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Arrive Africa Safaris
2 Days Fly-in Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safari

Private Journey • Rwanda

2 Days Fly-in Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safari

View Itinerary

Overview

About this journey

Experience the ultimate luxury wildlife adventure on this 2-Day Fly-in Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safari. Designed for travelers with limited time, this exclusive safari combines the convenience of a scenic helicopter transfer with the unforgettable experience of trekking the endangered mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. Enjoy spectacular aerial views of Rwanda's rolling hills, lush forests, and volcanic landscapes before coming face-to-face with one of the world's most remarkable primates in its natural habitat.

Safari Highlights

Scenic helicopter flights between Kigali and Volcanoes National Park

Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park

One hour with a habituated mountain gorilla family

Luxury accommodation with stunning Virunga Volcano views

Professional English-speaking safari guide and experienced park rangers

Perfect safari for travelers with limited time

Highlights

What you'll experience

  • Each guest holds a Rwanda Development Board gorilla trekking permit granting up to one hour with a habituated family group inside Volcanoes National Park. Your guide stays close, speaking quietly, reading the family's mood so you can move with them rather than around them.

  • A scheduled light-aircraft transfer from Kigali International to Musanze airstrip delivers you to the northern highlands in under 30 minutes. The terraced hillsides unfurl below the wing; you arrive rested and ready.

  • The evening before your trek, tracker Didas Habimana walks you through gorilla body language, forest terrain, and the specific family you will visit. Questions are welcome — the longer you talk, the quieter the forest feels the next morning.

  • After the trek, the afternoon belongs to the park's border meadows. Warthogs root through the short grass and black-and-white colobus monkeys move through the hagenia trees. A cold Primus beer on the lodge terrace with Karisimbi's silhouette ahead of you is the correct way to end the day.

  • Kigezi Highland Camp sits on a ridge where mist rolls in from the Virunga volcanoes each evening. Stone-and-timber rooms, a wood-burning fireplace, and staff who know every guest by name before dinner is served.

Why choose us

Why choose a Private Journey?

Rwanda's gorilla permits are finite and the mountain gorillas themselves do not slow down to accommodate a tired traveller. This two-day fly-in is engineered around the one thing that matters: being sharp, present, and unhurried when you step into that forest.

No wasted road hours

The drive from Kigali to Musanze takes four to five hours by road. The charter flight takes twenty-eight minutes. That time difference is your recovery sleep, your pre-trek briefing, your second cup of coffee on the terrace.

Permits secured before you book

Rwanda gorilla permits are released on a quota system and sell out months in advance. Arrive Africa holds confirmed permits for each departure date listed below — your slot is locked the moment your deposit clears.

Guides who know the families

Didas Habimana has tracked the Sabyinyo and Amahoro groups for eleven years. When he says 'move left slowly', you move left slowly, and something extraordinary happens. That institutional knowledge cannot be improvised.

Itinerary

your day-by-day journey

Day 1Arrival in Kigali – Scenic Helicopter Transfer to Volcanoes National Park

Upon your arrival at Kigali International Airport, you will be warmly welcomed by a representative from Arrive Africa Safaris. After a short safari briefing, you will be transferred to the helicopter terminal for an unforgettable scenic flight to Volcanoes National Park in northwestern Rwanda. The helicopter journey offers breathtaking panoramic views of Rwanda's famous rolling hills, picturesque villages, sparkling lakes, tea plantations, and the magnificent Virunga Volcanoes. This luxurious transfer significantly reduces travel time while providing an incredible aerial perspective of the country's stunning landscapes.

Upon arrival, transfer to the beautiful Virunga Lodge, one of Rwanda's finest luxury lodges overlooking the Virunga Mountains and the Twin Lakes of Burera and Ruhondo. Spend the remainder of the day relaxing at the lodge, enjoying the spectacular scenery, or taking advantage of the lodge's facilities as you prepare for the unforgettable gorilla trekking adventure awaiting you the following morning.

Accommodation: Virunga Lodge

Meal Plan: Dinner

Lunch, Dinner

Day 2Gorilla Trekking – Helicopter Flight to Kigali – Departure

Wake up early and enjoy breakfast before transferring to the Volcanoes National Park headquarters for a briefing by Rwanda Development Board park rangers. During the briefing, you'll learn about gorilla trekking regulations, safety guidelines, and the conservation efforts dedicated to protecting the endangered mountain gorillas.

