Day 1: Arrival - Volcanoes National Park
Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport (KGL), your driver guide will be waiting for you. He will then transfer you to Kigali for a city tour to Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre before proceeding to Volcanoes National Park, home to mountain gorillas. The journey takes you through the beautiful terraced hillsides that characterize much of Rwanda’s landscape. Dinner and overnight will be at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge.
- Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
- Meal plan: Lunch and dinner
Day 2: Gorilla tracking
You will have an early morning breakfast and get ready for today’s lifetime event of gorilla tracking. You will assemble at the park headquarters with packed lunch and drinking water, have a briefing about the Do’s and Dont’s while you are with the gorillas. Depending on the level of fitness, you may be asked to choose the group you wish to trek and the closest is about 2 hours or even a couple of minutes from the park boundary.
The trek is quite strenuous, so you should be able to hike for 2 - 8 hours on steep and slippery mountain trails. You will then descend to the lodge for a rest. If the evening is free, you can have a cultural tour to nearby communities or nature walk to the beautiful twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. Dinner and overnight will be at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge.
Kindly note that children above 15 years are allowed to trek gorillas and chimpanzee.
- Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Day 3: Transfer to Nyungwe Forest (home of primates)
Today, after breakfast, you will be transferred to Nyungwe. Nyungwe Forest is made up of a variety of habitats including montane forests, bamboos, grasslands, and swamps. This is home to 13 primate species such as chimpanzees, endangered golden monkeys, blue monkeys, colobus, red tailed monkeys and grey-checked mangabeys. There are also about 300 bird species. You will relax in the evening as you wait for dinner and overnight stay.
- Accommodation: Nyungwe Forest Lodge
- Meal plan: Full board
Day 4: Chimpanzee tracking and optional canopy walk
You will take early morning breakfast and enter Nyungwe Forest for chimpanzee trekking. Along the trek, you will encounter other species of unhabituated golden monkeys and grey-cheeked mangabey, blue monkeys, L, host's monkeys, Angolan colobus monkey, and owl-faced colobus monkey as well as over 300 bird species. After lunch, you may choose to relax or go for the optional canopy walk.
- Accommodation: Nyungwe Forest Lodge
- Meal plan: Full board
Day 5: Nyungwe - Butare - Kigali
You will depart for Kigali after breakfast, stop in Butare town to visit the Ethnographic Museum, have lunch and proceed to the hotel of your choice in Kigali where the tour ends.
