Nyungwe Chimpanzee & Canopy Walk

Depart Kigali after breakfast for the 6-hour scenic drive south, passing through terraced hillsides of tea and coffee plantations. Lunch stop in Butare with a visit to the Ethnographic Museum — one of the finest such collections in East Africa. Continue to Nyungwe Forest, arriving your lodge on the forest edge by late afternoon in time for a sundowner as monkeys call from the canopy.

Pre-dawn departure for chimpanzee tracking — the earlier you begin, the better your chances of finding them at their nesting sites before they move for the day. Follow rangers through Nyungwe's ancient rainforest for a one-hour encounter with a habituated community. Afternoon walk through the tea plantations that fringe the forest — beautiful photography opportunities and a fascinating look at Rwanda's largest export crop.

Morning canopy walkway experience — 70m above the forest floor, a suspension bridge that offers a bird's-eye view of one of Africa's oldest rainforests. (Not for those with vertigo!) Afternoon habituated colobus trek — Nyungwe's Ruwenzori colobus troops sometimes number 400+, one of the largest primate super-groups on the continent.

Morning tea estate tour with a plantation manager, then the long scenic drive back to Kigali (6 hours) with lunch en route. Time for shopping or the Genocide Memorial before your evening international departure.