Rwanda Gorilla trekking Adventure is well designed to show you unparalleled hills of land of 1000 hills and to let you meet mountain gorilla face to face. it is also designed for those who have limited time in Rwanda but do not want to miss sense of the greenest country in Africa. it will take you through to beautiful villages travelling to trek the gorilla. you will be amazed by many things such as freshness of country, a warmly welcome , uniqueness of volcanoes national park where you will have chance to spend an hour with taking photos.
Posted By : Mindy L
We could not believe how amazing this trip was. It was a long drive from Kigali to Volcanoes National Park starting at 4:00am, but the early morning light with the mist covering the mountains was so beautiful. Our driver was very nice and quite knowledgeable about the country and it's history during our long drive. But the first thing he asked us was why didn't we stay closer to the park. Our travel agent made it quite clear that we had to stay in Kigali and I could not convince them they were wrong, so we had to waste 5 hours driving back and forth. Don't let your travel agent do the same to you!
We had to be there at 7:00am to meet up with our guides and get assigned to our group. We were assigned to the oldest group but that means we got assigned to the closest troop of gorillas. It was still an hour walk from the end of the road to the beginning of the jungle, but our gorillas were only about 100 yards into the jungle. We followed them for another hour through a bamboo grove, then another hour back to the road.
We got scary close to a troop of about 15 gorillas with a single silver back, Malambo, that was 18 years old. It was very clear that they were not even a little nervous around us. Even mothers carrying babies would walk about a foot from you with out looking in your direction.
We were incredibly lucky throughout our trip. The mountain is about 15,000 feet and when clouds hit it, they tend to drop a lot of rain. But we never had any rain. When it rains, the gorillas hide in the bushes to get out of the rain and are really hard to find and see. The bamboo grove we found them in was very open and made it easy to get some great pictures. The rain can also make the walk up through the farm fields a muddy, slippery mess, but we missed out on that too.
Even without any rain, some of the walk was not easy, especially for my wife who has a bad hip. However, at the end of the road, there is a rather large number of people available to hire as porters to help you during the trip. They are only $10 each and well worth it. Even with a couple of porters and guides to help her, my wife slipped crossing a small stream on the way down and twisted her knee. She made it down alright but was too sore to go see the golden monkeys the next day, so it cost us $500 each for the permits and then there was the driver and the guide too.
Even with all of that, it was the most surreal experience of my life and I cannot recommend it highly enough! Come prepared for a rainy muddy mess but pray for sunshine. Don't be a hero, hire a porter or two. By the time you reach the jungle, you are at about 7,000 feet so altitude might be a problem, especially if you have to hike even farther up to reach your troop, which every other group had to do. Bring some cash to tip the guides that lead you and the trackers that follow the gorillas around the clock, and of course your porters. I guarantee that you will never forget this experience!
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Posted On : 2023-11-02 00:28:28 
Posted By : LaujithG
What an excellent service by Leo & Yves! for a once-in-a-lifetime trip to see Silver Back Gorillas. Leo & Yves were in action helping me arrange a permit and Covid test. Leo even came to RBC to complete the PCR formalities The Gorilla Trekking experience is amazing and will never forget it. We had an amazing time with our Guide Yves and he was great throughout the trip! He was super friendly, highly knowledgeable.
We totally recommend booking this Trip through 1000 Hills, and specifically asking for Yves and Leo!
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Posted On : 2023-05-02 15:56:57
Posted By : Cassieelkins
Saddy drove my family around Rwanda for four days. He was amazing and made our experience great. He was a great tour guide who showed us his love for Rwanda. He was always on time, dropped us off at our desired hotels and locations, and did everything we expected and beyond. He showed us his favorite spots, which were all amazing. I would highly recommend him.
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Posted On : 2022-08-23 11:14:59
Posted By : S5707AKmichelled
What an excellent service! I had less than 24 hours to book from South Africa for a once-in-a-lifetime trip for my 72 year old mom. Placide and his team sprung into action helping me arrange a permit and Covid test. My mom gave feedback that she was treated like a queen on the journey and that the experience was indescribable. Don’t hesitate. Just go.
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Posted On : 2022-05-18 12:34:27
Posted By : esecheverri
I did the Akagera Park and the Gorilla trekking with 1000 hills and it was the best experience ever!! Totally recomended! The tour was fantastic, I had an amazing time and my guide Augustin was great! He was very friedly, knew a lot of everything and responded to all my questions!
I had to change my tour a bit because I had to move my return ticket and 1000 hills helped me on everything, they even made sure I had time to get my PCR to return.
I totally recommend it! It's a once in a life-time experience! Thank you to 1000 hills, to Augustin and to Leo!
Emilia
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Posted On : 2021-12-09 11:17:36
Posted By : RobinMartinat
This 2-day tour is an absolute must! The experience is simply priceless! From Kigali, you will drive about 2 hours to Musanze where you will spend the night. Once you settle in your hotel in Musanze (including in the tour) you can have a walk and enjoy the views over the volcanoes which are the natural border between Rwanda, Uganda and DRC. Early morning the day after, you will drive about 15 minutes to the Volcanoes National Park where you will have hot/cold beverages available while you have your short safety briefing with other people coming for the tour. Then you have a short drive to the starting point and off you go for your trekk that should be around 2h with a few stops to take stunning pictures of the views. Once you arrive in the park, the guide will liaise with rangers who will tell them where the gorillas are so you can find them easily. Finally, the unique moment has arrived! you will spend 1h watching gorillas from a few feet away in their natural habitat! Simply mesmerizing! I can only recommend this tour! Just remember the Gorilla trekking permit is not included so the company will send you the link to the website to buy it (currently 1500USD). It is quite a lot but definitely worth it. The money is used to ensure the gorillas population increase and their habitat protected and extended. The gorillas used to be about 400 individuals 10 years ago and now almost 700 so you are helping a good cause :)
Augustin, the guide who picked me up was amazing! Friendly and full of knowledge, he made me discover Kigali before taking the road to Musanze and stopped to allow me to take some amazing pictures. Easily reachable via phone/whatsapp and quick to respond, the whole experience was as smooth as possible!
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Posted On : 2019-11-11 10:44:18
Posted By : OnlyFiveStars
Professionals all the way around. Reliable.
Punctual and courteous drivers, clean and well maintained vehicles.
Knowledgeable with the area.
CAN SECURE GORILLA PERMITS. They deliver!!!
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Posted On : 2019-11-04 09:28:50
