4 Days Rwanda Gorilla Tour and Karisimbi Hiking

Our guide will come pick you at your hotel or the airport early morning. After the initial briefing, you will start with a Kigali city tour. You will go visit the Gisozi genocide war memorial site to learn about the 1994 Rwandan genocide which led to the death of over 500,000 Rwandans. After learning about this sad episode in Rwanda’s history, you will go visit the Kings palace and the local markets to buy some souvenirs. You will have lunch and then start the 2 – 3 hours journey to the volcanoes national park. You will be deeply impressed by the beautiful, green and mountainous countryside. Rwanda is indeed “The land of a thousand hills”. Dinner and overnight at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge / The 5 Volcanoes Lodge (Luxury), Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge / Davinci Lodge (Mid-range) and The Garden Place Hotel (Budget).

Our guide will pick you up from your hotel early in the morning to take you to the Kinigi park offices for briefing on hiking Mount Karisimbi. Hiking the Mount Karisimbi volcano takes 6 hours and starts at 8:00 am with a drive from the Kinigi park offices to the Karisimbi head trail. We recommend that you hire a porter to help carry your backpack and hiking stick. Hiking starts from the Mount Bisoke side before finally reaching an altitude of 3,700 meters where you stop and camp for the night. Early the next day, you will continue up to the very top of the Volcano. Once you are on top, you will be able to view the beautiful landscape of the Virunga ranges which include nearby mountains and the volcanoes national park. After seeing enough of the beautiful scenes, you will descend back to the starting point where our guide will be waiting to take you back to the lodge for early rest in preparation for gorilla tracking the next day.  Dinner and overnight at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge / The 5 Volcanoes Lodge (Luxury), Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge / Davinci Lodge (Mid-range) and The Garden Place Hotel (Budget).

After yesterday’s activity and early rest, wake up and take your breakfast before heading to the p-ark offices for briefing on gorilla tracking which usually takes place at 7:00 am. The head guide will let you know of all information regarding gorilla tracking and how to conduct yourself while with the gorilla family. Briefing is compulsory and is also a time when you choose your family and take the time to hire a porter. A gorilla safari in Rwanda involves selecting a gorilla family from the 10 habituated groups. Selection is based on one’s overall fitness, location of your lodge and personal preference. Once you are done with the briefing and selections, you can now go to track the gorillas. Tracking mountain gorillas can be challenging depending on which gorilla family you choose but nothing beats the excitement of finally meeting the gorilla family. You will only have one hour with the gorilla family. Listen to instructions from your guide while with the gorilla family. After your time has elapsed, you should now head back to the starting point where you will find our guide who will take you back to the lodge for lunch and rest before other activities. Later in the evening, our guide will take you to visit the nearby Iby’iwacu cultural village where you will learn a lot about the culture of the people of Rwanda. Expect to be entertained with traditional folk dances and stories.

You will wake up at your own time to take breakfast and prepare for your journey back to Kigali international airport or hotel. In case you missed the tour to Kigali on the first day due to flight schedules, this is the day you will go for the tour before separating with us.