5 Days Rwanda & Uganda Gorilla and Golden Monkey Trek

Arrive at Kigali International Airport to a warm welcome from your driver and guide. After a short safari briefing, transfer to your hotel in Rwanda's spotless capital city. The evening is at leisure: explore Kigali's vibrant restaurant scene or simply rest ahead of the adventure ahead.

After breakfast, meet your guide for the drive northwest to Musanze, the gateway town to Volcanoes National Park and the five volcanic peaks of the Virunga chain. If time allows, stop at the Kigali Genocide Memorial for a deeply moving and historically significant visit, with lunch en route. Arrive in Musanze in the afternoon. Check in for dinner and an early rest ahead of tomorrow's golden monkey trek.

An early start for golden monkey trekking in Volcanoes National Park: a briefing at the park headquarters at 7 am before entering the bamboo forest in search of two habituated troops of these rare, endangered primates, listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. Spend one hour observing their vivid golden-orange markings and playful social behaviour at close range. After the trek, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, then drive to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda via the Cyanika border post. Check in for dinner and overnight rest.

The experience of a lifetime. Early morning coffee, then drive to the park headquarters for a ranger briefing before beginning the gorilla trek into the ancient rainforest. The tracking may take anywhere from 3 to 8 hours depending on the family's movement: expect steep, muddy terrain, dense undergrowth and the unforgettable moment when the forest opens and a silverback comes into view. Spend one full hour with the gorilla family: watching the silverback command his family, juveniles swing through the canopy, and mothers nurse their infants. In the afternoon, experience the Batwa Cultural Experience with the indigenous forest communities who have called these mountains home for millennia.

After a final breakfast at the lodge, meet your guide for the journey back to Kigali: crossing back into Rwanda at the Cyanika border and arriving in Kigali by early afternoon. Depending on your flight time, a Kigali city tour or visit to the Genocide Memorial can be arranged before airport transfer for your outbound flight.