Rwandan-owned. Guide-led. Built on 15 years in the field.
A small Rwandan outfit with a very long memory of the trails.
Silverback Adventures is an independent, Rwandan-owned safari company based in Kigali and Musanze. We design and lead private journeys into Volcanoes National Park, Akagera, Nyungwe Forest, Lake Ruhondo and the villages and tea hills in between. Every trip is built by hand, for one group at a time, by guides who actually live on the routes they drive.
We are not a call-centre and we don't resell other operators' itineraries. When you write to us, you reach the same people who will meet you at Kigali airport, sit with you over coffee on the first morning, and walk you to the gorillas on day two. That continuity — the same voice from quote to farewell — is the whole point of working with us.
Over the last fifteen years we have hosted families on their first African trip, photographers chasing light in the Virungas, honeymooners on Lake Kivu, school groups, conservation researchers, NGO leadership retreats, and a steady stream of returning travellers who now bring their own children back to Rwanda. More than 2,500 guests from over 40 countries — North America, the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia, the UAE, Kenya, South Africa, Japan and beyond — have travelled with us.
Guests on a morning game drive — open-roof 4x4, room to stand, photograph and breathe.
Benoit Dushimiyimana
Owner · RDB-licensed Tour Guide · 15 years in the field
Benoit grew up in northern Rwanda, in the shadow of the Virunga volcanoes that now define his working life. He started in tourism as a porter on the Volcanoes trails, trained as a driver- guide, earned his Rwanda Development Board guiding licence, and founded Silverback Adventures to run trips the way he always wished they were run — small, personal, and led by someone who knows the rangers, the trackers and the back roads by name.
Fifteen years on, he has personally led more than a thousand gorilla treks, hundreds of Akagera game drives, and countless Nyungwe canopy walks. He speaks Kinyarwanda, English, French and Swahili, and is the person most of our repeat guests ask for by name.
Different reasons to come to Rwanda. The same standard of care.
First-time Africa travellers
Families and couples who chose Rwanda for its safety, scale and ease — and want a guide who anticipates the next question before they ask it.
Photographers & filmmakers
Image-makers chasing silverbacks in mist, golden monkeys in bamboo and the wide horizons of Akagera. Open roofs, patient mornings, the right angles.
Honeymoons & private retreats
Quiet stays on Lake Kivu and Lake Ruhondo, paired with one or two iconic experiences and a lot of unhurried time.
Conservation & research groups
Researchers, NGO teams and university programs who need reliable logistics, ranger access and translators they can trust.
Diaspora & returning guests
Rwandans abroad bringing partners and children home for the first time, and past guests writing back years later to plan trip two and three.
Corporate & MICE
Executive offsites and incentive trips combining Kigali's conference scene with a real wilderness day or two beyond the city.
Five things that haven't changed in fifteen years.
One group at a time
We never combine strangers into a shared vehicle. Your trip, your pace, your guide.
Licensed & insured
RDB-licensed guides, fully insured 4x4 Land Cruisers, and ranger-coordinated park access on every trek.
Local first
We hire Rwandan guides, drivers, porters and cooks. The money you spend with us stays in the communities you came to see.
Honest pricing
Park permits, lodge rates and vehicle costs are itemised. No commissions hidden inside a single round number.
Reachable, always
From the first WhatsApp to the airport drop-off, you have a direct line to Benoit and the team — not a ticketing queue.
Conservation-minded
A portion of every trip supports gorilla habitat protection and the porter cooperatives on the Volcanoes trails.
Ready to talk through your Rwanda trip?
Tell us roughly when you'd like to come, how many you are, and what you most want to see. Benoit will write back personally — usually the same day.