12 DAYS COUNTRY OF THOUSAND HILLS

Your Rwanda journey begins at Kigali International Airport, where an Opportune Safaris representative will welcome you and assist with your transfer into the city.

Check in at Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre and enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure after your journey. Dinner is served at the hotel, allowing for a relaxed first evening before your safari begins.

After breakfast, begin with a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, an important place of remembrance and reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and Rwanda's history.

Continue east to Akagera National Park and settle into Ruzizi Tented Lodge. Later, take to Lake Ihema for a sunset boat safari, with opportunities to observe hippos, crocodiles and the rich birdlife found around the lake's wetlands.

Set out with your driver-guide for an extended exploration of Akagera National Park, travelling through changing landscapes of open savannah, woodland, lakes and wetlands.

Your guide will interpret the landscape, wildlife behaviour and conservation story of the park as you search for its varied wildlife. A picnic or packed meal allows you to remain immersed in the safari experience throughout the day.

After breakfast, leave Akagera and travel back toward Kigali through Rwanda's rolling countryside.

In the city, take part in an interactive coffee experience introducing the journey from coffee cherry to cup, including processing, roasting, grinding and brewing. Afterwards, enjoy time to relax before checking into Kigali Serena Hotel.

Travel southwest from Kigali, stopping in Nyanza to discover Rwanda's royal heritage at the King's Palace Museum. Explore the traditional royal residence and learn about the history and customs of Rwanda's monarchy.

The visit also introduces the distinctive long-horned Inyambo cattle associated with royal tradition. After lunch en route, continue through Rwanda's increasingly green highlands toward the Nyungwe region.

An early start takes you into Nyungwe National Park for guided chimpanzee tracking. After a park briefing, enter the forest with experienced trackers in search of one of its habituated chimpanzee communities.

Later, experience the rainforest from another perspective on Nyungwe's canopy walkway, where elevated views reveal the scale and layered beauty of this remarkable montane forest.

Leave the forested southwest and continue toward Karongi, where Rwanda's hills descend toward the expansive waters of Lake Kivu.

After checking into Cleo Lake Kivu Hotel and enjoying time to settle in, head onto the lake for a sunset cruise. The evening offers a slower contrast to the previous days of forest exploration.

Enjoy an unhurried day beside Lake Kivu after several active days of safari and forest exploration.

Relax at the hotel, enjoy the views across the lake or simply allow the day to unfold at your own pace before continuing toward Rwanda's volcanic north.

Enjoy breakfast before travelling north toward the volcanic landscapes of Volcanoes National Park.

The scenery gradually changes as you approach the Virunga highlands, passing rural communities, cultivated hills and mountain landscapes. Check into Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel and enjoy a relaxed afternoon ahead of your gorilla trek.

After an early breakfast, transfer to the park headquarters for registration, briefing and assignment to a gorilla trekking group.

Accompanied by experienced park guides and trackers, enter the forest in search of a habituated mountain gorilla family. Trekking conditions and duration vary according to terrain, weather and the gorillas' location. Once found, observe these remarkable primates while following all park guidance.

Return to Volcanoes National Park for a different primate experience among the bamboo forests of the Virunga highlands.

Following a park briefing, trek with your guide in search of habituated golden monkeys. Once located, observe their energetic movements and natural behaviour before returning to the hotel for a relaxed afternoon.

Enjoy your final breakfast in Rwanda before checking out and beginning the journey back to Kigali.

Your Opportune Safaris driver-guide will transfer you to Kigali International Airport according to your confirmed international flight schedule, bringing your journey across Rwanda to a close.