2 Days Gorilla Trekking Rwanda

Tour details

Duration: 2 days

Best for: Anyone with a long layover or a single free day in Kigali who wants a gorilla permit above everything else

Group size: Private tour, your group and your guide

Travel style: Gorilla trekking, Cultural, City break, Short break

Introduction

You have two days. You want to stand in front of a mountain gorilla. Here's how you make that happen.

This trip works for transit passengers with a long layover, conference delegates with one free weekend, or anyone short on time but set on trekking. You fly into Kigali, spend a day seeing the city and driving to Volcanoes National Park, then trek gorillas the next morning before heading back to the airport or your hotel. Two days, one permit, one unforgettable hour with a gorilla family.

Why book this as a two-day trip? Most gorilla trekking itineraries run four days or longer. This one strips the trip down to what matters if your schedule can't stretch. If you want to add extra days before or after, for Nyungwe Forest or Lake Kivu, tell us when you request a quote and we'll build it into your itinerary.

On this journey, you will explore the following highlights:

Gorilla Tracking - The Ultimate Wildlife Encounter

Volcanoes National Park

Kigali City - The Heart of Rwanda

Day to day programme

Day 1: Kigali city tour, then Volcanoes National Park

Your driver guide picks you up in Kigali, at your hotel or the airport. From there you spend the morning and early afternoon on a city tour: the Kigali Genocide Memorial Site and Museum, Nyamata Genocide Church, and the local markets. This part of the day is heavy. Rwanda's history asks that of you, and the memorial exists so you understand what the country has rebuilt itself from.

After lunch, you drive northwest toward Volcanoes National Park. The road climbs through the hills that gave Rwanda its nickname, the Land of a Thousand Hills. You arrive at your lodge in the afternoon, have dinner, and rest before an early start.

Day 2: Gorilla trekking, then back to Kigali

Breakfast, then a transfer to Kinigi park headquarters for a 7:00am briefing. Park rangers assign you a gorilla family based on where each group was last seen the previous night. Volcanoes National Park manages 12 habituated families, including Bwenge, Hirwa, Sabyinyo, Susa, Amahoro, and Kwitonda. Only 96 trekking permits are issued each day across the whole park, which is why you book yours well ahead of travel.

The hike itself runs anywhere from 30 minutes to 5 hours, at altitudes between 2,500 and 4,000 meters. No two treks look the same. Some days the gorillas sit close to the park boundary. Other days they've moved deep into the forest overnight. Pack water, pack lunch, and consider hiring a porter. Porters carry your gear on the steep sections and their fees go directly into the local community.

If the altitude or terrain worries you, sedan chairs, known locally as human helicopters, are available. Local guides carry you when the climb gets tough.

Once you find your gorilla family, you get one hour with them. Cameras out, phones out, rangers close by. Then it's lunch back at the lodge and the drive back to Kigali, where you're dropped at your hotel or the airport.

Where you'll stay

Budget: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge, Davinci Lodge. Midrange: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Five Volcanoes Lodge, Ingagi Park View Lodge. Luxury: Bisate Lodge, One & Only Gorilla Nest, Bishop's House, Virunga Lodge, Sabinyo Lodge.

When to book

Gorilla permits sell out months ahead during peak season, June through September and December through February. Request a quote with your travel dates, group size, and any extra activities you want, and we'll confirm your permit and lodge options directly.

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What's included

Includes

• Full board accommodation
• One gorilla trekking permit per person
• Park entrance fees
• Internal flights within Rwanda
• A private guide for the full itinerary
• All transfers listed above

Excludes

• Drinks
• Gratuities for guides and porters
• International flights
• Travel insurance
• Visa fees

Accommodations

During the trip, you will stay at:

Volcanoes National Park: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge or Davinci Lodge (budget), Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Five Volcanoes Lodge or Ingagi Park View Lodge (midrange), or Bisate Lodge, One & Only Gorilla Nest, Bishop's House, Virunga Lodge or Sabinyo Lodge (luxury), full board.

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