3 Days Gorillas & Golden Monkey Trekking in Rwanda

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Overview

With 3 days to explore over 16000 hectares of Tropical rainforest, bamboo forest, thickets, savannah grasslands, marshlands and swamps, Alpine forests and Meadows of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, you will need to be prepared for unmatched experiences. For our 3 days Gorillas & Golden Monkey trekking in Rwanda, travellers have to be prepared to tackle two prominent primate treks-Gorilla trekking and Golden Monkey tracking, plus a bonus visit to the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo or visit to the Gorilla Guardians Village. All these are possible because of the short driving distance-116 kilometers in 2.5 to 3 hours from the capital city.

Located in the north-west of Rwanda (in the Northern Province), Volcanoes National Park is every travellers dream for this country and covers an area of about 160 square kilometers. This protected area is where mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, bushbucks, leopards, duikers, Sitatunga, buffaloes and many others with over 178 bird species that include Albertine Rift and Rwenzori mountain range endemics. While gorilla trekking and golden monkey tracking are the two main activities offered in this Park, travellers also have the chance to hike to the Dian Fossey gravesite, watch different bird species and also hike the Virunga Volcanoes.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Journey to Volcanoes National Park, Northern Province of Rwanda (two nights)

After sharing pleasantries at the Airport (on arrival) or the Hotel in Kigali City, you will continue to different magical tourist sites in the Capital like Genocide Memorial Sites, Craft markets and Kimironko local market. The scenic drive to Volcanoes National park starts immediately after your lunch within one of the top City eateries and will take less than 3 hours to complete. Stay overnight and rest within the outskirts of Volcanoes National Park in the Northern Province of Rwanda.

Day 2: Trekking endangered mountain gorillas and visit to the thrilling Gorilla Guardians village

Relish a delicious breakfast while watching the sunrise bouncing off the Virunga Mountains. The mandatory pre-tracking briefing begins by 7:00am thus this time should find you at the Park Headquarters, after which be allocated to a gorilla group. A number of factors are considered when allocating gorilla groups and these include traveler’s level of physical fitness, age and preferences. Start the trek by 8:00am and this ends after 2-6 hours (including the one hour provided for observation).

Celebrate trekking one of the World’s most adorable creatures with a gorilla trekking certificate. Later, take a cold bath, hefty lunch at the Lodge and short siesta. Spend the evening with the local community through tours of Gorilla Guardian Village and you can never resist their local beer (brewed from bananas), preparing and savoring on local cuisines, traditional dance performances, preparation of herbal medicine and taking part in traditional dance performances. Rest and enjoy dinner with fresh memories of the gorilla trekking and cultural tour.

Day 3: Golden Monkey trek and journey back to Kigali

Your last day is filled with another jungle experience-Golden monkey tracking that begins with briefing at the Park Headquarters (just like gorilla treks). The trek is done in the same way as the previous one and ends earlier because the Golden monkeys live in lower slopes. Have lunch and pack bags for the scenic journey back to Kigali City.

Affiliations

UWA AUTO USAGA UTB