6 Days Rwanda Gorillas and Cultural Tour
This 6 Days Rwanda Gorillas and Cultural Tour explores history and culture of Rwandan people, you will visit Kigali, the modern city of Rwanda as well as the genocide memorial at Gisozi depicting the dark recent history of Rwanda.
Other places to be visited are the local markets, the King’s Palace reminiscent of the old Rwanda before colonialism, Ross Carr’s flower farm and orphanage, and Lake Kivu in Gisenyi. In Ruhengri/Musaze, you visit local communities and track mountain gorillas in their natural habitat.
Highlights of 6 Days Rwanda Gorillas and Cultural Tour
- Day 1: Arrive in Kigali
- Day 2: Kigali – Nyanza – Huye
- Day 3: Gisenyi – Visit the Shores of Lake Kivu
- Day 4: Gorilla Tracking
- Day 5: Karisoke Researcher Centre, Golden Monkeys, Cultural Experience
- Day 6: Travel to Kigali – Departure
Detailed itinerary of 6 Days Rwanda Gorillas and Cultural Tour
Day 1: Arrive in Kigali
On arrival at Kigali International Airport you will be warmly welcomed by our representative, your personal driver guide and transfer to your hotel in Kigali. Later, we visit Kigali City, some local market and the Genocide Memorial of Gisozi.
Accommodation: Des Mille Collines
Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner
Day 2: Kigali – Nyanza – Huye
After breakfast, we transfer to Nyanza and visit the King’s Palace, seat of the former feudal monarch. The Palace has been reconstructed to its 19th Century State using local traditional materials and is one of the most magnificent traditional structures in Africa today.
The resident cultural guide will take us through the cultural, political and social organization of society before the advent of Christianity and other recent religions in this area. Later we travel to Gisenyi passing through a beautiful rural countryside with village life.
Accommodation: Lake Kivu Serena
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 3: Gisenyi – Visit the Shores of Lake Kivu
Visit the shores of Lake Kivu and later travel to Imbabazi Orphanage founded by Mrs. Rosamond Halsey Carr in late 1994 at Mugongo where the genocide orphans reside. Rosamond Halsey was a young American Fashion Illustrator when she married an adventurous hunter-explorer, Kenneth Carr. Together they journeyed to the then Belgie Congo D.R.C in 1949 but divorced later on. Kenneth left but Rosamond stayed in Congo until 1955. From there, she moved northwest of Rwanda where she stayed for the next 50 years. There, she witnessed a big part of Rwanda’s historical events including the 1994 civil war. She is the author of Land of A Thousand Hills: My Life In Rwanda. The resident guide will gives us a story about the life and times of this lady, her relationship with the local people and Dian Fossey, the famous gorilla conservationist.
For those who have watched the movie, Gorillas in The Mist, note that some of the scenes were shot in the property. After visiting the Orphanage, we continue to Musanze on the foothills of Volcanoes National Park.
Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 4: Gorilla Tracking
Today’s activity is the most exciting and challenging of this entire expedition. The mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park are part of a worldwide population of just about 1,064 individuals.
After breakfast you will head to the park headquarters in Kinigi for briefing about gorilla trekking and how to behave while in the presence of the gorillas. In groups of 8 people you will be assigned a gorilla family to trek and enter into the misty forests looking for mountain gorillas, the trek takes approximately 2 to 6 hours depending on the movement of the gorillas. Visitors are allowed to spend one hour with the gorillas interacting with them in the wild, you are allowed to take as many photos as possible.
Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.
Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5: Karisoke Researcher Centre, Golden Monkeys, Cultural Experience
Today we have various options: Trek golden monkeys, visit Mist Visoke or Karisoke Research Centre. In the afternoon, we continue exploring the cultural delights of this area and visit Ib’Iwacu Cultural Centre for cultural dancing and an informative experience about traditional local medicine. This cultural group was formed by pygmies and ex-poachers and we shall listen to their side of the story after abandoning the illegal practice.
Accommodation: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 6: Travel to Kigali – Departure
Have a leisure time at the lodge after breakfast and later on we travel back to Kigali. If time permits, you can do some shopping before departing back home.
End of 6 Days Rwanda Gorillas and Cultural Tour
Inclusions
- Park fees
- All activities (unless labeled as optional)
- All accommodation as stated in the itinerary
- A professional driver/guide
- All transportation (unless labeled as optional)
- All Taxes/VAT
- Roundtrip airport transfer
- All Meals (as specified in the day-by-day section)
- Drinking water on all days
- Camping Equipment
- Porterage
Exclusions
- International flights (from/to home)
- Additional accommodation before and at the end of the tour
- Tips (tipping guideline US$20.00 pp per day)
- Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
- Alcoholic drinks
- Rescue Fee
- Climbing Gear
- Sleeping Bag
