Rwanda: Kigali and Volcanoes National Park History, People & Gorilla Trekking

Trip overview

Most people decide to visit Rwanda for gorilla trekking and/or a visit with the chimpanzees in Nyungwae National Park. I cannot stress enough to leave at least 24 hours for Kigali.

When traveling to Kigali, you will be picked up from the airport and met by a local Rwandan guide who, for us, was with us for the duration of our visit.

The first thing I noticed was how incredibly clean the city is. Rwanda prides itself on its cleanliness, its safety and innovation, and its people.

Genocide Memorial Museum

A must-do is the Genocide Memorial Museum. It is sobering, sad, and also a reminder that forgiveness can be key to moving forward. It is hard to believe that 20% of the population of Rwanda was murdered by their own citizens in a span of three months. It is even harder to believe that in order to move forward, the country has taken on a belief in forgiveness. There are no longer different tribes/communities of Rwanda. There are just Rwandans. Our guide’s father and brother were murdered in the genocide. He was just 12 years old at the time, and still he moves forward without malice.

While you can do Kigali at the end of the visit, I would recommend starting here to understand the country, but also to be able to leave the country on a much happier, awe-inspiring note of the conservation efforts for the gorillas and other wildlife of the country.

Volcanoes National Park

After a wonderful stay in Kigali, we moved forward the next day to Volcanoes National Park for a three-night stay at the One & Only Gorilla’s Nest. Think luxury, attention to detail, service, amazing cuisine, and then of course, gorilla trekking.

You can’t go wrong with a stay either at the O&O, Singita, or Wilderness Bisate Camp. Any of these resorts/lodges will keep you well prepared for your trekking as well as offering incredible food and service.

But let’s get down to what happens when you trek.

Gorilla trekking

Just tons of babies and juveniles.

Expect an early morning wake-up. Your driver will take you to the meeting point for all people trekking. You are divided into groups of eight people to trek together. (They keep parties who are traveling together with each other as long as the number is less than 8). Your driver/guide can make requests for easy, medium, or hard hike to the organizers of the guides. Be aware that easy is only based on the length of time and not necessarily the difficulty of the hike itself.

Once assigned a group, your driver takes you to the location to start hiking with your trekking guide for the day. You will hire porters to carry your backpacks and assist with the hike in difficult places. You do need to be reasonably physically fit to go gorilla trekking.

Once the gorilla family you are assigned to is reached, you have one hour to spend observing them and taking pictures. They share 98% of their DNA with humans, and to watch them interact with each other and care for their young is really indescribable.

After your hour is up, you will hike down, have a quick snack, and your driver will return you to your lodge for an afternoon of relaxation and of course, wonderful food. There are activities to be had at the resorts, such as coffee tasting, gin tasting, garden hikes, relaxation at the pool or spa.

Golden monkey

A do-not-miss is the Ellen DeGeneres Campus for Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. If at all possible, I would go here on arrival day for the self-guided tour before your trek the next day. The museum is incredibly well-done, and the education prior to visiting with the gorillas was worth it.

I would also recommend trekking with the gorillas twice. The first time is just so overwhelming I feel like a second trek is worthwhile to really enjoy your time with them. You also never know if it will be raining or if the family you are assigned may not be as interactive on that first day. Each day you trek, you get a new location and a new family.

This is a trip that requires advance planning. Trekking permits sell out and are limited in number. There are only 20+ families that get assigned a max of 8 “guests”. Once permits are sold out, they are gone.

Rwanda: In sum

Rwanda is a country where you can actually make this your one destination.

• Volcanoes National Park for gorilla trekking.

• Kigali for history and culture.

• Nyungwae Park for chimps, hiking, and adventure travel with zip-lining.

• Akagera Park for safari with the Big Five.

It is also easily paired with Kenya and Tanzania for those interested in safari, especially around the Great Migration. Timing works well for these combinations in terms of seasonality.

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our Rwanda page.