Travel by road to Kigali Serena Hotel
Accommodation
Taken over by the Serena group in 2007, Kigali Serena Hotel is now a modern, contemporary hotel providing a good accommodation option in Kigali.
From standard room to presidential suite, this 150-room hotel offers various categories of accommodation. All rooms come with 24 hr service, air conditioning, WiFi, telephone, minibar, safe, hairdryer and coffee station.
The hotel boasts several in-house restaurants, a large swimming pool, fitness studio and spa.
All residents have to clean the city every last Saturday of the month. The police are then controlling Kigali and anyone who is moving around without permit is stopped, handed over a broom and ordered to help cleaning the city. Kigali lies in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes, a challenge for both pedestrians and traffic. Kigali is clean, safe and most visitors spend the first night of their trip in Kigali.
Travel by road to Nyungwe House
Accommodation
Nyungwe House is refreshingly modern and the best choice for visiting Nyungwe Forest. The lodge is surrounded by tea fields and during the week the workers pick the delicate top tea leaves and carry the harvest to the factory.
The main house is centrally located and elevated on the hill and is surrounded in a semicircle by the individual rooms. The lodge offers a good restaurant, a tea lounge, a bar and a beautiful terrace. Here you can have a wonderful breakfast in the morning when the sun rises behind the forest and the first rays of sun fall on the lush green meadows.
The rooms are in single houses, four rooms per house. In addition there are three suites featuring two bedrooms each. All rooms have a fireplace, air conditioning, safe, tea/coffee station, hairdryer, telephone and WiFi. From your balcony you can see the green of the Nyungwe Forest and sometimes some curious monkeys appear.
There is also a separate heated swimming pool and spa with fitness room.
With an annual rainfall of over 2000 mm, the evergreen Nyungwe Forest is a so-called cloud or fog forest. Nyungwe House is located close to Gisakura on the forest’s western edge.
The lodge can be reached by car from Kigali in approximately 6 hours. You actually cross Nyungwe Forest from East to West before reaching the lodge.
Nyungwe Forest is located on the western foothills of the East African Rift Valley (Albertine Rift), whose rift flanks, up to 3000 meters high, cross the country from north to south. The Nyungwe Forest is a so-called cloud forest with over 2000 mm of rain per year, therefore always green and a proper jungle.
The visits of the chimpanzees, the Colobus Monkeys and the hikes inside the park are always guided by a ranger and a permit is required. Guests who really want to dive deep into the forest can do treks of several days. Please be aware that rain is very common and paths easily become slippery and boggy.
Tea plantations are found along the edges of the forest. Tea is one of the most important export articles of Rwanda. Nyungwe Forest Lodge can organize a visit to a tea plantation if you are interested.
There are two habituated chimp groups in Nyungwe Forest. One of them stays around Uwinka deep in the forest, the second one lives in a forest on the outskirts of Nyungwe, called Cyamudongo (say: Cha-mu-dongo). It is about a one hour-drive from Gisakura Reception Center. Chimp trekking at Cyamudongo offers the best chance to see the chimpanzees.
Travel by road to Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge
Accommodation Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge offers an imposing view of the Volcanoes National Park. The main building houses the reception, a bar, the dining room and a library. Guests can warm themselves by the crackling fireside in the dining room on colder days, or dine on the terrace when the weather is warm. The individual, spacious cottages are all built to ensure maximum peace and privacy, and offer guests the ideal place to relax and unwind after an event-filled day.
The lodge comprises a total of six cottages, two slightly larger suites and one family suite (two en-suite bedrooms), each with its own fireplace, bedroom, dressing room and large modern bathroom. Large windows offer magnificent views of the surrounding nature, and private terraces allow guests to absorb the spectacular landscape. Telephone and Internet connection are available for use, and morning tea/coffee is served in the cottages.
Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge is situated on the edge of the national park, approximately 30-minutes drive from the park's headquarters.
The Virunga Volcano Region (VVR) is ecologically a single entity, but politically divided into three national parks: Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Another gorilla population lives in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) in Uganda in an area of about 330km².
Five extinct volcanoes named Karisimbi, Bisoke, Sabyinyo, Gahinga and Muhavura form an impressive backdrop and the border to the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mikeno is also visible in the very far distance, a volcanoe that is located entirely in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) live in stable groups led by a dominant silverback. Unfortunately, the gorillas are threatened. Your visit of these magnificent animals helps generate urgently needed funds for the protection of the gorillas. Today, more than 1,000 mountain gorillas can still be found in these countries and the numbers are increasing again.
The trekking takes anything from two hours to seven hours, depending on the location of the gorilla group. Please note that the duration of stay with the gorillas is strictly limited to one hour. The gorillas are often very curious towards guests, especially the teenagers in the group like to investigate.
Travel by road to Kigali
Basic Information
Individual journey. A professional guide will accompany you on this trip. The journey will be planned on your preferred dates. You travel by vehicle only.
Duration 7 nights. Min 2 guests. Weight limit of luggage 20 kg. Luggage in one soft bag only.
Includes all transfers from Kigali to the hotels/camps to Kigali
- Kigali Serena Hotel: Superior Room. Breakfast.
- Nyungwe House: Canopy Treehouse. All meals, drinks (except premier brands).
- Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge: Double Room. All meals, drinks (except premier brands), laundry service.
1 x Chimpanzee Trekking
1 x Colobus Monkey Trekking
Included Permits Volcanoes:
1 x Gorilla Trekking
1 x Golden Monkey Trekking
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