How many days are required to walk with gorillas and chimps in Rwanda? The most popular year-round tourism activities in Rwanda are gorilla and chimpanzee trekking. Nearly 90% of visitors to Rwanda go on safari because of the mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park and the chimpanzees in Nyungwe National Park.

One question is how many days are spent on a gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari in Rwanda. Although the gorilla and chimp trek safari can go for at least four days, it is advised to stay for five days so that you can engage in additional safari activities.

Five-day Rwandan Gorilla and Chimpanzee Trekking Safari
The itinerary
You will spend five days chasing monkeys in the Rwandan woods as part of the gorilla and chimpanzee trekking expedition. To begin the tour, we will pick you up from the airport and drive you to Nyungwe Forest National Park, where you will participate in chimpanzee trekking and a canopy walk. Our journey will then come to a close when we trek for gorillas in Volcanoes National Park.

Included in the safari price
Accommodation
Water in bottles
Transfer to the airport
Permit for trekking with chimpanzees and gorillas 4×4 transportation
A driver’s guide in English
Park admission costs.
Cost exclusions for the safari
Doing laundry
Insurance and Visas
High-end beverages
Individual purchases
Advice
Tickets for flights
Day 1: Nyungwe Forest National Park in Kigali
After a quick welcome and briefing on the safari sites, our driving guide will pick you up from Kigali International Airport and take you to Nyungwe National Park, stopping briefly at the Genocide Memorial Centre in Kigali.

After settling in and eating lunch, you visit the Gisakura Tea Estate in Nyungwe, which you arrive at in the afternoon. You will drink freshly brewed coffee and be shown how the coffee is grown, harvested, processed, and packaged while you are at the tea estate. We drive back to the resort for dinner and the night after our tour of Gisakura.

Day 2: Canopy walk and chimpanzee trekking
After a very early breakfast, you proceed to the park’s headquarters, where you receive a briefing and are divided into eight-person trekking chimpanzee groups. Make careful to keep track of time so you don’t miss the trek, which begins at 8:00 am with a lead guide. Depending on the family’s location, trekking with over 80 habituated chimpanzee families in Nyungwe might take anywhere from one to six hours.

After locating the chimpanzees, you also get to spend an hour with them. Other primates, including as colobus, L’Hoest, red-tailed, and baboon monkeys, can be seen during the hike. Before the next activity, you can either return to the lodge for lunch and rest, or you can be taken to a secure location to have your packed lunch.

Arrive at the Uwinka center after lunch, as here is where our canopy walk begins. At 160 meters long and roughly 70 meters above sea level, Nyungwe’s canopy walk is the longest in East Africa and a thrilling experience. Because the trek is broken up into three sections, people who are terrified of heights and are unable to finish it can do it in stages. Through the trek, you can get an aerial perspective of Nyungwe.

Drive back to the lodge for dinner and the night after the stroll.

Transfer to Volcanoes National Park on Day Three
On the third day, which is our last day in Nyungwe, we depart the lodge and make our way to Volcanoes National Park after breakfast. After checking into our lodge and eating lunch when you arrive in Volcanoes National Park, you will go on a guided trek to the Twin Lakes. After dinner, we spend the night at the resort getting ready for the climb the following day.

Day 4: Gorilla trekking and a visit to the Iby’iwacu community
We leave the resort early for breakfast before entering the national park. Groups of eight people will be chosen for you, and you will be informed on the laws and regulations of the walk and assigned to gorilla families. Depending on the family you are allocated to, the hike through the national park might be either easy or difficult.

Gorilla mobility and your pace are two of the many variables that affect how long the walk takes. You find the gorillas, spend an hour with them, and then travel back to headquarters. After eating lunch and taking a short break, you can receive your certification for trekking gorillas and supporting their conservation.

We moved to the Iby’iwacu community for a cultural visit after gorilla trekking. The settlement, which is only a few meters from the national park, was established to help poachers change their ways and find alternative legitimate ways to make money. You can socialize and get to know the locals at this time. You can also take in some traditional music, witness cultural dances, and then return to the lodge for dinner and the night.

Transfer and Departure to Kigali on Day Five
You meet up with your guide and return to Kigali by car after an early breakfast. The five-day gorilla and chimpanzee journey in Rwanda will come to a conclusion when you are left off at your designated location at the airport or, if you reserved lodging, at your lodging.

Trekking with gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park

In Rwanda, gorilla trekking is limited to Volcanoes National Park, which is only two to three hours’ drive from Kigali International Airport. There are fifteen habituated families and more than 400 gorillas in the national park. The greatest times to go gorilla trekking in Volcanoes are from December to February and June to September, which are the driest months of the year.

