Tour Highlights 3 days gorilla safari Rwanda
Day 1: Pick up, Kigali city tour and cave adventure
Day 2: Gorilla trekking experience volcanoes national park
Day 3: Transfer back to Kigali
ITINERARY
Day 1: Kigali city tour and Musanze caves
On day one of 3 days gorilla tour Rwanda, After your leisurely early breakfast at the hotel, our driver who also doubles as the tour guide will pick you up for the exciting tour beginning with an hour’s drive through Kigali, Rwanda’s beautiful capital city. During the city tour, you will visit places like the Genocide Memorial Center, commemorating the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. You will be at this stop for about 1 hour and then proceed to the local market of Kimoronko where you will meet locals selling fresh foods, handicrafts, clothes and many other items. You will be at this stop for about 15 minutes and also visit Rugunga’s Caplaki Craft Center where you will see a variety of beautiful crafts such as crafted shoes, jewelry, bags and more. It is also a good place to buy souvenirs from if you are in need of any. You will have lunch and then be transferred to Ruhengeri to see the Musanze Caves. These caves run for 2 kilometers and are covered by the lush greenery and the inside them are the bats. There are also over 32 caves below the foothills of the Volcanoes National Park. Your guide will lead you to the nearest and more exciting cave to experience this adventure. The caving adventure takes about one hour with 30 minutes being a drive to the entrance. After the adventure, you will be driven to Virunga Lodge for dinner and your overnight stay.
Accommodations volcanoes national park
Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel
Midrange: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge
Budget: Virunga Lodge
Day 2: Volcanoes national park GORILLA TREKKING EXPERIENCE
On day two of this 3 days gorilla tour Rwanda, You will have an early breakfast at your lodge before departing to Volcanoes National Park for the gorilla trek. The national park is a home to 10 habituated gorilla families available for trekking. You will be briefed by your trackers/guide, then drive to the trail and head for the start of your amazing gorilla tracking adventure. You will start your trek at the cultivated foothills of the Virunga which offers stirring views in all directions and the trek through the enchanting bamboo forest on the slopes of the Virunga range of volcanoes. Upon sighting the gorillas, you’ll have the chance to spend up to 1 hour quietly observing these gentle apes. The gorillas will be just a few meters away from you as they continue to go about their daily lives, feeding and interacting with each other under the watchful gaze of the silverback. You will then return to your lodge in time for a late lunch. The trek is a gentle climb of between 2 to 3 hours through the mysterious intimacy of the rain forest, alive with the calls of 200 species of colorful birds and chatterings of the rare golden monkeys.
After your meal, you will then be transfer to Ibyiwacu Cultural Village. You will be joined by a local guide who will welcome you to the village and give you insights of the traditions and the history of Rwanda. Ibyiwacu is a non-profit umbrella organization aimed at improving lives of Rwanda’s community members as well as reformed poachers in Volcanoes National Park. This is done through supporting community enterprise developments as well as conservation incentives plus the many livelihood-based projects. The main activitiy of this cultural village is giving visitors a chance to meet with local people in their natural environments. You will get to know the different ways of living of the natives of Rwanda and their culture and also get a chance to engage in several activities including agriculture tourism; where you will learn how food is planted, taken care of and how it is harvested from the gardens when ready. You will also the experience the “Igitaramo”. Here, you all gather around the camp fire with the drums as you dance and sing before sunset, get a chance to enjoy riddles and stories from the elders. This is done as you all sit around the fire while having the locally prepared meals. Afterwards, you will get back to your lodge for the overnight stay.
Accommodations volcanoes national park
Luxury: Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel
Midrange: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge
Budget: Virunga Lodge
Day 3: Rwanda Twin lakes VISIT and departure
On day three of the 3 days gorilla trekking tour Rwanda ,You will have an early breakfast at your lodge before departing for a 1 hour drive, stopping at the magnificent twin lakes of Bulera and Ruhondo and its Rugezi swamp. These are picturesque places for a unique birdwatching activity. Moreover, Rugezi swamp is one of the seven important birding areas in Rwanda. Their deep blue water surrounded by steep hills and tall waterfall with the outlines of the nearby volcanoes provide a spectacular backdrop. You will have a 1 hour boat trip along the waters of the twin lakes of Bulera and Ruhondo for sightseeing before heading back to Kigali for the overnight stay at your hotel or to the airport for your flight back home.
End of safari of this 3 days gorilla trekking tour Rwanda
ACTIVITIES
Kigali Genocide Memorial Center
The Kigali Genocide Memorial sits atop mass graves, serving as a shrine and a museum dedicated to the memory of the approximately 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu who were murdered over a 100 day period from April to July, 1994. The genocide began on April 6, 1994 when a plane carrying the Rwandan and Burundi presidents was shot down. Hutu extremists retaliated by executing key Tutsi members and setting up barriers in place to commence a systematic extermination of the Tutsi minority and Hutus who dared to defend their fellow citizens.
