After breakfast, we drive north toward Ruhengeri (Musanze), the gateway to Volcanoes National Park. The journey (approx. 2.5 hours, 110 km) winds through terraced hills and rural villages, with Mount Sabyinyo’s jagged peak on the horizon.

After lunch we visit the Ellen de Generes Gorilla Campus. Nestled in a beautiful, reforested landscape near the Volcanoes National Park, the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund was built in the memory of a renowned Conservationist Dian Fossey who dedicated her life to the protection of gorillas. Here we explore the state-of-the-art public exhibit and experience the Conservation Gallery, including a 360 theater and replica of Dian Fossey’s original cabin, learning about the region’s biodiversity through a network of outdoor trails. For dinner and overnight, we return to Gorilla View Lodge.

Accommodation: Gorilla View Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After an early breakfast we proceed to Volcanoes Park Gate for a briefing on how to do the hike. Dian Fossey is one of the greatest and most prominent primatologists of the 20th century. Having been invited to Africa by the great paleoanthropologist Dr. Richard Leakey to study the life of mountain gorillas in the wild, Dian spent most of her life studying mountain gorillas extensively in their natural habitat and at her Karisoke Research Camp/center located between Mount Bisoke and Karisimbi in Rwanda.

Through our guides we will gain a good understanding for what it must have been like for Dian all those years ago, when setting up camp to study and protect the endangered mountain gorillas. We will also visit Dian's grave, and that of her favourite gorilla Digit. Besides learning about Dian Fossey’s work and research centre, the activity will give us an opportunity to witness the beauty of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.

After the trek we will head back to the starting point where our driver will take us back to the lodge for lunch. In the afternoon we’ll visit the nearby Iby'Iwacu Village for a cultural experience before heading back to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

Accommodation: Gorilla View Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

The highlight of our Rwandan adventure begins early as we set out for mountain gorilla tracking in Volcanoes National Park. With experienced rangers leading the way, we trek through dense forest and misty bamboo slopes to meet one of the world’s most endangered and majestic species. Standing a few meters from a gorilla family is a humbling and emotional moment — one that connects us to Dian Fossey’s lifelong fight to protect them.

After the one hour with the primates, we will walk back to the starting point where we will find our driver waiting to take us back to the lodge for lunch.  After lunch, we check out of the lodge and drive to Gisenyi which is on the shores of Lake Kivu.

Accommodation: Paradise de Malahide

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast we are transferred to Kibuye on a boat cruise. Lake Kivu is the largest of the many freshwater lakes that shimmer in the valleys of Rwanda and is surrounded by three towns of Kibuye, Gisenyi, and Cyangugu. A boat trip on this magnificent lake gives us opportunity to spot some beautiful birds and have great scenery views of the lake and its surroundings. We arrive in time for lunch at Cormoran Lodge which overlooks the lake. After lunch, we continue our drive to Nyungwe Forest National Park (approx. 5–6 hours, 220 km). The route winds through tea plantations and highland valleys, offering some of Rwanda’s most scenic landscapes.

Accommodation: Nyungwe Top Hill View Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

This morning, we set out at dawn for chimpanzee tracking in the Cyamudongo Forest, a small, lush fragment of Nyungwe where chimps thrive in their natural habitat. Hearing their high-pitched calls echo through the forest is thrilling. After the trek, we can opt to stop at Uwinka Visitor Center for a snack or continue to Butare (Huye) for lunch. After lunch we visit the Ethnographic Museum. The Ethnographic Museum offers one of the best cultural and historical overviews of Rwanda. Built in collaboration with the Belgian government in 1989, it houses an extraordinary collection that traces the country’s social and cultural evolution long before and after colonization. After this we drive to Nyanza for overnight.

Accommodation: Chez Drocella Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast we visit the King’s Palace. The King’s Palace Museum in Nyanza offers a vivid step back into Rwanda’s royal past. Once the seat of the monarchy, this beautifully restored traditional palace complete with a thatched royal hut and replicas of the king’s residence reveals how ancient kings (Mwami) ruled and lived.

