Gorilla trekking vacation Rwanda
| country: | Rwanda |
| departures: | 2008: 10 Oct |
| price: | From US $5249 (10 days) excluding flights, single supplement US $1000 |
the amazing things you'll be doing
Spend a full week in Rwanda, see the Savannah wildlife of Akagera National Park, and sit with one of our closest living relatives, the critically endangered Mountain Gorillas. Walk in the footsteps of Dian Fossey, who dedicated her life to the conservation and protection of these animals. Just one moment with these magnificent and gentle creatures will take your breath away, but on this tour you will have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take not one, but TWO treks to see the Mountain Gorillas! We will visit some of the most spectacular scenery on earth - the unique mist shrouded habitat of these animals atop the Virunga Volcanoes of Rwanda.
We will meet one of the veterinarians working with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, and hear about the struggles involved in keeping the critically Endangered Mountain Gorilla population healthy and thriving. Group size is limited to 16 participants. The cost of your gorilla viewing permits and all meals are included but international airfares are not included. Please note: you must be over 15 years of age to obtain a gorilla viewing permit.
We will meet one of the veterinarians working with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, and hear about the struggles involved in keeping the critically Endangered Mountain Gorilla population healthy and thriving. Group size is limited to 16 participants. The cost of your gorilla viewing permits and all meals are included but international airfares are not included. Please note: you must be over 15 years of age to obtain a gorilla viewing permit.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Flight via Europe. |
| Day 2: | Stopover / Arrive Kigali, Rwanda. Free time during stopover then flight to Rwanda. If arriving today you will be met upon arrival and transferred to your hotel in Kigali. |
| Day 3: | Akagera National Park, Rwanda. Met on arrival and immediately depart for Akagera National Park in the east of Rwanda, arriving in time for lunch and a relax poolside. Late afternoon "Game Drive" before sunset. Welcome dinner and orientation at the lodge. |
| Day 4: | Akagera National Park. Early morning game drive to see a variety of birds, elephant, hippo, giraffe, spotted hyena, buffalo and crocodiles. Later this afternoon we may enjoy a canoe ride on Lake Ihema, which is very rewarding for seeing the large number of hippo, the huge Nile crocodile and many birds, or we can choose to go on another game drive. |
| Day 5: | Akagera National Park to Volcanoes National Park. An early start this morning as we head towards Kinigi in the north-west of the country. Along the way we will stop for lunch in Kigali, and shall visit the Genocide Memorial, where we shall hear stories of survival and the heart-warming stories of recovery and rebuilding hope. The journey north goes through the beautiful terraced hillsides that characterize much of Rwanda's landscape, gradually climbing to the base of the awesome volcanoes, sometimes with as many as five peaks visible. We settle in this evening at our base for the next four nights, a dramatically located lodge overlooking the lakes of Bulera and Ruhondo. Meet one of the veterinarians from the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project, and hear about their ongoing efforts to protect the Mountain Gorillas. They will join us for cocktails and dinner, and will share with us some of the stories, challenges, and successes of their important work. |
| Day 6: | Gorilla Trek, Volcanoes National Park. Today we take our first Gorilla trek. We will arise early this morning and drive the short distance to the headquarters of Volcanoes National Park where we shall meet our trackers and head up the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes. We may visit one of the five habituated groups. No more than eight people may visit any group on any given day, so we can rely on having an intimate experience with our group, whichever group we visit. The trek can be quite strenuous, so you should be able to hike for two or three hours on steep mountain trails. |
| Day 7: | Dian Fossey Grave, former-Karisoke Research Center, Volcanoes National Park. Today we visit the grave of Dian Fossey, located next to that of Digit her long-time favorite Gorilla. The grave site is located at the former Karisoke Research Center where Dian spent some twenty years studying the Mountain Gorillas, and the trek to the site is quite spectacular, passing through bamboo forest and afro-montane habitats - indeed the trails are criss-crossed with the tracks of forest buffalo and elephant! We may see all manner of wildlife as we make our way up and down to Karisoke, nestled between the volcanic peaks of Karismbi and Visoke. Alternatively we can relax at the lodge today, visit some of the local villages, or perhaps trek to see the endangered Golden Monkeys that also make this area home. |
| Day 8: | Second Gorilla Trek, Volcanoes National Park. Today is our second chance to go trek the Mountain Gorillas. We should be able to visit a different Gorilla group than our first visit; indeed, the more athletic of us may even try to visit the Susa group which usually requires the longest and most challenging trek. After returning today we may have time to visit the local market or perhaps the lake. Farewell Dinner tonight with the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project Field Staff. |
| Day 9: | Virunga Lodge to Kigali, Rwanda. A nice relaxed final morning, when we can just soak in the ambiance of this very special place, reflect back upon the adventures of our past week, and pack. Depending on our flight schedules we may have lunch at the lodge then depart for Kigali and our return flight home. |
| Day 10: | Flights home. |
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.how this holiday makes a difference
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Join one of our Gorilla treks and know that your presence is making a difference, to the conservation and protection of the Gorillas, to the local community and to Rwanda. Local guides/drivers enrich our ecotour experience, as no expatriate (foreign) guides or drivers are used.
For every person who joins our Gorilla trekking ecotours, a contribution is made to the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Program (MGVP), which provides healthcare to the endangered Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It also provides health care to the Park Rangers and trackers who enter the Gorilla’s habitat every day. You'll have the opportunity to meet the Veterinarians and local researchers, with the MGVP, learn about their difficult work, and hear their stories of success and their struggles, as it relates to working with an endangered species in-the-wild In 2006 we provided $3,000 to the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Program. Also, for every Gorilla viewing permit purchased from Park authorities a portion of the funds directly supports Park operations, but the permit fee also includes a portion of funds that are used to directly benefit the communities surrounding the parks. We encourage everyone who joins one of our ecotours to bring school supplies and/or clothing for one of the local schools we will visit.  We discourage all ecotour participants from giving hand-outs to children begging, as by providing the local schools with supplies and clothing, only children who attend school will receive these items – an incentive to go to school! We visit the Gisozi Genocide Memorial and hear personal stories of survival and recovery. Here we gain a valuable insight into the struggle for freedom and prosperity in the most densely populated country in Africa. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |