TOUR OVERVIEW
While on your 4 days unforgettable trip in Rwanda, you will be able to take part in several activities from hiking Rwanda’s lush Volcanoes National Park in search of the gorillas to enjoying a peaceful nature walk through the thick forest.
Hike Rwanda’s lush Volcanoes National Park for some of the most accessible mountain gorilla trekking in Central-East Africa. For one precious hour, enter the lives of these remarkable creatures. Infants playing, just as you’d expect a toddler to, adults foraging, completely unconcerned. If you’re lucky, an encounter with a mighty silverback, heart-racing and never-to-be-forgotten.
Making reservations for permits needed to take part in the trekking is an important part of making this trip a success.
- Visit Kigali
- Tracking the world-famous mountain gorillas of Volcanoes National Park twice.
- Visiting the local markets near Volcanoes National Park.
- Scenic drive from Kigali into the breathtaking Virunga mountains
- Learning more about Rwanda’s history with a visit to the thought-provoking Genocide Memorial.
- Visit Ellen deGeneres Gorilla Campus
DAY TO DAY ITINERARY
DAY 1 – ARRIVAL AT KIGALI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Let’s go !
Welcome to the land of a thousand hills ! You land at Kigali airport, where your tour guide will happily greet you and take you to the hotel.
The route to your hotel covers approximately 5 kilometers. The journey time is around 20 minutes.
| Hotel | Meal Plan |
| Hotel De Mille Collines | Bed & Breakfast (B&B) |
DAY 2 – KIGALI CITY TOUR | DRIVE TO VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
This morning, set out to explore the city and pay a moving visit to the Genocide Memorial Site, and learn how the country has dealt with its past and recovered to stand today as a testament to humankind’s resilience.
After lunch at a local restaurant, drive to Volcanoes National Park, set on a great volcanic massif that encompasses six active and three extinct volcanoes. The park is the residence of around 400 endangered mountain gorillas, about half of the world’s total wild population, and served as the base for the groundbreaking work of primatologist Dian Fossey, portrayed in the evocative book and film Gorillas in the Mist.
You will head out for the trek after which you will be transferred to volcanoes national park where you are spending your night as you prepare for your next day of the safari.
The route covers approximately 200 kilometers. The journey time is around 3 hours.
| Hotel | Meal Plan |
| Ingagi Parkview Lodge | Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (FB) |
DAY 3 – OFF TO SEE THE GORILLAS IN VOLCANOES NATIONAL | VISIT ELLEN DEGENERES CAMPUS
Today will be spent tracking the world-famous mountain gorillas. The gorillas we are allowed to track belong to either one of ten habituated family groups.
An early breakfast and you’re off to the park headquarters at Kinigi to register and be allocated your gorilla family for today. Once this is done, you set out by vehicle to the start of your gorilla safari. The gorillas are by no means tame, and are completely wild animals. However, experienced guides will accompany you on your gorilla tracking, many of whom have been involved in the habituation process themselves. The guides will use their knowledge of the gorillas’ habits and information from the previous day to locate the group’s whereabouts. Tracking the gorillas can take anything from 4-8 hours in lush green, steep, muddy, terrain! It is, however, the experience of a lifetime… Upon sighting the gorillas, you stay with them for a magical hour as they go about their daily lives feeding, playing, resting and raising their young. Afterward, drive back to your lodge for lunch and the remainder of the day at leisure.
The tracking distance is 50 to 100 kilometers. The travel time is variable.
| Hotel | Meal Plan |
| Ingagi Parkview Lodge | Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner (FB) |
DAY 4 – DRIVE TO KIGALI AND DEPART
After a delicious breakfast, Bid farewell to Volcanoes national park and depart from the lodge driving through the beautiful hills of Rwanda to Kigali International Airport for your outbound flight.
The route covers approximately 200 kilometers. The journey time is around 2.5 to 3 hours.