Gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park Rwanda is such an amazing and a once in a life time experience. It’s every one’s dream come true to see mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. In Rwanda gorilla tracking can be done only in volcanoes national park located in north western part of Rwanda.

Volcanoes national park is a forested area located at the borders of Rwanda, DR Congo and Uganda. Volcanoes national park is the most visited national park in Rwanda and it’s famously known for being a habitat to endangered mountain gorillas. Volcanoes national park hosts five out of eight Virunga mountains and these are Karisimbi, Bisoke, Gahinga, Muhabura and Sabyinyo. The park is a home to endangered mountain gorillas and golden monkeys.

Gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park is thrilling, memorable and a once in a life time experience that one should participate in while on their safari to Africa. Seeing these endangered mountain gorillas eye to eye is not only unforgettable but also very memorable in life.

Gorilla trekking day in Volcanoes national park Rwanda

On your day of gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park in Rwanda, you are briefed from Kinigi headquarters by expert ranger guides about the dos and don’ts with mountain gorillas. Possessing a valid gorilla permit, you are grouped into 8 members and each group is led by a well experienced guide. The guide leads you to the forest in search for endangered mountain gorillas. Once you located your gorilla family, you are given one full hour with these giant apes as you observe and learn their behaviors. While with mountain gorillas, you will take photos, record videos as you see gorillas the play, the silverback protect the group member, see mothers breast feed, see then go hunt and makes nests where they will sleep that day. You are advised to keep a distance of 7 meters away from mountain gorillas in order not to contract diseases.

You can request for a gorilla trekking group of your choice but there is no guarantee that it will be given to you. The gorilla groups are allocated basing on age and fitness of trekkers. The young ones and elderly people are given gorilla groups that are easy to trek. The trackers are the first to head out to the forest to look for where these giant apes last nested and when they find out they track them until they see them then they use radio calls to inform the guides about the location of these mountain gorillas hence making trekking easy.

Gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park has always been safe by the help of armed park rangers and easily accessible compared to gorilla trekking in Uganda. Gorilla trekking in Uganda can only be done in Mgahinga Gorilla Park and Bwindi impenetrable forest national park all located in south western Uganda. Volcanoes national park has 12 gorilla families open for trekking with a few others that are being only habituated by scientists. The gorilla groups in volcanoes national park are graded into easy trek, medium trek and difficult trek with each group having at least one silverback.

Gorilla trekking permits are usually on a high demand in Rwanda especially in the peak season therefore, you are advised to book your gorilla permit in advance to avoid disappointment. There are only 96 gorilla permits available in Rwanda on a single day. Our company can help you and secure you a gorilla permit and all that is needed is the trekking date. A gorilla permit in Rwanda is $1500 per person per trek.

All visitors going for gorilla trekking must be at Kinigi headquarters of volcanoes national park by 8:00 am for briefing. At the briefing center every 8 people are allocated a group and they are given a park ranger guide. The gorilla families available for tracking in volcanoes national park are Igisha, Sabyinyo, Susa, Karisimbi, Umubano, Amahoro, Hirwa, Muhoza, Ugyenda, Bwenge, Agashya and Kwitonda.

Volcanoes national park is not only a home for mountain gorillas but also golden monkeys. There are also other activities that can be done in volcanoes national park and these include hike to Dian Fossey tombs, mountain hiking adventures, golden monkey trekking and other tourists can visit the Musanze caves or Iby’ Iwachu village for cultural experiences.

There are a number accommodation facilities available in volcanoes national park for tourists to stay such as One and Only Gorillas Nest Lodge, Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Bisate Lodge, Amakoro Songa Lodge among others. Where to stay depends on your budget.

For guests that wish to make an extension after gorilla trekking, then can visit Akagera national park for a wildlife safari and see lions, rhinos, elephants, zebras and much more, Ngungwe forest national park and trek chimpanzees as well as birding and lastly there is also Giswati Mukura national park for primate watching