4 Days Rwanda Gorillas Safaris

Activity note: Upon arrival in Kigali, Rwanda this evening, you’ll be picked by your hotel representative as confirmed on your pre-flight passenger locater before boarding and be escorted you to your hotel—a transfer of about 30 minutes. When you arrive at the hotel, you will check in and receive your room assignment.

Depending on what hotel we stay at, we’ll likely be located in Kigali’s business district, just steps away from Kigali City Tower in the center of the city. Typical hotel amenities include a restaurant, bar, an outdoor swimming pool, and a fitness center; rooms are likely to feature air conditioning, satellite TV, wireless Internet, and private bath with hair dryer. You’ll receive another covid-19 test by the Rwandan authorities as which may take 8hr – 24hrs, thus you’ll waiting at the designated hotel until the results are out.

Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the hotel beginning at 8am, with a variety of fresh breads, pastries, and hot and cold selections.

Lunch: At around 1:00pm on the onsite restaurant.

Afternoon: 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 your hotel ad check in. Take a walk around the local market for sightseeing.

Activity Note: Today’s mountain gorilla trek typically involves two to four hours of walking through thick brush over steep, rugged terrain at elevations ranging from 7,000 to 9,000 feet—and can include exposure to stinging nettles and fire ants. As overexposure to humans is harmful to mountain gorillas, contact is limited to one hour—and there is the possibility that they may become agitated and retreat back into the bush in less than our allotted time. Any travelers showing signs of obvious illness may be refused entrance by park authorities..

Breakfast: Served buffet-style at the lodge, beginning at 6am.

Morning: At about 7:00am, we take a drive of about 30 minutes to the National Park headquarters at to meet your guides for the day. After completing our park formalities, we are embark on a once in a life time 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 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 1000 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 3 hours or longer at a relatively high altitude.

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. Depending on the length of our trek, groups will return to our lodge by about 1pm.

Lunch: Around 1:30pm at our lodge.

Afternoon: Relax for the rest of your afternoon.

Dinner: Around 7:30pm, in the restaurant of your hotel.

Evening: You are free to relax from the day’s activities at the bar, or retire early to rest up for tomorrow.

Activity Note: The visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial includes many graphic images and may be disturbing to some travelers.

Morning: At about 8am, we’ll depart for Kigali for a day of discoveries in the gleaming Rwandan capital of Kigali. Nestled along picturesque hilltops and pulsing with African charm, Kigali is not only situated in Rwanda’s geographical center, but was also at the center of the horrific events of 1994, when close to a million ethnic Tutsis (and moderate Hutus) were systematically murdered by their Hutu neighbors over the course of 100 unspeakably brutal days. President Paul Kagame is largely credited with Rwanda’s remarkable transformation from a genocidal battlefield into a thriving, peaceful nation once more.

To learn more about Rwanda’s tragic past, we’ll begin our day at the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which was conceived both as a tribute to the victims of the Rwandan genocide and to ensure that this history is never repeated. Built over a mass burial ground for a quarter million victims, this moving memorial features various exhibit halls that trace the events of the 100-day genocide, reveal the colonial history of Rwanda and factors leading up to the slaughter, and highlight other instances of 20th-century genocides around the world that speak to mankind’s capacity for cruelty.

Lunch: Around 12:30pm, at a local restaurant featuring regional specialties.

Afternoon: Around 5pm, we’ll enjoy a Farewell Dinner at a restaurant in Kigali, with appetizer, main course, dessert, and choice of beer, wine, or soft drink.

Evening: Transfer to the airport for your flight back home.