Rwanda

Parc National des Volcans

The 13,000 hectare Volcanoes National Park (Parc National des Volcans) was designated with National Park status in 1925 and protects the Rwandan portion of the Virunga Mountains, a range of six extinct and three active volcanoes that forms the border with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sitting between 3474m and 4507m altitude, the park is home to over half of the regions surviving 650 mountain gorillas. Immortalised in the film “Gorillas in the Mist”, the biographical account of primatologist Dian Fossey which was set and shot in the park, Volcanoes National Park is the place to experience the most intimate and poignant of wildlife encounters – tracking the four habituated gorilla families. Today, various Rwandan tour operators offer exclusive mountain gorilla tracking excursions into the park on a daily basis, however the number of permits allocated daily is limited and it is advisable that travellers book their permits well in advance. In addition to gorilla tracking, a network of trails transect the park, varying from gentle day walks to challenging overnight trails to the higher peaks of the Virungas. The Volcanoes National Park is also home to the Golden Monkey, a beautiful and distinctive bamboo-associated race of the blue monkey, endemic to the Albertine Rift.

Ruhengeri

The main base for Gorilla tracking, Ruhengeri is a small but bustling market town situated 15km from the base of the Virunga Volcanoes. Boasting a wonderful sub-montane setting, and an excellent range of cheap to midrange hotels, Ruhengeri is an agreeable place to spend the night before one goes gorilla tracking, as well as being the obvious base to explore the little-known but compelling beautiful lakes of Burera and Ruhondo.

Nyungwe National Park

Extending for 1,000 square kilometres across the majestic hills of southeast Rwanda, Nyungwe National Park is the largest block of montane forest in East or Central Africa, and one of the most ancient, dating back to before the last Ice Age.  A uniquely rich centre of floral diversity, the forest has more than 200 different types of tree, and a myriad of flowering plants including the other-worldly giant lobelia and a host of colourful orchids. Nyungwe is most alluring for its primates: 13 species in all, including humankind’s closest living relative the chimpanzee, as well as the handsome L’Hoest’s monkey and hundred-strong troops of the delightfully acrobatic Angola colobus. The most important ornithological site in Rwanda, Nyungwe, harbours almost 300 bird species of which two dozen are restricted to a handful of montane forests on the Albertine Rift. The avian highlight of Nyungwe is the great blue turaco - an outlandish blue, red and green bird which streams from tree to tree like a procession of streamlined psychedelic turkeys. Nyungwe does, however, deserve more time: anybody who wants to track chimps and see several varieties of smaller primate will need two days there - and dedicated birdwatchers might never want to leave!

Lake Kivu

Lake Kivu is the largest of numerous freshwater bodies that shimmer in the valleys of Rwanda. Lakes Burera and Ruhondo, close to the gorilla-tracking centre of Ruhengeri, are oft-neglected gems. Deep blue waters ringed by steep hills and tall waterfalls, with the nearby Virunga volcanoes providing a spectacular backdrop. Away from the main resorts, Rwanda’s lakes offer visitors rewarding glimpses into ancient African lifestyles. Here, fishermen ply the water in dugout canoes unchanged in design for centuries, while colourfully dressed ladies smoke traditional wooden pipes and troubadours strum sweetly on stringed iningire (traditional ’guitars’). And, the bird life is fantastic: flotillas of pelicans sail ponderously across the open water, majestic crowned cranes preen their golden crests in the surrounding swamps, while jewel-like malachite kingfishers hawk silently above the shore.

Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda - Luxury

Location: Parc National des Volcans |

Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge is situated in the foothills of the mighty Virungas. The chain of 4,570 metre volcanoes stretching through Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, affords wonderful views of the volcanoes and the surrounding countryside. The stone cottages and the main lodge building have been beautifully constructed and appointed and the lodge is the perfect base from which to trek the endangered mountain gorilla.

Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda - Standard

Location: Parc National des Volcans |

Parc National Des Volcans is home to over half of the regions surviving 650 mountain gorillas and was immortalised in the film "Gorillas in the Mist", the biographical account of primatologist Dian Fossey which was set and shot in the park. The chain of 4,570 metre volcanoes stretching through Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, affords wonderful views of the volcanoes and the surrounding countryside and is the place to experience the most intimate and poignant of wildlife encounters.

Parc National des Volcans

The 13,000 hectare Volcanoes National Park (Parc National des Volcans) was designated with National Park status in 1925 and protects the Rwandan portion of the Virunga Mountains, a range of six extinct and three active volcanoes that forms the border with Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Sitting between 3474m and 4507m altitude, the park is home to over half of the regions surviving 650 mountain gorillas. Immortalised in the film “Gorillas in the Mist”, the biographical account of primatologist Dian Fossey which was set and shot in the park, Volcanoes National Park is the place to experience the most intimate and poignant of wildlife encounters – tracking the four habituated gorilla families.