Gorillas in the Virungas & Bwindi - East Africa Safari in 214

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Parc National des Volcans
You will be met on arrival at the airport and transferred to Kigali. After lunch you depart for Parc National des Volcans. The journey north goes through the beautiful terraced hillsides that characterise much of Rwanda's landscape and gradually climbs to the base of the Virunga volcanoes, sometimes with as many as five peaks visible.
Meals : FB
Accommodation : Volcanoes Virunga Lodge

Day 1: Parc National des Volcans
You will be met on arrival at the airport and transferred to Kigali. After lunch you depart for Parc National des Volcans. The journey north goes through the beautiful terraced hillsides that characterise much of Rwanda's landscape and gradually climbs to the base of the Virunga volcanoes, sometimes with as many as five peaks visible.
Meals : FB

Day 2: Parc National des Volcans
The second day of your safari offers the rare opportunity to go gorilla tracking (subject to gorilla permits being available). Tracking the gorillas through the forested slopes of the Virungas is a magical experience.

If you are lucky you can get to the gorillas, spend an hour with them, and be back at the base in time for a late lunch. Some gorilla families, however, are more elusive, and tracking can take a full day, especially when it is wet and muddy.
Meals : FB

Day 2: Parc National des Volcans
The second day of your safari offers the rare opportunity to go gorilla tracking (subject to gorilla permits being available). Tracking the gorillas through the forested slopes of the Virungas is a magical experience.

If you are lucky you can get to the gorillas, spend an hour with them, and be back at the base in time for a late lunch. Some gorilla families, however, are more elusive, and tracking can take a full day, especially when it is wet and muddy.
Meals : FB
Accommodation : Volcanoes Virunga Lodge

Day 3: Parc National des Volcans - Gorilla Tracking
There is a wide variety of activities for you to choose from today. You can go gorilla tracking in the Parc National des Volcans (on payment of supplement at time of booking), visit the endangered golden monkeys or trek to Dian Fossey's grave.

Other options include driving to Gisenyi, visiting Ross Carr's orphanage and Lake Kivu, climbing the Visoke/Muhavura volcanoes, visiting the local school and community projects, or walking to Lake Bulera.
Meals : FB
Accommodation : Volcanoes Virunga Lodge

Day 3: Parc National des Volcans - Gorilla Tracking
There is a wide variety of activities for you to choose from today. You can go gorilla tracking in the Parc National des Volcans (on payment of supplement at time of booking), visit the endangered golden monkeys or trek to Dian Fossey's grave.

Other options include driving to Gisenyi, visiting Ross Carr's orphanage and Lake Kivu, climbing the Visoke/Muhavura volcanoes, visiting the local school and community projects, or walking to Lake Bulera.
Meals : FB

Day 4: Mgahinga National Park
Relax or walk near the lodge in the morning, Mgahinga is a great place to appreciate the unique Virunga volcanoes. If you're feeling more energetic you can visit the endangered golden monkeys or trek to Dian Fossey's grave. Transfer to Uganda after lunch - clocks go forward one hour - before continuing to Volcanoes Virunga Lodge.
Meals : FB
Accommodation : Volcanoes Mount Gahinga Lodge

Day 5: Mgahinga National Park
Today you have the opportunity to go gorilla tracking again, this time in Mgahinga on the northern side of the Virunga mountains (on payment of supplement at time of booking). If you prefer, you can climb the Muhavura or Gahinga volcano, go for a nature walk, or visit Lake Mutanda.
Meals : FB
Accommodation : Volcanoes Mount Gahinga Lodge

Day 6: Bwindi National Park
Drive to Bwindi through the Switzerland of Africa, with the road winding through many hills and valleys, with distant views of the volcanoes and lakes. Time permitting, go for a guided nature walk in the thick forest rich in birds, butterflies and monkeys. Alternatively, look for monkeys and birds near the river below the lodge.
Meals : FB
Accommodation : Volcanoes Bwindi Lodge

Day 7: Bwindi National Park - Gorilla Tracking
Either go gorilla tracking, walking up steep densely forested hills (on payment of supplement at time of booking). In this thick and humid forest you almost have to cut your way through the undergrowth, a challenge that is richly rewarded upon your first sight of the shy and graceful gorillas camouflaged in the vegetation. Tracking in Bwindi requires stamina and can often take most of the day.

Other options include a leisurely walk on one of the different trails that meanders through the Impenetrable Forest.
Meals : FB
Accommodation : Volcanoes Bwindi Lodge

Day 8: Kigali
On the final day of your tour you leave for Kigali in Rwanda via Kabale and Katuna, (clocks go back one hour). Time permitting, you can go for a tour of the city including a visit to the market, a pottery project, a widow's project selling quilts, handicraft shops, the Franco-Rwandan cultural centre and a genocide memorial. Transfer to the airport for your flight back home.
Meals : HB