5 Days Nyungwe and Lake kivu

5 Days Nyungwe and Lake kivu/Rwanda: Tucked in Rwanda’s southwestern corner, lies one of Africa’s oldest and most bio diverse rainforests. Its a home  where plenty of chimpanzee families move through ancient trees and the forest floor hums with life.

This 5-day itinerary takes you from Kigali into the heart of that wilderness, where you’ll trek with primates, cross a suspended canopy walkway, and follow trails down to the Ndambarare Waterfall.

From Nyungwe, the journey continues to Lake Kivu one of Africa’s Great Lakes where the town of Karongi offers calm waters, island-dotted horizons, and a boat trip out to Napoleon Island. A complete escape into two of Rwanda’s most rewarding landscapes, with Kigali just a drive away.

 Explore Rwanda’s wild south on a 5 days Nyungwe and lake kivu/Rwanda trek chimpanzeesin Nyungwe Forest, walk the treetop canopy, hike to Ndambarare Waterfall, and cruise Lake Kivu to Napoleon Island. Departs from Kigali.

Brief itinerary

Day 1:Arrival at Kigali International airport.

Day 2:Scenic Transfer to Nyungwe & The Canopy Walk Adventure

Day 3:Chimpanzee Trekking & Ndambarare Waterfall Hike

Day 4:Transfer to Karongi (Lake Kivu) & Napoleon Island Boat Trip

Day 5:Return to Kigali & Departure

Detailed itinerary for the 5 days Nyungwe and lake Kivu/ Rwanda

Day 1: Arrival at Kigali city tour and drive to your lodging

Your Rwanda adventure begins the moment you land at Kigali International Airport (KGL). Our dedicated guide from Gorilla Safaris Africa will meet you at arrivals, assist with your bags, and give you a relaxed briefing on the days ahead before transferring you to your hotel in the city centre.

Depending on your arrival time, the drive into town is already a gentle introduction to Rwanda’s famous tidiness wide, clean boulevards, flowering roundabouts, and a skyline that surprises most first-time visitors with its polish and energy.

Accommodation options: Herming  ways retreat (Luxury), Onomo hotel Kigali (midrange) Five to Five (Budget)

Day 2: Scenic Transfer to Nyungwe & The Canopy Walk Adventure

After an early breakfast, you depart Kigali for the five-to-six-hour drive southwest one of the most scenic road journeys in the whole of Africa.

The route winds through Rwanda’s celebrated “Land of a Thousand Hills”, passing ridge after ridge of terraced farmland, banana plantations, and small hillside settlements draped in every shade of green.

A comfortable lunch stop breaks the drive before you reach the edge of Nyungwe National Park a vast, ancient montane rain forest covering over 1,000 square kilometres and recognised as one of the oldest forests on the continent.

In the afternoon, you tackle Nyungwe’s signature experience. The canopy walkway stretches 160 metres across a suspension bridge suspended 70 metres above the valley floor.

The views from up here are extraordinary a rippling sea of ancient treetops stretching to the horizon.  You can still view both the blue monkeys and L’Hoest’s monkeys and other bird species.

Accommodation Options : One &Only Nyungwe( Luxury),  Nyungwe hill top view (midrange ), Chimpanzee guest house (Budget)

Day 3: Chimpanzee Trekking & Ndambarare Waterfall Hike

Day 3 is centered on one of Rwanda’s most exhilarating wildlife encounters: chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe Forest. You rise early briefings with the park rangers begin around 4:50 a.m.  and head into the forest as the mist is still lifting from the canopy.

Nyungwe’s chimpanzees are fully habituated, and only one hour is offered for viewing.  Chimpanzees are fast, vocal, and intensely social you may watch them chase one another through the high branches, groom in small groups on the forest floor, or fill the air with the distinctive pant-hoot calls that carry for kilometres through the trees. It is a genuinely wild, unscripted encounter.

After lunch and some time to rest, the afternoon brings a welcome change of pace: the Ndambarare Waterfall hike. The place is very quiet, less-visited trail that leads through dense jungle to a beautiful hidden cascade.

It is an ideal way to decompress after the morning’s energy, and a reminder that Nyungwe rewards those who slow down as much as those who push hard.

Accommodation Options : One &Only Nyungwe( Luxury),  Nyungwe hill top view (midrange ), Chimpanzee guest house (Budget)

Day 4: Transfer to Karongi (Lake Kivu) & Napoleon Island Boat Trip

After a hearty breakfast, you leave the forest behind and make the approximately three-hour scenic transfer north to Karongi, a relaxed town on the western shore of Lake Kivu.

The change in landscape and atmosphere is immediate the dense canopy gives way to open water views, fresh lake air, and the kind of unhurried pace that this part of Rwanda is known for.

Lake Kivu is one of Africa’s Great Lakes and one of the most underrated destinations on the continent. Its shoreline is deeply indented with fjord-like inlets, its water clear and cool, and its surrounding hills dotted with fishing villages that have changed little in decades

Accommodation options : Lake kivu serena (Luxury), Marina Bay (Midrange ), kivu paradise (Budget).

Day 5: Return to Kigali & Departure

5 Days Nyungwe and Lake kivu/Rwanda: The final morning belongs to Lake Kivu. Take a leisurely breakfast at the water’s edge, watching the light change across the surface of the lake and the fishing canoes head out for the morning catch a calm, unhurried conclusion to four full days in the field.

The drive back to Kigali takes approximately three hours, retracing the hills of southwestern Rwanda in the opposite direction.

If time permits before your flight, a stop at one of the city’s specialty coffee shops to taste and purchase some of Rwanda’s celebrated single-origin coffee makes for a fitting farewell to the country. Rwanda consistently produces some of the finest washed Arabica beans in Africa, and a bag to take home is among the best souvenirs available.

Tour inclusions

A chimpanzee permit

A professional English-speaking guide

A comfortable 4×4 safari vehicle

Accommodations

All activities specified on the itinerary

Tour exclusions

Tips & laundry

International flights

Personal items

Luxury drinks & alcohol