THE SAFARI SPECIALIST
Gorilla Trekking
Rwanda
Parc des Volcans
Virunga Mountains
Lying along the north-west border of the small country of Rwanda the incredible Parc des Volcans includes a portion of the Virunga Volcanoes, one of the most stirring sights in East Africa. The rugged chain of eight peaks rises as high as 4500m and five of these mountains are protected within Rwanda. The lower slopes are coated with thick rainforest, providing a last refuge for the critically endangered mountain gorillas; the children and grandchildren of the same individuals studied by Dian Fossey, through whose efforts the mountain gorilla has survived and is now tentatively thriving and increasing in numbers.
Few experiences match that of trekking through the fragrant rainforest to find and spend time with mountain gorillas. There are ten habituated groups within the park as well as Golden Monkeys, a rainbow variety of birds and the elusive buffalo and elephant.
3 Days Rwanda
1 Gorilla Trek,
1 Golden Monkey Trek/Fossey Karisoke Visit
1 Night Kigali Marriott
2 Nights 5 Volcanoes
From:
$2,200pp
plus $1500 Gorilla Permit
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1 Night Kigali Marriott
2 Nights Volcanoes Virunga Lodge
From:
$3,600
plus $1500 Gorilla Permit
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1 Night Kigali Marriott
2 Nights Sabinyo Silverback Lodge
From:
$4,100
plus $1500 Gorilla Permit
1 Night Kigali Marriott
2 Nights Bisate Lodge
From:
$5,400pp
plus $1500 Gorilla Permit
Volcanoes Virunga Lodge
Volcanoes Virunga Lodg
Volcanoes Virunga Lodge
Arrive Kigali airport
(If continuing from a Tanzania safari you will fly Serengeti to Kigali via Coastal Air arriving 17:25)
Transfer to Kigali Marriott – Overnight
Day 1
After breakfast embark on a city tour of Kigali including a visit to the Genocide Museum. Enjoy lunch at a city restaurant before private transfer by road about 3 hours to Musanze near Volcanoes National Park.
Relax in your lodge and prepare for an early morning start.
Overnight: Five Volcanoes /Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge/Volcanoes Virungas/ Bisate / Singita Kwitonda
Day 2
You will be transferred to the park headquarters for briefing at 7am before beginning the trek to find one of the 10 Gorilla families that have been habituated to the presence of humans.
Depending on the length of the trek, in the afternoon, if time and weather permit, visit the twin lakes Burera and Ruhondo or the local markets in Musanze town.
Overnight: Five Volcanoes /Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge/Volcanoes Virungas/ Bisate / Singita Kwitonda
Day 3
After an early breakfast, transfer back to the park headquarters for briefing before heading into the forest to track equally rare Golden Monkeys or alternatively hike to Karisoke, the original site of Dian Fossey's camp and early research center and gravesite of Dian and her beloved Digit and other gorillas.
Depart for Kigali in time to connect to evening flights.
First gazetted in 1925, Volcanoes National Park was the first national park in Africa, intended to protect the Mountain Gorillas that were discovered on the ridges of the mountains by German explorer Captain Robert von Beringe in 1902. In 1967, American naturalist Dian Fossey arrived in the park and set up her research centre, Karisoke, a combination of the names of the two mountains between which the centre was located, Karisimbi and Visoke. What is left of Karisoke can still be visited to this day. The park offers stunning scenery on a clear day, with 9 volcanoes stretching into the horizon from east to west. Two of these, Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira in the Democratic Republic Congo are still active, and Nyamuragira’s red glow can often be seen reflected off low-lying clouds above the mountain.