Rwanda small group tours

Embark on an amazing and breathtaking safari to Volcanoes National Park in a group of like-minded travelers. Volcanoes National Park also known as Parc Des Vulcan’s in French is found in North-Eastern Rwanda, in a small town called Musanze. This park was gazette to protect the mountain gorillas thus it is home to the endangered mountain gorillas and as well the golden monkeys which are endemic to the Virunga ranges.

A visit to Volcanoes National Park will also expose you to the unique Rwandese culture through songs and dances with a visit to the gorilla guardian village.

Volcanoes National Park forms part of the Virunga conservation area alongside the Virunga National Park of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga gorilla National Park of Uganda. The Virunga massif is made up of up to 8 extinct Volcanoes, these are; mount Muhabura, mount Sabinyo, mount Karisimbi, mount Bisoke, mount Gahinga mount Mikano, mount Nyirangogo and mount Nyamurangira.

Why should you opt for a group tour to Volcanoes National Park?

Travelling as a group on a safari to Volcanoes National Park comes with a number of advantages.

1. Group tours are fantastic for travelers who would like to enjoy the company of like-minded people and like the convenience of having their travel arrangements properly planned out for them by a tour guide.
2. A group tour enables travelers to obtain a built-in social network which improves their travel experience and gives them a deeper understanding of the destination.
3. Group tours are cost-effective as they allow travelers to obtain negotiated rates of accommodation, activities and transportation especially during the low seasons. Also, since the cost will be distributed among the members of the group, the price incurred by each individual is lower.
4. Visiting the destination as a group allows for travelers to enjoy more cultural exchange as you come across people from different parts of the world.
5. Group safaris also come with the reduced total prices per individual as some costs like transportation cost can be shared among different prices

Activities done on group tours in Volcanoes National Park

Gorilla trekking

Mountain gorilla trekking is the most famous activity in Volcanoes National Park carried out throughout the year. Gorilla trekking involves hiking the forest in the company of ranger guides and porters behind a scout who is creating a path through the bush using a machete for a period of between 4 to 8 hours in search of an already habituated gorilla family assigned to your group. Once you find the gorilla family, you are allowed one hour in the presence of these huge, magnificent yet endangered species observing them go about their day-to-day activities. There is always a 99% chance of seeing the mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park.

During gorilla trekking, a group of 8 individuals are assigned a gorilla family to visit and each gorilla family in Volcanoes National Park is visited by a group of 8 tourists per day.

Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park can be done as a 1-day trip to Volcanoes National Park from Kigali or longer safaris such as 3-days gorilla safari or 5 days gorilla safari depending on the time available for the group.

what is needed for a gorilla safari

To go on a group gorilla trekking safari to Volcanoes National Park, each of the members of the group must be of the age of 15 years and above and each individual must have acquired a gorilla trekking permit. It’s safer to obtain this gorilla permit at least 1 month before the trekking date since there is a possibility that they would run out for a particular date. This permit can be obtained either through a trusted tour operator or directly from the Rwanda Development Board. A gorilla permit to Volcanoes National Park costs 1500 USD for foreign non-residents, 500 USD for foreign residents and 200 USD for Rwanda citizens as well as East African residents.

Golden monkey trekking-Rwanda small group tours

Golden monkey trekking is the second most sought-after activity in Volcanoes National Park. Golden monkeys are golden-fur covered monkeys only found in the Virunga conservation area since they are endemic to the Virunga ranges.

Golden monkey trekking is a great activity to take part in while on a group tour to Volcanoes national park. Just like the gorilla trekking safari, a golden monkey trekking safari will involve hiking through the forest in search of the golden monkeys except the golden monkey hikes are much easier compared to those of gorillas and may often require less time since you could start spotting the golden monkeys as early as 30 minutes into the trek feeding on the potatoes of the local community.

Golden monkey trekking is also done in groups of 8 individuals in the company of ranger guides. It takes between 1 to 4 hours to locate the golden monkeys and once in their presence, only 1 hour is allowed for watching them swing from tree branch to tree branch, feed and play on the ground.

For a successful golden monkey trekking safari to Volcanoes National Park, all the group members must be of age 12 years and above and each individual should possess a golden monkey permit which can be obtained either through a trusted tour operator or directly from the Rwanda Development Board. Golden monkey permits cost 100 USD for foreign non-residents.

Bird watching-Rwanda small group tours

Volcanoes National Park is a home to over 300 bird species therefore a perfect place for a bird watching safari. On a group birding safari to Volcanoes, expect to come across a variety bird species like the Rwenzori turaco, Rwenzori double collared sunbirds, Archer’s ground robin, lovely Francolin, among others. Unlike the gorilla and golden monkey safaris, a bird watching safari does not require pre-booking hence can be paid for upon arrival at the National Park.

