Rwanda’s gorillas are the easiest to trek as they live on the bamboo-covered slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes and live within an easily reachable range. It was on these slopes that the popular primatologist did her conservation works and the place where the movie gorillas in the mist was short-making Rwanda gorilla trekking popular the world over.

The drive from Kigali town is just 2 – 3 hours’ drive to Volcanoes National Park. Your driver guide will meet you for a short briefing at the designated hotel then set off to the park through the beautiful sceneries of the 1000 hills of Rwanda giving you an opportunity for a stop for photographs and sightseeing.

Gorilla trekking in Rwanda is a safari activity where 8 tourists are guided by park rangers to trek and hike through the bamboo rain forest of Volcanoes National Park to meet a gorilla family and spend 1 hour in their presence.

Individuals have a briefing before they visit the bamboo forest where park rangers advise the trekkers on the dos and don’ts or rules and regulations of Rwanda gorilla tours before, during, and after the trek.

Each person buys a permit at 1500 USD to go gorilla trekking in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park spending a maximum of 60 minutes in the presence of the mountain gorillas. The Rwanda gorilla permits at U.S dollars 1500 is the most expensive for a mountain gorilla trek but comes with amazing offers.

Though gorilla tours in Rwanda are an all-year-round activity, the best time of the year to go gorilla trekking is during the long and short dry seasons. The long dry season is during the months June to September and the short dry season is from the months of mid-December to early February. During these two dry seasons, the park receives fewer rains, therefore, offering the easiest hiking conditions to the bamboo forest.

Gorilla tracking at this park is done once daily with 8 individuals visiting a gorilla group per day. The visitors are expected to arrive at the Rwanda development board (RDB) offices at 7 am where they are briefed about expectations, does and don’ts when tracking gorillas and later distributed among the different gorilla groups.

Once the briefing is concluded and you are allocated a gorilla group, you will follow your armed ranger guide to start your trek in search of these gentle giants. Your trek can take anything from a few minutes to 6 hours depending on the location of the group that you are tracking.

Once the insight into the group, you will be able to stay in their presence for only one hour. Remember the details shared in the briefing and endeavor to follow them for not only your own safety but that of the gorillas.