10 Days Gorilla trekking & Virunga Mountain Hiking , Rwenzori Mountaineering Service

Explore the virunga mountains & primates with in the great virunga National park , Rwanda Volcanoes national park & Maghinga National park by booking the 10 Days Gorilla trekking & hiking virunga mountains to climb Nyiragongo volcano, karismbi hike, Bisoke & Sabyino hike in Mgahinga which is part of the virunga mountains & add on Mountain gorilla trekking in the wilderness of democratic republic of congo.

10 Days Virunga Mountain Hiking & Gorilla trekking starts from Kigali Rwanda and ends in rwanda Kigali after the ultimate gorilla trekking & climbing virunga mountains not missing the world's largest lava lake in congo Goma

Day 1. Transfer from Kigali to goma ( Virunga National Park)

Our Company guide will pick you up from your hotel in Kigali or at the airport and then transfer to Goma. The journey up to Gisenyi will take you around 3-4 hours, cross the border. Your Virunga guide will be there already waiting for you, drive through Goma town and then transfer to Mikeno lodge. Check in at the lodge, refresh and have dinner and Overnight at the lodge.

Day 2. Nyiragongo Volcanic Climb in Virunga

You will get up early and enjoy your early morning breakfast after which you are to head out. You will cross the border and then head to the Virunga National Park at the Kibati Ranger post where you will be briefed on the dos and don’ts. Meals, sticks and rain gear will be provided to you but you can as well carry your own. Porters will also be available for those who would like help in carrying their luggage.

you will start the hike to the top of mount Nyiragongo through the thick tropical forests, then move through some bamboo and also some shrubs and bushes. The top parts of the mountain are majorly covered by volcanic stones formed due cooling of lava after eruptions that happened on the mountain. As you hike, you will expect to see some monkey species that live in the forests on the mountain, different tree and plant species as well as different bird species. The hike to the top majorly takes between 6-8 hours depending on the hikers speed.

The top will meet you will beautiful views of the Virunga massif and the magnificent Nyiragongo lava lake. You will set your tents refresh and dinner will be served. Overnight will be in your tents on the mountain.

Day 3. Descend and cross to volcanoes national park

After breakfast, you will hike a little more to have a clear morning view of the lava lake, take photos and then descend from the Volcano Mountain while enjoying the different views of Lake Kivu, the Virunga National Park and the city of Goma. It will take about 3-4 hours to descend. The driver will be there waiting for you and the drive back to the lodge, refresh and have lunch. You will then drive through Goma town to the Rwanda and D.R Congo border, cross and then proceed to volcanoes national park. Check in at Da Vinci lodge where you will have dinner and spend the night.

Day 4. Bisoke Climb

You will drive to the Visoke mountain hike starting point, after an early breakfast at the lodge. You will converge at the park headquarters at Kinigi at 7:00 am to attend to a briefing and be assigned a park ranger. The park rangers are usually natives of the Volcanoes national park vicinity and thus very knowledgeable about the mountain adventures.

The park guides will brief you and be assigned hiking guides and porters. It is simply a 6 – hours hike including the 2 hours descending down to the starting point. Experienced hikers can get to the top of this mountain in a matter of 3 hours or even less and return to the base in about an hour. As you hike you will expect to spot some monkey species and other primates as well as various bird species. At the top you will have a view of the Bisoke Crater Lake and the Virunga massif. You will then descend back to the base where your guide will be waiting and drive back to the lodge. Dinner and overnight at the lodge.

Day 5. Mount Karisimbi hike

The hike on day one starts in the morning at 7:00am by reporting to Kinigi Park Headquarters for per-hiking briefing. After which you will be driven for 30-45 minutes to the trailhead. The climb starts here at an area of about 2600m above sea level. In rainy seasons, the trails are usually muddy and slippery. As you hike you will expect to spot various bird species, tree and plant species as well as some primates.

The magnificent ascent is for 6 to 7 hours as you go through different vegetation zones including the bamboo, wild celery, Hagenia forest, giant groundsel, and Giant lobelia. The top of this mountain will meet you with beautiful views of the Virunga massif, and the volcanoes. You will set your tents, dinner will be served and then spend the night on the mountain. The altitude will be around 3700.

Day 6. Descend and transfer to mgahinga

You wake up at 6:00am for breakfast then proceed up to the summit (through the remaining 807 meters to the summit) which is about one hour to 2 hours away. Going up becomes steeper and more challenging as the hike proceeds, at 4000m you feel the effect of higher altitudes and it is advisable to go slowly to avoid panting. Nonetheless, once you reach the summit of this mountain, the invigorating feeling of reaching the top makes you forget the challenges you faced reaching there.

Your guide will be waiting for you at the base and then transfer back to the lodge. Refresh and have lunch. You will then check out and then transfer to Kisoro. You will cross the Cyanika border and then transfer to country side guest house. Check-in, have dinner and spend the night.

Day 7. Sabyinyo hike

After breakfast, the guide will drive to the mount Sabyinyo hike starting point. The park guide will brief you about the activity, be assigned guides and porters. The hike to the top will take you about 5-6 hours. You will move through the tropical vegetation, proceed through some bamboo and shrubs and grasses.

The top of your mountain, you will be standing in 3 countries, have beautiful views of the Virunga massif; the volcanoes and other highlands, ridges and valleys which are covered with beautiful vegetation. You will then descend back to the base where your driver will be waiting. You will then drive back to the guest house where you will have dinner and spend the night.

Day 8. Gahinga hike in Mgahinga National Park

After breakfast at the guest house, the guide will drive you to mount Gahinga trail starting point. Mount Gahinga is a dormant/extinct volcano in the Virunga Mountains on the border between Rwanda and Uganda. Gahinga lies between Muhabura and Sabyinyo, but is the smallest of these three. Mount Gahinga, also known in the local. Mount Gahinga, whose elevation is 3,474 meters, is part of a chain of 8 volcanic mountains of the Mufumbiro ranges. The volcano chain spans across Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

You will start the hike to the top of the mountain. As you hike, you will expect to see some monkeys that live in the forest on the mountain, baboons as well as various bird species. The hike to the top will take you about 4-5 hours depending on your speed. The top of the mountain will meet you will beautiful views of the Virunga volcanoes, valleys and ridges. You will then descend back to the base, this will take around 2-3hours. The guide will then transfer you back to the guest house where you will refresh, have dinner and spend the night.

Day 9. Gorilla trekking (Nyakagezi)in mgahinga National Park

After breakfast, you will to mount Mgahinga national park headquarters. The guides will brief you about the activity and then start the trek. As you trek the gorillas you will expect to spot some of the other primates that live in the forest and also various bird species. The activity will take between 4-6 hours depending on where the gorilla group you are trekking will be that day. When you find them, you will be given an hour to see the gorillas as they go about their daily life, and also take photos. You will then return to the camp, refresh and have lunch. You will then check out of the camp and transfer to Kisoro, which is about an hour drive. Dinner and overnight at the guest house.

Day 10. Golden monkeys and transfer back to Kigali

After breakfast at the guest house, you will drive to mount Mgahinga national park headquarters. You will be briefed and then start the trek through the forest to look for golden monkeys. This activity will take about 3 hours. You will expect to see the golden monkeys in the bamboo region of the forest where these monkeys spend most of their time.

You will follow the monkeys as they jump from one bamboo tree to another as they go about their daily life. Return to the guest house and then check out and drive to cyanika border which is about one and a half. You will cross the border and drive to Kigali. The guide will drop you at your hotel in Kigali or at the airport for your flight back home.