Guide

A proffessional Guide/Driver

Meals

Meals Included

Transport

All transportation

Accommodation

Five Volcanoe Boutique Hotel Nyungwe Forest Lodge

Others

Park fees(For non-residents) Gorilla permits(One per person, non-resident) Chimp permits(One per person, non-resident) All activities(Unless labeled as optional) All accommodation(Unless listed as upgrade) A professional driver/guide All transportation(Unless labeled as optional) All Taxes/VAT Roundtrip airport transfer Meals(As specified in the day-by-day section)

Optional

Not Inclusive

Not included:

Flights

not included

Insurance

not included

Others

International flights(From/to home) Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour Tips(No tip expected) Personal items(Souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.) Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees Some meals(As specified in the day-by-day section) Drinks

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Day 1 Day 1: Gorilla And Chimp Trekking In Rwanda
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 1: Gorilla And Chimp Trekking In Rwanda

DAY 1: Arriving Kigali

Arriving in Kigali was such a surprise, I’m not sure what texpected but the “first-worldness” of Kigali was a great surprise! A modern airport, tarred roads and international standard hotels, with quickly visited the Marriot on the way through and it is the standard of any 5 star big city hotel! A little further on is the Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre that can accommodate up to 5000 delegates. An inspiring mix of progressive third-world charm and modern investment.

Kigali Genocide Memorial, the final resting place for more than 250,000 victims of the genocide of 1994. Although this is a very emotional experience, I found it very inspiring as it forms the foundation almost for how I perceived Rwanda. In just over 20 years, how far they have come and the inspiring individual stories that form the foundation for their regeneration.

Departing Kigali, head out towards Volcanoes National Park. About a 2 and half hour drive along tarred roads and surrounded by people wearing brightly coloured Kitenge cloth, many cycling up the steep hills with giant bunches of bananas or potatoes. Just about every square inch of Rwanda is intensively farmed.Automatic word wrap

Will spent the night at the Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel, just outside Kinigi very close to the park headquarters, perfect for the early morning departure for gorilla trekking. A really great relaxed lodge with a beautiful swimming pool area, lovely for an afternoon relaxing.
Day 2 Day 2: Gorilla Trekking
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 2: Gorilla Trekking

Day 2: Gorilla Trekking

An early start to park headquarters where welcome dancers and hot coffee await. meet your guide for today, and find out which gorilla family will be tracking. then have assigned the Giraneza Group. have to drive to your where to start our trek before meeting up with your porters and heading up into the mountains!

The first part of the trek is through the cultivated fields surrounding the national park before the path narrows and begin the steep climb up the mountain. Now you will really happy I and decided to take a porter as the path gets steeper. Luckily for the gorillas are nearby and after only about 1 - 2 hours climb the trackers will be waiting for you with the good news that your gorillas are just on the other side of some dense bush you are only allowed to take your cameras with you and after some packing and re-packing leave your bags in the care of the porters and climb through the bush to meet your Group!

you can first meet the big silverback who is enjoying a nap sitting in the sun, just carries on his sun bath. After a flurry of photographing, initial excitement… Guide will calls your on to meet the rest of the family, one of the young females is feeding her baby, the sun just shining through the thick under growth and illuminating this very private moment; it feels like are intruding. Guide gently ushers us along so you don’t put too much pressure on any one member of the family. There is another female with a baby close by, they are playing happily, the mum holding her baby up by its foot until starts giggling silently and breaks away from mum and carries on exploring. The baby is very curious of us and keeps getting closer to look at us, with mum keeping a close eye! He is trying to climb up a branch with little success and eventually has to be pulled back into his mum’s embrace to keep him from going too far. There is a rustling in the bush and big silverback is ambling through the thick bush to join in the family fun, he lies down and starts grooming the female while she plays with their baby.

How fast an hour goes… Guide calls time up and we snap a few last second photos and head back down the mountain. We thank Guide back at the car and hand out the appropriate tipping to him, the porters and the trackers.

Back to Five Volcanoes for lunch. When we arrive they are there waiting to take your muddy boots and gaiters to clean while have your lunch and recover a bit after an exciting morning.

your evening stop today is Virunga Lodge. you may arrive too late to see the view but from the steep climb from the parking lot to the lodge while looking forward to seeing it in the morning! A delicious dinner and some South African red wine by the open fireplace is very welcome after a day of life changing experiences.
Day 3 Day 3: Dian Fossey Hike
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 3: Dian Fossey Hike

Back to Park Headquarters this morning to meet your guide for the Dian Fossey Hike today. Starting your walk from the same place you did for the gorilla trekking you head back up the same mountain (again, very thankful for having a porter). you pass where we saw the gorillas yesterday and have a hopeful look around to see if they are still there, but they have moved on, when you reach the saddle between the volcanoes the trees get much bigger and you start walking through a swampy area, your feet sinking in up to the ankles. But the trees are spectacular! Huge and covered in ferns and moss this ancient forest is completely magical. Dian definitely found the most magnificent place for her base. When you have caught our breath… Guide will starts telling you the story of Dian Fossey, An American zoologist who established the Karisoke Research Foundation here in the 1960s and through her research inadvertently started the gorilla habituation process here. She studied them over two decades until she was found murdered here in 1985, presumably by poachers but no one was ever caught or prosecuted for her death.

