This guide explains what each park offers and how to combine them. It covers sizes and character, the headline experiences, how the seasons affect each park, how Rwanda’s parks compare with Uganda’s, sample circuits of four to ten days and the current advice for the border areas, which affects parts of the north and west this year.

Rwanda’s National Parks at a Glance

The headline is that Rwanda’s parks are small, distinct and close together, so the question is not which to choose but how much time each deserves.

Volcanoes National Park: Gorillas, Golden Monkeys and Volcanoes

Volcanoes is the park most visitors come for. It lies on the Virunga massif, a chain of volcanoes shared with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and it is the only place in Rwanda to see mountain gorillas. A gorilla permit costs US$1,500 per person for foreign non-residents, set by the Rwanda Development Board, with a reported low-season rate of US$1,050 for multi-park visitors that guides describe differently. Treks last about an hour with a family, preceded by a walk of an hour to several hours over steep, muddy ground.

Golden monkey tracking, at about US$100, is a lighter and livelier second activity in the bamboo. The park also offers the Dian Fossey tomb hike at about US$75, a day hike to the Mount Bisoke crater lake at about US$75 and a two-day climb of Mount Karisimbi, Rwanda’s highest point at 4,507 metres, at about US$400. The park headquarters is at Kinigi, about three hours by road from Kigali. Our separate guides to the Dian Fossey tomb hike and to the Bisoke and Karisimbi hikes explain each.

Nyungwe National Park: Chimpanzees, Colobus and the Canopy

Nyungwe suits travellers who enjoy forest walking, birds and primates in a quiet setting. Sightings of chimpanzees are less predictable than in Uganda’s Kibale, and the colobus troops and the forest itself are the compensation. Our separate guide to chimpanzee trekking in Uganda and Rwanda compares the two countries.

Akagera National Park: The Big Five in the East

Akagera is the savannah counterpart to the forests, and it is a conservation success story. War and its aftermath devastated the park, and for about two decades it had no lions or rhinos. A partnership between the Rwanda Development Board and African Parks brought back lions in 2015, eastern black rhinos from 2017 and southern white rhinos from 2021 and 2025, and today the park has all of the Big Five, with elephants, buffalo, leopards, hippos, crocodiles and about 490 bird species or more.

Entry is about US$100 per adult per day in the park’s own page, though other guides give US$40 or US$50, and activities are charged separately: a night drive at about US$35 to US$40, a rhino tracking drive at about US$45 to US$50 and a Lake Ihema boat trip at about US$35 to US$45. The park is about two and a half hours from Kigali, and two days is the realistic minimum for a serious attempt at all five animals. Our separate guide to Big Five safaris in Rwanda explains the park in detail.

Gishwati-Mukura National Park: The Quiet Newcomer

Gishwati-Mukura is Rwanda’s smallest and newest national park, covering about 34 square kilometres of two remnant montane forests, Gishwati and Mukura, on the ridge between the Congo and Nile river basins. It was designated in 2015 to reverse decades of deforestation, and it is described as holding chimpanzees and golden monkeys, with a bird list of about 230 species in one guide and a higher figure in another, including Albertine Rift endemics such as the purple-breasted sunbird, the regal sunbird and the Rwenzori batis.

It is quiet, simple and still developing, and fees and access were not confirmed in the guides reviewed, so ask your operator before including it. It suits birders, forest lovers and travellers who want to see a restoration project at work. Our separate guide to birding safaris in Rwanda explains where it fits.

Fees at a Glance

The gorilla permit is the largest fixed cost by far. Our separate guides to the Rwanda gorilla permit and to Rwanda safari prices for 2027 explain how the fees fit into a budget.

Best Time to Visit the Parks

Gorilla, golden monkey and chimpanzee trekking runs all year, and Akagera’s wildlife is easier to find in the dry seasons. Our separate guide to the best time to visit Rwanda explains each month.

Rwanda and Uganda Compared

Many travellers combine the two, using the Kigali to Kisoro route between Volcanoes and Bwindi. Our separate guide to gorilla trekking in Africa explains how to compare the countries.

Sample Circuits

Leave a rest day after a gorilla trek, and keep a buffer before an international flight. Our separate guide to Lake Kivu explains a restful finish.