Gorilla Trekking Rwanda

Face to face with mountain gorillas

Volcanoes National Park in northwest Rwanda is home to six habituated mountain gorilla families — groups that have been slowly accustomed to human presence over years by dedicated trackers and conservationists. Each morning, eight permits per family are issued, allowing visitors to spend exactly one hour with the gorillas.

The trek to find them can take anywhere from 20 minutes to four hours, depending on where the family has moved overnight. You walk through farmland at the base of the volcanoes, then into the bamboo zone, then into the dense hagenia woodland higher up. The rangers know where to go. When you find them, they are almost impossibly close — sometimes close enough to touch, which you must not.

Mountain gorillas share 98.3% of human DNA. Watching a silverback interact with infants, or seeing a young gorilla climb and fall from a tree, is a genuinely moving experience. The professional park rangers lead the way — they know the terrain and the families intimately. I arrange permits, transport, and everything else, and I am with you for all other activities in the park.

A favourite addition to the Volcanoes experience is climbing Mount Bisoke — a dormant volcano with a crater lake at the summit. The ascent takes around four hours, and the views from the rim across the Virunga chain are extraordinary. The park is also excellent for golden monkey trekking — a smaller, more acrobatic primate that lives in the bamboo zone. The Musanze Caves nearby are worth a visit for context and geology, and the local community craft market is one of the best in Rwanda for authentic work.