We’ll meet the famous long-horned Inyambo cattle, direct descendants of the royal herd, whose keepers still sing to them and groom them in a ceremonial manner—a deeply cultural and moving sight.

After lunch, we drive east (approx. 5 hours, 260 km) to Akagera National Park, a land of savannah, lakes, and diverse wildlife.

Accommodation: Akagera Rhino Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After an early breakfast with packed lunch we go for a game drive within Akagera National park. The Area is dominated by a labyrinth of swamps and lakes which form the most remote source of the Nile. This typical African savannah landscape is habitat to big game. Beside the big five, Akagera NP offers beautiful landscapes and plenty other animals like zebras, bushbuck, antelopes and primates like olive baboons, velvets and secretive blue monkey which are seen during the day. Akagera NP is also home to over 500 birds’ species.

Accommodation: Akagera Rhino Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

We leave Rwanda behind and cross into Tanzania through the Rusumo border. The drive (approx. 7–8 hours) takes us across rolling farmlands and into the vast western highlands. We enjoy lunch en route before arriving in Moyowosi, where we rest for the night.

Accommodation: Akagera Rhino Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

After breakfast, we enjoy a morning game drive in Moyowosi Game Reserve — home to roan antelope, sable, and elephants in untamed landscapes. Later, we continue to Kigoma (approx. 5 hours, 240 km) and have lunch overlooking Lake Tanganyika. The afternoon is at leisure to relax or explore the lakeside town.

Accommodation: Kigoma Hilltop Hotel

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

We take a boat ride across Lake Tanganyika to reach Mbali Mbali Gombe Lodge, the gateway to Gombe Stream National Park where Dr. Jane Goodall’s groundbreaking chimpanzee research began in 1960. The forested slopes rising from the lake feel timeless, untouched, and deeply spiritual. After lunch, we enjoy optional walks or simply take in the serenity of this historic place.

Accommodation: Mbali Mbali Gombe Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Today we have an exciting day ahead. After an early breakfast, we head out to Gombe National Park for Chimpanzee tracking. Gombe Stream National Park, though Tanzania’s smallest, holds immense significance as the site where Dr. Jane Goodall began her pioneering research on wild chimpanzees in 1960.

As we trek through the forest, we follow in her footsteps, tracing the paths where she first observed chimpanzees using tools, showing emotion, and forming complex family bonds — discoveries that forever changed how humanity understands its closest relatives. Watching these remarkable primates interact in their natural habitat feels like witnessing her legacy come alive before our eyes.

Beyond the chimps, Gombe’s emerald hills and waterfalls create a serene setting alive with red-tailed and colobus monkeys, tropical birds, and butterflies.

In the evening, we return to camp with a renewed appreciation for Jane Goodall’s extraordinary contribution to conservation and the enduring spirit of Gombe — a place where science, compassion, and wilderness beautifully intertwine.

Accommodation: Mbali Mbali Gombe Lodge

Meal Plan: Breakfast, lunch,dinner

After breakfast, we return by boat to Kigoma and check back into our lakeside lodge. The afternoon is free to relax, swim, or visit Ujiji, where Stanley met Livingstone — another chapter of exploration along these legendary shores.

Accommodation: Kigoma Hilltop Hotel

Meal Plan: Breakfast, dinner

After breakfast, we take an early morning flight to Dar es Salaam, to connect to our international departure. As we look back, it’s more than just the landscapes and wildlife we’ll remember — it’s the feeling of discovery, connection, and awe that came with every mile.

From Dian Fossey’s journey with the mountain gorillas to Jane Goodall’s revolutionary discoveries with the Gombe Chimpanzees, this journey is both an adventure and a celebration of the women who gave voice to the wild.

Meal Plan: Breakfast only