Rwandan Discovery: Rare Silverbacks

Upon your arrival at Kigali International Airport, your driver and guide will meet you and kick off the day with a complimentary city tour. The city was named in 1907 by Dr. Richard Kandt, the first colonial governor of Rwanda. Kigali, also known as the “land of a thousand hills,” is a welcoming city surrounding by lush forests and beautiful landscapes. Here you’ll have the opportunity to really get to know the city. Your guide will take you to sites like the Kigali Museum along with the Gisozi Genocide Memorial Site which is essential in understanding where Rwanda is today. After visiting the city, you’ll head out to Ruhengeri, the second largest city in the country. It features a stunning backdrop of five volcanic mountains, the Virungas. You’ll arrive at the Red Rock Intercultural Exchange in time for lunch. Here you’ll get to experience an authentic local culture and learn about beer making from brewmasters who make a special beverage from fermented bananas. Not only that, you can even take part in the brewing process yourself if you’re interested. You can also try your hand at other local activities like basket weaving and craftsmanship all of which goes to support the community. After an exciting afternoon, you’ll head over to your hotel for dinner and a good night of rest.

You’ll begin with delicious early breakfast then head out to the National Park headquarter at Kiningi to meet your guides. You’ll receive a short briefing session about the park and some tips on how to best track the gorillas before we set off on this once in a lifetime experience! We’ll cautiously make our way into the forest where you’ll have a chance to see the magnificent silverback gorilla in its native habitat. It is truly one of the most incredible wildlife experiences on earth! The tracking begins as we move through light forests gradually making our way up the mountains into their incredible habitat. Silverbacks are incredibly rare with only 700 of them still living today. Today’s trek will be long, but extremely rewarding. Be sure you are well-equipped with boots, long pants, gloves and, of course, a camera! This is an incredibly rare opportunity to get up close pictures of these amazing animals. After a long morning of trekking, you’ll be ready to return for lunch and then have the afternoon free to do a little relaxing or exploration at your own pace.

After breakfast, it’s back on the beautiful road to Kigali. You’ll say goodbye to your hosts and head back to the friendliest city in Africa. We recommend doing a little more sightseeing and shopping before we transfer you to the airport depending on your flight departure time.