Category: Experiences

We have just returned from our safari in Rwanda and Uganda organized by Gorilla Expeditions. We stayed at Sabyinyo Lodge. Loved this place. We stayed here two nights at Sabyinyo silver Back Lodge as part of a group trip. It has a lot of charm and the location was perfect for us, as we were going gorilla trekking, and ended up trekking to see the Susa Gorilla Group! The rooms are large and spacious, same for bathrooms. They put lots of blankets on the bed because it gets very cold here at night.

We tipped and tipped again to keep our wood supply stocked so we could keep an ongoing fire as much as possible, and appreciated the generosity of the staff to repeatedly deliver us wood when needed. Bring your long underwear, warm socks and even a fleece hat would be good to sleep in here, especially because it’s very humid. The staff is very kind and accommodating.

They clean boots here after trekking and do an amazing job. The food here was by far the some of the best food we had throughout our stay in Uganda and Rwanda. In Uganda we stayed at the Bwindi Volcanoes Lodge for our first gorilla trekking expedition and after we drove to the Lake Mutanda for our relax enjoying the shores of the volcanic Lake, from here we experienced the canoeing along the Lake and the side way nature walks, at this place we had 3 nights at the spacious mid-range lodge Mutanda Lake Resort, another activity that was amazing to our tour in Africa was the Batwa cultural trail which we participated in for the full day visiting the Garama cave and other cultural points.

The Chef is Kenyan and really does a good job, this going from a real “foodie”. The shop at the hotel sells some great locally made goods and there is also an orphanage/center for the deaf down the road a bit that anyone is welcome to stop and visit and shop at their boutique which I highly recommend, because here at the orphanage, all of the goods you buy are made by the orphans and they receive the money directly in order to support their siblings.

You can ask at the hotel reception where to go. Everything at this lodge is run on generator so electricity is only during certain hours of the evening and early morning. Hot water 24/7 though. At checkout they could not accept my credit card because the system was down, so be sure to bring cash for purchases and drinks. Would absolutely return here. It is illegal to use or bring plastic bags into the country so keep them hidden in your bags. One of the cleanest countries I have ever visited. Contact Gorilla Expeditions for more information about gorilla tracking in Africa, they are specialists in Rwanda and Uganda safaris. They also offer hotel bookings, car hire, air ticketing and many others.

It is such a wonder to watch mountain gorillas in their natural habitat as they do their day to day activities. From one gorilla family, you get a chance to enjoying quite a number of gorillas which is such an amazing thing. In the morning, we assembled at the park offices, for a briefing on how to behave once we are in close with the gorilla group. The game rangers also decide on the combining of groups so as to provide for the 10 groups of which 8 tourists are allowed each day and also decide which group will visit which family based on the difficulty of the trek and the physical abilities of the guests.

NB: In this, you have a say and freedom to decide which gorilla group you want to visit, depending on your physical ability, you are never dictated to.

Following the briefing from the park office, you drive to your assigned / selected gorilla family access point, that varies depending on which group you are visiting. After which you start trekking in to the Rwandan Volcanoes. The searches can last from 45 minutes to 3 hours or even the whole day, and it is always best to carry snack (s) and drinking water as you may get hungry. In addition to this, it is always important to hire a porter – a local Rwandan worth $10 to help with your back pack and hold your hand through hard terrain and bring your cameras into the jungle. Once close to the gorilla family, you leave your back pack a little bit behind so as to observe and spend your 1 hour with the gorillas freely and attentively.

Since there is never any gorilla family that spends more than one hour a day with the humans, it is always best to take two treks. And both of these treks are quite different and very rewarding.

On our next day, trekking was somehow less tiring because we decided on the medium adventure rather than the hard one. On this hike, the gorillas were pretty laid back and moved very less. We moved from area to area to see the different members of the mountain gorilla group.

Unfortunately, on the third day, gorilla trekking was quite strenuous hiking uphill through a very thick jungle. In addition the gorilla family was almost constantly on the move so we had to keep following it up.

Our ranger guide paid very close attention to the gorilla movements and kept move us from place to place, hacking at the vegetation with his machete. It was very interesting how different the two families were.

At this point, it was further clarified on the importance of having to trek mountain gorillas twice when on Mountain Gorilla Adventure in Africa because it is most possible you won’t be going back a second time. It is also very advisable to wear good waterproof lightweight hiking boots or Wellies which go over the ankle and waterproof pants as the jungle also habituates stinging nettles, and a rain jacket as it often rains.