The memorial houses three permanent exhibitions. The largest chronicles the events leading up and comprising the 1994 genocide, as well as on the history of genocidal violence around the world. The second exhibition, called ‘Wasted Lives,’ documents mass killings that have not been recognized as genocide by international law, focusing on Namibia, Armenia, Cambodia and the Balkans. The exhibit also shows aspects of the Holocaust, the extermination of European Jewry during World War II. The third exhibit, the children’s memorial, is dedicated to the memory of children killed in the Rwandan Genocide. The wall of names is dedicated to those who were murdered - a work still in progress as many of the victims’ names have yet to be gathered and documented. The center also provides support for survivors, particularly orphans and widows.
The center offers guided tours of the exhibitions and gardens that take approximately one hour and thirty minutes. As the visit progresses, the exhibits become steadily more powerful, as you are confronted with the crimes that took place here and moving video testimony from survivors. Many of the guides are survivors of the genocide, providing a unique historical account. You will have a chance after the tour to stay at the ‘Café du Memorial’ and visit the souvenir shop. The income generated from these enterprises is used to support the preservation of archives and to run education programs. The products sold at the souvenir shop are made exclusively for the Kigali Genocide Memorial by a local cooperative made up of women who were widowed after the genocide.
Musanze Caves
Musanze is the largest district in the northern province of Rwanda and its capital Ruhengeri, which is also known as Musanze, serves as a center for tourism in Rwanda. Located on the outer side of Ruhengeri are the Musanze caves created by volcanic activities some 65 million years ago, reaching a reported length of around 2 km.
These caves are not just attractive but also historically important: archeological research indicated that local tribes used them as war bases with victims possibly buried in the passages. More recently, during the Rwandan Genocide, the caves were used as temporary hiding places—though little record is available for the number of people who sought refuge here as well as their fate.
Expert guides provide detailed information about the site plus protective clothing and gear, as the caves have no electric light installed. The approximately 2 hour trek is not recommended to those who are claustrophobic or have fear of bats which abound in the case system. We also advise all visitors to have rabies immunization if seeking to enter the caves as bats are possible carriers of this lethal disease.
Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes National Park is a must-stop call for all Rwanda gorilla safaris. Sheltering the highest number of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Conservation area, it spans some 160 square kilometer area. Situated in northwestern Rwanda, this park has become the world’s most popular mountain gorilla sanctuary. With fewer than 700 of this species left, tourists can catch a rare glimpse of the gorillas as they can nowhere else in the world.
This place was made famous as the research base of the late American primatologist Diane Fossey, who spearheaded the conservation campaign of the mountain gorillas and mobilized resources to fight against poaching in this area and, subsequently, as the setting for the film “Gorillas in the Mist”, the park continues to uphold its reputation as a destination for unrivaled wildlife encounters.
Visitors can follow one of the park’s ten habituated gorilla families as they go about their daily lives in troops. The gorillas may be feeding from the ground resting, moving around or up in the trees playing about in the branches. You will get to see the mothers tenderly feeding and tending to their young ones while the younger gorillas frolic in the bushes around her. You will also get to experience the majestic and authoritative silverbacks get up and move around showing control over the territory, keeping a protective eye. Once your group finds the gorilla family, the clock starts ticking. You are advised to stay quiet, move slowly and avoid sudden movements in order not to irritate the gorillas. Instead, sit down and avoid looking directly into the eyes of the gorillas as this may also irritate them as it makes them think that you want to fight them. In the unlikely event that the silverback begins charging at you, hold your ground but lower your eyes to indicate that you do not want a confrontation, but rather you are submissive. The most important thing is to stay near your guide and follow instructions.
The park offers some of Rwanda’s most spectacular scenery, diverse vegetation and dense forest canopy with a breathtaking view of the volcanoes peaks. There are five extinct volcanoes: Muhabura, Sabyinyo, Gahinga, Karisimbi and Bisoke, which are also home to the golden monkeys, bush duikers, spotted hyena, elephants, buffaloes and bushbuck, in addition to the famed gorillas. The park also harbors nearly 200 bird species including more than two dozen that are local to the Rwenzori mountains and the Virungas.
Other activities to do in Volcanoes National Park include volcano climbing, cultural tours, especially to Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village, bird watching, visiting the twin lakes of Bulera and Buhondo, among others.
GET OFFER
Please complete the following form so we can send you a personalized price!
SAFARI INCLUSIONS of this 3 days gorilla trekking tour rwanda
Safari includes:
Transportation in a Tour Van/Land Cruiser
Service of an English-speaking tour guide/Driver
All activities mentioned in the itinerary
One gorilla permit per person
Park admissions
Accommodation on full board
Entrance fees to all destinations as per the program
Transfers to and from the airport/Kigali
SAFAR EXCLUSIONS OF THIS 3 DAYS GORILLA TREKKING TOUR RWANDA
All activities not mentioned in the program
International flights
Visas to Rwanda
Personal effects of any nature
Hotel fees before and after the safari
other gorilla safaris