3 Days Rwanda Gorilla Trekking for Beginners

This 3-day itinerary strips Rwanda’s classic gorilla trekking experience down to its essentials for travelers on their very first safari. You’ll fly into Kigali, drive up to Volcanoes National Park with plenty of rest time built in, trek to a habituated gorilla family the following morning, and head back to Kigali the next day. No prior hiking or safari experience is required, just a reasonable level of fitness. Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park sells a fixed daily allocation of gorilla permits at $1,500 each, and dates during the June-to-September and December-to-February dry seasons are usually the first to sell out.

3 Days Rwanda Gorilla Trekking for Beginners Itinerary

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

You’ll be met at Kigali International Airport by your driver-guide and given a short briefing on what to expect over the next two days. From there it’s a scenic 2.5 to 3-hour drive north through Rwanda’s terraced hillsides to Musanze, the gateway town for Volcanoes National Park. After checking into your lodge, the rest of the day is free to rest, unpack, and settle in ahead of tomorrow’s trek. The two-and-a-half to three-hour drive north climbs steadily through terraced hillsides, and the volcanic cones of the Virunga range become visible on the horizon roughly an hour outside Musanze.

Day 2: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

After an early breakfast, you’ll head to the park headquarters for the ranger briefing, where trekking groups are matched to gorilla families based on fitness and preference. Trackers who have located the group overnight guide your hike through farmland and bamboo forest, a walk that can take anywhere from one to four hours depending on the family’s location. Once you find them, you’ll spend a full hour observing the gorillas at close range before returning to your lodge for a well-earned rest. Trekking groups are matched to gorilla families by fitness level at the morning briefing, and the guide-to-trekker ratio, typically one lead guide and armed rangers per group of up to eight, means help is always close by on steeper sections.

Day 3: Return to Kigali & Departure

After breakfast, you’ll drive back to Kigali at a relaxed pace, with a stop for photos of the volcano range along the way. Depending on your flight time, there may be a short window for last-minute shopping or a coffee in the city before your driver-guide transfers you to the airport for departure. International departures from Kigali typically call for arriving two to three hours ahead of your flight, which your driver-guide factors into the timing of the final drive.

What’s Included

• Airport pickup and drop-off in Kigali
• Private 4×4 safari vehicle with professional English-speaking driver-guide
• Gorilla trekking permit(s) as specified in the itinerary
• Accommodation as specified, on a bed & breakfast basis unless otherwise stated
• All ground transport and park transfers
• Bottled drinking water while on safari
• All applicable government taxes

What’s Excluded

• International flights
• Rwanda visa fees
• Tips and gratuities for guides and lodge staff
• Personal travel and medical insurance
• Meals not specified as included in the itinerary
• Items of a personal nature (laundry, souvenirs, phone or internet charges)
• Optional activities not listed in the itinerary