In this amazing 5 Day Rwanda safari to Volcanoes National Park, you will track gorillas in their natural habitat at the park, an activity that will get you closer to these Human Relatives with close to 98% of human DNA.
Have another day with the beautiful creatures, the golden monkeys, tracking while following their footsteps, then end the entire adventure with a hike to Dian Fossey’s Grave in memory of her conservation efforts; the safari will also have additional bonuses and activities such as sport biking, nature walk, birding and cultural encounters among other interesting activities.
Day 1: Pick up and drive to Volcanoes National Park.
Our company representative will pick you up from a hotel, Airport, or residence; there will be a briefing as you enjoy a cup of coffee together before driving off to volcanoes national park where all the activities will transpire.
Prior to the transfer, you may tour the city and visit Kigali genocide memorial site where approximately 250,000 people were buried. It is a place where visitors head to pay tributes as well as learning the disadvantages of discrimination, tribalism and genocide, thereafter, have lunch and proceed to the park arriving in evening for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Early morning gorilla trekking and visit the Twin lakes.
Early in the morning, pack a camera, binoculars, clad on good hiking outfit and head to Volcanoes national park where you will join your colleagues for ape trekking briefing as you enjoy a cup of coffee, the park rangers will be verifying your documents as well as explaining some of the essential information you should know before getting to the jungle to track the apes.
Everybody is soon allocated to respective gorilla families and guide to accompany a group of 8 trekkers to the jungle in search for these gentle giants. As you move, keep on enjoying the birds’ melodies and sighting other primates along the way, jumping from one tree branch to another, though the trek might seem strenuous, the relief that will come upon finding them is tremendous.
One hour will be given to you to watch, take photos and write some notes on the Unique behaviors and attributes these creatures possess as explained by a ranger guide.
Return to the lodge, take delicious lunch and head to the Twin Lakes (Ruhondo and Bulera) for sight-seeing, traditional canoeing and relaxation till evening when you will return home for dinner and a night stay.
Day 3: Golden Monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park and guided nature walk.
start your day with breakfast then head to the park’s headquarters for briefing where the park rangers will tell you the dos and don’ts while trekking. Golden monkeys are one of the unique and rarest primate species found in Africa, which can be only located in the Virunga massif – in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National park and Mgahinga National Park in Uganda.
Trekking them is hard and requires maximum attention since they move very fast and are so playful, therefore it requires you to be so active and observant if you will have to take the best shot at the end of the activity.
The trekking time depends on how far the creatures move though it can be estimated to be between 2-7 hours. Upon finishing the trek, descend to the park’s headquarters where you will head back to the lodge for relaxation, dinner, and overnight as you wait to hike to the Diana Fossey’s grave the next day.
Day 4: Hike Dian Fossey and cultural experience.
After breakfast, you will head out for a trek to the graveyard of a researcher who devoted her entire life to conserving the Mountain gorillas with in the Virunga region, though she met her death in 1985 by some unknown assailants who murdered her.
Dian Fossey was carrying research about mountain gorillas primarily in the Park National des Vulcans, Virunga national park and Mgahinga national park after her arrival in 1967. She established the Karisoke Research Centre between Karisimbi and Bisoke mountains and spent her entire life at the park, writing a book, “Gorillas in the Mist” which was later acted in a movie after her death.
Her grave lies close to her research center amongst the gorillas which became her life. When the trek is done, return to the lodge for lunch, relax a bit and go for a cultural encounter at Ibyiwachu village where you will be amazed by the local performances of the natives, the dances and entertaining stories. After that, dinner and overnight will follow at the lodge.
Day 5: Drive to Kigali International Airport and a City tour enroute.
Start your day with a taste of coffee, next, check out of the lodge and head to Kigali international airport for your flight back home. As you reach the city, have a stopover and visit the craft market to buy some of the Rwandan souvenirs and later Transfer to the Airport for your home-bound flight.
