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4 Day Gorilla Safari

Trek to see the endangered mountain gorillas in Uganda or Rwanda

Trek to see the majestic mountain gorillas in the Virunga volcanoes or Bwindi Forest. Spend three nights at one of our award-winning great ape lodges: Virunga Lodge, Rwanda, or Bwindi Lodge or Mount Gahinga Lodge in Uganda.

Your safari will give you a unique insight into the endangered gorillas, their habitats and the communities living nearby. Combine wonderful wildlife sightings with opportunities to participate in conservation and community projects, run by Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust.

Enjoy a fireside chat the evening before your trek with staff from one of our conservation partners, Gorilla Doctors and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, and learn about their conservation work in the park.

As well as seeing the gorillas, you can hike to the rare golden monkey or to Dian Fossey’s grave in the park in Rwanda, or experience the ancient Batwa culture and Bwindi Bar in Uganda.

Rates start from $4,035 per person in low season for this all-inclusive 4-day safari at Mount Gahinga Lodge.

Highlights

Gorilla tracking in Parc National des Volcans (PNV), Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Golden monkey tracking in Parc National des Volcans (PNV) or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park

Hike to Dian Fossey’s grave and visit the original Karisoke Research Centre in Parc National des Volcans (PNV)

Enjoy a traditional dance from the Intore at Virunga

Visit the Gahinga Batwa Village at Gahinga and learn about their ancient culture and traditions

Enjoy a traditional Uganda ‘rolex’ wrap and Gorillini Cocktail at the award-winning Bwindi Bar!

Participate in local community and conservation projects at each lodge run by Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust

Book Now Safari Rates Itinerary Into The Virungas

Safari Activities and Wildlife

Gorilla Trekking

Trekking mountain gorillas through the dense African forests is a magical experience. Only eight visitors are allowed per gorilla group each day, and to minimize possible transmission of human diseases, visitors are asked to maintain a distance of 10m from the gorillas. Typically, tracking can take from 3 to 8 hours and requires some agility and fitness; however, all fitness levels can be accommodated and no one should feel deterred from missing this once in a lifetime experience.

Golden Monkey Tracking

With only a small number remaining in the world, the Golden Monkey can be found in the foothills of the volcanic mountains of Mgahinga National Park in Uganda and in Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. Characterized by its bright golden body, cheeks and tail, with contrasting black limbs, crown and tail end, these playful primates are a pleasure to watch. Whether you choose to do this on the Rwandan or Ugandan side, the walk will take you from the bamboo stands and forested gorge on the lower levels of the volcanoes, to the elevated heath and moorland higher up.

Visit Dian Fossey’s Grave

Located in a beautiful meadow nestled between the Karisimbi and Bisoke volcanoes are the graves of Dian Fossey and some of her beloved research gorillas. For anyone interested in gorilla conservation in Rwanda, or interested in Fossey’s personal story, the trek to her grave is highly recommended. This trek starts early in the morning, can take 6-8 hours and is operated by the National Park.

Waterfall Walk

This walk takes you through a beautiful part of the rainforest, passing between ferns and orchids before emerging to see three pristine waterfalls.

Hike the Kisozi Caldera

Located less than a kilometer from Mount Gahinga Lodge, the Kisozi Caldera is an easy to moderate hike to the top of a small hill where the caldera sweeps from corner to corner. A caldera is formed by volcanic eruptions, and many dot the stunning landscape of this volcanic region.

Conservation and Community

Tea Processing

In 2013 the VSPT began simple tea processing in partnership with the local communities, at the Volcanoes Safaris Bwindi Lodge, which is located at the edge of the primordial Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, World Heritage Site and home to the famous Mountain Gorilla, in South West Uganda.

Tea has proven to be a very useful buffer crop when planted between forest areas with protected wildlife, and local human communities. Animals do not eat tea so feel no need to come out of the forest to “crop raid” which is the source of much human-wildlife conflict in areas around National Parks.

A tea tour is available to interested Volcanoes Safaris guests, demonstrating how tea is grown, picked and traditionally processed in Uganda. The tour also shows how ‘black’, ‘green’ and ‘white’ teas are produced and differentiated. Guests are invited to sample the fine teas at the end of the tour whilst looking out over the impressive forest.

“One Sheep per Family” Community Project

In June 2014 Virunga Lodge launched the “One Sheep per Family” project, to provide one sheep to each of the families in four nearby villages. The sheep manure provides natural and effective fertiliser for growing crops. As well as providing manure, selling lambs provide income for the family.

For the project to work effectively, the community is divided up into 14 groups and each group is given nine females and one male. After all females produce an offspring, the breeding males are rotated to a different group for genetic diversity. A new family takes over caring for the male and donates one female offspring back to the previous ram caretaker.

With the generous support of the guests, all 155 families in Sunzu village and 205 families in Bugyeo village have now received a sheep under this successful initiative! As of September 2023, 170 families in Kigugu and 132 families in Nyagatoki village have received a sheep. We are aiming to provide the families in the village with 40 more sheep by the end of 2024.

