8 Days gorilla circuit in D. R Congo, Uganda and Rwanda is an amazing safari that is going to draw you very close to the mountain gorilla in these 3 countries which provide different gorilla experiences. The trip will draw your intimacy with gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Kahuzi Biega in Democratic Republic of Congo to experience the Lowland gorillas which are larger than the mountain in size and they also live in large family groups compared to mountain Gorillas. The trip will also take you to Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda where you will track gorillas and golden monkeys, this magnificent safari will raise you to the sky to have a canopy walk in Nyungwe National Park after you have tracked the Chimpanzees. The trip will start from Rwanda and end in Rwanda.
Day 1: Pick-up and transfer to Bukavu in Congo
On this first day, you will be picked by glory summit tours and travel driver guide in Rwanda, he will brief you about the journey and then set off for Democratic Republic of Congo. You will drive through the countryside of Rwanda as you enjoy the rolling hills, which are ever green and they really give nice scenery. This transfer to Congo will take about 7 hours which includes the time for lunch as you exit Rwanda, stopovers for scenic viewing. You will enter Congo through Cyangugu border, and this will be in the evening, you will connect to Bukavu which is the closest city to Kahuzi Biega National Park. Upon arrival in Bukavu, you will check-in to the hotel accommodation for dinner and overnight.
Day 2: Gorilla trekking and transfer to Nyungwe National Park
This is going to be the fruitful day for you, as you will wake up on the breakfast, and be driven to Kahuzi Biega National Park which is 40 minutes drives from your hotel. After arriving at the park headquarters, you will be briefed about the gorilla trekking habits, the dos and don’ts, you will be assigned a gorilla family to track and head to the virgin forests with a ranger guide who will give you protection and also help you to quickly locate gorillas. These lowland gorillas are big in size and they also live in an extended family compared to mountain gorillas which are found in Bwindi and in Volcanoes national park in Rwanda. Tracking will take about 1-4 hours, including an hour that you will spend with as you record every bit of moment. Later you will return to the hotel in Bukavu for lunch and then check-out and transfer back to Nyungwe Forest National Park in Rwanda which harbors chimpanzees, birds, monkeys among other species. You will arrive in the evening, connect to your lodge accommodation, have dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk
Another eventful day knocks on your door, by waking up in the early morning for a scrumptious breakfast and be driven to the park headquarters for a briefing about chimpanzees, you will later head to the off beaten paths of the forests to meet the chimpanzees. Nyungwe is famous for harboring chimpanzees, over 31o bird species, over 13 primate species, and these will make the trip full of fun and lively. Tracking chimpanzees will take you about 1-4 hours depending on where the primates spent an overnight. After spending an hour with the primates, you will return to the lodge for relaxation and lunch. After lunch, you will head out for yet another magical activity that is going to raise your height to the equal the tree canopies as you rub shoulders with monkeys, birds, best scenic view since you will be almost on top of the forest, and you will be covering a big range in your sight. After the sunset, you will return to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 4: Check-out and transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Arise in the morning, enjoy a mouthwatering breakfast, check-out of the lodge and head to Volcanoes national park which is a home to the giant gorillas. This is another day for you to discover the beauty of Rwanda as you will drive through the rolling hills of Rusizi and head to Volcanoes, lunch will be served on the way, arriving in the evening, and check-in to the lodge, enjoy dinner and have an overnight stay.
Day 5: Gorilla tracking and gorilla guardian village tour
This is another day for you to enjoy the beauty of Rwanda as you will wake up to enjoy your breakfast, head to the park headquarters for briefing about the gorilla trekking etiquettes, you will be assigned a habituated gorilla family to track and then head to the jungle where you will be the ranger guide who will be locating for you the gorillas. Always tracking these gentle primates takes about 1-6 hours including an hour that you will spend with the primates. You will enjoy the sweet melodies that will be coming from the birds that will be singing for you in the tree brunches, and later after tracking, head back to the lodge for lunch, relaxation as you will be waiting to visit Gorilla guardian village also famously known as Ibyi’wacu. This is a center where the poachers who were got from the forests were settled and they have a lot to present to you including the Rwandan culture that will be demonstrated through dances, songs, names, ancient stories and beliefs all that will be on your bucket list for consumption. After that, you will retire to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: Check-out and transfer to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
You will wake up on a lazy breakfast in volcanoes national park, check-out in the midmorning and head to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in Uganda. You will cross Gatuna border and connect to Uganda’s national park that boast for having the largest gorilla population in the world. You will arrive in the evening hours, check-in to the accommodation, relax as you acclimatize to the Uganda’s environment.
Day 7: Gorilla trekking and Batwa cultural tour
Arise in the morning, grab a cup of tea/coffee, get your lunch box, meet your driver guide and be transferred to the park headquarters for a briefing about the gorilla trekking experience in Bwindi. This is another day for you to be in a total intimacy with gorillas as this is going to be the 3rd destination tracking gorillas and learning more about their behaviors. As we saw earlier, you will spend an hour in the presence of gorillas taking pictures and videos, and then later, you will return to the lodge for lunch as you get ready to meet the shortest people in the world who have lived in the forest since time immemorial. These people will warmly welcome you, they will be dancing for you, singing for you and telling you about their ancient lifestyle and the local guide will be translating for you everything. They also have craft shops where you can decide to buy some souvenirs and support their lives as well. This will mark the end of today as you will head back to the lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: Transfer back to Kigali and departure
Arise in the morning for a scrumptious breakfast, check-out of the lodge and head back to Kigali which is the last destination of your 8 Days Gorilla circuit in D.R Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. You will be driven to the Kigali where you will have your lunch and if time allows, you will do a city tour around Kigali and this will depend on the time of your flight. If you still have time, you can also opt for 25 Days East African Safari.
