This safari combines the magical gorilla tour experience as well as the Rwandan cultural aspects. You start with the Kigali City Tour. The tour visits key attractions and sights in the city where cultural experiences are more prominent, including the king’s palace, museum and the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre to start with.

A reconstruction of the traditional royal residence, the King’s Palace is a beautifully-crafted thatched dwelling shaped like a beehive. In olden times, Nyanza was the heart of Rwanda. According to oral tradition, it was the site of battles and power struggles.

For a long time, the monarchy was mobile, moving the court between various locations. When it eventually settled in one place, Nyanza was the obvious choice. The capital of the kingdom had as many as 2,000 inhabitants, and huts built with the same methods.

Get to know about the elegant cows, derived from the wider Ankole breed, played an important role during ceremonies in honour of the king. They were decorated with rich jewellery, and were taught to listen to a trainer’s songs and follow his movements in a stately parade.

Visit the Kigali genocide memorial centre. The memorial gardens provide a place for quiet contemplation about the history of the Genocide against the Tutsi. They allow visitors to reflect on how we all have a personal responsibility to prevent discrimination and mass atrocity.

The Kigali Genocide Memorial at Gisozi is the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the Genocide against the Tutsi. This memorial also serves to educate about how the Genocide against the Tutsi took shape and examines genocide in the 20th century.

Go gorilla trek into the ancient rain forests of the Virunga Mountains to see endangered African mountain gorillas in the wild – an unforgettable experience!

Have breakfast early in the morning, before driving to the nearby village of Kinigi where the Volcanoes National Park headquarters are located. Here, the park rangers brief you on the gorilla trekking safari procedures and regulations. Once your guide has completed the necessary formalities for you, it is time to head into Volcanoes Park on foot.

The Volcanoes National Park encompasses ancient afro-montane and bamboo forests, covering about 160km² of pristine wilderness. The park is named after the five volcanoes it incorporates but is most famous for its African mountain gorillas. Volcanoes Park is also incredibly bio diverse, hosting about 200 bird species and a rich array of animals, plants and insects, including many rare and endemic species. The park is home to the most groups of habituated gorillas, making it one of the best places to go gorilla trekking. You will be assigned to one of the ten habituated gorilla groups which the ranger tracks down.

Finding the allocated group of mountain gorillas, you stop and spend a spell-binding hour with them. Observe the natural behaviour of gorillas in the wild, watching these giant primates feed, interact, doze and simply be. Seeing the young play and watching the gorillas groom and tease each other is an incredible sight. Sometimes the gorillas watch visitors with curiosity and even come closer – a thrilling encounter, especially if a massive silver back approaches.

Seeing the similarities between these social apes and humans is fascinating – a moving experience for most visitors! After watching the gentle gorillas in the dense forests, we trek back to the headquarters of Volcanoes National Park.

Wind up with another cultural village walk. Early in the morning, have breakfast and set off for Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village, near Volcanoes National Park. The walk in the village offers a glimpse into traditional Rwandan culture. While at Iby’Iwacu we get to watch drumming and dance performances by the locals, perhaps meeting a medicine man and trying out a bow and arrow. From the cultural village, we proceed to the red rocks to see how the local banana beer is produced.