A mountain gorilla family feeding in bamboo forest, an adult silverback at the centre

Rwanda · 7 days

Rwanda Journey

Seven days across Rwanda with Hemingways, two nights in Kigali, gorillas in the bamboo at Volcanoes, then chimpanzees and canopy walks in Nyungwe before the road back to the capital.

Duration: 7 days, 6 nights · by road throughout
Where: Rwanda
Experiences: Gorilla Trekking
Board: Board varies by stay
Price: On request

Overview

The shape of the journey

Most Rwanda trips are a gorilla permit with two travel days bolted on. This one is built the other way round: Kigali first, then the volcanoes, then the far south-west, so the country is the trip rather than the backdrop.

KigaliVolcanoes National ParkNyungwe Forest

Hemingways' own house in Kigali opens and closes it. The forest nights are at lodges we confirm with your booking. The collection works with partner properties at Volcanoes and in Nyungwe rather than running its own.

Where you'll stay

The camps and hotels

Hemingways Retreat Kigali

Hemingways' house in Kigali, with a rooftop, a spa and the city's galleries and memorials within reach.

Day by day

How the days run

A proposal, not a timetable. The routing, timings and inclusions are confirmed in writing before you pay anything.

Day 1
Arrive in Kigali
Met at the airport and driven into the city. Kigali is small, clean and easy, and the first evening is deliberately unstructured: rooftop, spa, dinner with live music if you want it.
Hemingways Retreat Kigali
Day 2
Kigali properly
The Genocide Memorial in the morning; it is the reason you should give Kigali two nights and not one. The Inema Arts Centre afterwards, and a wine tasting later if the day has left room for it.
Hemingways Retreat Kigali
Day 3
North to Volcanoes National Park
The drive north climbs into terraced farmland and ends at the foot of the volcanoes. You arrive with the afternoon free and an early start ahead.
Day 4
Gorilla trekking
Up early, briefed, then into the bamboo behind a tracking team. How long the walk takes depends entirely on where the family moved overnight. You get an hour with them, and the rest of the day to sit with it.
Day 5
South to Nyungwe Forest
A long drive down the western side of the country, with Lake Kivu on one shoulder for part of it. You finish on a tea estate at the edge of Nyungwe.
Day 6
Chimpanzees and the canopy
Chimpanzee tracking at first light, when they are noisy and findable. The canopy walkway later, a bridge strung high across a ravine, and the trails around it. Wellness treatments back at the lodge for whoever has had enough forest.
Day 7
Back to Kigali, and out
Return to the capital by road, or by helicopter if you would rather see the hills from above. A light lunch and a last gallery before your flight.

Price & terms

What it costs

Priced on request. This itinerary is quoted for your dates, your party and the grade of camp you choose, which is why there is no single number on this page.

What this price covers

Rates are per person sharing unless the line above says otherwise.
Prices move with the season and with availability, and are held only once your quote is confirmed in writing.
The day-by-day above is a draft. Final routing, timings, inclusions and any park or permit fees are confirmed with your quote.

Before you go

Worth reading before this trip

The best time to visit Rwanda for the gorillasJune to September and December to February for drier trails, November to May for lower permit prices, and the gorillas every month of the year.
Gorilla trekking packing listOne morning in steep, wet forest in Rwanda or Uganda.
What a gorilla permit costs, in Rwanda and UgandaUSD 1,500 in Rwanda, USD 800 in Uganda, and the discounts, resident rates and habituation permits either side of them.
Practical facts by countryPlugs, currency, time zone, driving side, SIM, tipping and tap water.