Meet Two Gorilla Families in Volcanoes National Park
This 3-day private tour gives you two gorilla treks in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, each with a different habituated family. Your driver/guide meets you in Kigali for the drive of about two and a half hours north to the park. On the first afternoon, you’ll visit Gorilla Guardians Village (formerly Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village) for traditional music and dance.
You then trek on two mornings in a row, with up to an hour beside the gorillas each time. Our 3-day mountain gorilla tracking safari pairs one gorilla trek with golden monkeys. This tour trades the monkeys for a second gorilla hour, which suits photographers and anyone keen to compare two families.
Why You’ll Love This Safari
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Trip Details
Trip Details
Price
Price on request. Tell us your dates and group size, and we’ll send you a quote.
Meeting point
Kigali
Availability
Year-round, 7 days a week
Duration
3 days
Group size
Min. 1 person
Included
- Park fees (for non-residents)
- Rwanda gorilla permits (two per person, non-resident)
- Gorilla Guardians Village visit
- All activities (unless labeled as optional)
- All accommodations (unless listed as upgrade)
- A professional driver/guide
- Private safari vehicle: a 4×4 Land Cruiser, Toyota Prado or safari van, depending on group size
- All transportation (unless labeled as optional)
- All taxes/VAT
- Roundtrip airport transfer
- Meals (as specified in the day-by-day section)
- Drinking water (on all days)
Not included
- International flights (from/to home)
- Additional accommodations before and at the end of the tour
- Tips
- Porter fees
- Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
- Some meals (as specified in the day-by-day section)
What to bring
- Waterproof jacket and rain pants
- Warm jacket (early mornings can be cold)
- Neutral-colored clothing (avoid bright colors)
- Long-sleeved shirt
- Long pants
- Good hiking shoes
- Gaiters (for mud and nettles)
- Walking poles (optional)
- Hat
- Gloves
- Light backpack
- Sunscreen
- Snacks
- Insect repellent
- Face mask (worn near the primates)
Participation requirements
Min. age of 15 years old required to participate in this tour. No fitness test is required, but the treks can be steep and muddy, and a reasonable level of fitness helps.
About your guide
Your safari will be led by an experienced local guide who will share facts about the wildlife, landscapes, and culture. Your guide is dedicated to ensuring your safari is safe, informative, and tailored to your interests.
What You’ll See & Do
Day 1: Kigali to Volcanoes National Park and Gorilla Guardians Village
Your driver/guide will meet you at Kigali International Airport and load your bags for the drive north to Volcanoes National Park, which takes about two and a half hours. The road winds through Rwanda’s green, terraced hills, past farms, markets and roadside villages, with the Virunga volcanoes rising ahead as you near Musanze.
After you check in at your lodge and have lunch, you’ll visit Gorilla Guardians Village (formerly Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village). Local performers share traditional dance and drumming, and you’ll get a feel for daily life in the communities around the park. Back at the lodge, your guide will run through the plan for the first trek over dinner.
Meals Included: Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Volcanoes National Park
Day 2: First Gorilla Trek in Volcanoes National Park
After an early breakfast, you’ll go to the park headquarters at Kinigi for the 7:30 AM briefing. Rangers assign your small group to a habituated gorilla family, then lead you up through farmland and into the forest on the slopes of the volcanoes. The trek usually takes two to five hours, depending on where the family is and the conditions on the trail. Once you find the gorillas, you’ll have one hour to watch them at close range.
Lunch is back at your lodge. Later, you can choose an optional visit to the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund to learn how researchers protect these gorillas, or simply rest before tomorrow’s trek.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Volcanoes National Park
Day 3: Second Gorilla Trek and Return to Kigali
After breakfast, you’ll head back to park headquarters for your second briefing and be assigned a different gorilla family. This trek may be shorter or longer than the first, through a different stretch of bamboo and forest. Each family has its own size, mix of ages and personality, so your second hour often shows you behavior you missed the day before.
After lunch at the lodge, you’ll drive back to Kigali, about two and a half hours away. Your guide will drop you at your hotel or at Kigali International Airport. You’ll reach the city in the late afternoon or early evening, depending on how long the trek took.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Frequently Asked Questions
Our 1-day and 2-day Rwanda tours include one gorilla trek, and our 2-day and 3-day tours with golden monkeys pair one gorilla trek with a golden monkey trek. This tour is our shortest way to trek gorillas twice in Rwanda: two treks on back-to-back mornings in Volcanoes National Park, with a different family each time. For one trek in each country, see our 5-day Rwanda and Uganda double.
Each gorilla family behaves differently, and conditions change from day to day. A second hour often brings what the first one missed: a silverback on the move, young gorillas playing or a clearer view through the vegetation. If thick cover or rain spoils the view on one trek, the second gives you another chance. It suits photographers, wildlife lovers and anyone who has trekked before.
No fitness test is required, but each trek is a hike on steep, often muddy slopes, and a reasonable level of fitness helps. Treks can be longer or shorter depending on where the gorillas are and the conditions on the day. Rain can make the trails slippery, so bring waterproof gear, gaiters and good shoes. Porters can carry your bag on both days; porter fees are not included.
We quote the price for your dates and group size. Your quote includes two Rwanda gorilla permits per person (each permit costs $1,500), park fees for non-residents, the Gorilla Guardians Village visit, two nights’ accommodation, meals as listed, your driver/guide, a private safari vehicle, airport transfers and drinking water. Tips, porter fees, visas and travel insurance are not included.
For how gorilla permits are priced and booked, see our gorilla trekking permit cost guide and our guide to the full cost of a gorilla trek.
Book as early as you can, since this tour needs gorilla permits on two days in a row and only a limited number are issued each day. For July and August, book about six months ahead. A 50% deposit confirms your booking, and we then secure your permits. Because this is a private tour, we can also add a golden monkey trek, a Kigali city tour or extra nights.
Our guide to the best time for gorilla trekking compares the dry and rainy months.
