Gorillas, Golden Monkeys and Kigali at an Easy Pace
This 4-day private tour gives Rwanda’s two primate treks room to breathe. You land in Kigali and rest for a night, then spend a morning on a guided city tour that includes the Kigali Genocide Memorial before driving north to Volcanoes National Park. On Day 3, rangers lead you to a habituated mountain gorilla family for one hour, and that afternoon you visit the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
Your last morning is spent with golden monkeys in the bamboo forest. Compared with our 2-day and 3-day gorilla and golden monkey tours, the extra time goes on an unhurried arrival and a proper look at Kigali, with no pre-dawn drive from the city.
Why You’ll Love This Safari
Click the tabs to learn more
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 International Airport
Availability
Year-round, 7 days a week
Duration
4 days
Group size
Min. 1 person
Included
- Park fees (for non-residents)
- 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)
- Drinks (as specified in the day-by-day section)
- Gorilla permits (one per person, non-resident)
- Golden monkey permits (one per person, non-resident)
Not included
- International flights (from/to home)
- Additional accommodations before and at the end of the tour
- Tips
- Personal items (souvenirs, travel insurance, visa fees, etc.)
- Government imposed increase of taxes and/or park fees
- Porter fees
What to bring
- Waterproof jacket
- 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)
- Hat
- Gloves
- Light backpack
- Sunscreen
- Snacks
- Light face mask
Participation requirements
Min. age of 15 years old required to participate in this tour. A reasonable level of fitness is recommended for the gorilla trek.
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: Arrival in Kigali
Welcome to Rwanda. Your driver/guide will meet you at Kigali International Airport, run through the plan for the next four days, and take you to your hotel in the city.
Nothing else is scheduled today, so you can sleep off the flight, unpack, or take a short walk to get a feel for Kigali. Dinner is at your hotel. Arriving a day before the safari proper gives you a buffer if your flight runs late, and it means you start tomorrow rested rather than straight off the plane. Your guide will confirm the pickup time for the morning before you turn in.
Meals Included: Dinner
Overnight: Kigali
Day 2: Kigali City Tour and Drive to Volcanoes National Park
After breakfast, your guide takes you around Kigali to see some of the city’s main landmarks and neighborhoods. The tour includes the Kigali Genocide Memorial, where you’ll learn about the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi and how Rwanda has rebuilt since. Most visitors find it a moving stop, so there’s no rush.
In the afternoon, you’ll drive north to Volcanoes National Park, about two and a half hours on a road that winds past terraced hillsides, farms and villages. You’ll check in at your lodge in the foothills of the Virunga volcanoes in time for dinner and an early night before trek day.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Volcanoes National Park
Day 3: Gorilla Trekking and the Ellen DeGeneres Campus
After an early breakfast, you’ll meet the rangers at park headquarters for a briefing, and your group is assigned a habituated gorilla family. The trail winds through bamboo and mountain forest, and the trek can take two to five hours in total, depending on where the family is feeding. When you reach them, you’ll have one hour to watch the gorillas eat, groom and play at close range.
In the afternoon, you’ll visit the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, where exhibits show how researchers study and protect the gorillas you’ve just seen. Then it’s back to the lodge for dinner and a second night near the park.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Overnight: Volcanoes National Park
Day 4: Golden Monkey Trek and Return to Kigali
Your last morning brings a second primate trek. After breakfast, you’ll head into the park’s bamboo forest with a guide to find a troop of golden monkeys. You’ll spend one hour with them as they feed and leap between the bamboo stems, so keep your camera ready. The trek is usually gentler than yesterday’s gorilla hike, and it shows you a different side of the park.
After lunch, you’ll drive back through the hills to Kigali, arriving at Kigali International Airport in time for your flight home, or at your hotel if you’re staying on in the city.
Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch
Frequently Asked Questions
All three include a gorilla trek and a golden monkey trek in Volcanoes National Park. The 2-day tour leaves Kigali at 4:30 AM and treks gorillas that same morning. The 3-day tour drives north on arrival day and fits in Kigali only if time allows at the end. This 4-day tour adds a night in Kigali when you land and a full city tour with the Genocide Memorial before the drive north.
The gorilla trek is a moderate to challenging hike on steep, often muddy forest trails, and it can take two to five hours in total, depending on where your gorilla family is. The golden monkey trek stays lower on the bamboo slopes and is usually easier. A reasonable level of fitness helps. Local porters can carry your bag and help on steep ground; porter fees are not included.
Your price includes one Rwanda gorilla permit and one golden monkey permit per person, plus park fees for non-residents. The gorilla permit alone costs $1,500 and is issued by the Rwanda Development Board. Three nights’ accommodation, the Kigali city tour, the Ellen DeGeneres Campus visit, airport transfers and the meals listed in the itinerary are also included. Flights, tips and porter fees are not. 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, because only a limited number of gorilla permits are issued for each day. For July and August, the busiest months for gorilla trekking, we recommend booking about six months ahead. A 50% deposit confirms your booking, and we then secure your gorilla and golden monkey permits for your dates. Our guide to the best time for gorilla trekking compares the dry and rainy months.
Yes. Because this is a private tour, it is easy to add days. Popular additions are a second gorilla trek in Volcanoes National Park, game drives in Akagera National Park, or chimpanzee trekking in Nyungwe National Park. If you’d like to see gorillas in Uganda too, our 5-day Rwanda and Uganda double gorilla safari adds a trek in Bwindi. Send us your dates and we’ll suggest the best fit.
