This tour takes you to the Virungas and to the rarely visited and extremely beautiful Nyungwe Forest in southern Rwanda. This fascinating trip is for those willing to accept the lack of modern conveniences to experience what very few others truly have.

Volcanoes National Park for gorilla tracking and golden monkey tracking
Nyungwe Forest for 12 other primate species

Day 1

Today you arrive in Kigali. We will met you and transfer you to your lodge

Overnight: Volcanoes Virungas Lodge

Meal Plan: Dinner

Day 2 and 3

Early start to Ruhengeri, to start the Gorilla tracking for these 2 days. The next two days activities may be amongst the most exciting and challenging of our entire expedition. The Mountain Gorillas in the Parc Nationale des Volcanes are part of a worldwide population of just 600 individuals. The gorillas we are allowed to track belong either one of four habituated family groups. For up to five years each, these groups have undergone an extremely delicate process that has gradually brought them to tolerate the presence of humans for a brief period every day and allowed a few privileged visitors to interact with them in the wild.

The gorillas are by no means tame, and are completely wild animals. However, experienced guides will accompany us on our tracking, many of who have been involved in the habituation process themselves. The guides will use their knowledge of the gorillas’ habits and information from the previous day to locate the group’s whereabouts.

Because of this, the time taken to track the gorillas varies enormously, from as little as half an hour to as much as 9 hours before one returns to base. Once the gorillas are located, our group will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. This is one of the world’s truly memorable experiences – a look into one of these magnificent creatures eyes brings home the bond that exists between them and us. It also brings home the poignant fact that they are on the edge of extinction, and that our presence here contributes to ensuring their continued survival.

Overnight: Volcanoes Virungas Lodge

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 4

This morning you participate in another adventure tracking the “Little Primates” of the Virungas, the Golden Monkey (Cercopithecus Kandti), now listed by the IUCN as endangered because of their small numbers. We will be part of a select group of a maximum of 6 people, and the track will take most of the day. You return to Kigali in the later afternoon.

Overnight: Novotel Kigali

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 5

Today we have a leisurely trip to the south of the country, traveling the 280 kilometers to Nyungwe. On the way, we may stop over at Butare or Gikorongo to see some of the cultural sites like the traditional palace at Nyanza or the Cathedral at Kabgayi. Finally, we wind west through the Nyungwe Forest. This 970-square-kilometer National Park protects the largest single tract of montane forest remaining anywhere in East or Central Africa. One of the oldest rainforests in Africa, it protects 75 mammal species (Chimpanzees and 12 other primates, several of which are listed as vulnerable or endangered on the IUCN red list), 275 birds, 120 butterflies and more than 120 varieties of orchid. We enjoy an afternoon walk before going on to Cyangugu

Overnight: Gisakura Guest House

Meal Plan: Full Board

Days 6 and 7

We spend the next two days exploring this fascinating corner of Africa, relatively untouched by tourism. The primate species that occur in Nyungwe represent about 25% of the total number in Africa, a phenomenal figure. We may see some of these as well as other plant and animal species in this highly bio-diverse area as we enjoy some of the 10 walking trails in the forest

Overnight: Gisakura Guest House

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 8

Today we return to Kigali.

Overnight: Novotel Kigali

Meal Plan: Full Board

Day 9

We depart on our international flight home this morning.

Meal Plan: Breakfast

INCLUSIONS

Accommodation in standard twin rooms.
Meals as indicated in the daily meal plan.
All road and internal air transfers as indicated.
2 gorilla permits per person.
Park fees.
All activities described in the itinerary, unless specified as extras.

EXCLUSIONS

International Air Fares, entry visa fees, domestic and international departure tax.
Beverages.
All expenses of a personal nature.
Tips and gratuities for your driver/guide hotel/camp staff.