4 Days luxury Best of Rwanda

Remarkable Rwanda is a scenic landscape of green undulating hills and tea plantations. The northwest is dominated by the magnificent Virunga Mountain Range – a group of six towering volcanoes standing sentry along the border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Located inside the Volcanoes National Park is the home of the endangered Mountain Gorillas. Coming face to face with a mountain gorilla is one of the most thrilling experiences you will ever encounter.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Face mountain gorillas eye to eye and watch them go about their lives
• Visit Kigali Genocide Memorial and City Tour
• Drive through scenic hills of Rwanda and view Lake Bulera and Rulondo

Day 1: Hotel des Mille Collines

On arrival at Kigali Airport you will be met and transferred to Hotel Des Mille Collines, the hotel where 1,268 people took refuge during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994, and made famous by the movie Hotel Rwanda.

This hotel offers a total of 113 rooms including eight suites with a bathtub, balcony, cable TV, phone, mini-bar, Internet access, toiletries, work desk area, wake up service, and voicemail. Some rooms offer a bathrobe, ceiling fan, connecting rooms, hairdryer, trouser press, and a kitchenette. Non-smoking rooms are also available. The hotel was built in 1972, opened in 1974, and was renovated in 1987 as the leading hotel in Rwanda with large meeting facilities.

Day 2: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National Park is best known as home for the regions rare mountain gorillas. The Park is part of the Virunga mountains which form the border between Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo and are one of the most beautiful sights in Africa.

Approximately 480 mountain gorillas live in the Virunga complex and reside altitude range of 7,500’ to 14,700’. In the morning you will be picked up for a Kigali city tour and Genocide Museum visit.

Kigali is a surprising African city – impeccably clean and safe, where potholed roads and unsightly litter are virtually non-existent.

A 3 hour drive on good roads brings us to Musanze/ Ruhengeri, at the foothills of the Volcanoes National Park. This is the place that Dian Fossey, the American primatologist and anthropologist, called home for 18 years. Her book, which was later adapted into the film Gorillas in the Mist, combines her scientific study of the mountain gorilla at Karisoke Research Center with her own personal story. In 1988 it was adapted into a film. Sadly Dian was murdered in 1985, assumingly by poachers, although the mystery of her death remains unsolved.

You will have accommodation also at Mountain Gorilla view lodge as you prepare for the early morning
Gorilla trek.

Mountain Gorilla View Lodge: The Lodge is located in the foothills of Mount Karisimba, one of the volcanic mountains that
make up the Virunga Massif. The lodge is about 10 minutes’ drive to the main
entrance of the Volcanoes National Park where gorilla trekking starts.

Day 3: Gorilla Tracking, Volcanoes National Park

It is nothing less than a Lifetime Experience and a rare opportunity to encounter endangered Mountain Gorillas up close. It’s a spectacular park, encompassing five of the eight rainforest and bamboo covered volcanoes of the Virunga Mountains . With less than 650 gorillas left in the wild, Rwanda is a real success story as conservation efforts over the last decades see the population slowly increasing in numbers.

After a briefing with National Parks’ personnel your hike begins, and may take anything from 30 mins to several hours. Although Gorilla trekking requires no formal training, walking at altitude can be tiring, and with few clear cut paths through the bush, your focused concentration and flexibility is a must!

Once you reach your Gorilla family, you’ll spend a memorable hour watching them interact with each other:
eating, grooming, playing or catching a nap. It’s a humbling experience to sit
amongst our ‘cousins’ – and the hour will pass before you can blink – so take
some photos and then simply soak up every moment of this incredible experience.

Day 4: Departure

Optional

Visit Cultural Center or Golden Monkey Trekking
if time allows before your return to Kigali by approx. 6pm
Second gorilla trekking option
Hike to Dian Fosseys’ grave where she lies buried amongst her beloved gorillas

Why not stay longer?

Although the gorillas are a real highlight,
Rwanda has so much more to offer. We highly recommend you extend your stay to
include Nyungwe Forest, Lake Kivu and Akagera National Park. We’ll tailor make
the perfect trip just for you. If you do plan to trek the gorillas twice, it’s
worth considering staying an additional night either at Gorilla View or back in
Kigali so you’re not rushing to catch a flight.

INTERESTED IN THIS TOUR OR SEND US AN INQUIRY

CALL US TODAY (USA) +1 218 7310597 OR (UGANDA) +256702408300

EMAIL: gorillaexplorers@gmail.com