3Days/2Nights

Day 1: Kigali International Airport
Gain one hour, two hours ahead of GMT. You will be picked by our representative. Have lunch in Kigali the capital city of Rwanda followed by an afternoon visit to the genocide memorial before proceeding to Ruhengeri and the Virungas. This is a fascinating visit to the memorial with an important statement about Rwanda's past, but it is not for the faint-hearted.
The intention is to show Rwanda's commitment: Such atrocities will never happen again. The drive to the Gorilla's Nest Lodge is about 90 minutes. After dinner at the Gorilla's Nest, enjoy a good night's sleep in preparation of the highlight tomorrow with Mountain Gorillas.

Lodging: Gorilla's Nest Lodge (Classic) or Kinigi Guest House (Budget)

Day 2: Gorilla Trek
After breakfast drive to the Virunga National Park Headquarters. There will be plenty of porters available and eager to help you carry your photo equipment and water. Most of the ranger/guides speak English. They speak French as their second language and have learned English to answer questions from the many English speaking visitors who arrive to experience Mountain Gorilla trekking.

This is one of the most exhilarating and moving wildlife experiences you can have. Normally you get very close to these giant primates, observing them observing you. Their almost human movements, innate dignity and social interaction make a unique connection for everyone fortunate enough to have this experience. Mt. Visoke, at 3,711 meters (12,172 feet), is the third highest peak after Karisimbi and Muhabura, and is the mountain with wonderful native forest where the gorillas reside. At present only thirty people a day can spend just one hour with these gorillas. The maximum number of tourists visiting any habituated group is eight people. The trek to find gorillas can be quite short, but on most days an hour or two or three of rough hiking each way is necessary. Dress warmly, as the weather can be cool at this altitude.
From park headquarters drive to the entrance of the forest on Mt. Visoke, and walk up to the forest through the local shambas planted with potatoes and pyrethrum. The guides will already know approximately where the troop is located that you will be visiting. Each visit is by permit and limited to one hour with a professional Gorilla tracker in charge who will coach you in the safety rules and body language required to come close to the Gorilla troops.

The average time to reach the troop is about sixty minutes, but can be up to three hours or more and can be relatively steep climbing through dense vegetation to reach the group. You may climb through several vegetation zones; bamboo, luxuriant hagenia and hypericum forest, with twisted gnarled trees covered in soft emerald mosses, lichens and epiphytes. The guides stay on the trails until close to the troop, then cut trail to get close. As you get closer to the troop, the guides will point out signs that lead them straight to the gorillas. The rangers might show you some wild celery or some giant blackberries that the gorillas love. They definitely will show you the different species of stinging nettles that the gorillas eat, but warn you not to grab hold of a stinging nettle. One of the troops is the "Amahoro group," named after the dominant silverback. A silverback is a Gorilla that has reached maturity, generally between the ages of 13 to 15. The "Sousa group" is the largest and normally the most distant to reach, since they like to live higher on the mountain than other groups.

When you are very close, the guides will tell you to leave your bags and take only your cameras. The lead guide will edge forward grunting as he goes to announce your arrival to the group so as not to startle the gorilla. Normally the silverback is lying in thick vegetation lazily watching. One or more females are often close by and are unperturbed by your appearance.
Your guides will cut a path through the tangle of vegetation to try to see them. Frequently they are in open glades, which makes photography very rewarding. One of the most entertaining experiences is to watch the young Mountain Gorillas having a great time, play fighting, climbing trees and wrestling. The hour of viewing will pass very quickly.

Ruhengeri is at the base of the Virunga Mountains and Kinigi is where our aptly named lodge, "the Gorillas Nest," is situated, two kilometers west of the Kinigi Park Headquarters. The lodge is in a lovely rural setting and ideally situated to the park headquarters for each morning's registration process. There is no electricity in Kinigi, so the lodge operates a generator. Each public room overlooks green lawns and a semi-circle of twenty double rooms and two suites. The rooms all look outwards into the Eucalyptus forest, pyrethrum farms and shambas (farms) beyond. The Lodge is well constructed, but utilitarian: with grass thatched roofs in traditional Rwandese style - not the "rustic luxury safari" style of East and Southern Africa. Nearby is a traditional Rwandese homestead for visitors to visit in the afternoon after Gorilla trekking. All meals included. Return to the lodge and after dinner enjoy a performance of traditional Tutsi dancing.

Lodging: Gorilla's Nest Lodge (Classic) or Kinigi Guest House (Budget)

Day 3: Departure
Pick up at your hotel, depending on you departure time and if you missed the opportunity the first day, you will have Kigali city trip including the visit of the Genocide Memorial centre at Gizozi. 

Transfer to the Airport for your departure.