Safari Overview
In this Rwanda Congo safari, you will visit Nyiragongo active volcano and Idjwi Fishing Island in Congo; and enjoy the Rwanda cultural tour as you visit Butare, Gisenyi and Kibuye.
Nyiragongo volcano (3470m), located near Goma town in DR Congo, is among Africa’s most active volcanoes. It has long active lava lakes appearing in the summit crater. It is one of the 8 volcanoes in the Virunga Mountains.
In 1977 & 2002, eruptions on the southeastern flank of the volcano in drained the lava lake and extremely fluid lava flowed downslope at speeds up to 40 miles/hour, reaching as far as Goma city (population 250,000) 10 miles to the south killing thousands of people and destroying homes of 120 000 people.
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at Kigali airport
Our tour guide will receive you at Kigali airport and transfer you to the hotel for relaxation. Overnight stay at Hotel Gorillas / Kigali Serena Hotel
Day 2: Transfer to Butare
After breakfast our tour guide will transfer you to Butare, Rwanda’s second largest city. Along the way visit Nyanza King’s palace whose traditional dome is only comparable to the Buganda king’s palace. While in Butare, you may pay a visit to national university of Butare, the Butare National Museum – the largest centre for antiquity and cultural history of Rwanda. There are large displays of a wide collection of monochrome pictures, traditional artifacts and objects, tools and different craft products. Ethnographic objects are assembled together according to theme offering excellent information on the daily life. Traditional ceramics and basketry are still made and belong to the finest handicrafts of the region. Overnight stay in Butare
Day 3: Transfer from Butare via Gitarama to Kibuye
In the morning, transfer to to Gisenyi via Kibuye. Relax at the magnificent sandy beach at Lake Kivu. Enjoy a boat cruise to the Coffee islands. Visit the big farms of coffee plantations.
Overnight stay at Kivu Serena Hotel /Paradis Malahide
Day 4: Transfer to Idjwi Island (Congo)
After breakfast, enjoy a boat ride Idjwi Island (Congo). Fishermen are seen riding hand-dug canoes make the island a tourist attraction. You may proceed to Goma, and if time is on your side, you may reach out to Nyiragongo Volcanoe. In the evening sail back to Gisenyi. Overnight stay at Kivu Serena Hotel /Paradis Malahide
Day 5: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
In the morning, after breakfast, visit Ross Carr’s Imbabazi Orphanage. Imbabazi Orphanage was founded by Mrs Rosamond Halsey Carr in late 1994 at Mugongo to care for the genocide orphans. Rosamond Halsey was a young American fashion illustrator when she married an adventurous hunter-explorer, Kenneth Carr. Together they ventured into then “Congo Belge” (now Congo DRC) in 1949 but where they later ended up into a pungent divorce. Kenneth quit but Rosamond stayed in Congo until 1955. Since then she moved to northwest Rwanda where she stayed for the next 50 years. She experienced all Rwanda’s historical events, including the horrible genocide of 1994. She is the author of Land of a Thousand Hills: My life in Rwanda.
Later transfer to Volacnoes national park. Overnight stay at Hotel Gorillas / Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Day 6: Gorilla Trekking
In the morning embark on gorilla trekking experience. In the afternoon transfer to Kigali for your return flight.
