5 Days Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safari 

Overview

This Rwanda gorilla trekking safari is built for travellers who want more than a single trek — two chances to encounter mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, a golden monkey trek option, and a visit to Dian Fossey’s grave. It also works well as a springboard into wider East Africa itineraries covering Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya.

Tour Highlights

• Day 1: Arrive in Kigali, visit the Genocide Memorial, transfer to Volcanoes National Park
• Day 2: Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park
• Day 3: Optional second gorilla trek or golden monkey trekking
• Day 4: Visit to Dian Fossey’s grave
• Day 5: Drive to Kigali for departure

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 — Arrival, Kigali Genocide Memorial, transfer to Volcanoes National Park

On arrival, meet your guide and visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial — the country’s primary site for understanding the 1994 genocide, with photographic and video archives, written testimony, personal artefacts, memorial gardens holding ten mass graves, and the National Documentation Centre of the Genocide. Afterwards, drive roughly two hours to Ruhengeri for dinner and an overnight stay near Volcanoes National Park.

Accommodation: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge or Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge (budget) · Five Volcanoes Lodge (mid-range) · One&Only Gorilla’s Nest (luxury) Meals: Lunch, dinner

Day 2 — Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

After breakfast, head to park headquarters for your official briefing, then meet your ranger guides for trekking instructions. You’ll hike through cool, tropical montane forest to reach a gorilla family, then spend a full hour observing, photographing, and learning about their behaviour at close range. Return to the lodge for rest, dinner, and overnight.

Accommodation: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge or Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge (budget) · Five Volcanoes Lodge (mid-range) · One&Only Gorilla’s Nest (luxury) Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 3 — Optional Second Gorilla Trek or Golden Monkey Trekking

Choose a second gorilla trek to visit a different family group and observe how dynamics — behaviour, hierarchy, temperament — shift from one group to the next. Alternatively, trek golden monkeys, one of the park’s other signature primates. A bush lunch keeps you out in the field before returning to the lodge for dinner and overnight.

Accommodation: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge or Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge (budget) · Five Volcanoes Lodge (mid-range) · One&Only Gorilla’s Nest (luxury) Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 4 — Dian Fossey’s Grave

After breakfast, visit the grave of Dian Fossey, the American primatologist whose decades of research and advocacy were pivotal to gorilla conservation in Africa. Her story — and Gorillas in the Mist — capture what’s at stake in protecting these rainforests and their inhabitants. The rest of the day is free for leisure, dinner, and overnight at the lodge.

Accommodation: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge or Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge (budget) · Five Volcanoes Lodge (mid-range) · One&Only Gorilla’s Nest (luxury) Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner

Day 5 — Departure

After breakfast, drive approximately two hours back to Kigali for your departure flight.

Meals: Breakfast, lunch

Included

• All scheduled transportation
• All activities listed in the itinerary
• Park entrance fees
• Meals as specified (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
• English-speaking driver-guide
• Complimentary bottled water
• Airport transfers on arrival and departure days
• All accommodation listed

Excluded

• Anything outside the standard itinerary
• Alcoholic beverages and bottled drinks
• Personal items
• International vaccinations
• Local and international flights
• Travel insurance
• Visa fees
• Tips and souvenirs