5 Day Safari: More Than Gorillas Safari

After breakfast, your day starts with a complementary tour of the city. Named in 1907 by Dr. Richard Kandt, the first colonial resident governor of Rwanda; Kigali city is surrounded by lush hills of green and is referred to as the land of a thousand hills. Get to visit interesting spots which may include; the craft market, Gisozi genocide memorial site & Kigali museum. Depart for a 2 hours’ drive to Ruhengeri area the second largest town in Rwanda, with its stunning backdrop of five volcanic mountains – The Virungas. Arrive at Red rocks Intercultural Exchange center for lunch then joins the local brew makers to understand the chemistry of the process of brewing a local beer from bananas fruits. If you find the activity interesting enough you can join the women in squeezing the juice out of the bananas and drink a glass of juice (Optional). Understand how long juice takes to turn into alcohol after adding in sorghum floor. Enjoy the big glass of our local brew. Among other activities, they also do basket weaving and with your visit, this local community will be proud of this activity, and families supported financially. Later drive to the hotel of your choice i.e. Garden Place Hotel (Budget) | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge (Mid-range) | Virunga Lodge (Luxury) dinner and overnight. Driving distance: 2 hours Activities: City Tour + Intercultural Exchange Overnight: Garden Place Hotel | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Virunga Lodge Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast The Garden Place Hotel is a uniquely spacious hotel offering comfortable stylish accommodation to both business and holiday travelers. It is strategically located near Rwanda Volcanoes. The Hotel offers a distinctive blend of comfort, warmth, and personalized hospitality. The luxury rooms boast a view of volcanic mountains. The Garden Place Hotel is a perfect option location for those wishing to do gorilla tracking or simply to come to relax in the serenity and beauty that the Virunga Mountains of Northern Rwanda has to offer. Mountain Gorilla View Lodge is located in Kinigi in northern Rwanda and on the edge of the Volcanoes National Park, home to the endangered Mountain Gorillas. The lodge is located on the foothills of Mount Karisimbi, one of the volcanic mountains that make up the Virunga Massif. The lodge is about 10 minutes’ drive to the main entrance of the Volcanoes National Park where gorilla trekking starts. Mountain Gorilla View Lodge is an Eco-lodge with 30 spacious chalets. To ensure the least disruption of the surrounding environment, the Ecolodge was constructed with locally available material. Every chalet comes with a sitting area with a fireplace and has a tea/coffee making machine. The Eco-lodge supports the surrounding rural community by purchasing farm-fresh produce that is served in the lodge’s restaurant. Virunga Lodge is the premier luxury gorilla lodge of Rwanda and one of Africa’s finest and most renowned lodges. The lodge is perched high on a ridge with stunning views of the Virunga Volcanoes and the Musanze valley to the west and Lake Bulera and Ruhondo to the east. It offers the finest views in Africa, uniquely decorated rooms in the Rwandese style, fantastic food and exceptional and personalized service by our carefully trained staff. It is the first accommodation choice for the luxury traveler tracking the endangered mountain gorilla. In 2017 Virunga Lodge has been ranked on Condé Nast Traveler’s list of the best Africa Resorts in their 30th annual Readers Choice Awards.

This day is set out for Golden Monkey tracking in the Volcanoes National Park. Entering dense stands of bamboo interspersed with open glades; you will make your way deep into golden monkey territory. Guides lead visitors to the habitat of groups of ‘habituated’ golden monkeys that have become accustomed to human presence. Though viewing is kept to a maximum of one hour, travelers can get an up-close look at the golden monkey in its natural habitat. Adult monkeys frolic in plain view, feeding on bamboo leaves and leaping from perch to perch. Females carry their young, completely comfortable among onlookers. Later visit Iby’iwacu Cultural Village a Non-Profit umbrella organization that aims at improving the lives of reformed poachers and communities around Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park through provision of conservation incentives, supporting community enterprise development and livelihood based projects. Return to your hotel to freshen up and have lunch then later dinner and overnight. Driving distance: 45 minutes Activities: 1 Golden Monkey Trek Overnight: Garden Place Hotel | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Virunga Lodge Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

After an early breakfast, you will proceed to the National Park headquarters – Kinigi to meet your guides for the day. After completing our park formalities, we are embarking on a once in a lifetime experience of tracking mountain gorillas. Once you spot them you are allowed to spend an hour watching your closest long-lost cousin. This is perhaps one of the most breath-taking wildlife experiences on earth!!! You get so close to these awesome giant primates. You stare at each other blankly not knowing who to break the long silence first. Tracking the gorillas through the light mountain forest on the slopes of the Virunga is a magical experience. These massive primates are extremely rare, with less than 700 living today. You will get within meters of the family, and be privileged to spend an hour amongst them. The trekking may be fairly strenuous; up to six hours or longer at a relatively high altitude. We encourage for your own enjoyment to make sure that you are perfectly fit and healthy. (We’ve had people as old as 70years old do gorilla tracking so this should not be a problem; all you need is to ask your driver guide to request a shorter group for you if you cannot trek far)It is important to bring good hiking boots, long trousers, gloves for protection against stinging nettles, some snacks & sweets (for you, not the gorillas) as well as sufficient water as the rain forest gets hot and humid during the day. You will spend one hour with the gorillas, but it is an hour you will never forget. Return to your hotel for lunch and later dinner and overnight. Driving distance: 45 minutes Activities: 1 Gorilla Trek Overnight: Garden Place Hotel | Mountain Gorilla View Lodge | Virunga Lodge Meal Plan: Full board – Lunch, Dinner, bed & breakfast

After breakfast, you will depart for a 2 hours’ drive to Kigali. Engage in last-minute shopping in one of the friendliest African capitals, before returning to the airport for your onward international flight back home.