Upon arrival in Kigali. You will be met and transferred to your hotel.
After breakfast today, you will be met by your guide and transferred for your half day city tour, including the genocide memorial museum. The memorial was built in 2004 on the burial site of 250,000 genocide victims. The site includes an exhibit documenting the genocide, a children’s memorial and an exhibit on the history of genocide around the world.
In the afternoon, you will begin the two-hour road transfer to Kinigi at the base of Sabinyo Mountain and Volcanoes National Park. The road is paved and offers stunning views of the hills and valleys of the green and lush countryside. You will arrive at your lodge where you will enjoy the next two nights.
After breakfast, take a short drive to Park Headquarters for your first day of gorilla trekking. You will meet the excellent local guides and trackers who will give a talk on the etiquette of gorilla trekking. You will then hike into the forest where the gorillas were seen the night before and track from that point.
The trekking can take from 1 to 6 hours and climb to altitudes in excess of 7,500 feet. The terrain is rough and at times muddy. Although the hike is physically demanding the beauty of the forest and surrounding scenery make the trekking worthwhile. Once the gorillas are located all fatigue is forgotten, as the experience is often described as being the most profound natural history experience in the world.
Picnic lunches are provided and it is important to take plenty of water. Cameras and fast speed film are recommended. It can rain at a few minutes’ notice; hence waterproof clothing is a good essential including zip lock bags for cameras and film.
Caves (AFTERNOON OPTIONAL EXTRA)
Take a tour to the Caves: Located in the Musanze district and formed over centuries of volcanic activity from the Virunga volcanoes, these caves give tourists a rare look into Rwandan earth and history. The 1.25 mile long cave formations are a great place to explore. The guided tours explain the history of the caves from their formation to their various uses in history for example, during times of war they were used as a shelter. Tours of the caves take approximately 2.5 hours and are a great add-on activity.
Our exhilarating trek, in the footsteps of the rare and critically endangered Mountain Gorillas, the largest living primate on earth, starts in the cultivated foothills of the Virungas with stirring views in all directions. Upon entering the national park, her paths littered with fresh spoor of the mountains’ elusive buffalo and elephant, trekkers will be immersed in the mysterious intimacy of the rainforest, alive with colorful bird calls, butterflies, etc. Through gaps in the canopy, the magnificent Virunga peaks, among the highest in Africa yet easily accessible, are glimpsed, beckoning an ascent.
Weaving through overhanging vines, moss-covered hagenia and giant lobelias that thrive in the tropical climate, our experienced trackers, they spent their entire lives in or close to this forest, soon bring us up close with the family.
Upon sighting the gorillas, you will stay with them for a magical hour as they go about their daily life, feeding, playing, resting; raising their young. Coming face to face with a giant silverback must truly be one of the greatest wildlife experiences on earth!
Morning at leisure. Transfer to Kigali International Airport for your departure flight.
