Day-by-day itinerary

• Day

  01

  Kigali, Rwanda

  Welcome

  Touch down in Kigali! Proceed through customs, immigration, and collect your luggage. You will be met by our local representative and escorted to your hotel for the evening. Get a good night’s sleep - your adventure begins in the morning!
• Day

  02

  Volcanoes National Park

  Dian Fossey Center

  Following a leisurely breakfast, your private guide will pick you up and take you on a short city tour before heading out to Volcanoes National Park.
  
  We do encourage a visit to the Genocide Memorial. Although disconcerting, it is an important part of the history of the area. It's done well, and the story is explained brilliantly. If you prefer, you can skip the memorial.
  
  Start your two-hour journey to Volcanoes National Park. Travel through the lush green countryside, arriving in the early afternoon, where there is time to visit the Karisoke - Dian Fossey Research Center.
  
  Fossey’s original objective was to study the gorillas. She soon realized that she needed to study each individual and not just as a species. Thus began a 50-year legacy to study and protect them. The Karisoke Center has more than 100 expert gorilla trackers protecting about half of Rwanda’s mountain gorillas. It is also the centerpiece for gorilla studies, with 300 publications based on the data collected in the area. Karisoke is the center for training the next generation of conservationists in Rwanda. The Fossey Fund brings hundreds of local university students to Karisoke each year.

  Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
• Day

  03

  Gorilla Trek

  Up early, invigorated and excited, set out to the starting point for your gorilla trek. There, a ranger will explain the trek along with gorilla etiquette and safety. You are joined by a guide and trackers/porters who lead you through the dense forest and up to higher altitudes. Typically, tracking can take from 1-4 hours to find the gorillas, and you'll observe them for one enchanting hour. A second day of trekking can be added here.
  
  Head back to the starting point to join your guide and begin your journey back to Kigali for your international departure flight. The drive back to Kigali is two hours, onward flights should be scheduled no earlier than 7 p.m.

  Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

  Optional Extension:
  Add a Second Day of Trekking
  
  Optional Extension:
  Chimpanzee Trek
  This segment takes you to the Nyungwe Forest National Park for the best sightings of Chimpanzees. They are not as easily viewed as the gorillas. Nyungwe is a tropical rain forest with beautiful birds, butterflies, colobus monkeys, mangabey, as well as the chimps. The chimps live in the branches of the trees, and there is a canopy walk which offers good views of the primates.
• Day

  04

  Journey Onwards

  Golden Monkeys

  Up early this morning and your second primate encounter will be with the endangered Golden Monkeys of Virunga. Spend one hour observing the habituated troops, as they feed and leap through the trees.
  
  Continue back to Kigali for your flight onward, whether to home or maybe Kenya or Tanzania for a game safari.
  
  Either way, take your incredible memories of this once-in-a-lifetime adventure with you always.

  Breakfast / Lunch