AITO: The Association of Independent Tour Operators
Tailor-made Rwanda Safari

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari Overview

Rwanda is one of the friendliest, safest countries on the continent and the trips to see gorillas are outstanding. Here you will find a typical Rwanda trip idea. However, all of our holidays are tailor-made, for more information please refer to our website.

Mountain Gorilla Safari

A short 4 night in country safari, led by a private guide using a private 4WD vehicle, focusing purely on the stunning Volcanoes National Park, tracking the agile golden monkeys and spending two mornings tracking the famous mountain gorillas (more than half of the world's population live here).

4 nights at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge (full board & activities) | Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Day 1

Your private guide, with his/her 4WD vehicle, meets you on arrival at Kigali Airport, either off an international flight, or after a safari elsewhere in Africa. Leaving the lively capital, you drive north-west through lush hills and bustling market towns for approximately 2 hours, to the stunning Volcanoes National Park – well known as the venue for Dian Fossey's pioneering studies of the mountain gorillas. Your 4-night stay here is based at the Gorilla Mountain View Lodge. This comfortable lodge, close to the park's boundary has a lovely garden from which to relax, and it's a perfect base from which to explore the national park.

Day 2

Start early on your first morning for a trip to track the golden monkeys. These primates are beautiful, endangered and more agile than the mountain gorillas. They live in bamboo thickets on the lower slopes of the mountains – and tracking them acclimatises you perfectly to the slight altitude, before heading higher to the gorillas.

Day 3

Early in the morning, meet at the park headquarters for a briefing, and then hike up into the rainforest to a troop of magnificent mountain gorillas. Each troop has its own 24-hour guard, so their location is known; you usually have an hour with them, time to sit and observe them at very close quarters indeed. Because of the very close contact between gorillas and visitors (often as little as 7m), and the risk of passing on infections which are fatal for them, travellers who are ill will not be allowed on gorilla-tracking trips.

Day 4

On your final day, track to see another troop of inspiring mountain gorillas. The forest paths are generally good during the dry season, but can be challenging when wet; all have steep sections. The troops are spread out: the lower groups are often accessible by a hike of 90 minutes or even less, whilst reaching one of the higher groups can take a strenuous 3-4-hour hike. The gorillas themselves are very big but very gentle and have evolved long, shaggy coats due to the high altitude. Once you reach them, they seldom move very far – 1km per day would be typical for a group.

Day 5

After a relaxed breakfast and last views of the park's environs, drive for roughly two hours south-east back to Kigali Airport. Here your private guide and 4WD vehicle leave you to continue your journey, either home or to your next destination.

Find out more about the Mountain Gorilla Safari

Reviews of this holiday

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by Laura from Vienna, 9 Oct 2022
Traveller rating:

From gorilla trekking (and chimpanzee and golden monkey trekking) to up close and personal encounters with massive migrations ... read more

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by Platty, 26 Sep 2017
Traveller rating:

we went on two mountain gorilla treks .The first group we saw took us 45 minutes to locate.We turned a corner ,and there ... read more

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by Mr B, 7 Apr 2017
Traveller rating:

Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda - Volcanoes National Park A trip that was planned to be for our honeymoon, turned into a surprise ... read more

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by RafArm, 30 Jan 2017
Traveller rating:

A really wonderful adventure. Primate-tracking is an experience of a lifetime. The beaches of Mozambique have to be seen ... read more

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by anon of Biggs. , 16 Sep 2016
Traveller rating:

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda, and Safari in Tanzania. We hoped to see a river crossing of Wildebeest - and our mission was ... read more

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by madaboutafrica, 4 Sep 2016
Traveller rating:

I had the most amazing experience during my 2 gorilla treks in Rwanda. It was hard work but worth it. Tanzania was outstan... read more

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by Canadian traveller, 4 Sep 2016
Traveller rating:

We had a series of fantastic and memorable experiences in Rwanda, Namibia and South Africa. read more

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by steven, 30 Aug 2016
Traveller rating:

We spent two weeks in Africa, basically splitting our time between Rwanda and Zambia. The highlight of Rwanda was, of course, ... read more

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by alchook, 31 Jul 2016
Traveller rating:

I spent three days at Akagera Park in Rwanda, followed by three days of primate safaris in Volcanos Park. I then flew to ... read more

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by Simon, 12 Jul 2016
Traveller rating:

This was our first safari holiday and we can't wait to go on safari again. Our trip lasted a total of 19 days. We visited ... read more

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Reviews Submitted: 15
Reviews Accepted: 15
Reviews Rejected: 0
Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by Laura from Vienna, 9 Oct 2022
Traveller rating:

From gorilla trekking (and chimpanzee and golden monkey trekking) to up close and personal encounters with massive migrations ... read more

Tailor-made Rwanda Safari by Platty, 26 Sep 2017
Traveller rating:

we went on two mountain gorilla treks .The first group we saw took us 45 minutes to locate.We turned a corner ,and there ... read more