Rwanda
Bespoke luxury holidays to Rwanda, tailor-made by our specialist travel advisors.
Luxury Rwanda Holidays and Gorilla Trekking
You climb for two or three hours through bamboo and nettle, following a tracker. Then he stops and points, and eight metres away a silverback is sitting in the undergrowth eating wild celery, entirely uninterested in your arrival.
You have one hour. Almost everybody says afterwards that they spent the first fifteen minutes of it forgetting to take a photograph.
Why Visit Rwanda?
Most people research Rwanda for one reason, and it is a good enough reason on its own. Mountain gorillas live in only three countries on earth, and Rwanda offers the most straightforward access to them.
What surprises visitors is the country around it. Rwanda is small, green, mountainous and ordered. Kigali is clean and calm, and the drive west runs through terraced hillsides that look cultivated to the summit. Most itineraries treat Kigali as a transit point. We would give it a night, and time at the Genocide Memorial, which explains a great deal about the country you are travelling through.
Short Trip?
Rwanda also works unusually well as a short trip. Four nights is a complete experience here, which is rare in Africa, and it combines naturally with a longer safari elsewhere.
Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park
Volcanoes National Park protects the Rwandan slopes of the Virunga Massif, and it is where Dian Fossey worked. Several gorilla families have been habituated to human presence, and each is visited by a small group of trekkers once a day, for one hour.
Permits are limited daily and sold in advance.
In peak months, they are the constraint that decides the itinerary, not the lodges.
Early Start
The day starts early. You gather at park headquarters around seven, where groups are allocated according to fitness and to where the families were last seen. Trackers have usually been out since first light, so the allocation is informed rather than a guess.
Trekking
The trek itself varies enormously. It can be forty minutes, or it can be four hours, and there is no way to know in advance. The terrain is steep, muddy, and often at altitude, and the vegetation includes stinging nettles that go through thin trousers. Porters are available at the trailhead and are worth taking, both for the pack and for the hand on the steep sections.
One Hour
The hour is strictly enforced. So is the distance rule, though the gorillas themselves are not aware of it and frequently close it. A permit covers one trek, and clients who can spare the time often book two on consecutive days, because the second is a completely different experience once the shock of the first has worn off.
Chimpanzee Trekking and the Nyungwe Canopy Walk
Four to five hours south west, Nyungwe Forest is one of Africa’s oldest montane rainforests and the country’s second draw.
Chimpanzee Trekking
Chimpanzee trekking here is harder work than gorillas and less predictable, because chimpanzees move fast and high. When it works it is exhilarating, and the forest is worth the journey regardless. Nyungwe also holds several other primate species, including large troops of colobus.
The Canopy Walk
The canopy walk is the other reason to come. It takes about two hours and is not for anyone uneasy with heights.
Longer Trip
Nyungwe suits travellers who want more than the gorillas and have the days to spare. On a four-night trip, it does not fit. On a seven-night trip, it transforms the shape of the entire holiday.
Where Should You Stay?
There are four properties in our portfolio in Rwanda now, split between two very different experiences: gorilla trekking in the north and chimpanzee trekking in the south. Both regions are small-lodge country, and both are booked a long way in advance for the dry months.
Wilderness Bisate, Singita Kwitonda Lodge and One & Only Gorilla’s Nest are the gorilla lodges, all within sight of the Virungas and a short drive from park headquarters, which matters a great deal at six in the morning.
Wilderness Bisate
Bisate occupies the eroded cone of an extinct volcano, with villas built as woven pods that look like nothing else in Africa. Its reforestation programme has planted a substantial part of the surrounding hillside.
Singita Kwitonda
Singita Kwitonda sits lower on the same slopes, in restored montane forest the lodge has been replanting since it opened, with a quieter, more contemporary feel.
Gorilla's Nest
Gorilla’s Nest is the most established of the three, set in an eucalyptus forest with the polish and scale of a One & Only, and suits a group that wants a bigger, more social base.
One & Only Nyungwe House
One & Only Nyungwe House is at the other end of the country and is an entirely different kind of trip. It sits on a working tea plantation at the edge of Nyungwe Forest and is the base for chimpanzee trekking and the canopy walk.
What Is the Best Time to Visit Rwanda?
The two dry seasons are the best time to trek: June to September, and mid-December to February. Underfoot conditions are considerably easier, which on a steep volcanic slope is the difference between a walk and an ordeal.
That said, this is equatorial rainforest, and it can rain in any month. The gorillas do not move seasonally, so trekking runs year-round, and sightings are not seasonal in the way that game viewing elsewhere is.