When planning a gorilla trekking adventure, you should always avoid spending long hours on the treks by simply choosing your trip during the low / early rain season, since it is at this time when the gorillas are closer so you will have shorter and less strenuous treks, a hat comes in handy to shield your face from the sun.

Rwanda is known as a land of a thousand hills even the capital city Kigali is built on a hill, it’s regarded as a perfect place to go on a honey moon. It’s one of Africa’s most scenic countries with a perfect climate; this means that it can be visited at any time of the year. So planning your honey moon safari to this country is rewarding.

Make your honey moon special by visiting the endangered mountain gorillas in the forest of volcanoes national park. There is nothing more memorable than visiting the rare remaining mountain gorillas very deep into the forest. Choosing for this memorable adventure is a good decision as the country is known as the best gorilla trekking safari destination in the world housing almost a half of these remaining apes over about 900 remaining mountain gorillas, Rwanda hosts over 380 of these apes and tracking is a bit easier than in its counterparts Uganda and DRC. Being among the 8 members allowed to track these apes in their natural habitat on your honey moon safari will be an experience in life very difficult to forget. Sitting among the gorillas in the forest thinking that their only 900 individual left in the world is regarded as magnificent experience as you will observe their behaviors as well as taking as many photos as you can (flash cameras are not allowed) and all these are done within one hour the recommended time allowed to stay with these animals.

While on African safari, you can also extent your experience and enjoy more adventurous activities like hiking and tracking chimpanzees the second close relative of man sharing almost 98% of human genes and other primates like golden monkeys, black and white colobus monkey, baboons, civet monkey among others in African Amazon-Africa’s largest Montane forest Nyungwe forest national park in the south western part of Rwanda, Nyungwe forest is a home to over 13 species of primates.

Not only that, Rwanda offers beyond your imagination, however much it’s known as a land locked country, Lake Kivu offers you Africa’s inland cost, it has the most beautiful lodges beyond what you can expect with adventurous activities that gives you long memory stories. This Rwanda’s freshest water body is located on the western side of Rwanda along the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda and its known as the sixth largest lake in Africa very good for relaxing, indeed it can gives the best time on this day when you just begin your marriage.

You can’t leave Rwanda minus visiting its capital Kigali Rwanda’s largest city, it’s one of the incredible Rwanda cleanest safest town in Africa with very many flowers and trees within the city which adds on its attractiveness, don’t miss a city tour to visit interesting places like Market places and if interested you can buy interesting items, visit cultural sites, the national museum, memorial sites among others. Rwanda is one of Africa’s most stable countries and your time will be without worry of potential safety and security problems.

If interested you can extend your honey moon across the border to the pearl of Africa where you can continue with gorilla tracking in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Park or Mgahinga National Park, wildlife, chimpanzee, birding, hiking and also white water rafting at the source of the Nile. Depending on your interest, you can begin your honey moon in Rwanda and then end it in Uganda. Email to us if interested in a honey moon safari we will perfectly arrange it for you in a special way just the way you imagine it.

Rwanda is one of the smallest countries in Africa but it cannot be under looked where it comes to tourism. Rwanda has lots of interesting things to see from wildlife, people and culture, physical features like the lakes, rivers, valleys and the mountains, the architecture and other tourism ancillary services. The latter have made Rwanda one of the most popular tourism destinations in Africa.

Due to the high influx of tourists coming to Rwanda, there are tours organized for discovering the beauties of the country. The most known tours are the Kigali city cultural tours, wildlife tours, primate tours and gorilla tours. Fortunately enough these tours are as affordable as Rwanda has cheap accommodation but of quality, the transportation fare is also relatively low and the cuisines in Rwanda are very affordable and delicious. There are no worries of spending much money while on a tour in Rwanda.

Here are some of the tours that are undertaken by the visitors in details:
1. Kigali Tours

The Kigali city cultural tour which normally involves visiting the cultural, traditional and historical places in Kigali city like the presidential palace, Kigali genocide memorial site which commemorates the plight of the civil in 1994, the parliament, Nyamata spiritual church the most powerful spiritual centre in Rwanda, the Kimironko market place which is the largest market in Rwanda where very many cultural and traditional commodities are found.

2. Game Viewing Tours

There are wildlife tours in Rwanda which leads to Akagera national park in the Gatsibo. The park has 8000 large animals. The common animals you can see while at a wildlife safari are impala, topi, eland, oribi, Masai giraffe, Defassa waterbuck, reedbuck, bushbuck, sable, roan antelope ,Burchell’s zebra hippo and crocodile. The lion has been introduced and they are planning on bringing the rhino to the park to make a place for the big five mammals that is a park with the lion, elephants, leopard, buffalo and rhino. People interested in common wildlife come to this park to encounter these big mammals in their natural setting.

