CORE EXPERIENCES
Standard Permit — $1,500 Exclusive Experience — $15,000 Behind the Scene Package Uganda Habituation Experience Photography & Film PermitsPOPULAR PARKS
Volcanoes National Park Nyungwe National Park Akagera National Park Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Mgahinga Gorilla National ParkRwanda’s two forest ecosystems at a relaxed pace, staying exclusively at the country’s top-tier properties — Bisate Lodge for the gorillas, One&Only Nyungwe House for the chimpanzees and canopy.
KIGALI
Private transfer to your Kigali hotel.
VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
Drive to Musanze/Kinigi and check into Bisate Lodge.
VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
Check in at Kinigi Park Headquarters at 07h00 for your gorilla trek.
VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
A shorter morning trek to a habituated golden monkey troop, afternoon free at the lodge.
NYUNGWE NATIONAL PARK
Drive south to Nyungwe, settling in ahead of tomorrow’s chimpanzee trek.
NYUNGWE NATIONAL PARK
A morning chimpanzee trek followed by an afternoon crossing Africa’s longest canopy walkway.
KIGALI
Drive back to Kigali for your departure flight.
From approximately $11,400 per person, double occupancy, excluding international flights.
START PLANNING ↗Non-refundable deposits covering your gorilla and chimpanzee permits confirm your dates and secure both with the Rwanda Development Board. We recommend booking at least six months ahead for peak season (June–September, December–February), given this itinerary depends on permit availability at two separate parks lining up with your travel window. The balance is due ahead of arrival on a schedule confirmed in your written proposal.
Once confirmed, we coordinate both lodge stays, all permits, and the transfer between Volcanoes National Park and Nyungwe directly, so nothing is left for you to arrange separately.
WHO THIS SUITS
This itinerary suits travellers who want Rwanda’s two headline forest experiences — gorilla trekking and chimpanzee trekking — without the fragmented feeling of a fast-moving multi-stop circuit. Three nights each at Bisate Lodge and Nyungwe Forest Lodge means you genuinely settle into each location rather than living out of a suitcase, and both properties rank among Rwanda’s most distinctive top-tier lodges in their respective regions.
It would be possible to add Akagera or Kigali city time to a seven-day trip, but doing so would mean sacrificing nights at either Bisate or One&Only Nyungwe House, both properties genuinely worth lingering at rather than rushing through. This itinerary deliberately trades country-wide coverage for depth at two locations, giving each region’s full range of activities — gorilla and golden monkey trekking at Volcanoes, chimpanzee trekking and the canopy walkway at Nyungwe — proper time rather than compressing everything into single-night stops.
What exactly is included in the $11,400 per-person price?
The gorilla and chimpanzee trekking permits, golden monkey trekking, the canopy walkway fee, six nights
across Kigali, Bisate Lodge, and One&Only Nyungwe House on an all-inclusive basis, your private guide and
vehicle throughout, and all transfers. International flights are not included.
Should we drive or fly between Volcanoes and
Nyungwe?
Either is possible — the drive takes most of a day with scenic tea-plantation views, while a domestic
flight via Kamembe airstrip cuts the transfer significantly. We can arrange either and will lay out the
trade-off clearly in your proposal.
Can we upgrade either lodge or permit tier?
Yes — we can upgrade the Volcanoes National Park leg to the
Exclusive Mountain Gorilla Experience, or substitute
either lodge, adjusting the overall itinerary price accordingly.
Is Akagera worth adding to this itinerary?
If you have the extra time, yes — see our 10-Day Itinerary for
a version that includes Akagera’s Big Five safari alongside the same two lodges.
How quickly will we hear back after
enquiring?
We respond to every enquiry within 48 hours with a bespoke written proposal covering the exact details,
pricing, and day-by-day plan for your specific dates and group size.
This seven-day structure is a flexible starting template — common adjustments include extending either lodge stay by a night, adding the Dian Fossey Tomb Hike, or extending to a full ten or twelve-day circuit that includes Akagera. Tell us what matters most to your group and we’ll build a final proposal around it.
A NOTE ON PRICING
This figure reflects double occupancy at Bisate Lodge and One&Only Nyungwe House during standard season, with the road transfer rather than a flight upgrade between the two. Solo travellers, larger groups, peak-season dates, and alternative lodge tiers all shift this figure. We always confirm exact, all-inclusive pricing in your written proposal before asking for any commitment.
Splitting seven days evenly between two ecosystems, rather than adding a third stop, is a deliberate design choice — each location gets a genuine rest day built in (day four at Bisate, effectively an afternoon free after golden monkey trekking), so the itinerary never asks you to trek two consecutive demanding days without a lighter one between them. Guests who have tried more compressed circuits elsewhere consistently tell us this pacing made a real difference to how much they enjoyed each individual day, rather than simply surviving a packed schedule.
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