Gorilla Safari & Visoke Hike
- PriceTailored (Enquire now)
- Duration 4 Days 3 Nights
- Dates Open
- Safari TypeGuided, Private Safari
- Location Rwanda
- Departure CityKigali
- End CityKigali
- Contact nameCatherine
- Contact phone+256 774 805580
- Cancellation policyUp to 90 Days
- AccommodationAs shown in itinerary
- Group TypeTraveler’s choice
- Restriction No Children Bellow 15 years
- LanguagesEnglish
Safari Overview
4 Days Gorilla Safari & Visoke Hike vacation gives you more optional activities to take on after your gorilla trekking adventure in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. From the vibrant capital Kigali, your private driver will snail drive you 3 hours through Rwanda’s most beautiful countryside to one of the most beautiful exclusive properties in ht overflows of Volcanoes National Park, where you’ll hail to track the mountain gorillas.
The tailor-made Africa safari will take you into the misty bamboo jungles of the Virungas, in Volcanoes National Park, on an excursion to track and locate a family of mountain gorillas led by a patriarch silverback. You’ll be allowed to spend one hour with the gentle giants under strict guidelines not to make contact. In the same jungle, the next day, you’ll also take on the challenge of tracking the endangered cute little golden monkeys see rare species of birds and other primates within the forest canopy. With enough days on your itinerary calendar, you have an option of taking on the volcano peaks of Visoke or Karisimbi and viewing the whole African jungle from above.
The mystical jungle floors will take a piece of your emotions and physical energy, so be prepared to store some unforgettable memories on this Rwanda safari adventure.
We are concerned for your and our health in these unfamiliar times, and to keep you healthy, we’ll apply WHO, Rwanda government, and our Covid Safari Standards of Operation during this tour. Please make sure you have updated yourself on what will be required of you to take this spectacular Rwanda Safari.
Safari Highlights
- Visit the Kigali genocide Memorial or take a city excursion around Kigali city and experience the African cultures
- The road drive across Rwanda’s countryside will reveal the most stunning natural setting of this tiny East African country.
- Tracking the mountain gorilla in Volcanoes may appear third on this bullet but just because we wanted to squeeze the best in here. This is the top highlight of this trip and a bucket-list Africa Safari item.
- Track the endangered cute little golden monkeys in the same Rwanda jungle and other optional activities like hiking the simple Visoke and Karisimbi peaks.
- Activities around the lodge after the gorilla trek like Rwanda cultural tales, music and dance will impress your travel lust.
Know before you go
- The tour is physically demanding, which means you’ll hiking moderately steep slope searching for the mountain giants and high altitudes between 2400 and 4507 meters. There strict rules to going in these places and meeting the gorillas and you’ll be escorted by a tracker, rangers and a guide with a group of other seven trekking travelers.
- The Vehicle that transfers you from and to the gorilla sanctuary is only allowed to carry up-to 6 people and Covid-19 guidelines of Rwanda will strictly be applied to keep you and our team protected from the scourge.
Safari Includes
- Local guide
- Gorilla Permit ($1500)
- Food and drinks
- Accommodation
- Transfers in 4×4
- Covid-19 Tests
- English guide
- Gratuities & tips
- All activities
- Visa & travel insurance
General FAQs
- You can reschedule this trip as a private tour to any date up to 12 months at no cost.
- A 30% deposit of the total tour price will be required to secure a booking, the balance being due 45 days before the tour departure date.
- Bookings not secured by the appropriate deposit will be released.
- Cancellation between 90 and 45 days of tour departure will incur a 20% of tour price penalty charge. Confirmed bookings cancelled within 45 days of the tour departure date or no show will incur 100% of tour price penalty charge.
- Availability of accommodation and activities is not guaranteed; reservations will be made after receiving confirmation of the final itinerary and the payment of the requested deposit. Should any of the quoted accommodations not be available, we reserve the right to substitute it with an alternative suitable option, which might affect the final quoted price.
- All clients who participate in this tour must be adequately covered by medical insurance as well as travel insurance to protect them in case of unforeseen circumstances.
Rates specified for this tour are subject to change without notice, however, every effort will be made to maintain them. In the event of any change of Government taxes or operating conditions that affect the rates we reserve the right to pass on these charges.
UGANDA GORILLA PERMIT CANCELLATION POLICY
(different and separate from the tour cancellation policy)
Gorilla Permits will be guaranteed ONLY upon receipt of the deposit (US$1,500 per person) since we need to immediately pay Rwanda Development Board Offices in order to secure the permits.
Cancellations received on full payment:
- More than 90 days before the tracking date, 25% cancellation fee
- 89 to 46 days before the tracking date, 50% cancellation fee
- 45 to 9 days before the tracking date, 75% cancellation fee
- 8 to 0 days before the tracking date, 100% cancellation fee
Important: the minimum age required for gorilla tracking is 15 years whereas for the chimps the minimum age required is 12 years; in case of flu or of any other airborne disease the visitor will be not allowed to meet with the gorillas or the chimps.
Virunga Lodge (Days 1 & 2)
This premium luxury Rwanda lodge is perched high on a ridge with the finest views in Africa, overlooking the Virunga Volcanoes and the Musanze valley to the west and Lake Bulera and Ruhondo to the east. Each of our ten luxurious bandas has a private terrace from which guests can watch the sunrise over the dramatic landscape of mountains and lakes, an individual fire place, a shower room with a double vanity.
