5 Days Akagera & Gorilla Trekking Safari

5 Days Akagera & Gorilla Trekking Safari

Some journeys run like rivers—wide, fast, loud. This one doesn’t. This one begins quietly. It begins in the soft gold of Akagera’s morning grass and ends in the deep green hush of Volcanoes National Park.

In between, you drift on lakes where hippos blink through lilies, follow lion tracks across sun-creased plains, and kneel—yes, kneel—before a silverback gorilla who looks back at you as if he’s known you all your life.

This is Rwanda: raw in one moment, tender in the next. And this is your 5-day journey through it—designed by Friendly Gorillas Safaris for those who want both pulse and pause, both heartbeats and holy silences.

Itinerary Overview

Day 1 – Arrival in Kigali & transfer to Akagera
Day 2 – Big Five game drives & sunset boat safari
Day 3 – Morning game drive, return to Kigali
Day 4 – Kigali city tour & transfer to Volcanoes
Day 5 – Gorilla trekking & departure

Safari Summary – Day by Day

Day 1: Into the Savannah’s Arms – Kigali to Akagera National Park

Upon your arrival in Kigali, you shall be picked by your Friendly Gorillas safari guide who isn’t just a driver—but your translator to Rwanda’s wild poetry. After a warm welcome, you set off eastward. The hills soften. The trees change. And slowly, the forest thins into open sky.

Akagera National Park greets you with stillness. Buffalo flick their tails near the road. Baboons lounge under acacias. A fish eagle circles above Lake Mihindi. You settle into your lodge just before dusk, as the last light bleeds into the plains. Tonight, you sleep where lions now roam again—restored and watchful.

Accommodation Options in Akagera:

• Budget: Akagera Rhino Lodge
• Standard: Ruzizi Tented Lodge
• Luxury: Magashi Camp
  Meals: Lunch & Dinner included

Day 2: The Big Five & A Boat Where the Hippos Breathe

Rise with the sun—it’s how the animals do it. Your guide already knows where the lions were last seen. He reads the morning like a map: fresh tracks, broken reeds, birds warning each other.

You move slowly through Akagera’s varied zones. Giraffes cast shadows on the dry grass. A white rhino grazes near the treeline. A herd of elephants, so quiet for their size, brushes past your vehicle like old gods returning.

By afternoon, you drift on Lake Ihema. The water glimmers. Hippos huff and disappear. Crocodiles sun themselves like statues. A fish eagle calls again—and somehow, it sounds like a promise.

Accommodation:

• Budget: Akagera Rhino Lodge
• Standard: Ruzizi Tented Lodge
• Luxury: Magashi Camp
  Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included

Day 3: Goodbye to Savannah, Back to Kigali

This morning’s game drive feels different. You notice more—the curve of horns, the softness in an elephant calf’s eyes, the way light filters through thorn trees.

By midday, you exit the park. The land folds upward again, and Kigali calls you back. Your evening is restful, but your mind still roams with lion dust and hippo songs.

Accommodation in Kigali:

• Budget: Step Town Motel
• Standard: Heaven Boutique Hotel
• Luxury: The Retreat Kigali
  Meals: Breakfast & Lunch included

Day 4: From Memory to Mist – Kigali Tour & Transfer to Volcanoes

After breakfast, you take a gentle but grounding tour through Kigali’s most human moments. The Genocide Memorial leaves you quieter. The artisan market brightens you again—wooden crafts, woven baskets, the smile of a weaver handing you her story in colors.

Then comes the drive north. The hills grow taller. Tea plantations roll like carpets. Volcanoes rise like sleeping giants. As you arrive in Musanze, clouds gather around the peaks. The air is cooler. The silence deeper. The mountain is waiting.

Accommodation in Volcanoes NP:

• Budget: La Locanda
• Standard: Le Bambou Lodge
• Luxury: Bisate Lodge / One&Only Gorilla’s Nest
  Meals: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner included

Day 5: Gorilla Trekking – A Breath You’ll Never Forget

This is not a walk. This is a pilgrimage with the giants and definitely the main reason why you came to Rwanda.

After an early breakfast, you’re briefed and assigned a gorilla family. Porters help carry your daypack. The climb begins—through bamboo, past nettles, over soft forest floor. You listen for branch snaps. Your guide speaks in whispers. And then—you see them.

A mother cradles her infant. A silverback rests against a tree, deep eyes watching. Juveniles tumble like children who don’t know they’re sacred. You spend an hour in their world. But it will stay with you far longer.

Later, after your certificate and a hot shower, you begin your journey back to Kigali. But something about you has changed. Your breath is slower. Your eyes softer. That’s what Rwanda does—it doesn’t ask you to take photos. It asks you to remember.

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch included

Your Journey Lingers

This isn’t just five days. It’s five chapters of something that feels older than travel. Akagera teaches you to wait. Gorillas teach you to kneel. Rwanda teaches you to listen.

And Friendly Gorillas Safaris is here to carry you through it—not like a tourist, but like someone being welcomed home by a country that still believes in magic.