Bwindi, Uganda
4-day budget gorilla safari
A shared 4x4 and community-run lodges on the forest edge. The permit price is set by the park — everything around it is where the savings live.
4 daysfrom US$1,290 pp
Volcanoes NP, Rwanda · 4 days · from US$3,290 pp
4-day Rwanda gorillas, golden monkeys and Dian Fossey
the mountain where Karisoke stood
- Duration
- 4 days, 3 nights
- Starts & ends
- Kigali International Airport
- Park
- Volcanoes National Park
- Permits
- Gorilla US$1,500 and golden monkey US$100, included
- Also
- Dian Fossey tomb hike, US$75, included
- Travel
- Private 4x4
Dian Fossey spent eighteen years on these slopes and is buried beside Digit in the old Karisoke camp. The three-hour hike up to the site is steep, muddy and quiet, and it changes how the gorilla trek reads — you understand what was risked to make an hour like that possible.
Four days also gives you Kigali properly. The Genocide Memorial deserves a full afternoon, not an hour squeezed before a flight.
Day by day
The 4 days
- Day 1
Kigali to Musanze
Airport pickup and the two-hour drive north. Afternoon at the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund in Kinigi — the best hour you can spend indoors in Rwanda.
- Day 2
Gorilla trekking
Briefing at Kinigi at 07:00, family allocation, and your trek. Afternoon at the lodge or on the Musanze caves.
- Day 3
Golden monkeys and Karisoke
An early hour with golden monkeys in the bamboo, then the hike to Dian Fossey's tomb at the Karisoke research site. A demanding but unhurried day.
- Day 4
Musanze to Kigali
The drive back with a stop at the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo, then the Genocide Memorial and lunch in Kigali before your flight.
US$3,290per person sharing, from
US$3,290 per person sharing in mid-range lodges near Kinigi. US$6,200 and up at Bisate, Singita Kwitonda or One&Only Gorilla's Nest.
What's included
- Rwanda gorilla permit (US$1,500)
- Golden monkey permit (US$100)
- Dian Fossey tomb hike permit (US$75)
- Private 4x4 and driver-guide
- Three nights' accommodation, full board
- Kigali transfers, water and taxes
Not included
- International flights
- Rwanda visa (US$50)
- Travel insurance
- Porters and tips
- Drinks and personal items
Who it suits. Readers of Gorillas in the Mist, and anyone who wants context as well as an encounter.
Questions about this trip
How hard is the Dian Fossey hike?
About three hours return, steep and often muddy, at around 3,000 m. Easier than a long gorilla trek but not a stroll. It costs US$75 and is worth every dollar.
Should I do this the day after trekking?
Yes — that is how we sequence it. Doing a volcano climb or the Karisoke hike the day before your gorilla trek is a reliable way to arrive at the briefing already tired.
You might also consider
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Gorillas in Bwindi, then golden monkeys in the bamboo of Mgahinga — an endangered primate found only in the Virungas, and the best value hour in Uganda.
4 daysfrom US$1,980 pp
Bwindi & Kibale, Uganda — by air
4-day fly-in gorillas and chimpanzees
Both of Africa's great apes in four days, with light aircraft doing the work that would otherwise take two days of driving between the parks.
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Enquire
Request the 4-day rwanda gorillas & fossey
Send your dates and we will confirm what permits exist, then come back with a costed, dated version of this itinerary.
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