4 Days Rwanda Gorilla Trekking

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Kigali – Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

As soon as you step off the plane, Kigali greets you with a breeze warm as a smile. The air is thick with the scent of roasted coffee and earth still damp from the morning rain. Your guide is waiting, eyes twinkling, eager to lead you to the mountains.

After the pickup, you shall drive to Volcanoes National Park winds through fields of wild sunflowers and villages where children wave like they’ve been waiting for you all along. Watch the Virunga Volcanoes rise like sleeping gods in the distance, their peaks wrapped in mist.

Upon arrival at your Volcanoes lodge, you wander to the Gorilla Guardians Village. Once poachers, now protectors — they beat drums, their voices rising like prayers into the dusk. The air is heavy with stories of redemption, and the night wraps around you like a warm, familiar blanket.

Accommodation Options:

• Camping: Kinigi Guesthouse
• Budget: La Palme Hotel.
• Standard: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
• Luxury: Sabyinyo Silverback

Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Wake up early morning as the morning breaks in silence, the sky streaked in shades of silver and violet. You pull on your boots, the chill biting through your clothes as you step into the mist. The forest is a cathedral of giant bamboo and tangled vines, each step a hymn in a song you’re only just beginning to hear.

Your guide moves quietly, eyes scanning the foliage as the air grows heavier. Then — a sound. Low, deep, and rolling like distant thunder. You freeze, heart pounding. Through a veil of leaves, a silverback emerges, muscles rippling beneath his dark fur.

A juvenile swing from a branch, his eyes locked on yours, a mischievous glint. A mother cradles her infant, rocking gently, her breath slow and steady. Upon locating the gorillas, you have upto 60 minutes of a close encounter with them. Take as many photos as possible and ask your guides all the questions you want to.

Back at the lodge, your legs ache, but your heart is full but you have enough time to relax as you await tomorrows amazing golden monkey encounter. The fire crackles, and the night stretches long.

Accommodation Options:

• Camping: Kinigi Guesthouse
• Budget: La Palme Hotel.
• Standard: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
• Luxury: Sabyinyo Silverback

Day 3: Golden Monkey Trekking – Explore Local Villages

Today, you wake up in the same forest but, with a new song — sharper, brighter, the chatter of golden monkeys darting through the bamboo. Their fur flashes like embers against the green, eyes wide and curious. Again, you follow your guide, weaving through the forest where each step is a dance over roots and fallen leaves in a different direction.

Above you, the monkeys swing and leap, their laughter echoing like wind chimes. One pauses, head cocked, eyes unblinking, as if daring you to keep up. The air is thick with their calls, a symphony of life high above the forest floor.

Later in the afternoon, you shall go for a village life encounter. The scent of grilled maize wafts through the market, where women wrap vibrant fabrics and craftsmen carve wooden masks that seem to watch you as you pass. Children chase a ball made of rags, their laughter rising into the blue afternoon sky.

Accommodation Options:

• Camping: Kinigi Guesthouse
• Budget: La Palme Hotel.
• Standard: Mountain Gorilla View Lodge
• Luxury: Sabyinyo Silverback

Day 4: Return to Kigali – Visit Genocide Memorial and Local Markets

Unfortunately, you have to say goodbye to Volcanoes. You pack your bags, eyes lingering on the mountains one last time. The road back to Kigali is a gentle descent, the scenery a blur of green hills and terraced farms.

In Kigali, the Genocide Memorial stands like a scar that refuses to fade. Inside, walls bear the names of the lost, faces that stare back at you, eyes haunting, unblinking. You walk through rooms heavy with the silence of those who can no longer speak, and the air presses down like a weight.

Outside, life pulses on. At the Inema Arts Centre, color bursts against white walls, each stroke a celebration of survival. The market is a dance of voices and scents — fresh coffee, ground spices, handwoven baskets stacked high.

The airport looms ahead, its lights flickering like distant stars. Your guide shakes your hand, his grip firm, his eyes warm. Rwanda stays behind, but its whispers follow — the gorilla’s gaze, the monkey’s call, the echo of drums fading into the night.

Accommodation Options: Not included as the tour concludes in Kigali.

End of Safari:

Four days, a lifetime of memories. The mountains may be behind you, but the forest’s song lingers — a soft, haunting refrain that you’ll carry long after the trail has faded away.