9 DAYS RWANDA GORILLAS AND BIRDING SAFARI.
Overview.
The safari takes you to several national parks in Rwanda where birding adventures will not live any stone unturned. Also, visit mountain gorillas in Volcanoes national park, take a city tour in Kigali where you will visit areas like the Gisozi genocide memorial grounds, Nyamata church, presidential palace museum among others. While on this safari,
You will as well spot different birds during this safari, including Rwenzori Hill-babbler, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler and Mountain Yellow Warbler among others.
Detailed itinerary.
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Akagera National park.
Be welcomed by the tour representative or a guide / driver from the airport and brief you about this amazing safari. Straight away, transfer to Akagera for your first-day of birding safari and gorillas in Rwanda.
This park boasts over 500 bird species, over 50 mammal species among others. While on the way, expect to spot animals like little swift, Red-collard mountain Babbler, collard Apalis, Archer’s Robbin chat among others. Check-in the hotel room as you wait for the next day birding adventure.
Day 2: Birding in Akagera NP.
Enjoy a full day birding in this park where you will spot a variety of birds like familiar chat, Arrow market Babbler, Egyptian goose, long-tailed starling, great cormorants, Red-necked spurfowl, broad-tailed warbler, Bennet’s woodpecker, crested barbets, bare-faced go-away bird, brown parrot among others.
Day 3: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park, enroute birding.
Enjoy a leisurely breakfast and exit the park; drive as you spot some bird species while on the way to volcanoes national park. The park has over 178 birdlife and this means that it is good for birding.
It is also a home to the remaining mountain gorillas and golden monkeys that differ from other species of monkeys. On arrival take an evening birding excursion around your lodge.
Day 4: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park.
An adventure of gorilla trekking in Volcanoes national park will commence immediately after breakfast and then head to the park headquarters where you will receive your briefing exercise. Then head to the forest with a help of the park guide to search for these endemic species.
Take approximately 2-4 hours in the forest and after an hour while in their presence, you will head back to the park offices where you will meet the driver guide and take you back to the lodge while birding along the way.
Day 5: Drive to Nyungwe national park.
Take a morning birding while in volcanoes national park where you will spot birds like Rwenzori double-collared Sunbird, handsome francolin, strange weaver, dusky crimson-wing, collared Apalis among others.
Then drive to Nyugwe forest national park which is famous for Chimpanzees but it also boasts over 275 bird species including 25 species of Albertine rift endemics and among other birds that can be spotted include Handsome Francolin, White-headed Wood-hoopoe, Olive Woodpecker, Mountain Greenbul, Rwenzori Hill-babbler, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, Mountain Yellow Warbler, Northern Puffback, White-starred Robin and Rwenzori Double-collared Sunbird.
Day 6&7: Exclusive Birding in Nyungwe forest.
In these two days birding in Nyungwe forest, you will enjoy as you spot different bird species such as Doherty’s Bush-shrike, Sniffling Cisticola, Bronze Mannikin, Golden-breasted Bunting, Neumann’s Warbler, Red-throated Alethe, Mountain Wagtail, Rwenzori Hill-babbler, Cinnamon Bracken Warbler, and Mountain Yellow Warbler among many others.
Day 8: Transfer back to Kigali and city tour.
Transfer to Kigali from Nyungwe forest, and take a city tour where you will visit areas like the genocide memorial centre, the president palace museum, local craft markets among others. Then, drive to your booked hotel in Kigali city.
Day 9: Departure.
The day of departure starts as you take breakfast and then transfer to the airport where your driver / guide will drop you for your scheduled flight back home and this will be the end of this 9 days safari.