On arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be met by our driver/guide and be transferred to your hotel in Kigali arriving for overnight on bed and breakfast.
After breakfast your day starts with a complementary tour of the city. Named in 1907 by Dr. Richard Kandt, the first colonial resident governor of Rwanda; Kigali city is surrounded by lush hills of green and is referred to as the land of a thousand hills. Get to visit interesting spots which may include; the craft market, Gisozi genocide memorial site & Kigali museum. Depart for a 2 hours’ drive to Ruhengeri area the second largest town in Rwanda, with its stunning backdrop of five volcanic mountains – The Virungas. Arrive at the Karisoke Research Centre now known as the Ellen DeGeneres campus of the Diane Fossey gorilla fund. Dr. Fossey established the Karisoke Research Center in 1967 and began her groundbreaking research on gorilla behavior. Over five decades later, Karisoke is the world’s longest-running gorilla research site and conducts cutting-edge, award-winning science on gorillas and their habitat.. Later dinner and overnight.Later drive to your hotel for dinner and overnight.
After an early breakfast, you will proceed to the National Park headquarters – Kinigi to meet your guides for the day. After completing our park formalities, we shall embark on a once in a lifetime experience of tracking mountain gorillas. Once you spot them you are allowed to spend an hour watching this amazing giant apes in their natural habitat. This is perhaps one of the most breath-taking wildlife experiences on earth!!! You get so close to these awesome giant primates. You stare at each other blankly not knowing who to break the long silence first. Tracking the gorillas through the light mountain forest on the slopes of the Virunga is a magical experience. These massive primates are extremely rare, with less than 700 living today. You will get within meters of the family, and be privileged to spend an hour amongst them. The trekking may be fairly strenuous; up to six hours or longer at a relatively high altitude. We encourage for your own enjoyment to make sure that you are perfectly fit and healthy. (We’ve had people as old as 70years old do gorilla tracking so this should not be a problem; all you need is to ask your driver guide to request a shorter group for you if you cannot trek far). It is important to bring good hiking boots, long trousers, gloves for protection against stinging nettles, some snacks & sweets (for you, not the gorillas) as well as sufficient water as the rain forest gets hot and humid during the day. You will spend one hour with the gorillas, but it is an hour you will never forget. Return to your hotel for lunch and later dinner and overnight.
After breakfast, this day is set out for Golden Monkey tracking in the Volcanoes National Park. Entering dense stands of bamboo interspersed with open glades; you will make your way deep into golden monkey territory. Guides lead visitors to the habitat of groups of ‘habituated’ golden monkeys – monkeys that have become accustomed to human presence. Though viewing is kept to a maximum of one hour, travelers can get an up-close look at the golden monkey in its natural habitat. Adult monkeys frolic in plain view, feeding on bamboo leaves and leaping from perch to perch. Females carry their young, completely comfortable among onlookers. After lunch, you will depart for a 2 hours’ drive to Kigali. Engage in last minute shopping in one of the friendliest African capitals, before returning to the airport for your onward international flight back home
R & M Wild Safaris