Greek Rwanda Travels · Kigali, Rwanda
Africa, as few will ever know it.
Private travel advisory
Rwanda·Uganda·Burundi·Zambia·Zanzibar·Namibia·Greece
Three feet from a wild gorilla. Nothing prepares you for this.
A once in a lifetime encounter. Arranged entirely by Kelly.
Roughly 1,063 mountain gorillas remain on earth, all in three forests across the Albertine Rift. Rwanda holds the largest habituated population. Permits are limited, tightly controlled, and sell out months ahead. Kelly handles the permit, the family allocation, and the lodge.
Enquire About Gorilla TrekkingRwanda Experiences
Eight experiences. Each one arranged privately.
Volcanoes National Park
Gorilla Trekking
Permits to the habituated mountain gorilla families in Volcanoes National Park. One hour with the family, at the distance the park rangers allow. Kelly handles the permits and the family pairing.
Volcanoes National Park
Golden Monkey Trekking
The golden monkey lives only in the Albertine Rift. Smaller troops than the gorillas, shorter hike in, and far fewer photographers at the trailhead.
Eastern Rwanda
Akagera Safari
Rwanda's only Big Five destination. Private game drives and luxury tented lodges on the savannah.
Southwest Rwanda
Nyungwe Forest
Chimpanzee trekking and Africa's longest canopy walkway, 70 metres above the forest floor.
Western Rwanda
Lake Kivu
Private boat charters, kayaking at sunrise, and lakefront lodge stays on one of Africa's great lakes.
Kigali
City & Private Dining
Restaurants and private access that are not in any guide. Kelly's Kigali, not the tourist version.
Gisakura
Tea Plantation Tours
Rwanda's tea grows at 2,000 metres on the edge of Nyungwe. Private estate visits, tastings with the growers, and the drive in along the ridge road.
Across Rwanda
Cultural Encounters
Village visits, kitenge fittings, and dance with the women's cooperatives Kelly has known for years. The Rwanda her guests come back for, beyond the trailheads and the lodges.
Stories from the field
What guests say when no one is watching.
Real messages. Unprompted.
About
Africa is my home. Let me show it to you.
Kelly Irakli · Kigali, Rwanda
Kelly is from Greece and has been living in Rwanda since 2020. She plans private trips across Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Zambia, Zanzibar, Namibia, and Greece, for travelers who want a trip built around them rather than pulled from a catalogue.
She plans tailor-made safaris, gorilla trekking expeditions, and wildlife trips built away from mass tourism. Every itinerary starts from a conversation about who the traveler is and what matters to them.
Every trip is planned with personal attention for travelers who value privacy, comfort, and a real connection with the destination. The lodges she recommends are ones she has stayed in. The routes she plans are ones she has traveled herself.
Kelly personally answers every message and designs every experience herself, based on each traveler's preferences. There is no assistant, no template, and nothing pulled from a shelf.
Write to Kelly Follow on InstagramI have been living in Africa since 2020. I know these places the way you know your own city. Let me show you what that looks like on an itinerary.
Kelly Irakli
White glove advisory
Three steps. Zero uncertainty.
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Contact Kelly
One conversation. She asks what you want, when, and what matters to you. No form, no chatbot. A real exchange with a person who knows Rwanda.
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Your itinerary is built
Built from scratch around you. She walks the lodges before she books them. Permits go in early, while they are still available. Nothing comes off a template.
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You arrive. Everything is handled.
Kelly is on the phone for the entire trip. If the weather closes a road, if a flight shifts, if a guide falls through, she sorts it. You see Rwanda. The arrangements stay with her.
Get in touch
Start your Rwanda trip. Everything else is handled.
Tell Kelly what you have in mind. No forms, no package menu, no junior planner picking up the email. You talk to her. She has lived in Kigali since 2020 and answers within the day.
Or follow along
@kelly_ira_Destinations and Experiences
Where Kelly Plans Trips
Rwanda
Kelly lives in Kigali and has planned private trips across Rwanda since 2020. Most clients come for gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park, but Rwanda is a small, dense country that rewards a longer stay. Akagera National Park on the Tanzanian border has been one of the great African Parks turnaround stories, with lion and rhino both reintroduced in the last decade. Nyungwe Forest in the southwest holds thirteen primate species and one of the best canopy walkways in East Africa. Lake Kivu, with its quiet lakefront lodges, is where most itineraries slow down for a few nights.
Uganda
Uganda holds roughly half the world's mountain gorillas, all in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The terrain is wilder, the trek is typically longer, and the lodge scene in Bwindi has grown quietly excellent. Kelly plans private overland routes from Kigali into Bwindi, or flies clients via Entebbe when time matters. Kibale Forest, with the highest density of primates in the world, is where she sends people for chimpanzee trekking and the full day habituation experience.
Zanzibar and Tanzania
Most Rwanda trips end with a few nights on the Indian Ocean. Zanzibar is the easy answer: direct connections via Nairobi or Entebbe, Stone Town for Swahili culture, and a beach scene that splits cleanly between the calm north coast and the kitesurfing east. Kelly knows which private island stays are worth the money and which are coasting on reputation.
Zambia
Zambia is for people who already know they love safari. South Luangwa is the birthplace of the walking safari and still does it better than anywhere else. Lower Zambezi adds canoe safaris and river lodges. Victoria Falls from the Livingstone side rounds out a serious wildlife itinerary.
Namibia
Namibia is the desert chapter. Sossusvlei and Deadvlei, Etosha for desert-adapted wildlife, Damaraland for elephants that walk dry riverbeds, and the Skeleton Coast for anyone who wants to see one of the strangest coastlines on the planet. Kelly plans these as private guided trips or self-drive routes, depending on the client.
Burundi
Burundi is off most travel maps, which is exactly why a few clients ask for it. Chimpanzee trekking in Kibira National Park, Lake Tanganyika for swimming and slow afternoons, and Bujumbura as the cultural anchor. Kigali is four to six hours away by road.
Experiences
Gorilla and Chimpanzee Trekking
Mountain gorilla trekking is the trip most people come to Kelly for. She secures permits months ahead through the Rwanda Development Board and Uganda Wildlife Authority, books the right lodges, and matches clients to the right gorilla family. Chimpanzee trekking in Kibale Forest and Nyungwe is the natural second half of the itinerary.
Private Game Drives and Safaris
Private game drives in Akagera, Queen Elizabeth, Murchison Falls, South Luangwa, and Etosha. Kelly uses private vehicles by default. Shared vehicles save money and ruin the trip.
Bird Watching
Bird watching across the Albertine Rift, Nyungwe, Akagera wetlands, and the Bangweulu swamps for the shoebill. Uganda alone has 1,068 recorded species. Kelly works with specialist guides for serious birders.
Corporate, Conferences and Conventions
Conferences and conventions in Kigali, with pre and post-conference safaris and gorilla trekking add-ons. Kigali Convention Centre, direct flights from most hubs, and a city that genuinely works for MICE travel.
More about how Kelly works: About Kelly Irakli.