Location :
KN 5 Street Kigali
3 Days Rwanda Gorilla & Golden Monkeys Safari
The 3 Days Rwanda Gorillas & Golden Monkeys Safari combines a number of activities like mountain gorilla trekking with a Kigali City Tour and a visit to the playful golden monkeys for a more complete Rwandan experience. This itinerary is perfect for those who have limited time and want to see the best that Volcanoes National Park has to offer. This tour includes your gorilla tracking permit!
This 3 days Rwanda gorillas and Golden Monkeys safari brings you close to these massive human-like animals that live in a communal family led by the dominant silverback. In some gorilla groups, you will find more than one silverback meaning the other silver-backs had to submit to his leadership or breakaway and start their own families.
Besides gorillas and golden monkeys trekking, the itinerary also includes a tour of Kigali city, and the genocide memorial in Rwanda. During the gorilla trek in the forest, we can also have a sight of the Golden monkey, forest elephants, and other animals if lucky.
Day 1: Arrival, Kigali City tour & Transfer to Ruhengeri (Volcanoes NP)
On your arrival, for this 3 Days Rwanda Gorillas & Golden Monkeys Safari you will be picked up from the airport to the hotel depending on where you will be. Our driver guide will them welcome you and share the program with you. You will take a short Kigali city tour exploring the major historic and cultural sites like the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center, Craft markets in Kigali, Kandt National Museum, and presidential museum depending on the time. After visiting some of these sites you will then have lunch at a restaurant in the city and enjoy local foods or continental meals depending on your preference, remember to let your driver guide know your meal preferences so he chooses the right restaurant. After the lunch in Kigali city we embark on the journey to the home of the mountain gorillas in volcanoes national park.
The drive to volcanoes national park takes you through different villages and town along the road. The journey is 2 to 3hrs from Kigali. Enjoy the scenery of the thousand hills with great views of valleys and pathways to different homes and trading centers. Be expectant to meet the massive mountain gorillas on your trek after briefing from ranger guides early the next. We advise that you get enough sleep the day before so that you prepared for both a short hike and along hike depending on where your gorilla group will be nested.
Dinner and overnight at Upmarket – Mt Gorilla view lodge, Mid range – Le bambou gorilla lodge, Budget – Garden palace hotel
Meal plan – Lunch and Dinner
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park
This is the long-awaited day for Gorilla trekking on the 3 Days Rwanda Gorillas & Golden Monkeys Safari! You will have an early breakfast in the morning and drive to the park headquarters for briefing and Gorilla group a location.
After the gorilla briefing, start your trekking adventure through the forest start the search for the gorillas. Tracking gorillas is through the mountainous forest remember these are mountain gorillas and therefore, you are required to wear hiking shoes and a rain coat in-case it rains this being a rainforest. Proceed with the trek in the forest searching for gorillas and on meeting them you will be allowed to spend 1-hour with them, watching them taking care of the young gorillas, coming their hair and feeding them. Spend the afternoon at leisure recuperating from the gorilla trekking experience or take on an optional activity of visiting the musanze caves or the twin lakes that are within the Virunga ranges.
Not Included
Day 3: Golden Monkey Trekking & Depart to Kigali
On the third day of your 3 Days Rwanda Gorilla & Golden Monkeys safari, have an early breakfast, and get on to the jungle into the Volcanoes National park, this time round, we trek for the golden-furred golden monkeys. We’ll spend the day searching for these beautiful golden monkeys which can only be found in the Volcanoes Conservation Area.
As we trek through sun-dappled glades and dense stands of bamboo in search of these playful monkeys, who are well accustomed to visitors, you’ll be able to view the golden monkeys playing, feeding, and leaping from tree to tree as if you weren’t there. They use their long tails to leap from tree to tree and sometimes get stuck in the trees until the tails are cut off to rescue them that’s why some of the golden monkeys will have short tails. While your time with the monkeys is limited to an hour, this is ample time to see the inquisitive creatures in their natural habitat.
After a hot lunch at your lodge, you’ll then return to Kigali for your onward travel.
Meal plan – Breakfast and Lunch
End of the 3 Days Rwanda Gorillas & Golden Monkeys Safari
