On your arrival at Kigali International Airport you will be met and transferred to the Serena Hotel.
Founded in 1907 under German colonial rule, Kigali has been the capital of Rwanda since 1962 when the country gained its independence.
An attractive city with few large buildings, it spreads over a number of hills. The main shopping and commercial area is around the Hotel Mille Collines, with the government district on the neighbouring Kaciyiru Hill. The markets, the handicrafts and the Muslim quarter are some of the main places of interest.
Overnight - Kigali Serena Hotel
This morning you set off on a city tour of Kigali. Central to the tour will be a visit to the Genocide Memorial, an incredibly moving experience. The Kigali Memorial Centre was opened on the 10th Anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide, in April 2004. The Centre is built on a site where over 250,000 people are buried. These graves are a clear reminder of the cost of ignorance. It is a permanent memorial to those who fell victim to the genocide and serves as a place for people to grieve those they lost. Although it has seen some difficult times through the genocide in 1994 and subsequently as power changed hands, it now has a pleasant, buoyant air. The people are poor, but friendly and optimistic.
Following the tour and lunch you transfer north by road to Sabyinyo Lodge. The driving time will be approximately 3 hours arriving mid-afternoon.
Overnight - Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge
09:00
Kigali City & Genocide Museum Tour
You have an early start today and leave the lodge around 6.45 am in order to be at the park gates by 7.00 am. On arrival, you will complete park formalities and are allocated a gorilla family group for the day.
There are ten groups of habituated gorillas in the park and depending on where the groups are, between 16 and 32 gorilla permits are issued each day. Which group you’re allocated will depend upon your fitness level and your desire to trek. Some of the gorilla families are located further away than others. After a briefing and a short drive you will commence your trek.
Parc des Volcans (French for Volcanoes National Park) protects the Rwandan sector of the Virunga Volcanoes, home to 300 mountain gorillas of which only around 600 survive worldwide. The Park is named after a string of magnificent free-standing volcanoes that range from 2,500-4,500 metres in height and are one of the most stirring and memorable sights in East Africa. It was here that Dian Fossey studied the gorillas for 20 years and it is largely thanks to her work that poaching was curtailed while there were still some gorillas to save.
The first sighting of a gorilla in the wild is an exhilarating and extraordinary experience. It’s worth remembering that Rwanda’s gorillas need tourists to survive – your permit money is channelled back into the protection of the Volcanoes National Park.
Once you’ve sighted the gorillas, you spend an hour with them before heading to the Lodge and enjoy lunch (depending on how long it takes to locate your family group).
The afternoon can be spent relaxing or if you are feeling active, you can set off on one of the optional activities available.
Overnight - Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge
Note: You will encounter a great deal of stinging nettles during your trek, so a pair of cheap gardening gloves is recommended, and long trousers are mandatory.
This morning you set off on your second morning of gorilla trekking.
You rise early and once at the park headquarters and are allocated a different family group to the one you saw yesterday. After spending another magical hour with the gorillas you trek back to the vehicle and drive back to Kigali.
Your arrival time will depend on how long it takes to locate your gorilla group.
Overnight - Kigali Serena Hotel
Today you depart Rwanda. You are transferred to Kigali Airport and board your departing flight.
