4 Day Rwanda Gorilla Tour & Golden Monkey Trekking

We recommend the 4 Day Rwanda Gorilla Tour & Golden Monkey Trekking Tour for a business or solo traveller who wants a short guided Rwanda Safari, or for a self-planner to add to their Kenya safari. It’s also a great addition to the Great Migration safari in the Serengeti and to nearby small Uganda savanna safari destinations.

Day 1: Arrival and transfer to Volcanoes National Park

Arrive in Kigali and process your immigration and entry requirements (e.e, you may need to show your Covid-19 negative test certificate or a vaccine certificate). Your private Rwanda Gorillas & Golden Monkey Trekking Tour guide will be waiting to transfer you to your Hotel.

Meet-and-greet with your private tour driver/guide. After a briefing session, drive North of Kigali to Kinigi at the foot of Volcanoes National Park, through Rwanda’s most beautiful countryside, and immerse yourself in nature’s tranquillity.

Drive time is about 3 hours with a great driving speed to allow you to enjoy the scenery. Check into the Lodge, then enjoy dinner surrounded by the evergreen tropical forest.

Accommodation and meals: One&Only Gorilla’s Nest (luxury); Dinner

Day 2: Gorilla Tracking in Volcanoes NP Jungle

With an early breakfast, drive to the Park headquarters for gorilla briefing (45 minutes). The Rwanda Gorillas & Golden Monkey Trekking Tour’s major highlight is visiting these jungles, so take a breath, compose yourself, and get ready to be wowed.

Make sure your expectations are floating; we don’t want to drown in too much of less or more than we bargained for. When venturing into this gigantic forest, a packed lunch, comfortable clothes, shoes, and a walking stick are a must. The time spent gorilla tracking is unpredictable and can range from 2 to 8 hours before encountering the family of these great, gentle apes of Africa.

The location of each gorilla family depends on temperature, their feeding range, and the movement of the previous day, with the trackers ahead of your tracking group. The Rangers will issue strict guidelines at the trailhead briefing point; make sure you remember the key points.

After trekking the montane woods, you’ll find the great apes and spend strictly one hour observing their peculiar habits, including feeding, grooming, socialising, and family squabbles. The sight of these incredible creatures is the climax of this entire safari. Later retire for an overnight at the Lodge.

Accommodation and meals: One&Only Gorilla’s Nest (luxury); Lunch, breakfast, Dinner, and drinking water

Day 3: Tracking the Golden Monkey & Visiting Dian Fossey’s Resting Home

Take an early breakfast and join your Rwanda Gorillas & Golden Monkey Trekking Tour driver for a quick drive to the trailhead. Of course, you’ll carry your packed lunches because we don’t expect a quickie on this one, right?

The Park rangers’ll brief you and then escort you into the misty jungles to find your nemesis. These fragile, cute little golden monkeys light up the jungle and alter all your perceptions about wild creatures that occupy jungles across the world. It’s a moment you want to keep forever, so make sure you’re ready to be rewarded for your courage to come to Africa. You will not stay with them for more than one hour; the intelligent guys think you may agitate their inner beings and maybe transfer some diseases (you know) if you stay longer.

After those heartfelt moments with the golden monkeys, the guides will lead you along the forest path to the legend that made this trip possible, from back in 1962: the grave of the legendary primatologist Dian Fossey. That little lady had the guts to protect the mountain gorillas from savages and to let the world know about the treasure we had buried deep in our African jungle, so a visit to her grave is warranted; take a knee!

Later, retire at the Lodge to meditate on your encounters this day and the previous; these are days you want to talk about and hold on to forever because they’re hard and not easy to come by. Relax at the Lodge, share your experience, put together your photo slideshow, and take in the African air.

Accommodation and meals: One&Only Gorilla’s Nest (luxury); Lunch, breakfast, Dinner, and drinking water

Day 4: Transfer to Kigali with Optional Activities Enroute

With an early sumptuous breakfast, drive lazily back into Kigali. Take a city excursion or visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Gisozi and the Rwanda National Museum; the time spent in these places depends on your departure flight.

Alternatively, this can be done at the beginning of the Rwanda Gorilla Safari, before we head into the Volcanoes NP. Besides, what can top the experience you just had in the jungle, right?

No Accommodation: breakfast, Lunch, and drinking water