The wetter months, March to May and October to November, bring thicker vegetation and harder walking, but fewer people on the mountain and greener forest. If your dates are fixed and they fall in the rains, the trip is still absolutely worth taking.
Altitude matters more than season. Volcanoes National Park treks begin at around 2,500 metres and climb from there. If you are arriving from sea level and going straight up, a night to acclimatise is sensible.
Combining Rwanda with a Longer Safari
Rwanda is a specialist destination rather than a general one. There is no big-game safari here in the sense of Kenya or Botswana, so most of our clients pair it with one.
The natural combinations are Rwanda with Kenya, or Rwanda with Tanzania, taking the gorillas first and the plains second. Kigali is well connected within the region, which makes the routing simpler than the map suggests.
Where scheduled timings waste a day, private aviation can move you between countries on your own schedule. For what a genuinely tailored safari looks like across several countries, see our safari collection and the wider Africa portfolio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda involves fixed permits, strict age thresholds and limited daily numbers, so the logistics matter more here than on most trips. Below are the questions our travel designers are asked most often.
Gorilla permits in Rwanda currently cost $1,500 per person per trek, among the most expensive wildlife permits in the world, with the revenue funding conservation and a share going to communities around the park. Numbers are strictly limited each day. As the price is set by the Rwanda Development Board and reviewed periodically, we confirm the exact current figure and secure permits at the time of booking.
Four nights is enough for the gorillas. Arrive in Kigali, transfer to the Virungas, trek, and depart. Five or six nights allows two treks, which we always recommend to our clients. Seven to eight nights lets you add Nyungwe for chimpanzees and the canopy walk.
Rwanda sets a minimum age of 15 for gorilla trekking, higher than most parents expect, so this is worth checking before planning a family trip around it. We confirm the current threshold at the time of enquiry, as it is set by the Rwanda Development Board and could be revised. Families with younger children are generally better served by a conventional safari elsewhere in East or Southern Africa.
Yes, and it is how many of our Rwanda itineraries are built. Kigali connects well within the region, and the usual shape is three or four nights for the gorillas followed by six or seven on safari. Take the gorillas first: the trek is physically demanding and easier at the start of a trip than at the end of one.
Speak to a Travel Designer
Permits are limited and dated, and in the dry months they decide everything else. If you have a window in mind, the earlier we start the better the trip. So, speak to a Travel Designer today to plan your Rwanda holiday.
YOUR DEDICATED TRAVEL PARTNER
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TAILORED SERVICES
TAILORED SERVICES
Our in-house concierge service will use their extensive contact list
to help you source anything you desire.
TAILORED SERVICES
Our in-house concierge service will use their extensive contact list
to help you source anything you desire.
BESPOKE itinerary
BESPOKE itinerary
We work hand in hand with clients to create your dream
itinerary ensuring every detail is looked after from start to finish.
BESPOKE itinerary
We work hand in hand with clients to create your dream
itinerary ensuring every detail is looked after from start to finish.
BESPOKE AIR
BESPOKE AIR
We have access to every major airline and an extensive knowledge of their pricing schedules helping our clients achieve highly competitive airfares in all cabins.
BESPOKE AIR
We have access to every major airline and an extensive knowledge of their pricing schedules helping our clients achieve highly competitive airfares in all cabins.
PRIVATE SKY
PRIVATE SKY
Working directly hand in hand with our brokers and
aircraft owners we can source the best deals and most convenient slots for Private Jet hire.
PRIVATE SKY
Working directly hand in hand with our brokers and
aircraft owners we can source the best deals and most convenient slots for Private Jet hire.
EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS
EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS
We have arranged with a number of our luxury partners some exclusive additional benefits. These can include complimentary daily breakfast, a hotel credit towards food or spa treatments,an upgrade on arrival where available, and early check in / late check out.
EXCLUSIVE BENEFITS
We have arranged with a number of our luxury partners some exclusive additional benefits. These can include complimentary daily breakfast, a hotel credit towards food or spa treatments,an upgrade on arrival where available, and early check in / late check out.
COST MANAGEMENT
COST MANAGEMENT
We provide access for our clients to the most cost effective and convenient travel means. Our long standing partnerships and in depth industry knowledge ensure that we source the best rates available on the market.
COST MANAGEMENT
We provide access for our clients to the most cost effective and convenient travel means. Our long standing partnerships and in depth industry knowledge ensure that we source the best rates available on the market.
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