Meeting up at 7.30 am on our first day, we head from Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, to the Ugandan border.
We arrive in Kisoro to check into a simple guesthouse, our base for the next two nights.

After meeting the rest of the group, you can head out on a coffee tour or visit a Batwa (Pygmy) village to start to soak up the local world around you and get to know others in your group. Some enjoy visiting Lake Mutande later in the day.

Alternatively enjoy having a look around this rural Ugandan town, enjoy a coffee in the coffee shop, or a beer in a local pub. Late in the afternoon we hold a group departure meeting and also go through arrangements for those trekking the gorillas the following day.

Distance: 136 kms
Est. Drive Time: 5 hours (depending on the border)
Meal: X1 Dinner

Optional excursions: Coffee tour or Batwa (Pygmy) village visit or Lake Mutande

The critically endangered mountain gorilla population currently numbers around 1,000 individuals. The gorillas are found in two forested areas – Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda and the Virungas, which stretch from Rwanda and Uganda into the Congo.

Over these days we gorilla trek. The gorilla trek is our first big highlight. Our trek starts early morning, and can take anything from an hour to many hours depending on where the guides locate the gorillas. When found, they are usually on the ground munching away. They keep in family groups of up to 35 individuals led by one dominant, older adult male, a silverback, named after the swath of silver hair that adorns his otherwise dark fur. The family structure of a gorilla group often also includes
several other young males, known as black backs, as well as females and their offspring. The young ones particularly might be seen swinging from vines and trees and can be very curious as to their daily visitors.

There is a morning also for trekking the golden monkeys in Mgahinga National Park or some enjoy visiting a local orphanage.
By afternoon of day 3 we usually return into Rwanda, a country with a turbulent history now moving rapidly forward in an attempt to put their past behind them. This afternoon there is the option to learn how to make banana beer and do basket weaving, as well as head out on a bike tour.

Distance, Day 2: 0 kms
Est. Drive Time, Day 2: 0 hours
Distance, Day 3: 51 kms
Est. Drive Time, Day 3: 3 hours (depending on the border)
Meals: X2 Breakfasts, X2 Dinners

Optional excursions: Mountain gorilla trek Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda. Or golden monkeys trek or orphanage visit. Batwa (Pygmy) village visit or a coffee tour. Lake Mutande. Basket weaving, banana beer making, bike tour.

Notes: If you wished to trek the gorillas in Rwanda please let us know at the earliest prior to booking.

For those who fancy it, a visit can be arranged early this morning to the grave of Dian Fossey in the Rwandan forest. Dian dedicated her life to protecting the mountain gorillas. Her life and work is remembered in the film ‘Gorillas in the Mist’.
If you are not trekking, we head off early, making our way to the capital Kigali, a very European style city.

For those trekking, a transfer is arranged for later in the day. We spend the next two nights in Kigali, the modern capital of Rwanda and now a vibrant cosmopolitan city. Here, we visit The Genocide Memorial and Museum. Opened in 2004, ten years after the Genocide, the memorial is a sobering reminder of the horrors that occurred over a 100 day period from April to June 1994 during which up to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutu were brutally slaughtered.

Some also take time to visit the Nyamata Church Memorial, a Women’s Centre, Hotel des Mille Collines (well known from the movie Hotel Rwanda) or wander in the local markets.

Distance, Day 4: 115 kms
Est. Drive Time, Day 4: 3 hours
Meals: X2 Breakfasts, X2 Dinners

Optional excursions: Trek to Dian Fossey’s grave, Visit to the Genocide museum and memorial, Nyamata Church Memorial

We say our goodbyes early this morning. A transfer to Kigali airport can be arranged, or if you need assistance with extra accommodation, please let us know.

Meals: X1 Breakfast

Please note: On some departures this itinerary is arranged in reverse. On the reverse program on day one we meet up in Kigali late on day one. The Genocide Memorial and Museum visit is organized for the following morning when we have a full day in Kigali. From there we then travel to Musanze to overnight near the border on day 3. Our stay in Kisoro is then on days 4 and 5, from where we gorilla trek and enjoy other local activities. Day 6 we then transfer back to Kigali, Rwanda finishing by lunchtime.

Safari itineraries are given as a guide only. A safari is a journey and true journeys in Africa unfold and are of an adventurous nature. The unexpected can arise, so do allow for this. Feel free to give us a call if you would like further information about this itinerary or any other aspect of your travel arrangements.