5 Days Mid-range Gorilla Safari in Rwanda
Experience the magic of Rwanda on an unforgettable 5 Days mid-range gorilla safari, combining extraordinary mountain gorilla trekking, scenic landscapes, cultural exploration, and comfortable accommodation. This adventure takes you from the vibrant capital of Kigali to the lush forests of Volcanoes National Park and the beautiful shores of Lake Kivu, offering a memorable introduction to the Land of a Thousand Hills.
Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be transferred to your booked hotel or lodge in Kigali for relaxation and an overnight stay. Explore the capital on a city tour, discovering its vibrant atmosphere, cultural attractions, and remarkable history before travelling to Volcanoes National Park, home to Rwanda’s endangered mountain gorillas.
The highlight of your safari is an exciting gorilla trekking experience through the park’s misty rainforest, accompanied by experienced guides and trackers. Encounter these magnificent primates in their natural habitat and enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime wildlife experience amid the breathtaking scenery of the Virunga Mountains.
Continue your journey to Lake Kivu, one of Rwanda’s most beautiful natural attractions, where you can relax along the lakeshore, admire spectacular views, and enjoy the peaceful surroundings. After this refreshing escape, return to Kigali for your onward journey.
With comfortable mid-range accommodation, scenic drives, cultural experiences, and unforgettable mountain gorilla encounters, this 5-day Rwanda safari offers an excellent balance of adventure, relaxation, and discovery.
Safari’s summary
- Arrival at Kigali International airport and overnight at the booked Hotel/lodge in Kigali.
- Transfer from Kigali to Volcanoes National Park and city tour in Kigali
- Gorilla tracking in Volcanoes national park
- Transfer from Volcanoes national park to lake Kivu
- Transfer to Kigali
Day-1 Arrival in Rwanda and transfer to the Hotel in Kigali
Immediately after arriving at the airport, you will be welcomed and received by the Hugo safaris Uganda English/Germany/Spanish/French/Chinese/Dutch/Arab speaking guide and transferred to the booked hotel in Kigali city at a short distance drive, check in, dinner if it’s early and relax at Hotel des Millie Collinies.
Day-2 Transfer from Kigali to Volcano National Park and city tour in Kigali
After breakfast, we shall do a city including a visit at Gisozi Genocide memorial and do some shopping in the nice craft villages of Kigali city for some souvenirs, lunch in the city and continue towards the Virunga volcanoes national park. The journey will take us to up 2-3 hours through beautiful sceneries of lush green hills and valleys as it was said by the legends that “Rwanda is a land of a thousand hills”, then we shall continue to Kinigi after passing through the town of Ruhengeri, overnight at Mountain Gorilla view lodge.
Day-3 Gorilla tracking at Volcanoes National park
Having had a wonderful night at the lodge, we shall have a short drive of 8-10 minutes to the Kinigi Volcanoes national park information centre/ headquarters for our endangered, Gentle giants/gorilla briefing at the bottom/base of mount Sabinyo which forms part of the Virunga Massive/volcanoes, here at the base, we shall meet a group of local guides alongside Rangers and trackers who will brief us about the gorilla tracking, the dos and don’ts, from there we shall begin our the hiking up and deep into the mountain where they last saw the gorillas the previous night and trek from that very point.
However, Rwanda is well known to have 12 groups of habituated gorillas (Gorillas which are used to seeing people and aren’t wild or don’t attack people) and normally, 8 clients are assigned a group each day, the interaction with our next cousins shall ranger from30minutes-1hour but we shall give a distance of 8m between us and them.
The journey to the mountain may take us from 1-8 hours that’s to and fro at a height of 6000-7500m above sea level but the land can muddy when it’s a rainy season, however when you look at the forest and the surrounding hill tops, you will discover that this is real nature, the beautiful sceneries make the trekking worth it and you deserve that and once these gentle giants are located you will even forget the fatigue that may have had while climbing these mountains and Gorilla experience is normally described as the most profound natural history experience in the world but one has to be ready with his/her cameras, do the filming for remembrance very fast, sometimes it may rain in a few minutes without notice and the activity/happiness may become dirty, whence rain jackets/rain proof clothings are advisable for this activity including zip-lock cameras and films, after the trekking we descend back to the lodge, have hot lunch and relax at the same hotel.
Day-4.Transfer from Volcanoes national park to Lake Kivu
Having enjoyed the wonderful gorilla experience, we get morning breakfast and transfer to Lake Kivu with the anticipation of enjoying the night fishing and cultural experience at the Ibyiwacu cultural village/the Gorilla guardian on the way. The village has got a rich history of the Rwandese and other ancient stories about Rwanda.
We shall arrive at the lodge on the lake shores on the Rubavu side of lake Kivu to relax during the whole of the afternoon, eat dinner and later go for the night fishing experience on the lake and join singing traditional fishermen on lake Kivu while fishing the type of fish called SAMBA which is common caught here, relax at the hotel and overnight here.
Day-5.Transfer from Lake Kivu to Kigali international airport
Morning breakfast at the hotel, go to the community local Kinyarwanda Dances/Bailes Ruandesas and we can also participate in the dance with the Rwandese, we learn how they marry, their culture and how they live and later we transfer to Kigali city, Hot Lunch shall be provided in Kigali city hotels and later we head to the airport for our sweet journey home.
End of 5 Days Mid-range Gorilla Safari in Rwanda