Overview
4 days Rwanda safari combines an unforgettable gorilla trekking experience in Volcanoes National Park with a cultural and historical exploration of Kigali City. The trip offers a mix of wildlife adventure and insight into Rwanda’s rich heritage. Expect to see mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, baboons, red-tailed monkeys, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, elephants, buffaloes, bushbucks, forest hogs, bush pigs, bushbucks, duikers, hyenas, and many more; and birds like brown-chested lapwig, Carruthers’s cisticola, cabanis’s bunting, Denham’s bustard, bushshrike, blue-headed coucal, wood hoopoe, papyrus gonolek, flycatcher, red-faced barbet, Rwenzori batis, Rwenzori apalis, Ruwenzori nightjar, handsome francolin, lovely francolin, weird weavers, lagden’s bushshrike, and more plus the beautiful green and lush vegetation and landscapes. The trip will start in Kigali and end in Kigali.
Day 1: Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
You will be picked at an agreed point at 8:00 am in Kigali by our driver guide from Glory Summit tours, who will also brief you on how the trip will go, and then you will start with a city tour of Kigali by visiting the Kigali Genocide Memorial, an important and sobering site that commemorates the victims of the 1994 genocide. With many of the guides as survivors, the memorial provides a historical overview of the events and serves as a place for reflection with a personal touch from the guide, and this will take about 2-3 hours. You will have an early lunch, then set off for the Volcanoes National Park, which will take about 2- 3 hours as you enjoy the beautiful green scenery the countryside of Rwanda has to offer and arrive in the evening. You will check into your lodging and have dinner, then rest for the night.
Day 2: Gorilla trekking and community visit
You will wake up to an early breakfast, then head out to the briefing spot by 7:30 am where you shall be given the rules to be followed by a guide to ensure a smooth trek before you head deep into the forest to experience it. Depending on the targeted Gorilla families given to you to trek, the trekking will take between 30 minutes-6 hours, it’s in this time that you shall get to see the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat, how they live, care for each other, care for their young, how and when they eat, all this will be done with a guide and armed ranger on route with you. Other primates like red-tailed monkey, blue monkey, black and white colobus monkeys, chimpanzees, olive baboons: animals like elephants, duikers, buffaloes, giant forest hogs, otto, civet and jackal; birds like black-bee eaters, regal sunbirds, black-billed turaco, bushshrikes, Shelley’s crimsonwing, mountain oriole, strange weaver will also be seen during the trek. You will be given water and a snack for when you need it. When done with the trekking, you will head back to the center where you will be picked up by the driver guide who will take you back to your lodging for freshening up and lunch. Once lunch is done, you will head out to the Iby’iwacu village for a community tour with the help of a local guide. You will take part in local banana brewing, traditional meals, local herbal remedies, then some music, dance, and drama to top off the experience, which can take 2- 3 hours. When done, you will head back to your lodging for the night, have dinner, and retire for the night at will.
Day 3: Dian Fossey Hike
After breakfast, you will head out for the Dian Fossey hike, which will take about 2- 3 hours with a guide, between Karisimbi and Bisoke. The Karisoke research station is found where the gorilla cemetery is, and Dian was buried at the same point right with her friends lost during poaching, something she brought to light in her bid to protect the already endangered mountain gorillas. The guide will give the information needed for you to understand Dian’s role in the protection of the mountain gorillas. During the hike you might see mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, elephants, buffaloes, forest hogs and birds like Rwenzori turaco, grey-chested kakamega, Rwenzori batis, strange weaver, African swamphen, narina trogon, crested barbet and more. When done with the hike, you will head back to your lodging for lunch. With lunch out of the way, you will enjoy a lazy afternoon at your lodging as you relive the experience shared with other tourists in stories and pictures taken. In the evening, you will have dinner, then enjoy the night under the stars in the sky and retire at will.
Day 4: Checkout and departure
You will check out of your lodge, have breakfast, and then plan for your exit from the national park. At 10:00 am you will set off for Kigali, which will take about 2- 3 hours. During this time, you will enjoy the beautiful green scenery, rolling hills, locals for picture moments, and once you get to the agreed spot, this will mark the end of your 4-day Rwanda safari.
