This Kigali safari takes you to the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda for an amazing gorilla trekking safari experience. You will not only observe mountain gorillas in the wild but will also have an opportunity to tour the city of Kigali, the genocide memorial centre, the twin lakes (Burera and Ruhondo) and the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village to understand the Kinyarwanda Culture. Before getting to the park, you will drive through the country’s beautiful rolling hills, tea plantations and beautiful sights of the Virunga volcanoes in the horizon.
Take this opportunity to see 5 Volcanoes including Gahinga, Sabyinyo, Muhabura, Karisimbi and Bisoke which are all separate tourist attractions in their own right. The park rose to prominence when the American primatologist Diana Fossey started her gorilla research station between Mount Karisimbi and Bisoke.
This activity involves hiking through mountainous areas and forests in search of a creature that resembles/behaves like humans. Mountain gorillas are special among the gorilla sub-species because of their endangered status. A visitor must first acquire a gorilla permit and this goes for $1500 per person.
On the day of tracking, travelers are required to be at the Volcanoes National Park headquarters early in the morning (at 7:00am) for briefing. During the briefing session, the Rangers and Warden will share information about the park, the gorilla groups, gorilla conservation activities and how to conduct oneself while with the primates. After the briefing, your gorilla permits and passports will be verified. After that you will be given a walking stick and allocated a gorilla group based on your overall fitness. Only 8 people can track a gorilla group in a day. The Rangers will take you to different starting points depending on the gorilla group you are allocated. If you have any heavy luggage, you can hire a porter to help out. Porter services go for between 10 to 15 US Dollars.
While with the gorillas, follow instructions from the Rangers. Only start taking photos when you are allowed two. Do not touch a gorilla even when they come close to you. Keep a distance of at least 7 meters from the nearest gorilla. Do not surround the gorillas or make loud noises out of excitement. You are allowed only 1 hour with the gorillas. Take the time to observe the family.
After that memorable insight, go for a cultural walk with in the park. Iby’Iwacu cultural village encounter: a safari in the Volcanoes National Park without stopping at the Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village is incomplete and these are known as the Gorilla Guardians Village, the Centre brings together all the tribes in Rwanda for an amazing cultural showdown. On a typical tour of the village, tourist can sit back, relax and watch traditional dance performances. After watching the performers, one can also checkout some local food, visit the local medicine-man, cook local food or take local beer.
After all that, relax at the twin lakes. Lake Burera and Lake Ruhondo are twin lakes in Rwanda and these are two beautiful crater lakes that are bordering each other thus being called twin lakes. The Lake Burera and Lake Ruhondo are located at the base of the Mount Muhabura giving off very beautiful scenery. The twin lakes are located just close to the Volcanoes national park that is famous for being the home of the endangered mountain gorillas.
It is relaxing and you can get great photo moments at this point. The waters of these twin lakes are deep blue in colour and with the volcanic mountains, the forested land and the waterfall at a distance, this is the perfect natural and real-life backdrop for your Rwanda safari photos.
Beside photo moments and relaxing at the twin lakes, there are other activities that you may engage in like bird watching. There are many birds that you can spot when at the viewing point so be sure to carry along a pair of binoculars to have clearer view on your birding attempt.
You may also take on a boat and cruise to several points on the twin lake to enjoy the breeze and different views of the landscape. You may also do some canoeing as there are locally dug canoes that you can hire and paddle your way to the different islands on the twin lakes.
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