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3-Nights Mountain Gorilla Encounter: Kigali & Volcanoes National Park

Rwanda
3-Nights Mountain Gorilla Encounter: Kigali & Volcanoes National Park
Rwanda
Goway Travel
Vacation Offer ID 1502210
Reference this number when contacting our travel specialist.
Overview

Goway Travel

DELUXE | PRIVATE-GUIDED: Spend 4 days in the area made famous by Dian Fossey, the home of the world’s last surviving mountain gorilla population. Be one of only a few to see these gorillas in their own habitat.

Vacation Inclusions

  • Private arrival and departure airport transfers from Kigali Airport
  • 1 night first-class accommodation in Kigali
  • 2 nights deluxe accommodation near Volcanoes National Park
  • Private transportation with English-speaking driver/guide
  • Private-guided Kigali City Tour and visit to Genocide Memorial
  • 1 small group gorilla trek per person (max 8 guests)
  • 1 gorilla trekking permit per person
  • Park fees
  • 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, 2 dinners

Featured Destinations

Volcanoes National Park (Parc National Des Volcans)

Volcanoes National Park (Parc National Des Volcans)

This park, 15 mi/25 km east of Gisenyi, protects the Rwandan portion of the spectacular Virunga Mountains, which straddle the borders with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Virunga is not a mountain range in the normal sense of the word but rather a chain of isolated freestanding volcanic cones strung along a fault line in the Rift Valley. Sometimes also referred to as the Birunga or Bufumbira Mountains, the chain is composed of six inactive and two active volcanoes, all of which exceed 9,840 ft/3,000 m in altitude. The tallest are Karisimbi (14,783 ft/4,507 m), Mikeno (14,553 ft/4,437 m) and Muhabura (13,537 ft/4,127 m).

Few national parks in Africa can be explored on foot, but this park north of Ruhengeri offers a reward worth the hike through its dramatically beautiful, albeit rough terrain: the chance to observe a family of mountain gorillas, the rarest—and largest—of the four gorilla subspecies. About 700 mountain gorillas live in the wild (roughly half of them in Rwanda), and naturalists have habituated seven of the 20-odd families in this park to the presence of tourist observers. Many people regard visiting these gentle giants (up to 485 lbs/220 kg) in their natural habitat to be the single most-extraordinary wildlife experience in the world. The park can be accessed on organized gorilla-tracking tours, which are limited to seven groups of eight people daily. Gorilla-tracking permits cost US$500 per person in cash (including park entrance fees but not transportation and lodging) and should be booked as far in advance as possible.

Other activities include a visit to a habituated troop of golden monkeys (an endangered bamboo-eater whose range is essentially restricted to the Virungas), as well as day or overnight hikes to the various volcanic peaks and a day trip to Dian Fossey's grave at her former research center high in the misty mountains. As a precaution, armed soldiers accompany each tour.

Destination Guide
Kigali

Kigali

Even in the best of times, Kigali, Rwanda's capital city, didn't have much for visitors to do, other than visiting its food market in the town center, enjoying the views (the city is built on a series of steep hills) or taking a walk.

These days, the market again bustles with activity. However, prices of imported goods are very high in this landlocked capital, where almost everything, apart from local produce, must be flown in or shipped from the distant coast. Visitors can buy local arts and crafts in Caplaki, a tourist market.


The city's most compelling and disturbing landmark is the Gisozi Genocide Museum situated on a site where at least 250,000 residents of Kigali were killed during the 1994 genocide. Another site is the Natural History Museum, housed in the former residence of the German explorer and zoologist Dr. Richard Kandt.

Kigali was established in 1907 as a small colonial outpost.

Destination Guide

View Full Itinerary

Valid Date Ranges

April 2023
04/04/2023 12/31/2024 $5,314 per person

Standard Terms & Conditions apply when purchasing this trip. Special savings cannot be combined with any other offer. Airfare available for better packaging and pricing. Ask your travel advisor for details. All prices are per person and quoted in U.S. dollars. Single supplement applies. Blackout dates/seasonal supplements may apply. Accommodations, inclusions and itinerary subject to change depending upon specific departure date. From pricing is based on lowest marketed price for this tour, rates vary by date of departure; please inquire for details for your preferred travel dates. Inquire for a list of exclusions. Departures: Daily.
 

All fares are quoted in US Dollars.