A birding experience begins with a briefing at the park headquarters followed by a hike into the forest with your binoculars ready to spot the numerous bird species of this area as well as the endemics of this region. During bird watching, primates such as the black and white colobus monkeys, velvet monkeys and wildlife such as buffaloes can as well be spotted. Bird watching in Volcanoes National Park is open to all age groups.

Cultural experience-Rwanda small group tours

While on a group tour to Volcanoes National Park, dive into the rich culture of the people of this country through the songs, dances, stories and dressing by visiting the gorilla guardian village formerly known as Ibyi’wacu. This place is referred to as the gorilla guardian village because it was started up by former gorilla poachers as means of survival other than gorilla poaching. The Ibyi’wacu village is located Kinigi, Musanze district, and Northern Province of Rwanda and it’s a great place to visit as a group.

Hike to the Dian Fossey tomb

A hike to the Dian Fossey’s tomb, also the Karisoke research center is one of the interesting activities to take part in as a group on your visit to Volcanoes National Park. This is a one hour hike through a 2500m to 3000m trail to the graveyard of the famous primatologist, Dian Fossey who is greatly remembered for her contribution towards the conservation of the endangered mountain gorillas. In this place, you will be able to come across Dian Fossey’s research and her studies for an incredible experience.

Visit to the Ellen DeGeneres museum of Dian Fossey

On your group visit to Volcanoes National Park, a stopover at the Ellen DeGeneres museum of Dian Fossey will complete your gorilla adventure as it will expose you to the life of Dian Fossey and her complete gorilla conservation story. You will also get to learn more about the mountain gorillas of her time.

Where to stay during your group tours to Volcanoes National Park

There is a variety of accommodation in Volcanoes National Park ranging from budget, mid-range and luxury depending on the choice of the group. Budget lodges around Volcanoes National Park include: Hotel Muhabura, Kinigi guesthouse, Villa Gorilla, Urugano Virunga palace among others. Mid-range accommodation include: Le Bambou Hotel, Gorillas Volcanoes Hotel, Da Vinci gorilla lodge, Sambora Kinigi lodge, and Eagle view lodge among others. Luxury accommodation includes: Wilderness Sabinyo, Wilderness Bisate, Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel, One&Only Gorilla’s Nest, Singita Kwitonda lodge, Bishop’s House among others.

A group tour to Volcanoes National Park can be combined with visits to other safari destinations such as Akagera National Park for a wildlife adventure, Nyungwe Forest National Park for chimpanzees and canopy walk, Lake Kivu for a boat cruise and Gishwatu-Mukura National Park.

We have designed a scheduled small group safaris packages of maximum 8 people that we carry out every and the packages will run until 2025. The small group safari will be carried as long as we have a minimum of two confirmed pax per month and they will relatively cheaper compared to ordinary safaris with a chance to meet new friend during the process.

The cost of our scheduled vacation safari is 350 dollars per person per day excluding the gorilla permit. This is significantly lower than the ordinally Rwanda safari and beautiful thing is that the offer run all year round with one small group Rwanda gorilla safari scheduled every months.

Here is the list of packages and scheduled gorilla vacation safaris in Rwanda vacation safaris in Rwanda

The 3 Days Gorilla Trekking Safari Tour Rwanda offers travelers an opportunity to adventure the rare species of Mountain Gorillas in their natural vegetation habitat at Volcanoes National park Ruhengeri. Book this trip to experience the best safari tours in Rwanda as you go on a Gorilla trekking adventure in the country of a thousand rolling hills. The Gorilla Trekking Permit costs US $1500 per person interested in Rwanda.

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The 4 Days Gorilla & Chimpanzee Trekking Safari offers you an opportunity to adventure the beautiful primates of Rwanda i.e Mountain Gorillas in Volcanoes National park and Chimpanzees in Nyungwe Forest National park. The Chimpanzee Tracking Permit in Nyungwe Forest costs US $100 per person interested where as the Gorilla Trekking Permit costs US $1500.

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The 4 Days Rwanda Double Gorilla Trekking Tour offers you incredible Gorilla Trekking safari Tours as you explore the prominent Volcanoes National park in Rwanda where you will spot Mountain Gorillas enjoy their natural vegetation habitat to the fullest. Take numerous Photographs to keep for memories and make sure not to forget you Gorilla 

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This 5 Days Best of Rwanda Primate Safari will bring you to the awe-inspiring primate destinations in this land of a thousand hills. It will take you to Volcanoes National Park in the Virunga ranges where you will encounter both the magnificent, huge, gentle, and endangered mountain gorillas and the beautiful golden monkeys

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This 5 Days Rwanda gorilla Safari offers variety of activities to be enjoyed! Go on a gorilla trek in Volcanoes National Park and also enjoy other adventure activities that include Chimpanzee tracking, Cultural tours, visit to the local museum andGolden monkey tracking.

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upon a Arrival at Kigali, It’s on this day that you will be jetting in at Kanombe international airport Kigali. You will be picked up by our ever on time English speaking driver guide and drive you straight to your hotel Kigali Luxury or Frame tree hotel Bed and Breakfast.

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