5 Days Virunga Great Ape Package : Virunga for 5 Days Congo Safari Consider taking a journey to Eastern Africa for the possibility to experience chimpanzee and mountain gorilla trekking. The Virunga National Park has put together a 5-day great ape package for those who are interested in seeing mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, with the added benefit of seeing the Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage.
Day 1: Transfer to Mikeno lodge from Kigali
One the first day of 5 Days Virunga Great Ape Package. Your driver-guide will pick you up to begin your five-day safari in Kigali at the prearranged pick-up location and time, ideally by 8 am. To get to the Goma Grande Barrier border building to check in and receive your permits for the following day’s activities, you must travel six hours from Kigali.
You will go in a vehicle with the Virunga security crew to the Bukima ranger post, where your hotel is located, after all protocol has been followed. After checking in, you’ll eat a late lunch and unwind while you wait for night to fall. The first night will be spent at Mikeno Lodge after dinner is served.
Day 2: Mountain gorillas trekking in Virunga national park.
One the second day of 5 Days Virunga Great Ape Package. Get up early to see the dawn, eat a quick breakfast, grab your packed lunch, and then find your driver-guide, who will be waiting to take you to the Bukima ranger post where the briefing for the walk is delivered. Find the mountain gorillas in the jungle and spend the permitted hour with them just before leaving the park to get your lunch boxes.
As you wait for dinner to be served at Ngila Lodge, drive back to your hotel and enjoy the remainder of the evening at leisure.
Day 3: Second mountain gorilla trek.
One the third day of 5 Days Virunga Great Ape Package. Wake up early in the morning and be served with breakfast. For a second chance to encounter mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park, get up early. Grab your lunch at the hotel before heading back to the Bukima ranger post for the pre-tour briefing. Drive with your driver guide. Depending on how far into the forest the gorillas are, set out on a 2- to 6-hour journey through the jungle.
After finishing your hike, leave the park and return to your hotel. Spend the evening there as you like, perhaps reading a book or engaging in a more active activity like visiting a community project. Make sure to get back before it gets dark so you can have dinner and spend the second night at Mikeno Lodge.
Day 4: Chimpanzee trekking and Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage visit
One the fourth day of 5 Days Virunga Great Ape Package. Wake up early in the morning and take breakfast. To catch the chimpanzees that are early risers, get up early. Join the group of people habituating the mountain gorilla family in the Mahura woodland of Virunga National Park by travelling to the park headquarters. Return to your lodge for a leisurely late lunch, or choose to visit the Virunga national park’s administrative centre in the middle of the morning.
Visit the opulent Mikeno Lodge to see the Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage in the evening. The Mikeno lodge’s grounds contain the Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage, which is situated there strategically. After spending some time at the orphanage, return to your lodge for dinner and spend one more night at Mikeno Lodge.
Day 5: Transfer back to Kigali
One the fifth day of 5 Days Virunga Great Ape Package. Wake up at your leisure and get breakfast and then get ready to leave the hotel. You will be picked up by your driver-guide and transferred back to Kigali. You will be given directions to your drop-off location in Kigali and given a city tour of Kigali that includes stops at the Kimironko Market and the Kigali Genocide Memorial Grounds.
End of the 5 Days Virunga Great Ape Package.