Since this is the sole document that will allow you to enter and follow the mountain gorillas, gorilla trekking permits are required. Depending on who is buying, the permit costs vary. For instance, it is $1500 for foreign non-residents, $500 for African citizens, and $300 for EAC citizens. On the other hand, Rwanda provides a 10% discount to visitors who have made reservations in advance to visit Nyungwe Forest National Park and Akagera National Park, as well as discounts to those who travel there for conferences and make large purchases.

Depending on the family you are assigned, gorilla trekking can take anywhere from two to six hours. You will, however, first receive a training on what to expect and the guidelines for trekking, including the fact that only eight people are permitted to trail a gorilla family each day. Those who are ill will not be permitted to trek with the gorillas.

After you locate the gorillas, you will spend an hour with them; thus, don’t make noise, stay away from the gorillas for seven meters, and don’t litter the national park. You will also have spaces set aside for eating and drinking, but not with the gorillas.

While on a gorilla walk safari at Volcanoes National Park, you can also partake in the following additional activities:

Visiting the Iby’iwacu hamlet: Originally established to give repentant poachers a place to live and work, the village has since contributed to gorilla conservation. In addition to helping you carry your bags, some of the village’s residents serve as porters. You may also learn about Kinyarwanda culture and take in some of their traditional dance and music.

The Rwandan president and a number of other officials attend the Kwita Izina event every year. It was established to prevent poaching and to safeguard gorillas in order to boost their population. It is where infant gorillas are given names.

Birdwatching and golden monkey trekking: In Volcanoes, one of the hobbies is tracking golden monkeys, as the park is home to numerous gold-coated primates. You have to follow the bamboo shoots that have been left on the ground, but the trip is not difficult. Additionally, you can go bird viewing, which is best done during the rainy season when migratory birds are present.

Trekking with chimpanzees in Nyungwe, Rwanda

After gorilla trekking, chimpanzee trekking is a well-known activity in Rwanda, primarily conducted in Nyungwe Forest National Park. It takes one to six hours to journey through the bush in pursuit of the habituated chimp groups, and is also known as chimpanzee tracking. On a chimpanzee walk safari, you can view 13 different ape species that call Nyungwe home. You can spend more time with the chimpanzees and observe their behavior during the chimpanzee habituation experience at Nyungwe Park.

There are a number of things you should be aware of while organizing a chimpanzee trek safari to Nyungwe, including the cost of the permit, the trekking regulations, and the best time to visit.

The Rwanda Development Board issues chimpanzee trek permits, which are the only documents that allow you to enter the chimpanzees’ habitat. Since there are only two chimpanzee families to hike, permits must be reserved in advance and cost $25 for EAC nationals, $250 for foreign non-residents, and $75 for foreign residents. The park entrance costs, which are $60 for international residents, $10 for EAC citizens, $60 for African citizens, and $100 for foreign non-residents, must also be paid.

You must also be aware of the guidelines and best practices for hiking. These include: walking a 7-meter distance from the chimps; eating and drinking; children under the age of 15 are not permitted to trek; smoking and touching the chimps are prohibited; all-flash photography is prohibited; you will not be permitted to trek the chimps if you are ill; you must cover your mouth and nose when you feel like coughing or sneezing; you are only permitted to spend an hour with the chimps; and only groups of eight people are permitted to trek at a time.

In Nyungwe National Park, you can engage in a variety of activities, such as the following.

The Canopy Walk: When traveling to the country for a chimpanzee trek safari, travelers now eagerly anticipate taking part in the canopy walk. The canopy walk, which is 160 kilometers long and rises roughly 74 meters above sea level, is the best in East Africa. The canopy walk will take you two to three hours to finish and offers you a bird’s-eye perspective over the national park, allowing you to see chimpanzees, baboons, monkeys, and other wildlife.

Examining the Gisakura tea estate: One of Rwanda’s most popular tourist destinations, the Gisakura tea estate is situated outside the national park. You may observe how the tea is cultivated, collected, processed, and packaged for sale by taking a tour of the plantations. A fresh cup of tea will also be offered to you as you stroll.

Hiking: You can explore Nyungwe Forest National Park by following one of the several hiking trek routes that are available. The waterfalls trail, which leads through the forest to the stunning waterfalls with breathtaking vistas, is the most popular trekking route. You can view a variety of monkey and bird species on the guided nature walks, which are often longer and last for about half a day.

Things to bring on a Rwandan gorilla and chimpanzee trek safari

The packing list for hiking with chimpanzees and gorillas is nearly same. The most essential items to bring are a first aid kit, neutral-colored clothing, long-sleeved shirts, pants, ankle-length hike boots, sunscreen, insect repellent, a sunhat, sunglasses, a camera, flashlight, waterproof backpack, waterproof raincoat, poncho or warm sweater, extra batteries, and snacks, as you will be trekking through nearly identical terrains full of bushes and trees.