Accompanied by experienced guides and trackers, venture into the lush rainforest and volcanic slopes in search of one of the park's habituated gorilla families. Depending on their location, the trek may take between 2 and 6 hours, offering opportunities to enjoy the park's incredible scenery and diverse wildlife.


Once the gorillas are located, you will spend one unforgettable hour observing these gentle giants in their natural habitat. Watch them feed, groom one another, care for their young, and interact as a family while capturing memorable photographs and appreciating this once-in-a-lifetime wildlife encounter. After the trek, return to Virunga Lodge for a delicious lunch and some time to freshen up before your scheduled helicopter flight back to Kigali.

Upon arrival in Kigali, you will be transferred directly to Kigali International Airport for your onward flight. The helicopter schedule is carefully coordinated with your international departure, ensuring a smooth and seamless travel experience.

Meal Plan: Breakfast & Lunch

Safari Includes

Return scenic helicopter transfers between Kigali and Volcanoes National Park

Airport transfers

Gorilla trekking permit

Luxury accommodation for one night

Meals as indicated in the itinerary

Park entrance fees

Professional English-speaking safari guide

Services of experienced park rangers during gorilla trekking

Bottled drinking water during the safari

Safari Excludes

International flights

Rwanda visa (where applicable)

Travel insurance

Alcoholic and soft drinks

Tips and gratuities

Personal expenses such as laundry, souvenirs, and telephone calls

Optional activities not mentioned in the itinerary

End of Your 2 Days Fly-in Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safari

Breakfast, Lunch

Day 3Departure from Kigali

This is a logistics day built into the itinerary so that guests with international connections have breathing room. If your flight departs Kigali in the afternoon or evening of Day 3, your Arrive Africa contact can arrange a city tour — the Genocide Memorial, the Kimironko craft market, lunch at Repub Lounge in Nyamirambo — before a hotel drop-off or direct airport transfer.

Guests departing early on Day 3 are taken directly from Kigali to the airport the previous evening after landing. Our team is available by phone until your international flight is airborne.

Breakfast

Extensions

+3 Days

Nyungwe Forest — chimpanzees and the canopy walkway

Fly south from Kigali to Nyungwe National Park for three days of chimpanzee tracking, grey-cheeked mangabey sightings, and a walk across the 160-metre suspension bridge above the forest canopy. Rwanda's second great primate experience, with fewer crowds.

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+3 Days

Bwindi Impenetrable Forest — a second gorilla trek in Uganda

Cross into Uganda for three nights in Bwindi, where over half of the world's remaining mountain gorillas live across four sectors. A second trek with a different family, a different forest texture, and Uganda's red-chested sunbirds calling from the fig trees overhead.

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+1 Days

Golden monkey tracking — Volcanoes National Park

Before flying back to Kigali, spend a morning tracking the endemic golden monkey in the park's bamboo zone. These small, flame-faced primates move fast and make a great deal of noise — a vivid counterpoint to the stillness of the gorilla encounter the day before.

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Dates & Prices

Prices in USD, including internal air, per person, double occupancy.

  • Mar 1 – Mar 2
    $3,850Available
  • May 10 – May 11
    $3,850Available
  • Jul 18 – Jul 19
    $3,990Available
  • Sep 5 – Sep 6
    $3,850Waitlist
  • Nov 14 – Nov 15
    $3,850Available

Minimum Age

15 years (Rwanda Development Board regulation)

Safari Duffel

A soft-sided day pack for the trek; porters carry the bulk. Main luggage stored at the lodge during the trek.

First Group Event

Airport meet-and-greet, Kigali International, Day 1 at 07:45

Last Group Event

Drop-off at Kigali International Airport or city hotel, Day 2 by 17:00

Guaranteed Departures

All listed departures are guaranteed with a minimum of 2 guests, subject to permit availability.

Alternate Sightseeing

In the rare event a gorilla family cannot be safely accessed on the trek day, the park authority may reassign guests to an alternative habituated group. Permits are non-refundable once issued by the Rwanda Development Board.

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