Hotel Mille Collines Hotel (Days 3)
Inspired by Rwanda’s unforgettable geographical terrain, the hotel derives its name from its motherland known as the “land of a thousand hills.” Inaugurated in 1973 as the premier grand hotel of the country and becoming a shelter to, a light of hope in the darkness for a terrified crowd of up to 2,000 people who were saved by the hotel opening its doors in 1994 during the Genocide against the Tutsi. Located in Kigali’s central business district, the hotel allows you to enjoy the breathtaking views over the hills of Kigali while indulging in culinary delights from casual to fine dining, international cuisine to local signature dishes!
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Volcanoes National Park
Arrive at Kigali International Airport, and after processing your visa, you’ll go through Rwanda’s entry guidelines maybe show your Covid negative test. Your private Gorilla Safari & Visoke Hike safari guide will be waiting on the other side.
Meet and greet by your private tour driver/guide. After a briefing session, drive North of Kigali to Kinigi at the foot of Volcanoes National Park, through Rwanda’s most beautiful countryside, and immerse your imagination in nature’s tranquility.
Drive time is about 3 hours with excellent drive speed to allow you to enjoy the scenery. Check into the lodge and later enjoy dinner surrounded by the evergreen tropical forest.
Accommodation and meals
Virunga Lodge, Dinner
Day 2: Gorilla Tracking in Volcanoes NP Jungle
With an early breakfast, drive to the park headquarters for gorilla briefing (45 minutes). This part of the Gorilla Safari & Visoke Hike vacation is a major highlight and the primary reason you’re wadding in these jungles. So take a breath, collect all your intrinsic emotions and excitement, and get ready to be wowed. Make sure your expectations are floating; we don’t want to drown in too much of less or more than we bargained.
When gorilla trekking in these gigantic woods, a packed lunch, comfortable clothes, shoes, and a walking stick is are a must.
The time spent gorilla tracking is unpredictable; it varies from 2-8 hours before an encounter with the family of these gentle creatures. The location of each gorilla family depends on temperature, their feeding range, and movement of the previous day with the trackers ahead of your tracking group. The park warden will issue your trekking group strict guidelines at the trailhead briefing point; make sure you remember the most important ones.
You’ll be allowed to stay and observe the habituated gorilla troop for strictly one hour (the standard duration permitted in the company of each gorilla family a day). Watch and capture this memorable experience as the gorillas go about their day-to-day activities; the young ones play around the old ones, feed each other, and eat the foliage. The sight of these incredible great apes is the climax of this entire safari. Later retire for an overnight at the lodge.
Accommodation and meals
Virunga Lodge, Lunch, Breakfast, Dinner, and drinking water.
Day 3: Optional Activities
This day will require you to choose between staying at the lodge for a relaxation day with simple activities or tracking the endangered golden monkey in Volcanoes NP, visiting Dian Fossey’s resting home, and hiking one of the volcano peaks. Whichever you choose, our goal is to make your day as memorable as possible, and we’ll just do that.
If you choose to go back into the jungle, you’ll be briefed by the park rangers and then escorted into the misty jungles to find your nemesis. These fragile cute little golden monkeys light up the jungle and alter your perception of wild creatures in jungles worldwide. It’s a moment you want to keep forever, so make sure you’re ready to be rewarded for your courage to come to Africa. You will not stay with them for more than one hour because researchers think that staying longer may agitate their inner beings and maybe transfer some diseases (you know).
After that heartfelt moment with the golden monkeys, the guides will lead you through the forest path to the legend that made all that trip possible from back in 1962, the legendary primatologist Dian Fossey’s grave. That little lady took all the guts to protect the mountain gorillas from savages and let the world know about the treasure we had berried deep in our African jungle, so a visit to her grave is warranted; take a knee!
Later that evening, check out at the lodge and get on the 3-hour drive to Kigali, where you’ll spend the night.
Accommodation and meals
Hotel des Mille Collines, Lunch, Breakfast, Dinner, and drinking water.
Day 4: Kigali Activities
With an early sumptuous breakfast, drive lazily back into Kigali. Take a city excursion or Kigali Genocide memorial in Gisozi and the Rwanda National Museum visit; the time spent in these places depends on your departure flight.
No accommodation
Breakfast, Lunch, and drinking water
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Private/Tailor-made Safaris
What is a tailor-made safari?: A Tailor-made safari or private safari is a vacation trip in Africa that is crafted around the traveller’s preferences—likes, expectations, recommendations and travel style—with the guidance of an expert safari consultant. The trips listed above can all be customized to each individual for a perfect safari holiday.
With a wide range of experiences, attractions and great expectations to choose from, putting together a perfect Africa safari vacation can be a daunting task, especially when it’s your first time visiting Africa. And buying a pre-planned Africa safari package may not cut it.
Nkuringo Safaris consultants will listen and learn about your dream of Africa, what type of traveller you are, what moves your emotions, makes you smile and what lasting memories you expect. We’ll then—with you—craft an Africa safari holiday, take care of all the ground handling and take you to your dream with little or no hustle on your part.
