Volcanoes National Park

Volcanoes National Park offers memorable Rwanda gorilla trekking tours, plus tracking golden monkeys. The volcanic mountains of the Virungas straddle Rwanda, Uganda and the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Over half of the world’s population of 1000 mountain gorillas live here. They can thrive in the endangered high bamboo forests on these equatorial mountains.  In Rwanda, the Volcanoes National Park protect 12 habituated mountain gorilla groups. So this is one of the best places in the world to see the mountain gorillas.

However, Rwanda gorilla trekking is a highly regulated affair, given their endangered status. And permits are both very expensive, ($1,500 per person per track), and hard to come by. So we recommend you book as far in advance as possible. Each day, only one group of walkers tracks each group of gorillas. And they try to match the fitness levels of the walkers to the rough proximity of each group. But this is not an exact science, so your gorilla tracking experience may be anything from 2 to 7 hours. Once you find them, you are allowed to spend one magical hour in their company.

We recommend at least 2 nights here so that you have time to track the gorillas and also enjoy a second excursion on your final morning. Choose between trekking to see the Golden Monkeys, a hike up one of the higher peaks or even doing a second gorilla trek.

See our notes below on the best time for a gorilla trekking tour in Rwanda. Best to avoid the very rainy times, but summer can be a good alternative to the peak season.