villages after Genocide against Tutsi in 1994.
About the experience
The village where the Genocide against Tutsi in 1994 perpetrators, survivors and few returnees are living together in exceptionally unique and harmonious way; the visitors get the opportunity to hear testimonies from the perpetrators and survivors as they took path to reconciliation in this model cluster village. Guests engage in different activities ranging from agricultural experiences, interacting with Rwandan smiling children, learn about the health situations, get free cooking and weaving lessons from local women and wind up to exciting event called UBUSABANE ” Get Together Party” with all community members.
Nyamirambo Women Center Visit
Our local tour operators are vested in supporting this organization.
Nyamirambo Women’s Center (NWC), is a Rwandan NGO, and was launched at the end of 2007 by 18 Rwandese women living in Nyamirambo, Kigali. Together they created a project which aimed to address gender-based violence, gender inequality and discrimination. Today, NWC’s mission is to provide education and vocational training to women who do not have the means to pay for such training on their own, so that they can gain better opportunities for employment.
At the end of 2013 NWC launched the product line “Umutima,” which means “heart” in Kinyarwanda. With this project, NWC trains and employs women from the community to create a large variety of women’s accessories, children’s clothing, and home decor products. At the moment there are over 50 women employed by Umutima as seamstresses. Umutima and NWC have grown into a unique, self-sustaining model where the profits earned through Umutima are used to fund NWC initiatives, in addition to providing benefits and a fair wage to the seamstresses.
Drive back to the hotel for lunch and shop some souvenirs before the airport drop-off.
The above tour itinerary is provisional and can be modified if necessary to meet the need of the clients. The rooms’ availability in the proposed lodges will be confirmed at the time of reserving the tour with us. Reserving early is recommended especially for the arrivals in high seasons for the sake of rooms’ availability. Prices may change depending on the entry fees to parks or if any of the accommodations increase their prices, you will be notified in advance if any of these occurrences take place.
Rates
Price per person based on the number of group, (2 people share 1 room) basis:
- 2-6 people $2,400/person
- 7+ people $2,100/person
- 10+ people $1,900/person
- 20+ people $1,600/person
Price does NOT include:
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Alcoholic drinks/spirits
- Tips
- Personal Insurance
- International flights and Covid Tests
- Personal items (Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
