Congo & Rwanda Gorilla Safari
Day 1 – Odzala-Kokoua National Park
On your arrival into Brazzaville you will be met at the airport and assisted with your onward 2-hour flight direct to Odzala. From Odzala it is a further 3-hour road transfer through the forests of the Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo. When you arrive at Ngaga Camp you will get the chance to meet the gorilla research team followed by dinner. Enjoy your first night in the jungles listening to the sounds of the forest around you.
Days 2 and 3 – Gorilla Tracking, Odzala
This morning is your first gorilla tracking experience. Before setting out into the forest looking for the family of gorillas, your guide and the researchers will go through a safety briefing and will explain more about the gorillas you are heading out to track. After your briefing you will head out into the forest in search of the family. Once you find the gorillas you get to spend a maximum of 1 hour with them. This is to limit the impact on their daily lives and reduce the risk of them catching infections from us.
After your gorilla tracking experience, you head back to the lodge for lunch, followed by a guided forest walk in search of birds and animals of the forest. This evening enjoy river sundowners.
Today you have your second gorilla tracking safari with the team from the lodge. Return for lunch and spend time with the gorilla research team learning more about the gorillas of Odzala. This evening head out into the forest in search of some of the nocturnal creatures of the jungle.
Day 4 – Mboko Camp
This morning you have the opportunity to track the gorillas again (at additional cost). From Ngaga you return through Mbomo Village and the Odzala-Kokoua National Park to Mboko Camp in time for lunch. After a siesta, guides take you out on the river either on kayaks or on a sundowner river cruise. Spend the night at Mboko Camp.
Day 5 – Kigali
From Mboko Camp you fly back to Brazzaville in time for your onward flight to Kigali. After arriving into Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, you will be met by your driver who will transfer you to your hotel for the night.
Days 6, 7 and 8 – Gorilla Tracking, Volcanoes National Park
This morning after a leisurely breakfast, your guide will take you to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial. This is a moving tribute to the horrific atrocities that took place across Rwanda in the mid-1990s. From Kigali you continue through lush cultivated valleys to the Volcanoes National Park. Enjoy the rest of the day relaxing in the incredible scenery of the area. Tomorrow you head up the side of extinct volcanoes in search of mountain gorillas.
This morning you meet your team, trackers and guide for your gorilla tracking on the slopes of the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. After a short briefing at the park headquarters where you will learn more about the family of gorillas you will be tracking, you head off on your gorilla safari. Trackers head out ahead of the team to find where the gorilla family is so they can guide you in the general direction. After you find the family of gorillas, you get to spend 1 hour with them as they go about their daily lives. This is one of the best wildlife experiences in Africa and one that few get to experience.
Tracking on the slopes of the Volcanoes National Park can be tough going and so it is recommended to be fit before embarking on a gorilla adventure.
