Rwanda Gorilla Trek Dian Fossey Hike Tour - 3 Days with Prices

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Rwanda Gorilla Trek Dian Fossey Hike Tour – 3 Days with Prices

Get the most memorable African mountain gorilla trekking experience in this affordable 3-day Rwanda Gorilla Trek with Dian Fossey Hike Tour, one of the most highly recommended by Gorillas and Wildlife Safaris. The meticulously designed gorilla tracking program starts when your safari guide meets you at your hotel in Kigali (Rwanda) on Day one for the transfer to Volcanoes National Park. Before we drive to Volcanoes National Park for the gorillas, we conduct a brief city tour of Kigali city, visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial at Gisozi. We then proceed to Volcanoes for a night before the adventure of gorilla tracking on the next day, and then hike to the Dian Fossey grave on Karisoke, 3000 meters above sea level, before driving back to the city of Kigali. The gorilla tour cost includes your gorilla permit, golden monkeys permit, Rwanda gorilla trek accommodation and transportation from Kigali to Volcanoes National Park and back, and the services of a tour guide.

All-inclusive 3 Day Rwanda Gorilla Trek Tour and Dian Fossey Hike costs in lower budget accommodation:

1 person: USD2900

2 persons: USD2325 per person

3 persons: USD2152 per person

4 persons: USD2073 per person

itinerary details

Safari Overview for the Rwanda Gorilla Trek Dian Fossey Hike Tour – 3 Days

This is a 3-day gorilla trekking safari with Dian Fossey hiking that starts and ends in Kigali, Rwanda. One gorilla trek permit for Volcanoes National Park is included in the cost.

Having a chance to see some of the last remaining 1113 mountain gorillas (May 2023) in the world is a wonderful experience. It offers you an opportunity to track gorillas in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. There are 10 habituated gorilla families and tracking most gorilla groups in the afro-montane forest usually takes a few hours.

Day 1: Meet in Kigali at your hotel or airport, drive to Volcanoes National Park, overnight, and have dinner at a hotel near the park.
Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park, overnight in a hotel/ lodge.
Day 3: Hiking to Kariosoke Dian Fossey Tomb (about 3000 meters above sea level); Drive back to Kigali, Kigali city tour and visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, later transfer to your hotel or Kigali Airport, end of Rwanda gorilla trek and Dian Fossey hike tour.

About the hike to the Dian Fossey Tomb Site in Karisoke (located in between Karinsimbi and Visoke Mountains)

While in Volcanoes National Park, after trekking the gorillas you can also hike to the Dian Fossey grave as a way of paying tribute to her great contribution in protecting the mountain gorillas and their habitats.

Dian Fossey was an American primatologist and anthropologist who committed her life to the conservation of the Mountain Gorilla by conducting an 18-year comprehensive study about the fateful ape. Indeed here works featured in the famous mountain gorilla film, Gorillas in the Mist. It is a one-day visit when one is already in the vicinity of Volcanoes National Park. Aside from gorilla tracking, the hike to the Dian Fossey tomb is one of the most popular and enjoyable adventure activities you can engage in while at Volcanoes National Park.

Dian Fossey based at Kariosoke on Volcanoes National Park in between the Visoke and Karinsimbi Mountains to conduct her research about the mountain gorillas. Later on, the Karisoke Research Center was established by herself. Due to intense rebel activity in the area, the Karisoke Research Center was abandoned in the 1990s but it is now very safe to hike there. The climbing goes up to about 9000 feet above sea level. It also has burial graves for 20 of the mountain gorillas Dian Fossey was caring for during her work in Volcanoes National Park until she was brutally murdered in 1985. It is greatly believed that it is because of her unwavering fight against gorilla poachers in the park leading to the arrest of many of them that they consequently ganged up to murder her on December 27th, 1985. On that morning, her body was found lying in a pool of blood by some of her staffers. Because of her love for the mountain gorillas, she chose to request to be buried at this site in case she died.

What to pack for your 3 Days Rwanda gorilla trek and Dian Fossey Hiking Tour

Pack Enough Food. Pack enough food before going for Gorilla Tracking. Gorilla Tracking is a very tiresome activity that may last up to 8 hours implicating you will need refreshments and eats (probably snacks) during the activity. The sad thing is you won’t find any spots to buy eats or drinks in the forests. It is highly recommended that you have a good breakfast on the gorilla trekking morning.

Water – As you hike through the mountain forest, you kind of get dehydrated and you need lots of drinking water.

Boots – Essential. The terrain is rough and in the forest, it is easy to slide over. Shoes with good grip are highly recommended. Avoid the cheap sneakers as they can’t match this do.

Gloves – During the trek you might be grabbing trees, branches, and vines, and your hands can get a bit scratched and generally beaten up if you’re not careful. Pack a tough old pair of gardening gloves. They might look a bit lame, but you’ll be glad you brought them.

A light rain jacket – Bwindi and Virunga are both tropical rainforests, and there’s a good chance of rain almost year-round. Pack a lightweight poncho or rain jacket that you can roll up in your bag and bring out if necessary.

