Day 1: Arrival at Kigali Airport
Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be greeted by your guide and transferred to your hotel in Kigali, where you'll check in for an overnight stay at the start of your 8-Day Traditional Rwanda: A Cultural Experience.
Accommodation: Lemigo Hotel | Comfort Level: Mid-range
Day 2: Kigali - Musanze - Red Rock Rwanda Initiative
After breakfast, enjoy a 2-hour drive to Musanze, the gateway to Volcanoes National Park. This lively town blends modern amenities with traditional Rwandan charm. Visit the Red Rocks Initiative, promoting sustainable development in the Virunga Mountains. Participate in a food preparation session using fresh, local produce, followed by a delicious lunch.
Tour the farmland, try starting a traditional fire with firewood, and enjoy your meal outdoors while engaging with the local community and learning about Rwanda's culture. In the afternoon, experience banana beer production. Help extract juice from bananas, then taste both the juice and the local brew made with sorghum flour.
Alternatively, join pottery or basket weaving sessions, crafting your pieces with guidance from the community. Visit the craft shop, where all proceeds support local development. In the evening, gather around the campfire to hear stories about Rwanda's history and culture.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner | Accommodation: Red Rock Local Home Stay | Comfort Level: Mid-range
Day 3: Bamboo Conservation Project and Twin Lakes Visit
After breakfast, visit the Bamboo Conservation Project, a Red Rocks Initiative aimed at promoting bamboo cultivation for environmental protection and income generation for local communities and primates.
After lunch, depart for the twin lakes of Bulera & Ruhondo, nestled at the base of Mount Muhabura and near the Ugandan border. Surrounded by steep hills, tall waterfalls, and the stunning Virunga Volcanoes, these lakes offer breathtaking views. Return to the lodge for a relaxing evening to conclude the day on your 8-Day Rwanda Cultural Tour.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner | Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Comfort Level: Mid-range
Day 4: Gorilla Guardian Village and Nyange Community Walk
Today, visit the Gorilla Guardian Village (formerly Iby’Iwacu) for cultural performances, including the iconic Intore dance, and explore the king’s palace. Experience a unique ceremony where you can briefly take on the king’s role, guided by local elders. You’ll also have the chance to learn Rwandan drumming, visit a traditional healer, or interact with the Batwa community.
After lunch, embark on the Nyange Community Walk, guided by a socola guide, to learn about Rwandan village life. Experience traditional activities such as ironworking, banana beer brewing, mat weaving, and carpentry. Explore local food traditions, sample a traditional dish, and encounter tree nurseries, a health clinic, a socola village, and Twa villages, where you’ll be welcomed with songs and dances.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner | Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Comfort Level: Mid-range
Day 5: Village Walk - Beekeeping and Local village market
After breakfast and with your packed lunch, we depart for a village walk. This is a walk through one of the villages in Musanze. The walks pass through the villages surrounding the volcanoes, offering views of the volcanoes – enjoy the mountainous vegetation in its natural state.
You will visit the local community of beekeepers, and learn more about the bee hives in swamps or forest areas rich in certain types of plants like banana trees or certain flowers.
Honey has medicinal properties and is added to local medicines by traditional doctors. The remaining honey is sold to local people and the benefits are shared with the other association. Take a tour to a local village market pharmacy and learn of the healing abilities of traditional medicine which has been used for ages by the Rwandan people.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner | Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Comfort Level: Mid-range
Day 6: Transfer to Lake Kivu.
This morning will be spent relaxed and at leisure. Transfer to Lake Kivu by 11:00 am arriving in time for lunch. After lunch, take a boat ride to one of the islands in Lake Kivu OR explore the town, enjoying the hustle and bustle of the local market, or wander through the old colonial buildings.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Accommodation: Kivu Lodge | Comfort Level: Mid-range
Day 7: Lake Kivu – Kigali
This morning, spend some time at the private peninsular of Kivu Lodge, you may explore the private coffee plantation that surrounds the lodge and taste some coffee. Alternatively, you may visit the tea estates close to the lodge. Thereafter head back to Kigali arriving in time for relaxation and lunch.
Visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial Memorial which includes three permanent exhibitions, the largest of which documents the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. There is also a children’s memorial and an exhibition on the history of genocidal violence around the world.
The Education Centre, Gardens, and Genocide Archive of Rwanda form part of a meaningful tribute to those who perished and provide a powerful educational tool for visitors.
Alternatively visit the Kimironko Market Africa, the largest farmer's market in Kigali covering an area of about 5 kilometers. Kimironko market is a hub for local fresh food and fruits such as mangoes, passion fruits, pawpaw, jackfruits, and pineapples, among others.
The stalls at the market’s extreme are occupied majorly by meat sellers, chicken, and fresh fish.
There’s also a wide stock of fabric for those interested in African and Western ultra-modern clothing. This market stocks local Kinyarwanda drums, beads, craft handbags, craft earrings, traditional fabric, pots, mats, baskets, and hats, among many other traditional arts and crafts.
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner | Accommodation: Lemigo Lodge | Comfort Level: Mid-range
Day 8: Transfer to Kigali International Airport for your departure flight
On the final day of your 8-Day Traditional Rwanda: A Cultural Experience, you will make your way to Kigali International Airport, where you will depart for your onward journey home.