Explore bits of Congo safaris in your 2 day Congo gorilla trekking tour, which starts from Kigali and ends in Kigali. The trip sees you to Virunga national park home to Congo gorillas alongside other wildlife and primates species. Virunga is part of the other greater Virunga massif regions that covers the areas volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda both home to the endangered mountain gorilla species.
Trip highlights
Day 1: Transfer to Virunga national park
Day 2: Gorilla tracking and transfer to Kigali.
Detailed Itinerary
Transfer to Virunga national park: Following your 2 days Congo gorilla trekking safari, you will be picked from your hotel in Kigali city, and later if times allows you will embark on a Kigali city tour visiting the renown artefacts and landmarks that make Kigali such a remarkable destination, visit the Kigali genocide memorial . Later after the brief tour to Kigali, you will embark on drive to the Rwanda, Congo boarder (Gisenyi) through the lush countryside of Rwanda, having breath taking views of the hills that contribute to Rwanda’s Land of a Thousand hill reference. Arrive at the boarders and finalize with the necessary border crossing processes, later cross to Congo and be received by the visit Virunga team who will then drive you to your lodge for dinner and overnight stay.
Accommodation options: Mikeno lodge (luxury) ,Kibumba tented camp ( mid-range).
Gorilla trekking: Early in the morning, you will picked from the accommodation and transfer to the park headquarters for briefing. Be taught on the dos and don’ts involved in gorilla trekking and later be assigned rangers/ guides and embark on your gorilla trekking adventure. Note the activity can take anywhere from 50 minutes to 3 hours depending on how close the gorilla family you have been assigned to track from . As you transcend the woods you may notice sounds of tree shoots breaking and occasionally sounds of the dominant males. Upon meeting them, you will be given a maximum of 1 hour with them interacting and taking as many photos as you can. Later withdraw from the juggles and head to the lodge, check out and transfer back to Kigali through the Gisenyi boarder.
End of 2 days Congo gorilla trekking safari
Transport in a 4WD Land cruiser with pop-up roof for excellent safari view.
All fuel for the tour.
English speaking driver-guide.
Accommodation as per the itinerary
All meals as per itinerary.
Packed lunch for the gorilla tracking.
Park-entrance fees as per the itinerary
All activities described in the itinerary.
Gorilla trekking permits
International airfares and entry visas
Meals that are not part of your accommodation.
A porter for during the gorilla tracking (someone who carries your day pack)
Personal (medical/travel) insurance
Tips and gratuities to rangers, driver/guide, porter, hotel staff, etc.
All expenses of personal nature (e.g. drinks, laundry, optional activities, souvenirs etc.)
IMPORTANT NOTES
Dates
This is a private tour; departure can be organized for anytime throughout the year subject to the availability of accommodation and transport.
Hotel booking!
The bookings with the hotels mentioned in the program depend on availability. Reservations will only be made after your booking.
In case the mentioned hotels are not available during the requested period, we will do our utmost best to book a hotel in the same class for you (of course we will only do this after consulting you).
Gorilla trekking permit
It is not possible to ‘reserve’ gorilla permits. Therefore, we can only buy them after your booking and down-payment and also it all depends on availability.
Please note the gorilla tracking in this itinerary can be done in Rwanda as well or in the other sectors on Bwindi or Mgahinga
Transport
Our standard offering for mid-range tours is a 4x4 safari vehicle with pop-up roof for easy safari viewing. All passengers will have a dedicated window seat. Your professional and courteous driver/guide will be at your disposal for questions or translations.
Gorilla tracking is dependent on the permit’s availability at the time of your booking. Gorilla permits in all parks are on a very high demand and we advise that you book them as early as possible.
When you book your trip with Beyond Travel to any of our destinations, Beyond Travel will donate 10% per person to persons with Albinism and Blind Children.