3. Chimpanzee Tracking Tours

There also the primates tours that take to Nyungwe national park. This park’s large forests make it the ideal place for the primates to inhabit that is the chimpanzees, the grey cheeked mangabey, vevet monkeys, and black and white colobus. These animals are very exciting animals to watch the chimpanzees in particular. Chimpanzees are intelligent animals that make them one of the closest cousins of man. At Nyungwe, there is also a canopy walk where tourists walk on elevated trails about 50metres having an Ariel view of the park.

4. Gorilla Tours

Rwanda offers the best gorilla tours in Africa. There are several gorilla trekking expeditions offered by several tour operators in Rwanda. Mountain gorilla tracking in the Volcanoes National Park in Northern Rwanda has put this less known country on the world tourism map. Mountain gorillas are also primates but these are more than primates as when watching them, the trackers have a very good view and interaction of them as they are ground animals and very peaceful. These are animals are found in the Virunga ranges in the northeastern part of Rwanda at volcanoes national park. Many people who have watched these elusive animals have got testimonies to tell to the friends and relatives back home. At the basement of the park where the gorillas are found, there are the golden monkeys which are rare species of monkeys.

With the above tours one cannot fail to enjoy exploring Rwanda. These tours can also be combined to make a full package of Rwanda experience.

Rwanda is one of the land locked countries and a member of the east African community since it lies in the east African region. The country is endowed with rolling hills that are spread all over and both physical and non physical features makes her a better place for everyone’s safari. The country’s largest airport is Kigali international airport and this can be used by any visitor from any destination around the world. Traveling to Rwanda forms part of the landmark for the visitors due to her national parks characterized with wonders.

For travelers visiting Rwanda enjoy gorilla tours in her greatest unique national park of the Volcanoes national park and it is a 2hours drive from Kigali the capital city of the republic of Rwanda, exploring Volcanoes National Park and this is composed of the Virunga ranges with its eight volcanoes being shared with the three countries that’s Rwanda its self, DR.Congo and Uganda. This park is located in the northern province of the country.

The park is comprised of the Karisimbi, Bisoke and the Mikeno volcanoes hence covering a total land area of 125km², gorilla tracking permits in Rwanda costs USD 1500 per person and this can be booked through Nature Adventure Africa Safaris Limited. The best way of enjoying this safari is through making arrangements with the tour company prior to your gorilla tracking safari. The park has got around seven gorilla groups including, Sabyinyo, Amahoro, the Umubano, Susa, Kwitonda, Agashya and the Hirwa group.

All these are tracked and tracking starts early in the morning since they stay in high altitudes, this makes the activity a bit hectic and it needs physically fit individuals but those who cannot move long distances can be allocated groups that are nearby. Gorilla trekkers are strictly allowed a one hour of enjoyment while sharing the place with the gorillas, taking photos and also admiring how the silver backs administer their families. Gorilla tracking time is uncertain and therefore depend the previous movements of the gorillas as they look for food on a daily basis.

After a great day of gorilla trekking from the Volcanoes Park of Rwanda, one can go back to Kigali to prepare for the next day to travel to Nyungwe national park; this is the only national park in Rwanda with a true tropical rain forest. The park is located in the south western part of the country, it’s a 4hours drive and here visitors can stay in Nyungwe Forest Lodge. Chimpanzee tours in Rwanda are done from Nyungwe forest national park due to its favorable climatic conditions which are good for chimpanzee existence within the country.

Chimpanzee tracking tickets costs USD100 per person, visitors are led by park rangers who escort the visitor throughout the activity while providing the relevant information regarding the chimps, chimpanzees live in troops of more than twenty individuals per troop. There is no doubt that this is the best amusing primate in all since they behave like human beings, the intelligence they exhibit while asking for eats from the visitors and the way they play around, chasing  and beating themselves as well as eating like human beings offers a nice experience to the visitors.

This offers Nyungwe as being the first chimpanzee tracking priority in east Africa, visitors to the park are encouraged to move with all the tracking gadgets since the weather conditions changes, jackets, waterproof cloths, gumboots or hard shoes and drinking water plus some snacks are among the needs. Porters are always around at the park and these carry luggage for the tourist at a fee of USD25 minus tip and this can only take few hours except to those who go for gorilla habituation. Chimpanzee and gorilla safaris in Rwanda can take around four days of enjoying the beauty of Rwanda the land of thousand hills.