Rwanda: Tracking The Mountain Gorilla
Trip at-a-glance
| Price: | From $6,382* per person |
| Lodging: | hotel |
| When: | September |
| Number of days: | 13 |
| Group size: | 24 |
This trip is offered by:
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Trip details
Day 1: Departures
Morning: Depart on transatlantic flights.
Day 2: Arrivals
Afternoon: Arrive in Kigali late afternoon.
Dinner: In the hotel.
Evening: At leisure.
Accommodations: Intercontinental Hotel
Meals Included: Dinner
Day 3: Akagera National Park
Breakfast: In the hotel.
Morning: After a relaxed breakfast, depart to Akagera Lodge. The drive is slightly less than two hours. The last 30 minutes of the drive are inside the National Park with game viewing.
Lunch: Buffet-style in the lodge.
Afternoon: Free Time
Dinner: After a late afternoon game drive, enjoy a welcome buffet dinner in the lodge.
Evening: At leisure.
Accommodations: Akagera Lodge
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4: The Birds and Wildlife of Akagera National Park
Breakfast: In the lodge.
Morning: Take a game drive through savannah woodlands and adjacent wetlands. Spotting as many as 13 species of mammals is possible, as well as more than 100 species of birds, including the extremely rare shoebill stork, for which this park is famous.
Lunch: Poolside in the lodge.
Afternoon: Free Time
Dinner: Buffet dinner in the lodge.
Evening: Discussion of the political climate in post-Genocide Rwanda with a local expert in preparation for tomorrow's visit to the Genocide Memorial.
Accommodations: Akagera Lodge
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Genocide Memorial, Kigali
Breakfast: In the lodge, after early morning bird-watching.
Morning: Depart for Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
Lunch: Buffet lunch in Kigali at Hotel Mille Collines, the hotel featured in the movie Hotel Rwanda.
Afternoon: Visit the Gisozi Genocide Memorial where survivors share with us their personal stories of survival, recovery and the rebuilding of hope.
Dinner: Your choice to explore local fare.
Evening: At leisure.
Accommodations: Intercontinental Hotel
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6: The National Museum
Breakfast: In the hotel.
Morning: Drive south through terraced hillsides and local villages, stopping en route in Butare, where we visit the National Museum. This museum houses a vast array of artifacts and exhibits that chronicle the pre- and post-colonial history of Rwanda.
Lunch: In a local hotel restaurant.
Afternoon: Continue through green hills of tea plantations to the Nyungwe Forest - by far the largest remaining tract of forest in Central Africa, with an incredible diversity of primate species, including chimpanzee, Ruwenzori colobus and l'Hoest's monkey.
Dinner: In the resthouse. Scientists working to protect the Nyungwe Forest join us for dinner.
Evening: Discussion on the current work and research studies, the successes and failures of efforts to save this last remaining patch of undisturbed Afro-montane forest - so biologically rich and imperiled.
Accommodations: ORTPN Resthouse
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7: Tracking Chimpanzees or Colobus Monkeys in the Nyungwe Forest
Breakfast: In the resthouse.
Morning: A variety of walks and treks are offered: a chimpanzee trek, a colobus trek, a waterfall walk, or an easy walk to visit a habituated group of colobus living in a patch of forest in the middle of a tea plantation, where you are certain to see the animals in close proximity.
Lunch: Some treks/hikes will require box lunches; other hikes will return to the resthouse for lunch.
Afternoon: Certain treks or hikes may take the majority of the day, depending on location of wildlife and proximity to trailheads. Other hikes require less time and may allow time in the afternoon to wander into the nearby town.
Dinner: At the resthouse.
Evening: At leisure.
Accommodations: ORTPN Resthouse
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8: The Wildlife of the Nyungwe Forest
Breakfast: At the resthouse.
Morning: Explore this fantastic forest in search of chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, birds, or to enjoy the scenery and abundant birdlife. Choose from a variety of walks and treks.
Lunch: Some treks/hikes will require box lunches; other hikes will return to the resthouse for lunch.
Afternoon: Late afternoon, a behind-the-scenes visit to the Gisakura Tea Plantation facility demonstrates how tea is produced, from seedling to dried tea leaves.
Dinner: In the resthouse.
Evening: At leisure.
Accommodations: ORTPN Resthouse
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9: Travel to Volcanoes National Park
Breakfast: In the resthouse.
Morning: Travel to the town of Cyangugu, located on the shore of Lake Kivu, and take a short commercial flight back to Kigali. Continue north through beautiful terraced hillsides that characterize much of Rwanda's landscape, gradually climbing to the base of the awesome volcanoes, where sometimes as many as five peaks are visible.
Lunch: At the lodge.
Afternoon: Free Time
Dinner: In the lodge. A Veterinarian from the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project joins us for cocktails and dinner.
Evening: Hear the stories, challenges and successes of efforts to protect the Mountain Gorillas.
Accommodations: Gorilla's Nest Lodge
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 10: Mountain Gorilla Trekking, Volcanoes National Park
Breakfast: In the lodge.
Morning: Our first gorilla trek! We visit one of the five habituated groups, and as no more than eight people may visit any specific gorilla group on a given day, an intimate experience is ensured. The length of the trek varies according to location of the gorillas and ground conditions on the day.
Lunch: Box lunch.
Afternoon: The afternoon activity depends on how long the gorilla treks take in the morning. Some groups will be close to the park boundary, others can be several hours walking inside the park, so the latter groups may be trekking all day.
Dinner: In the lodge.
Evening: At leisure.
Accommodations: Gorilla's Nest Lodge
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 11: Dian Fossey's Grave, Volcanoes National Park
Breakfast: In the lodge.
Morning: Visit the grave of Dian Fossey, located next to that of Digit, her long-time favorite gorilla. The grave site is located at the former Karisoke Research Center where Dian spent some 20 years studying the Mountain Gorillas.
Lunch: Box lunch.
Afternoon: The afternoon activity depends on how long the trek to Dian Fossey's grave takes. We may have some free time after the hike to the site, or the hike may take until mid-afternoon. Late this afternoon we will visit a local elementary school and hear about environmental education efforts in the communities that surround the park.
Dinner: Farewell dinner in the lodge.
Evening: At leisure.
Accommodations: Gorilla's Nest Lodge
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12: Departures
Breakfast: In the lodge.
Morning: Transfer to Kigali Airport for flights home.
Meals Included: Breakfast
Day 13: Return to the U.S.
Morning: International flights arrive in the U.S.