CORE EXPERIENCES
Standard Permit — $1,500 Exclusive Experience — $15,000 Behind the Scene Package Uganda Habituation Experience Photography & Film PermitsPOPULAR PARKS
Volcanoes National Park Nyungwe National Park Akagera National Park Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Mgahinga Gorilla National ParkAn easy-paced week built entirely around Volcanoes National Park — a gorilla trek, golden monkey trekking, and a half-day volcano hike, all from a single lodge, with a rest morning built in.
KIGALI
Arrive and transfer north to the Kinigi area, settling in ahead of tomorrow’s trek.
VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
Check in at Kinigi Park Headquarters at 07h00, then trek into the forest for a full hour with your gorilla family.
VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
A shorter, lower-altitude morning trek to a habituated golden monkey troop — playful, fast-moving, and a strong contrast to the gorillas. Afternoon at leisure.
VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK
Choose the half-day Dian Fossey Tomb Hike or the full-day Mt Bisoke Crater Hike, both departing from Kinigi.
KIGALI
Drive back to Kigali for your departing flight, with time for a light city tour en route.
From approximately $6,800 per person, double occupancy, excluding international flights.
START PLANNING ↗A non-refundable deposit covering your gorilla permit confirms your dates and secures the trekking permit in your name with the Rwanda Development Board — the most time-sensitive element, given permits are capped at 96 per day across Volcanoes National Park. The balance is due ahead of arrival on a schedule confirmed in your written proposal. Because this itinerary also includes golden monkey trekking, both permits are arranged together as a single coordinated booking, so there’s nothing separate for you to manage.
We recommend booking at least four to six months ahead for peak season (June–September, December–February), particularly if you want to lock in a specific choice between the Dian Fossey Tomb Hike and the Bisoke crater hike on day four.
WHO THIS SUITS
Five days from a single lodge base lets you experience Volcanoes National Park properly rather than rushing through it — gorilla trekking, golden monkey trekking, and a volcano hike, with a genuine rest morning built into the schedule rather than back-to-back demanding days throughout. It suits travellers who want Rwanda’s single strongest gorilla-trekking destination covered thoroughly, without extending into Nyungwe or Akagera. For a broader Rwanda circuit covering the whole country, see our 10-Day Itinerary instead.
The half-day Dian Fossey Tomb Hike suits travellers who want a moderate physical activity with genuine historical and conservation depth, leaving the afternoon free. The full-day Mt Bisoke Crater Hike is considerably more demanding — a proper mountain summit with a crater lake at the top — and suits fitter travellers wanting a stronger physical challenge as the trip’s final highlight. We can advise based on your group’s fitness and how demanding the preceding gorilla and golden monkey treks felt.
Can we swap the Bisoke hike for Karisimbi instead?
Karisimbi requires an overnight camp and a full two days, so it doesn’t fit within this itinerary’s
structure — travellers specifically wanting Karisimbi should consider extending to a 6 or 7-day
itinerary instead.
Is the rest morning genuinely free, or is
something scheduled?
Genuinely free — the itinerary is deliberately paced to avoid back-to-back demanding days, and the
unscheduled time can be spent at leisure at the lodge or used for an optional add-on like Musanze Caves or
Buhanga Eco-Park if you’d prefer to stay active.
What exactly is included in the $6,800
per-person price?
The gorilla permit, golden monkey trekking permit, four nights at Virunga Lodge or a similar property on an
all-inclusive basis, your private guide and vehicle throughout, and all airport transfers. The day-four hike
fee and international flights are not included.
Can we upgrade the lodge or the gorilla
permit tier?
Yes — we can substitute any Volcanoes National Park lodge, or upgrade to the
Exclusive Mountain Gorilla Experience, adjusting the
overall itinerary price accordingly.
How quickly will we hear back after
enquiring?
We respond to every enquiry within 48 hours with a bespoke written proposal covering the exact lodge,
pricing, and day-by-day details for your specific dates and group size.
This five-day structure is a starting template, not a fixed package — common adjustments include adding a Kigali city stay at the start or end, upgrading to the Exclusive Mountain Gorilla Experience, or extending into Nyungwe National Park for chimpanzee trekking on a longer version of this trip. Tell us what matters most to your group and we’ll adjust the day-by-day plan and pricing before sending a final written proposal.
A NOTE ON PRICING
The $6,800 per-person figure reflects double occupancy at Virunga Lodge during standard season; solo travellers, larger groups, peak-season dates, and alternative lodge tiers all shift this figure. We always confirm exact, all-inclusive pricing in your written proposal before asking for any commitment, so you know precisely what you’re paying for before deciding whether to proceed.
Virunga Lodge and the wider Kinigi area sit about a two-hour drive from Kigali International Airport on Rwanda’s well-maintained main roads. We coordinate your private airport transfer around your actual flight times on both arrival and departure, and can arrange a helicopter transfer instead for guests wanting a faster, more scenic alternative to the road journey.
It would be possible to compress gorilla trekking, golden monkey trekking, and a volcano hike into fewer days, but doing so risks turning what should be a genuinely memorable trip into an exhausting checklist. This itinerary is deliberately paced with a rest morning built in specifically so that each activity gets full attention and energy, rather than being attempted on tired legs the day after the previous one. Guests who have tried more compressed itineraries elsewhere consistently tell us the slower pace here made a noticeable difference to how much they actually enjoyed each individual day, rather than simply surviving it. It’s a deliberate design choice, not simply padding to fill out a longer package.
TRAVEL INSURANCE
Because gorilla and golden monkey permits are generally non-refundable once purchased, comprehensive travel insurance covering high-altitude trekking and non-refundable permit costs is strongly recommended for any itinerary built around them. We can share guidance on what to look for in a policy when we send your written proposal, so this is one less thing to research separately once you’ve decided to move forward.
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