Rwanda and DRC: Nyiragongo Volcano, Gorilla Trekking, Tchegera Island, Nyungwe Forest

Fra USD 0,00 $
  • Varighed: 7 Dage (Ca.)
  • Sted: Kigali
  • Produkt kode: kigali-goma

The Congo is one of the largest countries in Africa, and one of the most beautiful ones on Earth! Virunga National Park is an incredible jewel within and is also the oldest national Park on the plane. 

Day 1: Arrival in Kigali – Gisenyi

Arrival and receiving at Kigali International Airport (mostly in the afternoon or evening). Rwanda visa on arrival at the airport for $30 (The Immigration usually accepts only USD - paid by the visitor). 

Our vehicle will drive through the swinging thousand hills of Rwanda to Gisenyi border town, adjacent to Goma, DRC border about 150 kms in 3.5 hours. Drive to your ‘Paradis Malahide Resort’  7 kms from the border to enjoy the peaceful, neat, clean and rejuvenating Rwanda lake beach, along the beautiful Lake Kivu.  Dinner and night stay at the Resort. (D: Dinner)

Day 2: Gisenyi – Nyiragongo volcano, Virunga Park

Wake up early in the morning and witness the rising African Sun.  Listen to the chirping and singing birds in the distance. 

07:00 a.m. After breakfast, drive to the border Immigration post of Rwanda for exit. Then walk to the border post of Goma, Congo DRC for affixing DRC visa on your passport.  Then, ‘check-in’ at ‘Virunga Park’ office at the Congo Immigration post (by 08:00 a.m. latest). You will receive your Park permits for Nyiragongo trekking and/or Gorilla trekking.  These permits must be presented at the time of each trekking.  

Drive to Kibati, the base camp of Nyiragongo volcano.  On the way, enjoy the beautiful scenery and the view of lava that swept through the town of Goma during the last eruption of 2002.  Arrive at Base Camp in around 30 minutes time.  On arrival at Kibati, guests will receive a briefing and will have the opportunity to hire porters ($25 each for max 15 kgs - cost included for 1 porter each).  The climb up the volcano will take around four to six hours and trekkers will overnight on the summit in wooden cabins.  Refreshments will be served en route during the stops.
At the top, live dinner prepared by your cook.

Day 3: Nyiragongo volcano – Tchegera Island, Virunga Park

06:00 a.m.In the early morning, guests will leave the crater rim and start the descent back to Kibati. Average descent time is four hours.  Once at the bottom, after writing your comments, guests will be transported back to Goma and further drive to Kituku dock to take the Virunga boat (12:30) for Tchegera Island. After formalities at the Virunga post, take the boat to sail through the beautiful Lake Kivu towards (the horseshoe shaped) Tchegera Island.
Spend 1 night in the relaxing environment of Tchegera with full board (Breakfast, lunch and dinner included).

Day 4: Tchegera Island - Bukavu

13:30 – Take the boat to sail through Lake Kivu and dock at Kituku.  Take our vehicle and drive to ‘Lac Vert (Green Lake) in the crater of mountains.  After the visit, drive to Goma town to ‘Au Bon Pain’ (best taste + aroma of Goma), to have lunch.

After lunch, visit the ‘Goma Volcano Observatory’ to find out about the measures taken to monitor the 2 volcanoes as well as other geological activities.

Then, drive to Emmanuel Port to take big Emmanuel boat from Goma to Bukavu.  Boat leaves at 18h00 and reaches Bukavu the next day at 06h00 in the morning.  Dinner on board.  Spend the night in the comfortable room on the boat.

Day 5: Goma to Bukavu – Kahuzi Biega

06h00: Arrival in Bukavu and receiving at Emmanuel Port, Bukavu.  Sailing through the beautiful Lake Kivu view the green hills of Congo and Rwanda and some beautiful small islands with lodges.  You will also be passing along the ‘Idjwi Islands’ (on your left hand side), second largest island of Africa after Madagascar.

