3 Days Rwanda Gorilla and Golden Monkey Trip
3 days · Gorilla trek in Volcanoes National Park
About this safari
This three-day trip takes you through Kigali and Volcanoes National Park, with one gorilla permit and time with the mountain families that live there.
It also includes a visit to Ibyachu Cultural Village. If you have spare days, we can add accommodation before or after to lengthen the trip.
Day by day
Day 1: Kigali city tour, then Volcanoes National Park
Your driver guide meets you at your hotel or the airport and drives you around Kigali. One stop is the Kigali Genocide Memorial, built to honour the more than one million people killed in 1994. You also visit local food and craft markets.
After lunch we head to Volcanoes National Park.
Day 2: Gorilla trekking and Ibyachu Cultural Village
The briefing is at 7:00am at Kinigi park headquarters. The park has 12 habituated gorilla families: Bwenge, Hirwa, Ugyenda, Sabyinyo, Umubano, Karisimbi, Susa, Amahoro, Agashya, Kwitonda, Igisha and Muhoza. Just 96 permits are released each day across all of them, so book early.
Your hiking time depends on where your family was last seen. It ranges from 30 minutes to 5 hours, at 2,500 to 4,000 metres. When you find them, you have one hour with the gorillas.
Porters can carry your gear, and paying one puts money straight into the local community.
In the evening you visit Ibyachu Cultural Village, also called the ex-poachers' village, for music and a walk with the community.
Day 3: Golden monkey tracking, then Kigali
Day three is for golden monkeys. The park has two habituated groups, one on the slopes of Karisimbi and one on Mount Sabinyo. The briefing is again at 7:00am in Kinigi.
This is a quicker outing than gorilla trekking because the monkeys are easier to find. After an early lunch we drive back to Kigali in time for your flight.
Where you stay
These are the lodges we usually use on this route. If one is full, we book a similar place of the same standard.
- Volcanoes National Park: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge or Davinci Lodge (budget); Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Five Volcanoes Lodge or Ingagi Park View Lodge (midrange); Bisate Lodge, One & Only Gorilla Nest, Bishop's House, Virunga Lodge or Sabinyo Lodge (luxury). Full board.
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Ready to plan your safari?
Tell us your dates, group and what you want to see
You’ll get a route and a price back, not a template. Planned by the team in Kampala before you land in Entebbe.