5 Days Karisimbi Hike and Gorilla Tracking Rwanda

The 5 Days Karisimbi hike and gorilla tracking safari is perfect for the strong and fit since it includes hiking the highest mountain in Rwanda and Gorilla trek. The 5 days Karisimbi Hike and Gorilla safari  Rwanda gives you a chance to meet the amazing mountain gorillas and hike mount Karisimbi. Later on, you get to relax at the beautiful shores of Lake Kivu. 

Summary of 5 Days Karisimbi hike and Gorilla Tracking 

• Day 1: Pick up and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park
• Day 2: Gorilla Tracking
• Day 3: Start Karisimbi Hike
• Day 4: Descend Karisimbi and head to Kivu
• Day 5: Depart Lake Kivu to Transfer back to Kigali.

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1; Arrival and drive to Kinigi.

When you arrive at the airport, you will meet our representative who will also be your guide through the entire trip. He will brief you about the trip before you start your journey to Kinigi. This journey takes between 2-3 hours to get to Kinigi where the park is located. Depending on what time you arrive at Kigali, you may or not do the Kigali city tour on this day before going to Kinigi.  If you do, you will visit the genocide memorial center, the museum and a few other places, have lunch and then drive to the park. Dinner & overnight will be at any of the lodges below depending on your budget.

Budget lodges; Gorilla solution lodge, Villa Gorilla, Muhabura Lodge , Kinigi guest house

Midrange lodges; Five volcano lodge, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge , Le bambou lodge, among others.

Luxury lodge; Volcanoes Virunga Lodge , One and only nest lodge, Sabinyo Silver back lodge, Davinci gorilla lodge, Tiloreza Eco lodge, among others.

Super luxury: Bisate Lodge, Singita Kwitonda lodge, The Bishop’s house

Day 2; Go for gorilla Tracking

After breakfast at the hotel, you will go for a briefing and registration at Parc National des Volcans Headquarters in Kinigi office at 7 am.   From here you will drive to the starting point of the trek at the Parc National des Volcans and together with your guide, you will start the gorilla tracking journey through this dense forest across steep slopes. The time you need before you meet these amazing gentle apes always varies with how far or close, they may be from that starting point on that particular day.   

This is attributed to the fact that they are in their own natural habitats, they can be anywhere so you need to be ready to walk/ hike for long hours that’s why you have to carry packed lunch with you and a porter.  If you think you will need someone to help you up the hills and down the slopes., you can take a s many porters as possible. When you meet your group/ family of gorillas, you will have an hour with them in their company taking pictures and observing them before you walk out of the forest.   The trek may be strenuous but after you meet them, it will worthwhile!  

Depending on how early you come back from the jungle after gorilla trekking, you can go for an afternoon community visit is you have time after lunch. You can go for a cultural tour in the Iby’iwacu traditional village where you get to learn more about the Rwanda cultures and how the local people live their day today life.

Day 3: Go for the Mount Karisimbi Hike.

After breakfast at the lodge, you will drive to the briefing point at the park head office. You will attend the briefing and registration and then later drive to where the hiking trail starts from, your driver will stay back and you together with your park ranger will start on your hike from the bottom. The final destination here is the white-capped Mt. Karisimbi summit. Mount Karisimbi is listed as Africa’s  fifth highest snowcapped mountain and you will have a break and sleep at a shelter when you’re half way your  journey to the top. There are sleeping camps and there, you will cook, have your dinner and spend the night

Day 4: Continue hiking to the Summit and later descend.

You will wake up early, have breakfast and continue hiking to the summit. This will take you just a few hours before you get to the Karisimbi summit, enjoy the beautiful view, take pictures and then later start to descend back down to the starting point. Your guide/ driver will be there to pick you up. From this point, you will drive to Lak e Kivu in Gisenyi districts.  This drive is just about 1 hour so you should be there before dark and get to enjoy the evening hours at the lake shores as you watch the sun set down on one end of the lake and the fisher men doing their thing.  Dinner will be at the lodge of your choice;

Budget lodge; Palme lodge

Midrange lodge; Cormoran lodge, Malahide Paradise

Luxury lodge; Kivu Serena Hotel, gorilla lake Kivu hotel.

Day 5- Enjoy a boat ride on Lake Kivu to Kibuye and later drive to Kigali

After your breakfast, you can go for a boat ride on Lake Kivu and enjoy the cool breeze of the lake. This is a 1 hour long boat cruise and after you will head back to Lake Kivu shores. Alternatively, you can take a boat ride to the famous Napoleon Hut in Kibuye and in that case your driver picks you up from Kibuye and then you will continue to Kigali. This marks the end of your 5 days Karisimbi hike and gorilla tracking safari. 

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