3 Days Gorilla Trek in Volcano National Park, Rwanda
At a glance
First in this safari you may visit The Kigali Genocide Memorial commemorates the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Alternatively were could offer a different place to explore for those who may something different. There are remains of over 250,000 people are interred there. There is a visitor centre for students and those wishing to understand the events leading up to the genocide of 1994. The Centre is a permanent memorial to those who fell victim to the genocide and serves as a place in which the bereaved could bury their family and friends. The Centre is managed and run by the Aegis Trust on behalf of the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide.
Detailed trip itinerary
Day 1: Volcanoes National Park, Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge (Fullboard)
The tour guide will pick you from your hotel and drive you for a city tour Around Kigali. You will visit Gisozi Genocide Memorials, local market and craft shop. You will visit the Nyamata and Ntarama and see a clear picture of what happened in 1994. After, drive to Ruhengeri, the home of gorillas, on the way, enjoy escalating mountains and beautiful sceneries. It is approximately 2 hours from Kigali to Ruhengeri.
Dinner and overnight at Da Vinci gorilla Lodge.
- 24-hour room service
- Hot water showers
- Bar Lounge
- Fine restaurants
- Foreign exchange bureau
- Wi-Fi
- Bisoke Hiking
- Cycling Tours
- Karisimbi Hiking
- Gorilla Trekking
Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge is one of the finest safari lodges offering comfortable accommodation to travelers visiting Volcanoes National Park, northern Rwanda. Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge is perfectly positioned in Kinigi, Musanze and offers a prime location to those looking to gorilla tracking and exploratory tours within the Volcanoes National Park.
Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge is one of the latest additions to the Rwanda gorilla safari lodges. It enjoys the center stage for staying overnight for the travelers intending to track Mountain Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. The Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge is new, relaxing and has attention to offering ideal midrange stay for the travelers on a trekking safari in Rwanda.
That's why it’s highly recommended to enjoy the comfort of the lodge as your station while going gorilla trekking, hiking the volcanoes, going on biking tours, and visiting the Volcanoes National Park. It is a great chance to enjoy walking with the gorillas while staying at a great place.
Rwanda’s gorilla trekking is a once-in-a-lifetime experience (easily added on to any African safari). But there is plenty more on offer. Volcanoes National Park is the place to be for gorilla trekking and volcano hikes. Chimps and many other primates can be found in Nyungwe Forest, while savannah safaris are offered in off-the-beaten-track Akagera National Park. Rwanda has an amazing variety of primates. Aside from mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, there are many different monkey species to look out for including the very localized golden monkey, as well as l’Hoest’s monkey, Rwenzori colobus and red-tailed monkey. All of the Big Five can be seen in Akagera NP but there is no cheetah in Rwanda.
Rwanda is a great birding destination with nearly 700 species recorded within an area smaller than Belgium. Rwanda doesn’t have any endemics, occurring in the country only, but it does have several near-endemics which can be found in Rwanda and its neighboring countries. Of specific interest are the 27 Albertine Rift endemics which can be found in the high-altitude rainforest area in and around Nyungwe Forest National Park.
From a birdlife perspective, Rwanda is a fine destination any time of year, especially since the main draw here is the resident birds. Most of Rwanda’s special birds can be found in Nyungwe Forest; the birding is best here from January to June as most birds are vocal at that time. April is extremely wet, however, so logistics can become challenging. The Dry season months from June to September are easier, as forest trails are drier and hiking is less difficult. This is also the best time for gorilla trekking. Migrants are present from November to April.
- Archer's robin-chat
- Beaudouin's snake eagle
- Blue-headed sunbird
- Blue-shouldered robin-chat
- Brown-chested lapwing
- Buff-throated apalis
- Cabanis’s bunting
- Carruthers’s cisticola
- Dimorphic egret
- Dusky crimsonwing
- Dwarf honeyguide
- Eleonora’s falcon
- Grasshopper buzzard
- Grauer's swamp warbler
- Handsome francolin
- Kivu ground thrush
- Mountain masked apalis
- Neumann’s warbler
- Northern brown-throated weaver
- Papyrus canary
- Papyrus gonolek
- Papyrus yellow warbler
- Purple-breasted sunbird
- Red-collared babbler
- Red-faced barbet
- Red-faced woodland warbler
- Red-throated alethe
- Red-winged francolin
- Regal sunbird
- Ring-necked francolin
- Ruwenzori apalis
- Ruwenzori batis
- Ruwenzori nightjar
- Ruwenzori turaco
- Shelley’s francolin
- Shelley's crimsonwing
- Shoebill
- Short-tailed pipit
- Slate-coloured boubou
- Souza's shrike
- Strange weaver
- Stripe-breasted tit
- Striped pipit
- Tabora cisticola
- White-collared oliveback
- White-headed black chat
- White-winged swamp warbler
- Yellow-bellied eremomela
- Yellow-eyed black flycatcher
Day 2: Volcanoes National Park/Iby'iwacu Cultural Village, Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge (Fullboard)
Rise early and transfer to the park; complete the required gorilla tracking formalities and head for gorilla trekking in Rwanda Volcanoes National Park. Mountain gorilla trekking can sometimes be hectic but they often use an advance team to spot the location of gorillas in the wild and you head strait to have a close look at these gentle giants of the wild and endangered species. The experience is a life time to stand before the silver back which is 3 times heavier than a man. After gorilla tracking, relax and then the driver will drive you to Ibyi'wachu Cultural Village, where you will enjoy Kinyarwanda Culture, Songs and dance.
Dinner and overnight at Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge.
Day 3: Golden Monnkey & Departure
In the morning after breakfast depending on the safari activity selected you will re-enter the same forest in such for another endangered species, the golden monkeys. This also another experience as you enjoy them jumping around the tree tops, they are habituated and the trek is not so tire some like that of gorillas. After, the guide will drive you back to Kigali for your flight back home.
End of the safari
Tour Inclusions
Gorilla tracking permits @ 1,500.00 per person- Full board accommodation
- Golden Monkey permits
- Full time English speaking driver / guide and all his allowances
- 4WD comfortable safari vehicle
- Kigali city Tour
- Iby'iwacu Cultural Center
- Pick up and drop off
- 2 bottles of mineral water per day per person
Tour Exclusions
Drinks- Tips for the service
- Yellow fever vaccination
- Visa
- Things of personal use
Easter & Christmas Surcharges
A surcharge would be charged per person per night on Good Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Easter Monday and on 24th 25th, 26th, 31st December and 1st January. The Surcharge would be confirmed at the time of booking for clarity purposes.
For optimal enjoyment of your safari, we urge you to carry the following:
All weather firm shoe pair, short and dress to use during the day, trouser for use in the evenings with long sleeved shirt, sweater or jacket, hat, swimming costume, sunglass, camera, binocular, sun protection cream and insect repellent spray or cream.
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