10 days Rwanda bird watching safari

When you fall in love with birds, no one can change your mind. You will move the whole globe to see and appreciate the existence of birds. This 10 days Rwanda Bird watching safari is the perfect option for you to watch birds in their natural Habitats. Rwanda on the African continents is one of the best places to spot birds. With over 700 different species of birds. Rwanda has seven important birding Areas ( IBAs). These include; Rugezi Swamp, Akanyaru, Nyabarongo, Cyamudongo, Akagera, Volcanoes park and Nyungwe park

Day 1: Arrival at the Airport

On arrival at Kigali International Airport in Rwanda, you will be received by one of our tour guides who will give you a short briefing about the tour before transferring you to the hotel. Your birding adventure will start right away as you drive to the hotel, you will be able to see different birds therefore preparing you for what’s yet to come.

Day 2:Transfer to Akagera national park

You will drive to Akagera national park which is an open savannah. The park is Rwanda’s hot Birding spot in the savannah relatively open grassland and Papyrus swamps. In eastern Rwanda, the acacia savanna supports many broadly distributed African birds. These include; the Bennett’s Woodpecker, headed Black Chat, White-Black-collared Barbet, Tabora Cisticola and Miombo Wren-warbler and its likely to be the best place from where you can find the rare Ring-necked Francolin. The highly localized acacia specialist Red-faced Barbet can be sought around the Akagera Game Lodge grounds. This afternoon you will go birding and retire at your lodge

Day 3:Full day bird watching in Akagera National Park

After breakfast, enjoy Bird watching in the whole day in the park. You will have lunch and later return to the lodge. Expect African birds like the Bennett’s Woodpecker, headed Black Chat, White-Black-collared Barbet, Tabora Cisticola and Miombo Wren-warbler. Further still, you can look out for the Barefaced Go-away Bird, Brown Parrot, White-winged Black Tit and Sooty Chat. One of Africa’s most sought-after birds, the enormous and bizarre Shoebill, may be present in the Papyrus swamp habitat. Other Papyrus swamp specialists include; the Swamp Flycatcher, Carruther’s Cisticola, the elusive White-winged Warbler, and the stunning Papyrus Gonolek. You will drive to the Nyungwe later on in the day where you will spend your night. dinner may be at Nyungwe forest lodge, Gisakura Guest House.

Day 4: Drive to Nyungwe forest national park

After early morning breakfast, you will start your drive to Nyungwe forest national park, en route you will stop in various birding areas to bird, this can be fields, small forest areas, and open plains, this will be a much longer drive day as Nyungwe forest is about 7-8 hours’ drive from Kigali, upon arrival in Nyungwe you will check-in for overnight.

Day 5:Full day birding in Nyungwe forest

After early morning breakfast, you will meet the site guides and the rangers at the park headquarters in Gisakura and head into the forest to look out for some of the classic species of birds in Nyungwe forest, you will need to take packed lunch and enough drinking water for the day some of the birds to lookout for include Regal-Sunbird, Kivu-ground Thrush, Congo-bay Owlet, Rwenzori-Nightjar, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Rwenzori-Turaco, Red-collared mountain-Babbler, Rwenzori-Batis after the wonderful experience you will return to the lodge for relaxation and overnight.

Day 6:Chimpanzee trekking

Have breakfast very early in the morning then report for briefing about Chimpanzee tracking. Then transfer to the park headquarters for breifing. After you will be assigned a ranger to guide you on your search for the chimpanzee. Watch out for other primates along the trek. Nyungwe forest is a home to humankind’s closest living relative which is the chimpanzee, as well as the handsome L’Hoest’s monkey plus hundred-strong troops of the delightfully acrobatic Angola colobus. Furthermore, in the afternoon you will go for nature walk in the forest searching for birds and then return to your lodge in the afternoon. Overnight at your lodge

Day 7:Drive to Gishwati Mukura national park

After morning breakfast you will start your drive to Rwanda’s new national park Gishwati Mukura national park which is home to primates like chimpanzees and Golden monkey trekking, this area is also an important birding area in Rwanda depending on the time of arrival you may bird near the park boundary and the nearby fields and later transfer to the lodge for overnight.

Day 8:Full day birding in Gishwati Mukura national park

After morning breakfast you will meet the site guides and the park rangers and head into the forest in search of some of the unique bird species in the park some of the species to look out for including Regal Sunbird, Grauer’s swamp warbler, Ruwenzori Batis, Wood hoopoe, Purple-breasted Sunbird, Martial Eagle, Strange weave, Grey Crowned Crane, Dusky Crimsoning, Ruwenzori Turaco, Mountain Yellow Warblers, Red-throated Alethe.

Day 9: Bird watching at Twin Lake.

Today go fro a nature walk around the twin takes, searching for birds and meeting communities. Later you will drive to Transfer to Lake Kivu. Eveing bird watching around the shores of lake Kivu Overnight at Malahide paradise / Lake Kivu Serena.

Day 10: Departure

After morning breakfast you will bid farewell to the lodge and transfer to Kigali city with en-route birding in the fields, upon arrival in Kigali you will then be transferred to the airport for your outbound flight or for overnight at your booked hotel in Kigali.