Luxury Gorilla Safaris

This itinerary pairs Rwanda's two signature experiences — mountain gorilla trekking in the Virunga foothills and Big Five game viewing in the savanna — using helicopter charters with Akagera Aviation to eliminate the long road transfers and maximize time in the field. You'll overnight at Singita Kwitonda Lodge in Kinigi, on the edge of Volcanoes National Park, and Magashi Camp, Wilderness Safaris' intimate tented camp on the shores of Lake Rwanyakazinga in Akagera National Park.

Land at Kigali International Airport, where a Singita representative meets you for a smooth clearance through arrivals. Rather than the scenic but winding three-hour road transfer north, you'll board a private helicopter charter with Akagera Aviation, flown on either the twin-engine Agusta 139 or the Agusta 109 depending on group size, for the roughly 30-minute flight over the terraced hills of northern Rwanda into Kinigi. The aerial approach gives you your first glimpse of the Virunga volcanoes — Karisimbi, Bisoke, and Sabyinyo — rising out of the cloud forest, a far more dramatic introduction than the highway.

On arrival, you're welcomed at Singita Kwitonda Lodge, set on 178 acres bordering Volcanoes National Park. Every one of the lodge's eight deluxe suites has its own private heated plunge pool and outdoor fireplace, along with vast timber-framed windows and locally crafted terracotta and woven ceiling details. After a light lunch showcasing Rwandese cuisine made with produce from the lodge's own garden, spend the afternoon settling in. Take a guided walk through the on-site Akarabo Nursery — part of the lodge's reforestation and gorilla-habitat expansion program — or relax at the spa before a fireside dinner. Given the altitude (around 2,300m) and the cool evenings, this gentle first afternoon also helps you acclimatize ahead of tomorrow's trek.

An early start today. You'll set off for the 7am briefing at Volcanoes National Park's headquarters, just ten minutes from the lodge, where you're matched with a guide before starting the hike into the dense cloud forest. The park is currently home to roughly ten habituated gorilla groups, and rangers assign families based on fitness levels and trekking preferences the previous evening, so let your lodge host know if you'd prefer a shorter or more challenging hike.

Treks can last anywhere from about an hour to five or seven hours depending on where the assigned family is ranging that day, through bamboo forest and volcanic slopes that can be muddy and steep — trekking poles and gaiters (available at the lodge) are worthwhile. The hour granted with the gorillas once you locate them is the payoff: watching silverbacks, mothers with infants, and juveniles at close range in their natural habitat is the reason most travelers come to Rwanda in the first place. Along the way you may also spot golden monkeys, side-striped jackal, buffalo, black-fronted duiker, and rich birdlife.

Meals and lodge activities flex around your trek's timing, so depending on when you return — often early-to-mid afternoon — there's time to rest, soak in your suite's plunge pool, or join an easy afternoon outing. Popular choices include the golden monkey tracking experience in the bamboo zone (a gentler, shorter alternative to gorilla trekking), a visit to the Iby'Iwacu Cultural Village for traditional dance and craft demonstrations, or a guided hike to Dian Fossey's gravesite at the former Karisoke Research Center, a poignant stop for anyone moved by the conservation story behind these gorillas. In the evening, Kwitonda's Conservation Room — an interactive space dedicated to the park's gorilla history — is worth a visit before a final dinner and wine tasting from the lodge's award-winning cellar.

After a relaxed breakfast, transfer by road or a short helicopter hop back toward Kigali, where you connect onto your second charter — this one heading east. The flight from Kigali to the airstrip near Magashi is quick, roughly 15 to 30 minutes depending on aircraft and routing, and delivers you directly to the helipad near camp rather than the alternative three-hour drive on increasingly rough roads. Akagera Aviation runs charter flights to the park most mornings and evenings, so timing can be built around your gorilla trek recovery and lodge checkout.

The landscape shift is immediate and dramatic: cloud forest and volcanoes give way to open savanna, acacia woodland, and shimmering lakes. Landing near Magashi, you're welcomed into camp and settled into one of the tented suites raised on decking overlooking Lake Rwanyakazinga. Opened in 2019, Magashi is a joint venture between Wilderness Safaris, the Rwanda Development Board, and African Parks, architecturally styled in keeping with traditional Rwandan design, and fully solar-powered.

After lunch, head out on your first afternoon-into-evening game drive. Akagera covers roughly 1,120 square kilometres of highlands, plains, swampland, and lakes, and is the only park in Rwanda home to the Big Five — lion, rhino, leopard, elephant, and buffalo — alongside hyena, jackal, Maasai giraffe, and Burchell's zebra. Lions were reintroduced in 2015 after a 20-year absence, and black rhinos followed in 2017, both conservation successes worth asking your guide about. As dusk falls, the drive continues into a night drive, when spotted hyena, nocturnal cats, and other creatures that stay hidden by day become active. Return to camp for a traditional Kugisha dinner around the fire, with Rwandan stories and songs — a signature Magashi evening.

This is your day to properly explore the park's varied habitats. Set out early for a sunrise game drive across the open plains north of camp, prime lion and giraffe territory, with your guide also tracking recent rhino sightings — Magashi guides contribute directly to the park's predator-monitoring program, so you may be invited to help identify individual lions or leopards from ear-notch and whisker patterns.

Return to camp for brunch, then spend the warmer midday hours at leisure — by the pool, birdwatching from the deck (Akagera's bird count of around 500 species rivals Kruger National Park despite covering just a fraction of its area), or simply resting before the afternoon's highlight: a boat safari on Lake Ihema or the Kilala wetlands. These boat trips use elevated seating for excellent viewing of hippo pods, basking crocodiles, elephants and buffalo coming down to drink, and dense concentrations of waterbirds including African fish eagles and rare shoebill sightings in the papyrus channels.

As the light softens, a final evening game drive heads back into the savanna for sundowners overlooking the lake, before returning to camp for dinner under the stars. If fishing interests you, catch-and-release fishing on the lake can be arranged as an alternative afternoon activity.

Rise early for one last game drive, timed to catch the park waking up — often the best light and most active wildlife of the day. Return to camp for a final breakfast overlooking Lake Rwanyakazinga before your charter flight collects you from the Magashi airstrip for the short hop back to Kigali International Airport, arriving in good time to connect with an international departure or to spend a final afternoon in Kigali, including a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial if time allows.

A note on logistics: helicopter charters in Rwanda depend on weather and daylight, and schedules are typically confirmed a day or two in advance through your ground operator working with Akagera Aviation — building a little flexibility into arrival and departure times is worth it. Both lodges also welcome children (Singita Kwitonda from any age with tailored activities; gorilla trekking itself requires a minimum age of 15, while Magashi welcomes children 6 and older with private-vehicle requirements for younger kids).

Helicopter charters in Rwanda depend on weather and daylight, and schedules are typically confirmed a day or two in advance through your ground operator working with Akagera Aviation — building a little flexibility into arrival and departure times is worth it. Both lodges also welcome children (Singita Kwitonda from any age with tailored activities; gorilla trekking itself requires a minimum age of 15, while Magashi welcomes children 6 and older with private-vehicle requirements for younger kids).