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8 Days Rwanda, Congo Gorilla Tour – Combined Long Safaris

Reserving the 8 days Rwanda, Congo gorilla tour lets you strike your imaginations with mountain gorillas, eastern lowland gorillas and chimpanzees while in their natural habitat. This gorilla tour package covers chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park in Southwestern Rwanda, Eastern lowland gorilla tracking in Kahuzi-Biega National Park in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), boat ride along Lake Kivu, mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park in the Northern Province of Rwanda and Kigali city tour with a great chance to visit Gisozi genocide site for you to have an insight into what occurred during the 1994 Rwanda genocide-a historic civil war which took place between the Hutus and Tutsis of Rwanda. This tour will start and end in Kigali capital city.

Things to expect on your 8 days Rwanda, Congo gorilla tour

  • 1 hour of magical encounter with mountain gorillas, chimpanzees and eastern lowland gorillas.
  • Boat ride along Lake Kivu
  • Kigali city tour
  • Travel in a 4×4 safari vehicle
  • Service of an English-speaking guide

Brief itinerary of your 8 days Rwanda, Congo gorilla tour

Day 1: Fly into Kigali International Airport and transfer to a hotel in Kigali

Day 2: Travel from Kigali to Nyungwe Forest National Park

Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park

Day 4: Transfer from Nyungwe Forest National Park to Bukavu

Day 5: Eastern lowland gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park

Day 6: Boat ride along Lake Kivu and drive to Volcanoes National Park

Day 7: Mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Day 8: Drive back to Kigali and go for Kigali city tour

Detailed itinerary of your 8 days Rwanda, Congo gorilla tour

Day 1: Fly into Kigali International Airport and transfer to a hotel in Kigali

On arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will meet and greet with your safari guide then later, he will brief you on what you should expect on your 8 days Rwanda, Congo gorilla tour. You will then be transferred to your hotel in Kigali to relax, dine and spend a night.

Accommodation in Kigali

Luxury: Hotel des Mille Collines

Mid-range: Kigali Serena Hotel

Budget: Step Town Hotel

Day 2: Travel from Kigali to Nyungwe Forest National Park

Today, you will have an early morning breakfast and after, check out of your hotel in Kigali ready to connect to Nyungwe Forest National Park which is found in Southwestern Rwanda. Your journey may cover between 4 and 5 hours depending on your safari guide’s driving speed and mechanical conditions of your safari vehicle. Along the way, you will have a stopover at Mirambi genocide site for you to get insight into what occurred during the 1994 Rwanda genocide and another stopover will be made in King’s Palace museum.  After, you will proceed to Nyungwe Forest National Park to check in at your lodge for relaxation, dinner and a night stay.

Accommodation in Nyungwe Forest National Park

Budget: Gisakura Guesthouse

Mid-range: Nyungwe Top View Hill Lodge

Luxury: Nyungwe Forest Lodge

Day 3: Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park

After breakfast, you will be expected at Uwinka Reception Centre to be briefed on the safety measures for chimpanzee tracking by park official. Later, you will be assigned an experienced and armed park ranger guide to take you on a search for chimpanzees in their natural habitat. Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe Forest National Park may last you about 2-4 hours which also includes one hour of you exploring in depth about the daily behaviors of chimpanzees, take photos and later, return to the lodge to have lunch. The interesting part of chimpanzee trek in Nyungwe National Park is that trekkers also get a chance to see other primates like playful olive baboons, vervet monkeys, black and white colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys as well as variety of forest birds. After, you will walk back to have lunch in your lodge.

Later in the afternoon, you will set off for afternoon canopy walk via a suspended trail of about 50m from the ground. A complete walk on canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest National Park can cover 2 hours but you will have amazing sight of forest birds, primates, magnificent canopy of Nyungwe Forest.

Accommodation in Nyungwe Forest National Park

Budget: Gisakura Guesthouse

Mid-range: Nyungwe Top View Hill Lodge

Luxury: Nyungwe Forest Lodge

Day 4: Transfer from Nyungwe Forest National Park to Bukavu

Since this tour package combines Rwanda and DRC, today after your breakfast and check out from your lodge, your driver guide will leave the lodge and cross over to Bukavu town about 2 hours’ drive. You will pay a visit to museum in Bakavu and take a boat ride to Idjwi Island.

Accommodation in Bukavu

Budget: Hotel Horizon

Mid-range: Coco Lodge

Luxury: Orchid Safari Lodge

Day 5: Eastern lowland gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega National Park

Trekking to see the Eastern lowland gorillas in Kahuzi Biega National Park begins with breakfast and after, you will transfer to Tschivanga Visitor Center to be briefed on the set rules and regulations. You will be allocated a gorilla family to track and park ranger guide to take you through your search for Eastern lowland gorillas. Mugaruka and Chimanuka are the two habituated set for tracking in this park. On finding your gorilla group, you have 1 hour of magical encounter with lowland gorillas. After, return to have lunch then check out ready to drive to Lake Kivu.

Accommodation in Lake Kivu

Mid-range: Paradis Malahide hotel

Luxury: Kivu Serena Hotel

Day 6: Boat ride along Lake Kivu and drive to Volcanoes National Park

After your enjoyable breakfast, you will embark on boat ride along Lake Kivu. Today, you will visit the Coffee Island, learn how banana beer is locally brewed and get back to enjoy your lunch on Lake Kivu shores. After, your safari guide will transfer you to Volcanoes National Park.

Accommodation in Volcanoes National Park

Luxury: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Bisate Lodge

Mid-range: La Palme Hotel, Le Bambou Lodge, Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge

Budget: Muhabura Hotel, Kinigi Guesthouse

Day 7: Mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Begin your day with morning breakfast and after, join other trekkers at Kinigi park headquarters for briefing on the set safety measures for gorilla trekking. Since the adventure is strenuous and requires some physical wellness, you are advised to have some packed lunch and drinking water. One habituated gorilla group will be allocated to you to trek in a group of 8 visitors and later, the park ranger guide will escort you starting at 8:00am to search for mountain gorillas.

The search may cover 2-6 hours including 1 hour of you viewing mountain gorillas, learn about their unique behaviors, body gestures and take pictures.  Tracking mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park is best done in anyone of the park’s 10 habituated gorilla families and they include Bwenge, Kwitonda, Sabyinyo, Hirwa, Amahoro, Ugenda, Karisimbi, Susa A, Umubano and Agashya.

Day 8: Drive back to Kigali and go for Kigali city tour

After breakfast and checking out of your lodge, drive back to Kigali. On arrival at Kigali, you will embark on Kigali city tour where you will pay a visit to Gisozi genocide site plus nearby handcraft shops. In case your flight is scheduled the same date, you will connect to Kigali International Airport after your city tour and lunch.

End of your 8 days Rwanda, Congo gorilla tour

Tour inclusions

  • Kigali city expedition
  • Gorilla permit ($1500 for Rwanda and $450 for DRC)
  • Chimpanzee tracking permit
  • Boat ride along Lake Kivu
  • 7 nights and meals
  • Bottled drinking water
  • Relevant government taxes
  • Travel in a 4×4 safari vehicle
  • Service of an English-speaking safari guide

Tour exclusions

  • Tips
  • Telephone calls
  • Airfares
  • Laundry services
  • Visa fees
  • Personal insurance
  • Beverages
  • All optional activities
  • Extra accommodation
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