Rwanda Gorilla Trekking
Two hours from an international airport to the foot of a volcano, and a gorilla family on the slope above it. Rwanda is the shortest road to a mountain gorilla anywhere in the world, and it charges accordingly.
A starting point, not a packagebuilt around your dates, and how long you want to stay
fromUSD 3,900per personfrom, per person, two sharing, permit included
Rwanda is two hours from the airport.
Uganda is ten, and USD 700 cheaper.
We will tell you both sides of this, because most operators only sell you the one they make more on. Rwanda's permit is USD 1,500 against Uganda's USD 800. What you buy for the difference is time: Kigali International to the park headquarters at Kinigi is about two hours on tar, where southern Bwindi is nearer ten from Entebbe.
So if you have three days and no appetite for a long drive, Rwanda is the better trip and the price is honest. If you have five days, or the saving matters more than the hours, we will build you the Uganda version instead and say so plainly.
The trek itself is different ground. Volcanoes is open bamboo and farmland giving way to steep volcanic slope, starting around 2,500 metres. It is harder on the lungs than Bwindi and easier underfoot.
Highlights
The journey
Kigali to the foot of the Virungas
We meet you at Kigali International. If you have the afternoon, the Genocide Memorial is an hour and it changes how you read the rest of the country, which is otherwise so orderly that it tells you nothing about where it has been.
Then north on good tar, through terraced hills farmed to the ridgeline, until the Virunga volcanoes line up across the horizon. Two hours, and you are at the foot of them.
116 km, about 2 hours
LuxuryLodge in sight of the volcanoes
PremiumComfortable lodge near Kinigi
Volcanoes: the briefing, the climb, the hour
Briefing at Kinigi at seven, with coffee and dancers and a great deal of standing about. You are put into a group of eight and assigned a family, matched roughly to how far you look able to walk.
Then up through farmland, over the buffalo wall and into bamboo. The ground is volcanic and steep and the air is thin. When you reach them the hour starts, and these are the families Dian Fossey worked with, habituated longer than almost any in the world.
Trek 1 to 5 hours, on foot
LuxuryLodge in sight of the volcanoes
PremiumComfortable lodge near Kinigi
Lake Kivu, or straight back to Kigali
If you are flying out, it is three hours back to Kigali and you will be at the airport in good time.
If you have the days, go west to Lake Kivu instead. It is a rift lake with no bilharzia, no crocodiles and no hippo, which means you can swim in it, and the road there along the Congo Nile ridge is one of the best drives in East Africa. Two nights, then back to Kigali through Nyungwe or the direct way, depending on whether you want to add chimpanzees.
2h 30m to Kivu, 3h back to Kigali
LuxuryLakeshore lodge with a terrace
PremiumHotel on the water at Rubavu
Permits are released per day, and the best months go first.
Give us an approximate date and we check availability against it. No payment, no obligation.
What your trip includes
Gorilla permit, USD 1,500 per person
Full board throughout
Private 4x4 and driver-guide, the same one all trip
All park fees and government taxes
Airport collection and return, Kigali
What it does not cover
International flights
Rwanda visa
Porter on the trek, about USD 20
Golden monkey permit, USD 100
Tips, alcohol and personal items
Single room supplement
Not quite the trip you had in mind? Every departure is private, so the length and the lodges are yours to change. Tell us what you want.
Rwanda
Kigali is the cleanest, best-connected arrival point in the region and the reason this itinerary works: you land there in the morning and sleep beside the forest that night. Rwanda also has its own gorillas in the Virungas, Nyungwe’s chimpanzees along the canopy walk, and Akagera, the only big-five park in the country.
What we tell everyone before they book
What to bring
- Waterproof jacket and thick gloves
- Long trousers you can tuck into your socks
- Ankle boots with real grip
- Gaiters if you own them, the mud is deep
- Two litres of water
- Insect repellent
- About USD 20 in cash for your porter
Before you ask
Rwanda or Uganda for gorillas?
Rwanda if you have three days and want the shortest transfer: Kigali to the park is about two hours, where southern Bwindi is nearer ten from Entebbe. Uganda if the USD 700 permit saving matters more than the hours, or you want to combine gorillas with chimpanzees and the Big Five. We will build either and tell you which suits your dates.
How hard is the trek at altitude?
Harder on the lungs than Bwindi, easier underfoot. Treks start around 2,500 metres and climb through bamboo on volcanic ground. If you live at sea level you will feel the first hour. A porter costs about USD 20 and is worth it.
How far ahead should I book?
Six months is not early for June to September or December to February. Rwanda caps the same eight people per family per day across fewer habituated groups than Uganda, so permits go sooner.
What happens if I need to cancel?
Nothing is paid when you enquire. The permit is bought from the Rwanda Development Board in your name once you confirm and is not refundable once issued. Your deposit amount and balance date are put in writing before you pay anything.
Can I add golden monkeys?
Yes, and most people with four days do. The permit is USD 100 and the trek is short and easy compared with the gorillas. They live in the bamboo on the same slopes.
How soon will you reply?
Within one working day, with a route, a price with nothing hidden in it and an honest view on whether Rwanda or Uganda suits what you want.
Tell us roughly when
hello@wildroutetours.com
A trip designer replies within one working day.