This gorilla safari will take you to a well-known gorillas’ home Volcanoes National Park for gorilla and golden monkey trekking experience and later end your gorilla tour with a relaxation at Lake Kivu before departing. You will enjoy the scenic beauty of the volcanic landscapes and you will also have an opportunity to learn about the culture of the Rwandese people from the IbyI’wacu cultural village and relax, chill and unwind at Lake Kivu. If time allows you may also have a chance to visit the prominent memorial sites of the tragic genocide that occurred in Rwanda.

You will start your safari with breakfast at the lodge where you slept the previous day and move out to visit the memorial sites scattered in various parts of the city. These will include the Genocide memorial sites where thousands of innocent people lost their lives during the genocide of the 1994, visit the Presidential Palace Museum and the Nyamata church. In these places you will listen to the horrendous narratives of how people were cruelly put to death and learn about the history of the country from the colonial periods through to the present time.

After a city tour, you will have lunch and transfer to Ruhengeri town just outside the Volcanoes National Park. Upon arrival, check-in at your booked hotel for dinner and overnight stay. Optional lodges include Wilderness Bisate, Volcano View Bed and Breakfast, Gorilla Solution Lodge, Musanze Caves among other lodges.

The next day will be for gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park and visiting IbyI’wacu cultural centre. On this day, you will trek one of the habituated gorilla groups. You will begin with a briefing on the rules of gorilla trekking before setting out with the guides to search for the mountain gorillas in the forest.

The time taken to trek the gorillas depends on where they were last seen on the previous day. Your trek will be an exciting journey along forested slopes, entwined vines, bushes and bamboo before you eventually reach the Gorillas. As you encounter gorilla trekking experience, your guide will point out signs of previous gorilla activity, including dung, nests and chewed bamboo shoots.

Once the Gorillas have been located, you will be allowed a maximum of one hour with them. You will return to the hotel for lunch and in afternoon be taken to the IbyI’wacu cultural village to learn about the Kinyarwanda culture displayed through folk songs, dances, storytelling and drama. Trek back to the lodge for certificates and return to the lodge for dinner and overnight stay.

The following day will be for Golden Monkey trekking, hike to Karisoke Research Centre and transfer to Lake Kivu. You will have breakfast and then assemble at the park headquarters for a briefing on the Golden monkey trekking rules before going out to trek them in the forest. The trekking will take about 1-2 hours after which you will return to the lodge for lunch and some rest.

In the afternoon you will hike to Karisoke Research Centre that features an exhibit on Mountain Gorillas and the conservation efforts pioneered by Dian Fossey. It also shelters the Dian Fossey artefacts, a 3D interactive model of the Virunga Mountains and casts of real gorilla nose prints. Overall, the centre adds a perfect learning opportunity to the facts that people barely know about Mountain Gorillas.

You will after be taken around this remarkable centre and transfer to Kibuye town near Lake Kivu. On arrival, check in at your booked lodge for dinner and overnight stay. Accommodation options include Kivu lodge, Rebero Kivu Resort, Rwiza village, Moriah Hill Hotel among others.

On the last day, you will have your breakfast and head for Lake Kivu. Lake Kivu is the perfect place to chill out after the tiring Gorilla and Golden monkey trekking and hiking of the volcanoes. For most people, it is simply a place to relax and rebuild energy.

On this day you can decide to go for a nature walk, go birding on a boat ride, swim, explore some islands, visit the nearby hot springs, go fishing and many other activities. You can also visit the Ndaba Falls or take a walk around Kibuye town to acquaint yourself with the lifestyles of the inhabitants.

Have your lunch and drive back to Kigali International Airport to catch up with your flight back home and this will mark the end of your gorilla and Lake Kivu holiday.