After Immigration, take the vehicle and drive to Kahuzi Biega National Park

In 1970, the Kahuzi Biega National Park (KBNP) was gazette to conserve the Grauer’s gorilla (Gorilla Beringei Graueri), the world’s largest gorilla species.  It remains the only place in the world where visitors can see these gorillas in the wild.

The park covers an area of 6000 sqkm and protects a mountain forest in Eastern Congo, which is the most densely populated region of the country.

The park is named after the two spectacular extinct volcanoes which dominate its high altitude sector, Mont Kahuzi (3,308 m) and Mont Biega (2,790 m).

The KBNP is divided into two zones that are connected by a narrow corridor: on one side there is mountain forest covering 600 km from an altitude of 1,800 m to 3,300 m and on the other side is a tropical forest between 600 m and 1,200 m. The KBNP is therefore, one of the biggest reserves serving to conserve flora and fauna in Central Africa’s high mountain regions.

List of birds found in Kahuzi Biega Park:   http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/kahuzi-biega-national-park-iba-congo-the-democratic-republic-of-the/details

Drive to Kahuzi Biega National Park precisely in the southern part at Tshivanga (pronounced Chivanga).

Arrive at the National Park Headquarter where you will be briefed by the Park staff.  Have a quick cup of coffee, enter into the park accompanied by armed Park rangers and trek towards the mountains.  

After the trekking, drive to Lwiro (optional) where there is the Scientific Research Center (Entrance fee $70 each, not included), which was built in 1947 by Belgians.  Here chances are to visit the Chimps’ sanctuary, the museum, the library, the biodiversity room and snakes in cages. (Though not in very good shape)

14:00 Lunch at a restaurant in Lwiro / Packet picnic lunch.  Evening,  retrieve back to Panorama hotel.  If time permits, visit the Nobel Peace prize winner’s Panzi Hospital in Bukavu.  Dinner & night stay at the hotel. 

Day 6: Bukavu – Nyungwe Forest Rwanda

Nyungwe Forest became a national park in 2005. Nyungwe Forest National Park lies in the southwestern corner of Rwanda. The nearest town is Cyangugu, 54 km away at the shore of the beautiful Lake Kivu. Nyungwe Forest is an acclaimed chimpanzee trekking destination, but it’s also home to East Africa’s only Canopy Walkway. Take another perspective into the untouched rainforest canopy, walking upon the wildlife and centuries old treetops. And what a thrill it is!

When you arrive in Nyungwe forest, you come here on the winding roads through the huge tea fields and then there is Nyungwe forest national park, developing its massiveness like a national Geographic Video and only better since you are here in that large forest with its endless Kamiranzovu swamp, the trails through out, the forest canopy walk, which is the only one in East Africa, the chances for birding, the primate tracking and viewing and taking in the flowers like the orchids that are found here and the many butterflies that they attract.

Nyungwe is also not a compact park but large forest and the things to do and see here also take some planning as that your time on the safari is not wasted with drive times. You can also find over 300 different bird species, many butterflies, orchids, 75 mammal species including the 13 primates, and there have also been the sightings of the golden monkeys.  

08h00: After breakfast, we will pick you up from the hotel and drive to border immigration post of Rusizi 1. After border formalities, drive to Nyungwe Forest, via Kamembe town in about 40 minutes to Nyungwe Forest. Then further 30 minutes to the entrance gate for ‘Canopy Walk’. 

Then return to the earlier gate, drive of about 30 minutes for a walk of ‘bird watching’.  This may take around 2 hours.

After trekking, drive to the beautiful ‘Nyungwe Top View Hill Hotel’ for lunch. After lunch, drive to Kigali town to catch your flight or your hotel for staying further there in about 5.5 hours. Along the way, experience the beautiful green top thousand hills of Rwanda.

**** End of tour ****

Not included: Medical services, individual insurance, tips, meals outside Virunga, KBNP, Nyungwe national park and other drinks and other things not listed in the itinerary.

Included in cost:

- Transportation and accommodation according to the itinerary

- Gorilla and Volcano Permits, and  permits to the Parks

- Food where mentioned in the itinerary

- Cook 

- Porter

- Sleeping bags

- Water

- Road taxes/tolls

- Help with visa on arrival