With over half of the world’s remaining mountain gorilla population, it’s no surprise that the majority of guests visit Rwanda to track and view our highly endangered cousins. Rwanda is superb for primates in general, including the fun-loving Sykes monkey, the Golden monkey and the boisterous chimpanzee in the Nyungwe Forest.
Rwanda caters for a diverse cultural life, various landscapes and an impressive wildlife including primates like the Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees and Golden Monkey. The vast of the savanna, the flicker of the Virunga Massif, stunning natural spectacles, a breathtaking starry sky in Akagera National Park offering fascinating Big five Watching and the warmth of its people leave no one unimpressed.
Rwanda now offers good amenities to people seeking a luxury gorilla safari holiday. The three main national parks are all serviced by exclusive world-class lodges and/or tented camps comparable to the very best in the likes of Kenya and Tanzania. There are also luxurious hotels in the capital Kigali and the popular lake port of Rubavu. Distances between main points of interest are relatively short so there isn’t much in the way, the roads are mostly very good, so the country can comfortably be explored by car or 4×4.
If interested in a domestic flight network, don’t estate to mention. Rwanda is best suited to mobile and outdoorsy travelers. No matter how luxurious your accommodation and transport, gorilla tracking and other activities in Volcanoes and Nyungwe National Park come with a high chance slipping on muddy footpaths, being caught in a tropical downpour, and/or having to clamber through dense or low vegetation.
A Luxury Safari in Rwanda must include gorilla trekking safari staying in luxury lodges like One and Only Nest Lodge, Bisate Lodge, Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel, Virunga Lodge and many more. Other primates such as chimpanzees, lemurs, monkeys and baboons are all fascinating and immensely rewarding animals to visit while on luxury gorilla wildlife safari. Their interactions, communications, mobility and intelligence are all readily visible, and proof of our kinship with this amazing family of beautiful animals all possible to visit.
Six tracking permits are issued per troop per day, meaning the encounter is as intimate and as unobtrusive as possible. With only 96 permits available each day in Rwanda, it is highly recommended to book in advance, Visitors gather at the Volcanoes National Park headquarters in Kinigi at 7am, and are allocated a family group on the day according to fitness levels, as well as being briefed on protocols and rules for visiting the gorillas.
Choose a family of your choice where to spend the one hour. The families are known as Susa, Igisha, Karisimbi, Sabyinyo, Amahoro, Agashya, Kwitonda, Umubano, Hirwa, Bwenge, Ugyenda and Muhoza. Hiking up to their various locations can last anything from 30 minutes to four or more hours, reaching an altitude of between 2,500m and 4,000m.
Porters are available to carry backpacks and cameras, as well as to offer a helping hand along the route, 10% of the revenue from the permits is channeled towards local communities, to build schools and health centres, as well as roads.
There is a compensation fund for local farmers should any gorillas damage their crops, which helps to ensure peaceful co-existence, Gorilla tracking also provides employment for many locals, from rangers and trackers to porters, drivers and staff at tourist lodges.
Nyungwe forest is most bio diverse site in Rwanda containing 13 primate species which mainly attracts attention to watch while on a gorilla wildlife safari. Akagera national park also not forgotten with all the big five. Buffaloes and elephants are the most common though leopards are also observed with increasing frequency on night drives, lions and black rhino respectively. The best time for a luxury gorilla wildlife safari is from May to mid-October the long dry season with perfect conditions to track gorillas as well as enjoying wild life.
