Rwanda & Uganda Gorilla Trekking Safari - 4 Days

Tour Plan for the 4 Days Uganda & Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safari

Day 1: Arrival at Rwanda's Kigali Airport and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

Upon arrival at Kigali International Airport, the tour guide shall be meeting you to start the 4 days Rwanda & Uganda Gorilla Trekking Safari. You will be briefed through the program before setting off to Volcanoes National Park in a private 4x4 safari vehicle. 

If you have more time today, you have the option of doing  community guided walks to explore the amazing traditional cultures of Rwandans in the cultural villages near Volcanoes National Park. You can also arrange with the tour guide to trek in the Musanze Caves, a thrilling and adventurous experience hard to forget. Or you could just simply take a walk to explore the astounding scenic views of the Virunga Mountain ranges all around you. Ranging in altitude from 2,400m to 4,507m the Volcanoes National Park is dominated by the setting of volcanoes after which it is named. Best known to the outside world as the place where for almost 20 years the American primatologist Dian Fossey under took her pioneering studies of mountain gorilla behaviour.

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.

Top Accommodation options in Volcanoes National Park (all on full board basis)

Upper Luxury: Virunga Lodge | Silverback Sabinyo Lodge | Bishop's House Rwanda

Luxury level: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge

Moderate: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge

Low Budget: Muhabura Lodge

Meals included today: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park Rwanda, Drive to Uganda's Bwindi 

Today we shall be having our first experience of trekking the gorillas in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park.

After your breakfast you will be transferred to the headquarters of Volcanoes National Park for a pre-gorilla trek briefing. The briefing starts at 7:30AM and lots of information about the mountain gorillas and their conservation in general is shared. You will also be given more instructions on how to behave in the presence of the gorillas and other primates in Volcanoes National Park. After the briefing, all visitors are allocated to a group of mountain gorillas they shall be trekking to that day. Each gorilla group can be visited by a maximum of 8 persons per day. The gorilla group you shall be trekking to shall be allocated to you on that day. If you have any special preference, your tour guide can help negotiate with the park officers to get you on that group but there are no guarantees on this.

You then trek in the jungles of Volcanoes National Park in search of a family of the few remaining critically endangered mountain gorillas with inspiring views of the Virunga volcanoes from all directions. Most visitors have about 1-3 hours of trekking before meeting the mountain gorillas but you day could be much shorter or even longer than that. The forest is alive with 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.

Once you reach the mountain gorillas, you will be allowed 1 hour with them, standing not less than 6 meters away. 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.

After your trek, have lunch and depart for Uganda. You will cross the border via Chanika/ Kisoro then  drive straight to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to spend the night at some comfortable lodge after the tough day. 

Bwindi Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)

Upper Luxury:  Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge | Mt. Gahinga Lodge

Luxury:  Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge | Chameleon Hill Lodge or Gorilla Safari Lodge

Moderate:  Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge

Low Budget:  Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge 

Meals included today: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day 3: Gorilla Trekking in Uganda's Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

You have another opportunity to interface with the giant but very gentle primates, the mountain gorillas in a totally different setting today. You will definitely find trekking the gorillas in Bwindi uniquely from your previous day's experience. The gorillas in Bwindi are not a different type from those in Volcanoes National Park but the nature of the habitat dictates that there are several other different traits you will discover when you trek gorilla from both parks. Your gorilla trekking experience shall therefore be different in several ways from yesterday's one.

Like in Volcanoes National Park, gorilla trekking here also starts with the pre-trek briefing at the park offices from where you will be allocated a gorilla group to trek to. Bwindi has at least 19 habituated mountain gorilla families that tourists trek to on a daily basis. Many tourists find gorilla trekking in Bwindi to be a bit more adventurous than Volcanoes National Park. The trek might often be shorter but the terrain offers a more physically demanding challenge. We trek through the rainforest and bamboo covered slopes, accompanied by a guide and trackers, in search of a mountain gorilla family.

For conservation purposes, time spent with the gorillas is limited to one hour. A ranger will brief you on how to behave with the gorillas.

Bwindi Accommodation options available (all on full board basis)

Upper Luxury:  Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge | Mt. Gahinga Lodge

Luxury:  Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge | Chameleon Hill Lodge or Gorilla Safari Lodge

Moderate:  Ichumbi Gorilla Lodge

Low Budget:  Rushaga Gorilla Haven Lodge 

Meals included today: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day 4: Kigali & Gisozi Genocide Memorial

We shall be ending our Rwanda and Uganda Gorilla Trek Safari with a transfer back to Kigali Airport today. It takes about 4 hours to drive from Bwindi to Kigali on a normal day. If you prefer, you can also end the tour at Uganda's Entebbe Airport so that you enjoy more of the country's beautiful countryside, as well as cross the Equator. 

While in Kigali, you have the opportunity to visit the Gisozi Genocide Memorial Museum. The memorial is very moving – the tour takes a couple of hours - and will be of interest to anyone who has spent some time in this enchanting country. It is in memory of the multitudes murdered in Rwanda´s genocide 1994. The Memorial sites and centres 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.

End of the Rwanda and Uganda Gorilla Trekking Safari.

2021 Tour Prices for the 4 Days Rwanda & Uganda Gorilla Trekking Safari (with 2 gorilla trek permits/ days) 

Solo travelers are welcome, they only pay the cost of 1 person. All the other tour prices are based on 2 or 3 people sharing a room. You can pay the extra single room supplement if you prefer not to share a room.

If you are traveling in March, April, May, October, or November, please mention it to access special season offers. 

Included in the tour prices for the 4 Days Rwanda & Uganda Gorilla Trekking Safari

• Transport to and from Kigali to Volcanoes National Park and Bwindi (Uganda) with a qualified tour guide/driver
• 2 Gorilla tracking permits (one in Rwanda @ 1500$ and the other in Uganda at $700)
• Full board accommodation with all meals included
• Sightseeing as noted in the trip itinerary
• Park fees
• Entry fees
• Ground transportation and support vehicles

Excluded in the prices for the 4 day Rwanda and Uganda Gorilla Trekking Safari 

• Fees for optional activities
• COVID-19 Test Certificates and/or quarantine expenses
• Flight tickets and departure taxes
• Travel documentation (visas) travel and medical insurance
• Optional excursions
• Excess baggage charges
• Tips and gratuities for your guides and accommodation staff
• Laundry
• Beverages other than mineral water in the vehicle and at meal times with meals
• Items of a personal nature such as telephone calls, postage fees and so on
• Meals not indicated on your detailed itinerary