4 days Mountain Gorilla, Golden Monkey, and Dian Fossey Hike
per person
This 4 days Mountain Gorilla, Golden Monkey, and Dian Fossey Hike takes you to volcanoes national park where you will have a good time with the endangered species of primates living in the park and also a hike to Dian Fossey grave. The primates to encounter on this safari are the mountain gorillas and the golden monkeys and in the whole country, you can only see them in this park. You will spend a maximum of 1 hour with these endangered primates in their natural habits as you learn about their behaviors, watch them do daily activities, and take photos.
On the same safari, a walk to the Dian Fossey grave will give you an opportunity to know about the life of this great primatologist who lived all her entire life looking after mountain gorillas. She managed to chase poachers out of the park but at last, they killed her and her body was found in December 1986 in her cabin.
4 days Mountain Gorilla, Golden Monkey, and Dian Fossey Hike Safari Highlights
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to volcanoes national park
Day 2: Encounter mountain gorillas
Day 3: Encounter golden monkeys and cultural visit
Day 4: Dian Fossey hike and return to Kigali
Day 1: Arrival and transfer to volcanoes national park
On the first day of your 4 days mountain gorilla, golden monkey, and Dian Fossey hike, you will be picked at the hotel or Kigali international airport by our English-speaking driver guide who will brief you about the safari and then later take you for the Kigali city tour. Kigali is one of the best cities in Africa with so many attractions where you can visit. During the Kigali city tour, you will visit a number of places if you have time and these include markets where you can interact with local people, and buy some of their local souvenirs, Museums that were built in memory of the 1994 Kigali genocide, and some art galleries like the Inema Art Centre where you can buy souvenirs. Later you will have lunch and then start on your journey to volcanoes national park and upon arrival, you will check in your lodge, get dinner, and have an overnight stay.
Meal plan
Lunch, and Dinner
Accommodation
Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel – luxury, Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge – mid-range, Kinigi Guest House – budget
Day 2: Encounter mountain gorillas
Wake up on the second day of your safari to a morning breakfast and thereafter meet your driver-guide for a transfer to Kinigi park headquarters where you will meet other trekkers and rangers who will take you through ways you can behave during the whole gorilla trekking activity. Once you are done with briefing and grouping, you will be transferred to the starting point where you will meet the ranger guides to lead you through different trekking trails.
While going through different you are likely to see different park animals such as giant forest hogs, buffaloes, duikers, monkeys, elephants, and different bird species. Trekking these mighty apes takes 2-7 hours and as soon as you meet the mountain gorillas, you will be given 1 hour to be around them, watch them do daily activities like hunting, nesting, breastfeeding, etc. and you will be allowed to take the photos. Later you will trek back, find your driver guide ready to take you back to the lodge where you will have lunch, an evening relaxing, dinner, and an overnight stay.
Meal plan
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Accommodation
Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel – luxury, Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge – mid-range, Kinigi Guest House – budget
Day 3: Encounter golden monkeys and cultural visit
On the third day of 4 days mountain gorilla, golden monkey, and Dian Fossey hike, you will wake up early in the morning have breakfast, and then meet the driver guide who will transfer you to Kinigi park headquarters for a briefing from the park warden about the golden monkey trekking activity. After the briefing, rangers will form you into different groups and armed ranger guides will lead through different trails of the park looking for bamboo shoots where monkeys could be.
As you are going through different park trails looking for the golden monkeys, you will meet some of the park animals such as hyenas, buffaloes, giant forest hogs, bush pigs, elephants, several monkeys, birds, and much more. After 2-4 hours of searching, you will meet the golden monkeys and 1 hour will be given to you to be around them, watch them do daily activities, and take photos. You will return at the base of the forest, meet your driver-guide and then connect to the lodge for lunch.
Later in the afternoon, your driver-guide will transport you to the Iby’Iwacu cultural village a non-profit umbrella organization for a cultural visit. The money collected from the cultural visit is used to help the local people improve their well being through investing money in different projects.
The visit to the Iby’Iwacu village gives you chances of interact with the local people get to know about their way of living, get entertained through the Kinyarwanda traditional dances and drama, taste local foods, visit craft shops where you can buy souvenirs and then return to the lodge for dinner and an overnight stay.
Meal plan
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Accommodation
Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel – luxury, Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge – mid-range, Kinigi Guest House – budget
Day 4: Dian Fossey hike and return to Kigali
The fourth day will be the last day of your 4 days mountain gorilla, golden monkey, and Dian Fossey hike, you will wake up have a morning breakfast and then meet your driver-guide ready to take you to the briefing center where you will meet rangers and armed ranger guides ready to lead you to the grave of the famous primatologist.
The hike starts with a briefing and after the armed rangers do lead you to the grave with opportunities of meeting some of the park animals like elephants, duikers, giant forest hogs, buffaloes, bush pigs, several monkey species, and different bird species. The hike is a short one taking 1.5 hours and on arrival at the camp, you will be able to see the house where Dian Fossey was murdered, and her grave is next to her favorite gorilla digit. Later you will return to the starting point, meet your driver-guide and start on your journey to Kigali with an en-route lunch.
Meal plan
Breakfast, and Lunch
Tour includes
- A gorilla trekking permit
- Dian Fossey hike
- Kigali city tour
- Golden monkey trekking permit
- Cultural tour
- Transport
- Service of the English-speaking guide
- Accommodation
- Drinking water and meals indicated in the itinerary
Tour excludes
- International tickets
- Visas
- Tips
- Porter fee
- Personal expenses
- Personal insurance