3 Days Eastern Lowland Gorilla Trekking Tour To Congo
per person
Our 3 days Eastern lowland gorilla trekking tour to Congo takes you to the Kahuzi Biega National Park to encounter the amazing endangered Grauer’s gorilla. Kahuzi-Biega National park is one of the few unspoiled and uncrowded national parks in Africa offering an authentic feeling of being in African wilderness. DR Congo safari and tour in Kahuzi-Biega National Park is very rewarding, you will visit and see gorgeous landscapes, fauna and flora.
Kahuzi Biega and Maiko national parks are the only two conservation areas where you can track Eastern lowland gorillas in their natural habitats in Democratic Republic of Congo. Currently, a total of about 4,800 Eastern lowland gorilla population live in their natural setting. Eastern lowland gorillas are the largest of the gorilla sub-species with closest appearance to mountain gorillas that live in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, Mgahinga gorilla national park, Volcanoes national park and Virunga national park.
Kahuzi Biega National Park has 4 habituated gorilla families that live closer to the park offices however, the other 2 gorilla groups are located far into the deep jungles of the forest. Generally trekking eastern lowland gorilla in DR Congo takes a shorter time compared to mountain gorilla tacking. The average time is between 1 to 4 hours depending on the physical location of your allocated gorilla family.
Our 3 days Eastern lowland gorilla trekking tour usually starts and ends in Kigali Rwanda with a possibility of staring from Kisoro Uganda if you have been on some tourism activities in south west of Uganda. For pick-ups from Kigali, tourist cross to Democratic Republic of Congo through Cyangugu border and visitors coming from Uganda enter DR Congo through the Bunagana border. Kahuzi Biega national park has exercised utmost security to tourist looking for excursions in the park and no incident has ever happened to visitors.
Our travel proposal assumes that your safari will start from Kigali Rwanda. Those looking for tailor made trips, this tour can be combined with mountain gorilla trekking and Nyiragongo volcano hike in Virunga national park.
3 Days Eastern Lowland Gorilla Trekking Tour To Congo highlight
Day 1: Transfer to Bukavu Congo
Day 2: Eastern Lowland Gorilla trekking at Kahuzi Biega National Park – Optional Community tour / Nature walk
Day 3: Transfer to Kigali
Day 1: Transfer to Bukavu Congo
Meet and greet our company representative from Kigali international airport or from your hotel for briefing and transfer to Kahuzi Biega national park for your 3 days lowland gorilla trekking tour to Congo through Cyangugu border. This journey is long but rewarding more so if you are a nature lover. You will drive through impressive rolling hills of Rwanda; traditional home steads and you may spot some primates en route Nyungwe national park. Later cross to DR Congo through Cyangugu Bunagana border and continue with your drive to Bukavu town which is close to Kahuzi Biega national park. Dinner and overnight stay at;
Accommodation option: Orchids Safari Club (Luxury) or Hotel Horizon (Mid-range and Budget)
Day 2: Eastern Lowland Gorilla trekking at Kahuzi Biega National Park – Optional Community tour / Nature walk
Eastern Lowland gorilla trekking tour in Kahuzi Biega National Park DR Congo starts with registration at the park offices. You will wake up for an early morning breakfast and drive to the park for check in and briefing sessions. During briefing, the park rangers will take you through the standard rules and regulations during tracking, history of the park and later assign to you a gorilla family for trekking. Expect to spend 1 to 4 hours in the deep forest jungle looking for these amazing primates and along the way, you may meet several mammals, primates and bird species. After encountering them, you will spend a full hour with them, take as many photos as possible, see them how the interact with the family members and later retrieve from the forest. Later in a day, your guide may take you to visit some local communities, Kibati waterfalls, Bukavu town and the Mbayo tea estate. Alternatively, you may opt to go for a nature walk tour in Kahuzi-Biega National Park. Dinner and overnight stay at;
Accommodation option: Orchids Safari Club (Luxury) or Hotel Horizon (Mid-range and Budget)
Day 3: Transfer to Kigali
Wake up early for a morning breakfast and after start your journey back to Kigali. Enjoy the winding roads of Rwanda and as reminisce your adventurous safari to the thick tropical forests of DR Congo. Yes, the drive is long however, your guide will make several stops to major landmarks and attractions along the way such as visiting the former palace of the great King of Nyanza to explore its rich history, Butare museum among others. Expect to arrive in Kigali late afternoon of evening for your outbound flight or check in in your booked hotel.
Included in tour
Lowland Gorilla permits
Ground transport per 4WD
Bottled water in the safari vehicle
Full board accommodation as mentioned in the itinerary
Service of an English-speaking driver guide
Driver allowances and park fees for vehicle and driver
All mentioned activities except for the optional ones
Excluded
Accommodation before and after the tour but we can arrange it on request.
Extras at the accommodation i.e. drinks, telephone, laundry etc.
Tips to porters, site guides and driver/ guide
Insurance
Visas
How to Get to Kahuzi Biega National Park in DR Congo
Majority of safaris and tours to Kahuzi Biega national park start from Rwanda with pickups from Kigali international airport or Cyangugu town. However, some visitors opt to fly directly to Goma international airport using Ethiopian airline and later connect to the park with a help of a tour guide.
Alternatively, you may choose to board a flight from Kigali Airport Rwanda and land in Goma Airport in Democratic Republic of Congo. From Goma, you will drive for about 230km to connect to Kahuzi Biega the national park for your next activities.
Those interested in driving from Kigali Rwanda, it takes about 6 to 7 hours to connect to Kamembe in Cyangugu town via the Rusizi I road. After crossing the borders at Goma and Bukavu, you will drive for another 1½ hours to get to the national park.
Kahuzi Biega National Park is located just 30 Kms from Bukavu Town and it takes 1½ hours drive to enter into the national park. The park can be accessed by road and by air however travelers should take note that from kavumu airport and at Miti, take left and keep driving straight until when you reach the visitor centre.
Accommodation in Kahuzi- Biega National Park.
Accommodation facilities with in and around Kahuzi Biega national park range from Budget, Mid-range and Luxury. Services at different hotels and lodges can be customized to best suite your travel demands. Such hotels and lodges include; Mount Kahuzi Hotel, Lakeside Hotel Bukavu, Lodge Coco, Orchids Safari Club, Hotel Begonias and Hotel Exodus Bukavu among others.