Today the remains of Karisoke act as a monument to her. you will move on to visit her grave further up the mountain, she is next to her beloved gorillas who are also buried here. As guide will explains, Diane was not popular in Rwanda when she was working here because her work to protect the gorillas interfered with others’ more profitable intensions.

you will spend some more time in this beautiful forest looked over by the volcanoes before a reluctant walk down the mountain.On the way down my boot decided to fall spectacularly apart! you don’t think the sucking mud higher up had done it any favours. Guide and the porter will on it immediately and managed to create a temporary fix with a vine.

This afternoon you visit The Gorilla Doctors, their Executive Director will be waiting to give you a quick overview of what they are about. for the last 15 years and is one of first veterinarians to embrace the One Health concept for gorilla conservation. This approach recognizes that the health of domestic animals, wildlife and people are all linked together with the environment. The organisation is working to ensure the long-term health and survival of the mountain gorilla and the human and animal communities that share their habitat.

They also work to monitor the health of the gorillas and care for any injured or sick gorillas. About 73% of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massif are habituated for tourism or research purposes and they monitor the effects this has on the population including the spread of diseases. Gorillas are very susceptible to human diseases. Our visit is cut short when he receives a phone call that he needs to travel across the border tonight to treat an injured gorilla!

Late this afternoon we head to our lodge for the night, Five Volcanoes., this will love at first sight. you will absolutely love this lodge, your boots are taken away to be cleaned and promise to have mine fixed in the village overnight. The fire is already lit in the main lounge area with coals on metal bowls outside on the patio to keep you warm while we enjoy the last on the sunset over the Park As the darkness settles will head back inside to the cosy lounge for a delicious dinner.
Day 4 Nyungwe National Park
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Nyungwe National Park

Dawn wake up to watch the sunrise over the lakes and the mountains, and you early wake up well rewarded. The orange sun gently creeps over the mountains and slowly illuminates the lakes just as your morning coffee arrives at the cottage perfectly timed for a moment’s contemplation of the vista.

your boots are fixed!. After this fantastic discovery you head to breakfast on the outside patio around restaurant. The chairs are covered in the local ‘kienge’ fabric giving a wonderful splash of colour to the dining area.

After a leisurely breakfast head south towards next stop, Nyungwe Forest. Following the curves of the hills and watching the passing parade of everyday life in Rwanda see Lake Kivu in the distance where will be stopping for lunch. Cormoran Lodge, a system of wooden decks over hanging the lakes edge, a comfortable option to explore the green waters of this huge lake from. A quick lunch later and are on the way again.

Arrival at Nyungwe Forest Lodge is through fields of tea plantations, this elegant lodge looks out across the fields and on to the forest. The fireplaces are roaring in the main lounge area, a perfect spot to relax on this rainy afternoon to look out towards the forest that we will be tracking chimpanzees in tomorrow. Automatic word wrap.

DINNER IS ANOTHER ELEGANT AFFAIR IN THEIR STYLISH DINING ROOM.
Day 5 Day 5: Chimpanzee Tracking
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 5: Chimpanzee Tracking

Early to the park headquarters to meet guide and porters. According the guide, the reason we need to go so early is to catch the chimpanzees before they leave their nests and move off for the day, making them a lot harder to find. you will mercies for tired legs, but the forest is thick and you have to climb between the tightly clustered trees to find your quarry.

The hooting of the chimps come to you long before find them, following the sounds of their morning wake up calls find them still in their overnight nests slowly waking up. High up in the trees they are calling to each other and squabbling over breakfast. A mum holding a small baby is making her way from tree to tree looking for the fruit of the wild fig trees. Sadly they seem set on staying up in the trees and you will only get to watch them from afar before we have to head back to headquarters.

Your next forest adventure this morning is the canopy walk, only a short drive away and still part of the same forest. start the steep climb down the gorge, your guide Automatic word wrap

will be telling you about every plant and insect that we come across until you reach the start of the canopy walk. A 200m walkway suspended 60 metres above the forest floor.

From this vantage point we could see every tiny flower on the tree tops including rare orchids only found here which are highly endangered. As you head out into the centre of the suspended walkway, the magnitude of the forest unfolds and you can see right down the valley and across what looks from here like a never ending blanket of green. Our guide tells us that this forest is the largest protected mountain forest in Africa.

Back to Nyungwe Forest Lodge for some R&R tonight and to make use of their beautiful swimming pool looking into the forest.
Day 6 Day 6: Time To Say Goodbye
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 6: Time To Say Goodbye

Sadly today you head back to Kigali for your respective flights and bid this beautiful country farewell until another time!

. ...............................END OF YOUR TRIP WITH GOLDEN RWANDA SAFARIS..........................

6 days tour

6-Day Gorilla And Chimp Trekking In Rwanda

This tour includes:

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Start planning your experience

Itinerary of your trip 6-Day Gorilla And Chimp Trekking In Rwanda

Day 1: Gorilla And Chimp Trekking In Rwanda

Day 2: Gorilla Trekking

Day 3: Dian Fossey Hike

Nyungwe National Park

Day 5: Chimpanzee Tracking

Day 6: Time To Say Goodbye

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