5-Day Akagera & Nyungwe Forest Safari Rwanda

The 5-day Akagera & Nyungwe Forest safari is Rwanda's finest dual-park wildlife experience. Begin in Akagera's golden eastern savannah — tracking Big Five lions and elephants across open plains — then cross the country to Nyungwe Forest National Park for chimpanzee tracking and the legendary canopy walkway 70 metres above Africa's oldest rainforest. The chimpanzee permit is fully included in the $2,200 per person all-inclusive price.

5-Day Itinerary: Akagera Safari + Nyungwe Forest

Days 1 & 2 — Akagera National Park: Big Five Safari

Two full days of Akagera game drives cover the park's north, central and southern sectors. Elephants are almost guaranteed on Day 1 as herds move between waterholes. Lions are best in the early morning. Day 1 afternoon: the Lake Ihema boat safari. Day 2 focuses on Akagera's southern circuit for rhinos (reintroduced 2017, 40+ now roaming) and 525+ bird species.

Day 3 — Scenic Transfer: Akagera to Nyungwe

Five hours across Rwanda's thousand hills — through tea plantations, crater lakes, and mountain ridges — arriving at Nyungwe as flat savannah gives way to ancient misty rainforest. The contrast with Akagera is total and breathtaking.

Day 4 — Nyungwe Chimpanzee Tracking & Canopy Walkway

The centrepiece of the 5-day Nyungwe & Akagera package. After 6:00 am briefing, your tracking team enters Nyungwe's 50-million-year-old forest. Nyungwe chimpanzee tracking delivers one hour with habituated chimpanzee communities — watching them feed, groom and play in the ancient canopy. Afternoon: the Nyungwe canopy walkway — a 160-metre suspension bridge 70 metres above the forest floor, with views across the rainforest canopy to distant Lake Kivu.

Day 5 — Nyungwe Birdwatching & Return to Kigali

310 bird species including 29 Albertine Rift endemics found nowhere else on Earth. Final morning birdwatching walk on Nyungwe's most productive trails, depart for Kigali by 10:00, arrive by 15:00.

Nyungwe Forest: One of Africa's Most Important Ecosystems

Nyungwe covers 1,020 km² of Afromontane rainforest at 1,600–2,950 metres elevation — among the oldest unbroken forests in Africa. It holds 13 primate species, 310 bird species, 1,068 plant species and 120+ orchid species. No other 5-day Rwanda safari gives you both Akagera's restored savannah and Nyungwe's ancient forest — two completely different ecosystems, one extraordinary journey at $2,200 per person.