Click on the ‘donate’ button below to support this project.

Donate one sheep to one of the Kigugu community families – $40

Donate 10 sheep to 5 families- $400

Virunga Water Tank Project

Although it rains heavily around Virunga Lodge, there are very few facilities for water catchment and storage and in the dry season there is an acute shortage of water. The village communities around Virunga lodge do not have enough clean water for drinking or for growing crops.

Starting in 2016, Virunga Lodge has been providing plastic water tanks to the local community and with the support of our guests, Virunga Lodge has donated 140 tanks to all households in Sunzu village. As of September 2023, 121 tanks have also been donated to families in Bugeyo village. We aim to provide a further 84 families with water tanks by the end of 2024, to ensure each home has access to a water in the village.

Click on the ‘donate’ button below to contribute $200 for one water tank to a family in Bugeyo village near Virunga Lodge.

Donate $2000 and support 10 families with a water tank.

Batwa Dance Group

The Batwa dance group performs weekly for the local community drawing huge crowds of children to watch! This is a very important activity for the VSPT as it works to integrate the Batwa with the local communities, who since their eviction from the forest have been reticent to share their precious land. Performances are also organized for Volcanoes Safaris guests staying at the lodge, who are encouraged to join in with the singing and dancing.

Gahinga Batwa Village

The Batwa are thought to be one of the oldest surviving indigenous people in the Central African Region. Known for their unique culture in the forests, the Batwa of the Virunga Mountains survived by hunting small game, gathering plants and fruits, living in caves and constructing huts of leaves and branches.

With international attention on conservation of the endangered mountain gorillas, the Mgahinga part of the Virunga volcanoes in Uganda was turned into a national park in 1991 to provide protection to the wildlife from poaching and habitat encroachment. The creation of the park required the Batwa to be removed from their homes in the mountains and be displaced in a modern world unfamiliar to them. The Batwa ended up squatting in nearby farm land. They earned a living through occasional labor or begging. With limited education, adapting to the modern world has been a difficult journey. They do not have resources or land and suffer from acute poverty, malnutrition and poor health.

A group of about 18 Batwa families from those displaced live in makeshift shelters on a tiny rocky site at Musasa, about 4km from the entrance of Mgahinga National park and Volcanoes Mount Gahinga Lodge, surviving as best as they can.

Volcanoes Safaris has now built a permanent village for the Batwa community and their families. About 10 acres of land has been purchased to allow them to build homes, a community centre and have land for agricultural and recreational use. The homes were completed in early 2018 and the official launch of the village took place at the end of May 2018.

The Gahinga Batwa community is comprised of over 147 adults and children. They have had no permanent home since they left Mgahinga National Park over 25 years ago.

Praveen Moman, Founder of Volcanoes Safaris and Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust says of the project, “As a leading luxury lodge company offering unique safari and cultural experiences to our guests, we are also very proud of our company ethos to support communities around our lodges. Uganda is one of Africa’s most beautiful and diverse countries and we want to help preserve its rich culture. We are excited to see this project come to fruition after many years of working with the Batwa and understanding their culture and desperate needs”.

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2022 - 2023

Newsweek

Future of Travel Awards

2021

Afar Magazine

Travel Vanguard

2022

Condé Nast Traveler

Readers' Choice Awards

2022 - 2023

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Volcanoes UK Limited, Registered Office: 402 Linen Hall, 162-168 Regent Street, London, W1B 5TE

4 Day Gorilla Safari Rates

High Season Safari Rates 2024	Per Person Sharing	Single Traveler Supplement
4 day Gahinga Safari	$ 5900	$ 1540
4 day Bwindi Safari	$ 6305	$ 1655
4 day Virunga Safari	$ 8845	$ 2300

High season rates are applicable on bookings from 1st June to 30th September and 15th December to 28th February. Rates are based on a minimum of 2 people.

Low Season Safari Rates 2024	Per Person Sharing	Single Traveler Supplement
4-Day Gahinga Safari	$ 4645	$ 880
4-Day Bwindi Safari	$ 4810	$ 880
4-Day Virunga Safari	$ 6260	$ 1095

Low season rates are applicable from 1st October to 14th December and 1st March to 31st May. Rates are based on a minimum of 2 people.

High Season Safari Rates 2025	Per Person Sharing	Single Occupancy
4 day Gahinga Safari	$ 6125	$ 1580
4 day Bwindi Safari	$ 6650	$ 1710
4 day Virunga Safari	$ 9265	$ 2385

High season rates are applicable on bookings from 1st June to 30th September and 15th December to 28th February. Rates are based on a minimum of 2 people.

Low Season Safari Rates 2025	Per Person Sharing	Single Occupancy
4-Day Gahinga Safari	$ 4780	$ 880
4-Day Bwindi Safari	$ 5050	$ 880
4-Day Virunga Safari	$ 6495	$ 1095

Low season rates are applicable from 1st October to 14th December and 1st March to 31st May. Rates are based on a minimum of 2 people.

4 Day Gorilla Safari