Long pants and shirts – It’s best not to expose too much skin during the jungle trek, and remember to tuck your trousers into your socks – you really don’t want safari ants crawling up there.

Day 1: Meet in Kigali (at your hotel or Kigali Airport), Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

Begin your 3 days Rwanda Gorilla Trek, Dian Fossey Hike Tour with a meeting with our driver (who is also your tour gorilla tour guide) in Kigali at your hotel or at Kigali Airport. We then continue with your transfer with a private vehicle to Volcanoes National Park, the home of gorilla trekking activity in Rwanda.

Your 3-day Rwanda gorilla tour with Dian Fossey hike tour also includes a tour of Kigali City. You can choose to do this at the beginning of the gorilla tour or at the end. Either way, your tour guide will be available to take you through some interesting spots in Kigali City. The new prosperity features a number of thriving markets and features the mountain terrain famous in Rwanda. A sober contrast to its recent history. For survivors and others whose families were murdered in Rwanda´s genocide in 1994, the memorial sites and centers are places of dignified remembrance for loved ones lost. It is also a place of reflection and learning for the wider community, both in Rwanda and internationally.

Ranging in altitude from 2,400m to 4,507 the Volcanoes National Park (French: Parc National des Volcans) is dominated by the setting of volcanoes after which it is named. Best known to the outside world as the place where for almost 20yrs the American primatologist Dian Fossey undertook her pioneering studies of mountain gorilla behavior.

Day hikes to see the gorilla families can be strenuous on tracks climbing through the forest, and time is very limited once contact is made with the gorilla families. It is a rare and memorable experience to visit with these giant cousins of man.

Our accommodation is ideally positioned for those who want to watch animals in their habitat, specifically the endangered Rwanda mountain gorillas that still roam these areas.

Share in the cuisine of Rwanda, which is served with the hospitality for which we all return to African countries. Take walks, learn more about the gorillas, and absorb the gorgeous surrounding landscape.

Accommodation options available

Up-market: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge

Moderate: Gorilla Solutions Lodge

Low Budget: Hotel Muhabura

Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Have breakfast and go to Volcanoes National Park offices for briefing, after setting off in the forest for gorilla trekking. Obviously, this is surely the highlight of your 3 days Rwanda gorilla trek tour, and we are committed to leaving some lasting memories with you. We ensure that your gorilla permit is well booked in advance, you have all you need for your gorilla tour, and you are allocated the befitting gorilla group to trek in Volcanoes National Park.

A thrilling trek through the refined foothills of the Virunga's provides inspiring views in all directions. Then, suddenly, the trail enters the national park, engrossing trekkers in the strange closeness of the rainforest, alive with the calls of colorful birds and chattering of the rare golden monkey and besieged with fresh spoor of the mountains' elusive populations of buffalo and elephant.

Through gaps in the forest canopy, the marvelous peaks are sighted, easily easy to get to, and among the uppermost in Africa, indicating an ascent.

Gorilla trekking is quite strenuous but a worthwhile encounter of these gentle giants. The enthusiasm of your coming across these apes will wipe away your intricacy of the strenuous trek.

Spend time watching gorillas, watch the adults feeding their young ones, brushing and resting as the youngsters play from vines in a pleasurably playful display.

Accommodation options available

Up-market: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge

Moderate: Gorilla Solution Lodge

Low Budget: Hotel Muhabura

Day 3: Hiking to Dian Fossey's tomb, Transfer to Kigali & Genocide Memorial Visit

After breakfast, transfer to the Volcanoes National Park headquarters for a briefing and later begin the hike over the volcanic terrain to the Dian Fossey campsite. You can expect to reach the camp within 3-4 hours after hiking through amazing and scenic landscapes because the camp is tucked in between Mount Visoke and Mount Karisimbi at about 3000 meters (9000 feet) above sea level. If you are lucky, you might encounter a wild group of gorillas along the hike. Dian Fossey was so in love with mountain gorillas that she led to the arrest of many poachers in the park, something that is believed to have caused her murder by unknown people on December 27th, 1985. Because of this love for the mountain gorillas, she was buried at the campsite together with 20 mountain gorillas, including her most beloved, Digit.

Dian Fossey's work with the mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park was featured in the famous film Gorillas in the Mist.

After the hike, we shall drive to Kigali city and visit the Gisozi Genocide Memorial. Your driver shall then drop you off at your preferred hotel in Kigali.

This will be the end of your 3-day Rwanda gorilla trek and Dian Fossey hike tour.

Included in the Prices for the 3 Days Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safari with Dian Fossey Hike

1 gorilla tracking permit in Volcanoes National Park
Dian Fossey Hiking permit
All ground transport using a 4×4 safari vehicle
Services of our professional & accredited Tour Guide cum driver
All accommodations for the gorilla trek while on tour (2 nights)
Meals as specified in the itinerary
Bottled drinking water available on the vehicle
park entrance fees to Volcanoes National Park
Other sightseeing along the way
A visit to the Gisozi genocide memorial (audio guides and gadget fees not included)

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