Travel Company: Dav Safaris Website: www.davsafaris.com Email: info@davsafaris.com Tel: +256757795781 or +256701412430 The best Rwanda gorilla trekking safaris Gorillas are generally safe due to escorts from Rwanda Development Board Wildlife Rangers, strict regulations and well-maintained trails. Let's learn more about the costs, the best times to visit, and why Rwanda is a top destination for gorilla trekking. How to plan the Best Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safaris Day 1: Kigali City Tour and Transfer to Volcanoes National Park Our guide from Dav Safaris will be at your hotel early morning or airport for pick-up to start your tour. After the briefing about the tour from the company guide, you will start with a tour of the city of Kigali which will include the renowned Gisozi genocide memorial site where you will learn how over 300,000 people lost their lives in 1994. You will visit the rest of Kigali, local markets, the king’s palace, and then have lunch. After lunch, you will begin the 2 hours journey to the Volcanoes National Park. The beautiful mountainous countryside along the way will remind you why Rwanda is often called the “Land of a Thousand Hills”. Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner Accommodation: Da Vinci Lodge Day 2: Mountain Gorilla Trekking and Iby’iwacu Cultural Village Tour After yesterday's early rest, you should be ready for Gorilla tracking in Rwanda. Briefings for gorilla trekking are carried out by the head park guide at 7:00 am at the Kinigi park headquarters in Musanze. All trekkers must be at the park by this time and must attend the briefing. A gorilla safari in Rwanda offers you, several families, to choose from – select one based on fitness. After being assigned a gorilla family and hiring a porter, it’s time to head out to the forest for gorilla tracking. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda can be challenging but the experience of watching mountain gorillas makes all the effort worthwhile. A family of mountain gorillas is amazing, and you could spend hours just watching the little ones roll around and play. Mountain Gorillas are playful but also curious about humans often coming close. 3 Days Rwanda Gorilla Trek. Listen to instructions from your guide, stay calm, and desist from making sudden movements. After your one hour with the mountain gorillas, return to the starting point where you will meet the company guide. You will be driven back to your hotel for lunch and rest. In the evening, you will be taken for a visit to the Iby’iwacu cultural village located in Musanze which is near the Volcanoes National Park. Meal Plan: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Accommodation: Da Vinci Lodge Day 3: Transfer back To Kigali On this day, wake up and have breakfast at leisure as you also prepare for the trip back to Kigali. The driver will drop you at your hotel in Kigali or at the airport for your flight back home. If you missed the city tour on day 1, you will have it on the day before departure. Meal Plan: Breakfast and Lunch Accommodation: No Accommodation Cost of Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda A gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda costs $1,500 for foreign non-residents, and $300 for East African citizens and the Rest of Africa pays $500 per person. This fee includes entry into Volcanoes National Park, the services of experienced ranger guides, and an hour spent with the gorillas. The cost of the permit is higher as compared to Uganda, where the permit is $800 for foreign non-residents and $400-$500 for the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda offers a discount on the permit (30% discount) to $1050 during the low season. However, this only works if you have booked a safari to either Akagera National Park or Nyungwe after the gorilla trek. Gorilla Trekking rules and regulations • Rwanda’s gorilla trekking age limit is 15 years, and no one below that age will be allowed to trek the gorillas. • Feeding of the Mountain gorillas is prohibited. • After locating the gorillas, the trekkers are allowed a maximum of an hour with the gorillas studying their behavioral patterns and taking photos and videos. • You need to keep a distance of about 7 to 10 meters away from the gorillas. • Gorillas are not used to flash photography, so make sure that you turn your camera flash off before taking photos. • A maximum of 8 people is allowed to trek the assigned gorilla families. • Holes 30 cm deep are to be dug and covered for hikers planning on using the toilet because there are no toilets within the national park. • Avoid littering the national park with rubbish by leaving it the way you found it. • Do not in any way get close to the gorillas to avoid passing on infections in case you are sick. • No one can eat, smoke, or drink with the gorillas. • Avoid staring at the gorillas in the eye, don’t put on sunglasses, and in cases where the gorillas approach you, follow the instructions given to you by the guides. Note that the Rwanda Tourism Board prints only 86 permits per day, so it is important to book early for your trip. After purchasing your permit, expect to track gorilla families in Volcanoes National Park, including the Hirwa gorilla family with 13 members, the Sabinyo gorilla family with eight members, Umubano with 11 gorillas, and Amahoro with 17 gorillas. Contact Us to help you book the gorilla permit and organize your entire safari to Rwanda, depending on your budget. Check out our reviews on TripAdvisor to make the right decision.