4 day Taste of Rwanda, Gorilla Trekking, Rwanda

Day 1: Kigali, Rwanda

On arrival, you'll be met and taken to the Intercontinental Hotel. For those arriving early, sightseeing is available, including a city tour and countryside trip to the Genocide Memorial.

Day 2: Parcs de Volcans, Rwanda

This morning of your Rwanda Gorilla Safari you travel to the Parcs de Volcans. It becomes immediately clear why early settlers called this the Switzerland of Africa. Almost the entire country is 5 - 7 thousand feet high, and incredibly lush. Where there aren't huge indigenous forests, there are enormous tea plantations and other types of farming.

You will drive over good roads where you will arrive at your lodge, hotel or tented camp before noon. Lunch is served before an afternoon of varied activities. There are walks in the area, as well as visits that can be arranged to nearby villages, markets and research facilities, such as the Karisoke Veterinary Post. Then, dinner and overnight at your choice of accommodations.

Accommodation choices:

Gorilla's Nest Lodge is a modest tourist-class facility with simple rooms and a modest restaurant. This Gorilla Safari lodge is located in a forest near the little village of Kinigi. It is the nearest to the national park, resulting in less than a 20 minute drive to the area where the trekking begins.

The Kivu Sun Hotel is a lovely, first-class resort hotel spectacularly located on the shores of Lake Kivu with striking views of the distant volcanoes. The hotel is located in the bustling town of Gisenyi on the border with the Congo. The drive to the national park is around 80 - 90 minutes over good roads.

Virunga Lodge is an exclusive, luxury 'Bush Home' located on a spectacular hill overlooking the Virguna Mountains, providing outstanding comforts in a breath-taking setting. The drive to the national park is just over an hour.

Day 3: Gorilla trekking - Kigali, Rwanda

There are currently 30 permits issued daily for 5 different Gorilla families on 3 of the park's 7 volcanoes. At the forest's edge each morning around 7am, park rangers assemble these 30 enthusiastic travellers and instructs them regarding the visit. (Note the early morning start when making your decision about where to stay the night before.)

Visitors are required to maintain a distance of 20 feet from the Gorillas (although that is often up to the Gorillas), to remain silent, to move slowly and to assume certain precautionary positions in the event of a charge.

The rangers know the various Gorilla families well, and they know where they were the day before you arrived. It is then a simple matter of going to that spot and picking up their trail. The object is to meet up with the family about mid-morning, a traditional time when they cease feeding and rest for about an hour. The risk is that they have moved far from their location the day before.

Some Gorilla families are found in a half hour or less, at lower elevations. But there are known cases where the trek lasted for as long as 9 hours and into elevations as high as 11,000. The average trek takes 2-3 hours and usually finds the family at around 8 000.

The trek through the highland jungle can be arduous. Hackers with machetes lay a trail in front of you, but it is makeshift and not intended to last. Most trekkers find they are using every muscle in their body: including pulling themselves with the arms through some of the thicker jungle.

When a Gorilla family is found, the ranger positions everyone and the hour's experience begins. This, too, is as varied as the animals themselves. Often juveniles are very active, not needing the rest that the aggressively feeding adults require.

Close encounters with visitors are frequent, although discouraged, but rarely aggressive or violent. Nonetheless, these are extremely powerful animals, and the disclaimer will remind you of this.

After the visit, the descent is always much easier than the ascent. The trail may not have been straight up, but winding and uneven, often backtracking on itself. Rangers know the mountain, and the descent can take a fraction of the morning's travel time.

A meadow is located on the way down, and the porters provide the lunch box. Usually, visitors are back with their vehicles before 2pm. The group now returns to Kigali, with an overnight at the Intercontinental Hotel.

Day 4: Departure

On day 4 of your Rwanda Gorilla safari, private transfers are provided to the airport for your flights from Rwanda.

Special Note: Only breakfasts are included when in Kigali.