Day 1: Arrive Kigali
Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport you will be met by a representative who will assist you with customs and immigration clearance. Thereafter you will be taken to your driver/guide and transferred to Kigali Serena hotel. Dinner will be on your own.
Situated in Central Kigali, 10 km from the international airport, Kigali Serena Hotel comprises of 148 air conditioned rooms in various categories: Standard, Deluxe, Superior (43), Prime (7), Junior Suites (18), Executive Suites (6) as well as a Presidential Suite. Other facilities include the elegant Milima Restaurant, the Lounge Bar, gymnasium, swimming pool, a Spa, and WIFI internet access.
Day 2: Volcanoes National Park
After breakfast, you will be collected from your Hotel and taken on a Kigali City Tour which includes the Memorial Center and Crafts Centers. Lunch at a local restaurant; afterwards drive North to Volcanoes National Park, check-in for dinner and overnight.
The Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel is unique as it provides all services ranging from high end accommodation with heather rooms, modern restaurant etc. to packed lunch and refreshments packages to non-resident guests – as the only facility in that region. The Boutique Hotel provides three categories of rooms.
Day 3: Gorilla Tracking
Early in the morning, you will wake up to a sumptuous breakfast and depart for the park headquarters for your gorilla trek. You will be divided into a group of eight people. The Wildlife Authority Guide will take you through a session of briefing and if you have any questions, this is the time you need to ask. After briefing, you will then be driven to the starting point and off you will start your trek.
Gorilla trekking can be fairly strenuous, so a certain level of fitness is always required. Gorilla treks can take from 30 minutes to 8 hours to find the gorillas. Once you find these mountain gorillas, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them before returning to your lodge for lunch, relaxation and a community walk.
Mountain gorillas are located in high altitudes, in the Virunga range of volcanic mountains on the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Uganda. The Virunga population is estimated to be 500 gorillas. Mountain gorillas are social animals, living together in small groups, though some families can be as large as 30 individuals. Each family unit usually is comprised of a dominant adult male, several adult females, young males and females, and their offspring. Gorillas share 98% of human DNA. They are very intelligent creatures that exhibit human emotions.
Day 4: Gorilla or Golden Monkey Trek
Following your breakfast, you will be collected from your Lodge and taken on either your 2nd Gorilla Trek or the Golden Monkey Walk before returning to the lodge for lunch.
The very beautiful Golden Monkey has a golden body, cheeks and tail with contrasting black limbs, crown, and tail-end. Not much is known about their behavior; other than they live in social groups of up to 30 individuals and their diet consists mainly of leaves and fruit. Restricted to the highland forest of the Virungas, especially near bamboo, they share this habitat with their big brother the Mountain Gorilla, inhabiting a small area that overlaps the territory of one of the Gorilla families.
Tracking usually takes from 2 to 4 hrs. Once you come to the habituated families, you will spend the allowed one hour with them as they go about their daily life; adult monkeys frolic in plain view, feeding on bamboo leaves and leaping from perch to perch while females carry their young, completely oblivious of on-lookers.
Later this afternoon, bid farewell to the journey and return to Kigali for your departure flight(s).
