Safari Overview
This 5 Days Rwanda primates safari, is aimed at giving you a memorable encounter with the giant Mountain gorillas as well as the shy but yet fascinating Golden monkeys as you get to visit Volcanoes National Park home to these primates. Volcanoes National Park is part of the larger Virunga conservation area which is the only place where the Eastern highland mountain gorillas can be found in the entire world. In addition to your face to face encounter with the gentle giants of Volcanoes, you are going to pay homage to one of the biggest primatologist icons Dr Diane Fossey by visiting her tombs and see some of her works at the now defunct Karisoke research station.
Safari Highlight
Day 1: Arrive at Kigali airport, you will be picked up by our safari guide who will transfer you to your hotel in Kigali
Day 2: Transfer to Volcanoes Np and visit the Ibyi’wacu community for a cultural encounter.
Day 3: Engage in an epic gorilla trekking adventure in Volcanoes Park.
Day 4: Meet the Golden Monkeys and also the Diane Fossey Tombs
Day 5: Return to Kigali for a visit to the Kigali Genocide museum.
Detailed itinerary
Day 1: Pick up from the airport and transfer to a hotel in Kigali
Upon your arrival to Kigali International airport, you will be picked up by one of our safari guides who will warmly welcome to Rwanda – the land of a thousand hills. you embark on your transfer to Volcanoes park, home to the biggest primates on earth the giant mountain gorillas. The guide will drive you to your hotel here in Kigali where you will get to recoup your energy as you unwind from your flight to Rwanda.
Accommodation: Heaven Boutique Hotel Kigali
Meal Plan: Breakfast
Day 2: Drive to Volcanoes National Park and visit the Iby’iwacu community
After having breakfast, you will receive a short briefing from your safari guide about this Rwanda safari adventure that’s about to ensue. After the briefing, you will embark on a 110km or 2.5-3 hours journey to Volcanoes National Park. This journey will take you through the spectacular countryside of this rather pristine country. You will get to encounter numerous Rwandans going about their daily activities and these will range from trade to farming their lands. Also, expect to be blown away by the amazing rolling hills of Rwanda which surely confirm to you why this country is referred to as the land of a thousand hills. On reaching Volcanoes Park, you will engage in a community visit to Ibi’wacu community which is found on the peripherals of this park. Here you will get to see for yourself firsthand how these locals have managed to share these lands with the wild dwellers that are so close to them. You will also get to see how the park has immensely helped in improving the lives of these communities as way of ensuring that they peacefully co-exist with gorillas without getting the urge to hunt them.
Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner
Day 3: Spend time with the mountain gorillas
This day you will get you to actually meet the gorillas as you engage in a memorable gorilla trekking experience which will have you meet these gentle giants in their natural habitat. You will spend an hour observing these majestic creatures in order to have an understanding about their habits which aren’t far from our own. In the afternoon after returning from the trek.
Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4: Spend time with the shy Golden monkeys and also visit Diane Fossey tombs and the now defunct Karisoke research station
Day 4 of this African safari tour, will see you get to trek these rather shy but intriguing Golden monkeys that reside in the jungles of Volcanoes Park, you will wake up early for breakfast after which you will be given a briefing just like they did for the gorilla trekking. After this briefing you will embark on a guided jungle walk as you track down where the elusive monkeys are. When you find them, you will have a full hour to observe and photography these unique monkeys. At the end of your encounter with the golden monkeys, you will return to the park center and meet up with your safari guide and this signifies the commencement of your second activity for the day which is a visit to the Dian Fossey grave to pay homage to this gallant lady/ doctor who braved the jungles of Volcanoes over half a century ago in a bid to study the behaviors of Mountain gorillas. In her book and film “Gorillas in the Mist” Dian said “Little did I know then that by setting up two small tents in the wilderness of the Virunga, I had lunched the beginnings of what was to become an internationally renowned research station eventually to be utilized by students and scientists from many countries.” This refers to how big the conservation efforts have grown over the 55 years of existence of this research station. You will also visit the former Karisoke research station which Dian had named after the two Virunga ranges of Karismbi and Bisoke. However, this research campus has now been relocated to its new state of the art station named Ellen DeGeneres Campus named after the famous American day time show host Ellen DeGeneres.
Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5: Drive to Kigali and engage in a Kigali city tour before you transfer to Kigali airport for your departure flight.
This day will have you return to Kigali and when you arrive, you visit the Kigali genocide memorial museum. This museum captures the horror of the 1994 Rwanda genocide in which this country fell into turmoil as over 800, 000 are believed to have died as the Hutu people massacred the Tutsi in a period of about 90 days. After you visit to the memorial, you will be driven to the Kigali international airport just in time for checking in for your outbound flight.
Tour Inclusions
Safari Exclusions
