This 3-day safari will combine great highlights of gorilla trekking, insight into the Rwandan culture by visiting the Ibyiwachu cultural village and hiking Karisimbi which is one of the 8 volcanoes which make up the Virunga ranges.
You will venture into the perfect inhabitant for mountain gorillas in northern Rwanda. The route to this park takes you through the communities where you enjoy the scenery of ‘the thousand hills’.
Safari details.
Day 1-Drive to Volcanoes National park.
Today the guide will pick you up from either the airport or your overnight hotel. He will then brief you about the entire tour. You will take a short Kigali city tour exploring the major historic and cultural sites like the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, Craft markets in Kigali among others.
After you will then have lunch at a local foods restaurant. After the lunch in Kigali city, immediately embark on a journey to the home of endangered mountain gorillas in Volcanoes national park. On reaching the park after about a 2-hour drive, relax and visit the Ibyiwachu cultural village, mingle with the locals and learn about their culture and history.
Day 2-Gorilla tracking.
Today after an early morning breakfast, the driver guide will transfer you for briefing at the park headquarters where you will learn more about the expectation while in the jungles from the ranger guide. You will gather at the headquarters as you enjoy traditional dances or a hot cup of Rwandan coffee.
The ranger guide will share some of the gorilla trekking dos and don’ts like no flash photography and later divide you in the different gorilla trekking groups. Depending on location of the gorilla group you have been assigned to trek, the driver guide will transfer you to the exact trail head of the allocated group. Enter the forest for the trek; the activity can take about 3-6 hours depending on the movement of the gorillas.
You are only allowed an hour with these giant apes and later return to the lodge for relaxation as you await the next day’s adventure to summit Karisimbi.
Day 3- Karisimbi Hike
Today after breakfast, you drive back to park headquarters and you will assemble at the briefing point, just like visitors going for gorilla trekking and will receive a briefing overview of how the entire hike. At this point you can choose to take a guide for $5 or carry your backpack yourself.
Immediately begin the hike with 2 guides, porters, security guard and the trek moves at a pace of the slowest person in the group, and leaves no one behind. On summiting the 4,507 m mountain you will be rewarded with great views of the Crater Lake at the top of this volcano and great sights of other volcanoes in the Virunga conservation region.
This Karisimbi hike will take you the entire day with a stopover along the mountain slopes for lunch before proceeding to the summit. You will arrive at the resting huts at the summit by evening and have dinner and rest for the night ahead.
Day 4- Descend Mountain Karisimbi and transfer to Kigali
The last day of your 4 days Rwanda gorillas and Karisimbi hike will kick off with an elevated breakfast at your resting hut at the summit of Mount Karisimbi. Head out with the guidance of the ranger guide and descend to the foothills of the mountain where you will connect with our driver guide as you conduct your hike. You will be dawned by the brightly shining rays of the sun as it rises unveiling the secrets of the mountain. In about 4 hours you will be on the base of Mount Karisimbi and here our driver guide will transfer you to Kigali City. While here, you will have lunch and in the afternoon set off for the airport for your departure flight back home.
