This is a Rwanda/ Uganda double gorilla trek safari as you safari to Volcanoes National Park for a Rwandan Mountain Gorilla experience and then cross over into Uganda – to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for a Ugandan Mountain Gorilla experience.
Upon your arrival in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, you will be warmly welcomed to the “land of a thousand hills.” Your driver/guide will be standing at the Arrivals Hall holding a placard with your name so you cannot miss him. After the meet and greet, you will transfer to the hotel you have chosen for an overnight stay. If your flight lands in the morning or early afternoon, you’ll have the opportunity to embark on a short city tour of Kigali, including a visit to the Kigali genocide memorial.
Upon your arrival in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, you will be warmly welcomed to the “land of a thousand hills.” Your driver/guide will be standing at the Arrivals Hall holding a placard with your name so you cannot miss him. After the meet and greet, you will transfer to the hotel you have chosen for an overnight stay. If your flight lands in the morning or early afternoon, you’ll have the opportunity to embark on a short city tour of Kigali, including a visit to the Kigali genocide memorial.
Today, you’ll have the unique opportunity to meet the mountain gorillas that live in the forested highlands of the Virunga ranges. The gorilla trek begins with a briefing at the park headquarters in Kinigi, where you’ll be assigned a ranger and a gorilla family to trek. Following the briefing, your ranger guide will lead you to the starting point of the trek, which may require a short drive depending on the location of the gorilla group. The trek through their habitat is a truly unforgettable experience, with the duration varying from minutes to hours, depending on the gorillas’ nesting location the previous night. Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Nature enthusiasts who make it add to the legacy of primatologist Dian Fossey whose research into the endangered Mountain Gorillas in the Virungas brought light to the plight of these gentle and elegant endangered big apes. When you finally locate the family that you are tracking, take in everything as you watch the gorillas go about their day – feeding on the green leaves, bamboo shoots, wild celery, stinging nettle and wild fruit. If there are juvenile gorillas, enjoy them play about and take it all in. Take lots of pictures (and a selfie if you happen to have a gorilla in your selfie frame) and video as the one-hour will be over before you know it. After, you trace your way back to the trail-head where your driver/guide will be waiting. You head back to the lodge for a hot lunch. After lunch, explore the depths of local culture with the Iby’Iwacu culture experience. Participate in activities like becoming a “King” or “Queen” for a day, trying your hand at knitting, learning to use a bow and arrow, and enjoying songs and dance from the Rwandan society. The word Iby’Iwacu is a Kinyarwanda word that means “treasures of our home and heritage”. The village combines all of Rwanda’s known cultural traditions, people and history into one place for display and a personal experience. Visitors get to see what life was in a typical African village setting – the lifestyle, houses, traditional dance and song, dress code, the food, herbs and how ancient kingdoms were generally organized. Visitors are given an opportunity to learn ancient hunting skills, try their hands at basket weaving/mats, carpentry.
Post-breakfast, transition from Rwanda to Uganda, penetrating the dense tropical Ugandan scenery – arriving in Kisoro town via the Cyanika border crossing. From Kisoro, continue to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and check-in at the lodge you have chosen for a hot lunch. After lunch, rest and prepare for your next gorilla adventure tomorrow.
Up at 6.00am, enjoy breakfast to give you the energy you will need to track the famed Mountain Gorilla in the Bwindi mists. With your packed lunch in your rucksack, your guide will take you to the park HQ before 8:00am for registration and briefing by Uganda Wildlife Authority rangers/guides. Once the formalities of what to do and not do while tracking the gentle giants are communicated, you will head to the trail-head of the gorilla family you have been allocated. At the trail-head, you will commence the trek, pushing your way through the undergrowth, to track the gorillas. (the trek can last from half an hour to 8 hours – a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes). When you finally locate the family that you are tracking, take in everything as you watch the gorillas go about their day – feeding on the green leaves and twigs. If there are juvenile gorillas, enjoy them play about and take it all in. Take lots of pictures (and a selfie if you happen to have a gorilla in your selfie frame) and video as the one-hour will be over before you know it. It is an extraordinary feeling being in the presence of these majestic apes, sitting/standing in the dense rainforest with the knowledge that you are in the presence of the few remaining (their population is recovering as they now number just above 1000) wild mountain gorillas. After the mandatory one hour is up, the rangers will lead you back to the starting point/trail-head where you will find your driver/guide. Once back at the trail-head, your driver/guide will be waiting to take you back to the park HQ where you receive your tracking certificates (evidence of your contribution to the conservation to the majestic gorillas). From here, you will commence the short drive to the picturesque Lake Bunyonyi. On arrival in Lake Bunyonyi, check-in at the resort you have chosen for a hot lunch. After lunch, relax and can use the time to look back on your awe-inspiring encounter with the gorillas through the lens of your camera. Later, dinner and overnight at the resort.
Optional/ Alternative Activities: Gorilla Habituation, boat trip at Lake Bunyonyi
A motorized canoe is the best way to move around Lake Bunyonyi to explore the islands that give the island its scenic look. This morning, you will go on a guided tour where one of the local guides takes you around and narrates to you the different stories and legend that surround the islands. The canoe ride takes up to 2 hours to explore the islands. You can ride anytime but the morning experience is extra special, as the mist and tranquil aura feels mystical. The evening ride is also special to catch the spectacular sunsets. Included in the price is a morning tour of some of the islands. You will get immersed in local legend that is associated with some of the major islands. Once the tour is over, you will return to the resort, check-out and commence the drive back to Kigali, Rwanda. In Kigali, you are dropped-off at the airport in time for you to check-in for your onward flight home.
This is a Rwanda/ Uganda double gorilla trek safari as you safari to Volcanoes National Park for a Rwandan Mountain Gorilla experience and then cross over into Uganda – to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for a Ugandan Mountain Gorilla experience. You meet the majestic Mountain Gorillas in the misty highlands of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and the dense rainforests of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. In a nutshell, you enjoy the best of both Mountain Gorilla worlds. Your safari also intertwines both adventure and cultural discovery.
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