5 Days Gorilla Safari in Rwanda
The 5 days gorilla safari in Rwanda is a lifetime adventure that begins and ends in Kigali. During the safari you will explore Volcanoes National Park, which is situated in northwestern Rwanda, offering various activities like gorilla trekking and golden monkey trekking, which allows you to spend one hour with these interesting primates in their natural habitat; hiking to Dian Fossey graveyard; and visiting the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. You will wrap up your safari with a city tour in Kigali.
Highlights
Day 1: Pick up and transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Day 2: Gorilla trekking
Day 3: Golden monkey trekking and cultural tour
Day 4: Dian Fossey hike and twin lakes tour
Day 5: Departure to Kigali for the city tour
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Upon arrival you will be welcomed by our driver guide, who will give you a short briefing about your safari and then start the journey to Volcanoes National Park, northwestern Rwanda. On your way you will have great views of the rolling hills, beautiful landscapes, scenery, and terraced farmlands among others and upon arrival you will check into the lodge and have an evening of relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park
For gorilla trekking, after an early breakfast, carry a packed lunch and then meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kinigi Park headquarters for the briefing about the rules and regulations of gorilla trekking.
After the briefing you will be grouped into 8 people, where each group is allocated a gorilla family to trek and a park guide who will be sharing information about the mountain gorillas and also well conversant with the gorilla trails in the jungle. You will start trekking in the forest at around 8:00am, which takes about 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on the location of the gorillas.
During trekking you will have spectacular views of the other primates like monkeys, baboons, forest birds, animals, and plant and tree species among others and when the gorillas are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural environment, which gives you an opportunity to learn more about their lifestyle, behaviors, and habits; watch them feed, breastfeed, and carry out their daily activities; take photos; and record the moments to show people back home with a flashless camera, which gives you unforgettable experiences on your safari.
After the one-hour encounter with the gorillas, you will trek back to the park headquarters, where you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and later meet up with your driver guide and transfer to the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Golden monkey trekking and cultural tour
Golden monkey trekking,
Have an early breakfast and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the park headquarters for a briefing about the rules and regulations of golden monkey trekking. After the briefing you will be allocated a golden monkey family to trek, a park guide who is well conversant with the trails in the forest and then start trekking, which takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours depending on the location of the golden monkeys because they like to move from one place to another in search of food.
When the golden monkeys are found, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat, just like gorilla trekking and during the one hour, you will take photos, record videos, learn more about their behaviors, habits, and lifestyle, and watch them jump from one tree to another, feed, and play, among others, which is an amazing and once-in-a-lifetime experience.
After spending one hour with the golden monkeys, you will trek back to the park headquarters and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the lodge for lunch.
Cultural tour:
After lunch you will go for an interesting cultural tour in the neighboring communities, where you will visit the Ibyi’wacu cultural village.
During the cultural tour you will have an opportunity to interact with the local people, where you will know about their lifestyle and way of living, taste their traditional dishes, learn how to make local beer from bananas, enjoy entertainment by women as they perform Kinyarwanda dance and songs, and listen to ancient traditional stories, among others. After the cultural tour you will transfer back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Dian Fossey hike and Twin Lakes tour
Dian Fossey hike: you will have breakfast, and we will pick you up to drive to the park headquarters for a briefing about Dian Fossey hiking. After the briefing you will drive to the trailhead, where you will start hiking through the forest, which takes about 3 hours depending on your physical fitness.
During hiking you will view various bird species, animals, and primates, and when you reach the research center, you will learn about the primatologist Dian Fossey who dedicated and left behind a legacy to conserve the gorillas and other animals, and you will see the house where she was murdered in 1985.
You will also view her graveyard, which is close to that of her beloved gorilla digit and 20 other gorilla graveyards, some of which were killed by poachers and others for natural reasons. After the hike you will drive back to the park headquarters for lunch.
Twin Lakes tour:
After lunch you will meet up with your driver guide to transfer to the twin lakes of Lake Burera and Ruhondo, which are located at the foot of Mount Sabyinyo, Muhabura, Bisoke and Gahinga. The twin lakes act as fishing grounds to the neighboring local communities and offer spectacular views of the colorful birds, terraced farmlands, beautiful scenery, and hills.
Enjoy the cool breeze and take great pictures. After the twin lakes tour you will drive back to the lodge for an evening of relaxation, dinner and overnight.
Day 5: Departure to Kigali
After a relaxed breakfast, check out of the lodge and meet up with your driver guide to transfer to Kigali for a city tour. During the city tour you will visit the presidential palace museum, which was formerly the state house of the late president Juvenal Habyarimana, whose plane was shot down in April 1994 during the Rwanda genocide and the palace was turned into a museum where you will see the remains of the plane.
You will also visit Kimironko market, where you will interact with the market traders and vendors who sell items like handmade crafts, paintings, souvenirs, food stalls, and more. After the city tour you will have lunch, which gives you an opportunity to taste different dishes in Rwanda and then start the journey to Kigali International Airport for your next flight.
End of 5-day gorilla safari in Rwanda
Inclusions
- Gorilla trekking permit
- Golden monkey trekking permit
- Cultural tour
- Twin lakes visit
- Dian Fossey hike
- Kigali city tour
- Services of an English-speaking driver guide
- Full board accommodation
- Pick up and drop off
- Vehicle and fuel
- Bottled water
Exclusions
- Air flight tickets
- Visas
- Optional activities not included on the itinerary
- Personal expenses like buying souvenirs, crafts, drinks, laundry services, tips among others.
