This 4 Days gorilla and golden monkeys safari takes you to Rwanda’s most visited national park -Volcanoes which is also known as Parc Des Volcans. Volcanoes park is famous for having been a research area for Dr. Dian Fossey which is now known as the Karisoke Research Centre. Dr. Dian established and founded the Karisoke Research Center in Rwanda’s Virungas Mountains in 1967, to safe guard and examine the rare and then threatened mountain gorillas. Although her life was short lived, the Karisoke research center continued with the work and it had developed into conservation labours for other wildlife and initiatives for people who stay near the mountain gorillas. You will indulge into two trekking tours in this park which are both strenuous but feasible.
Summary of Itinerary
- Day 1: Transfer from Kigali to Volcanoes National park
- Day 2: Gorilla Tracking
- Day 3: Golden Monkey Trek
- Day 4: Transfer back to Kigali
Detailed Itinerary
4 Days Gorilla and Golden Monkey Safari Itinerary
Day 1; Pick – Kigali City Tour – Transfer to Musanze (Former Ruhengeri).
Our tour guide will pick you up from Kigali airport to start your 4 days gorilla and golden monkeys safari- Rwanda Safari. If you arrive early enough, you will go for a Kigali City tour to Visit the Genocide memorial. Note that the memorial centre is never open on Rwanda’s bank holidays so this is only possible if it is not a Holiday.
The Kigali genocide memorial Centre was launched in April 2004 on the 10th centenary of the Rwandan genocide. The centre is set on a spot where more than 250,000 people were buried. These graves are a lucid aide memoire of the cost of ignorance. The centre will always be an everlasting monument to those who fell victim to the genocide. It works as a place for people to mourn the loved ones that they lost. Stories of what happened will be narrated to you . You will later transfer to Musanze. The drive from Kigali to Musanze takes 2 and half hours to 3 hours without Traffic. Your dinner and over night at
Budget- Kinigi Guest House
Moderate- Gorilla View Lodge / Hotel Gorillas/ Le Bambou Hotel.
Luxury- Sabyinyo Silver Back lodge / Virunga Volcanoes Lodge
Day 2 ; Gorilla Safari Rwanda
Have an early breakfast and then your guide from AA safaris and tours will pick you up and take you to the starting points of gorilla tour after clearing with ORTPN . Leave the formalities at Ortpn to the guide because he has the experience. You will then go gorilla tracking for an opportunity to see the Gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes Np.
Search for the gorillas by hiking through the light mountain rain forest on the slopes of the Virungas a memorable experience. The time taken to do the trek and encounter the gorillas is unpredictable but the chances of finding and meeting gorillas is 99% . Once you encounter the gorillas, you will be allowed to spend an hour with them. Return to the lodge for a late lunch! You are advised to take packed lunch/ enough snacks because some gorilla families are further away and unpredictable. Gorilla trekking may take a full day, especially when it is rainy or Muddy. Return to your lodge for dinner and over night at the lodge or your budget.
Day 3- Golden Monkey trekking in Rwanda
Wake up relatively early for breakfast and then again assemble at Parc des Volcans ‘ ORTPN offices for briefing. You will then start the search for golden monkeys in the forest.
The search will give you an array of encounters of other primates in this forest before encountering Golden monkeys. The golden monkey scientifically known as Cercopithecus mitis kandti is an erratic and inimitable primate.
Golden monkeys are somehow not easy to take catch on camera however, you are advised to use a fast shutter speed and low light since you are in a dense forest. Golden Monkey tracking is a vivacious experience, not to be missed by those interested primates. That is to say chimpanzee and gorilla tracking in Uganda and Rwanda. Once you encounter golden monkeys, just like in gorilla tracking, you spend an hour with them. If you are lucky you may get a close look at the golden monkeys. You can see them play in the bamboo forest. It is an exhilarating experience to see mothers carrying their children just like human- Other golden monkeys are found feeding on bamboo leaves and totally at ease while you enjoy watching Africa’s only left few golden monkeys.
If your golden monkey trekking ends early , you may go for an optional visit to the beautiful twin lakes of Ruhundo and Bulera at an extra cost or go for a canoe ride around the Gorillas or go kayaking on Lake Kivu. as advised by your tours consultant of AA safaris and tours ltd.
Retire for dinner and over night at the lodge of your budget .
Day 4 – Transfer to Kigali .
Having experienced an awesome adventure in Rwanda the country of the thousand hills, you will leave Musanze for Kigali. If you missed your city tour on day 1, you will be taken for a city tour in Kigali before you proceed to the airport for your next flight back home .
End of the 4 days gorilla and golden monkeys safari Rwandai
For Prices of this safari contact us