Itinerary

   
      Day 1 : Kigali

      Arrive in Kigali. Time permitting, you may wish to visit the Kigali Memorial Centre, a site that is a moving tribute to all those who lost their lives in the genocide a decade ago.
   
      Day 2 : Volcanoes National Park

      After breakfast, we will drive to Kinigi enjoying magnificent views of rural Rwanda along the way. We'll quickly understand why the country has been nicknamed "the land of a thousand hills." These hills are intensively cultivated by rural folk who live on tiny farmsteads, so they form a terraced patchwork of banana plantations, sorghum fields, and vegetable gardens. Rwanda is densely populated so we see many people walking along the roads and working their fields while en route to the nation's capital, Kigali.
   
      Day 3 : Volcanoes National Park

      After breakfast, transfer to park headquarters. Seven family groups of gorillas are open to the public, and each lives in a very different part of the park. For example, the Sabinyo Group lives on the hills below the jagged peaks of Sabinyo Volcano. These hills are mostly covered with forests of giant bamboo. Group 13 and the Amahoro Group live on the forested slopes between Visoke Volcano and Sabinyo. Visoke is a lovely volcano that reaches up to 12,175 feet on its rim, and its interior is filled with a crater lake. Fortunately, the gorillas tend to range in the moss-draped hagenia forests of its lower slopes. Group Susa lives on the middle-level slopes of the largest volcano, the giant Karisimbi (14,787'). Although the Susa Group tends to inhabit the hagenia-hypericum forest (at altitudes of 9,000-10,000 feet), they do range widely and sometimes venture higher up on the mountain, into the zone of bizarre and wonderful Afro-alpine vegetation. Susa is therefore considered the most strenuous group to track. Although park rangers try to keep tabs on the whereabouts of the gorillas, they are free ranging wild creatures and can be difficult to locate. Sometimes finding the gorillas can be easy, as they may have remained close to the area where they had been feeding the previous day. The reward is an extraordinary opportunity to observe the gorillas at close range. The gorillas are NOT tame, but they have been scientifically habituated to accept the presence of quiet and unthreatening observers. Once found, you are allowed one hour only to observe the group.
   
      Day 4 : Kigali

      Depart for home.

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