10 days Best of Congo safari tour
10 days Best of Congo safari tour starts from Kigali then the traveler will connect to Kahuzi Beiga national park for lowland gorilla trekking, then be transferred to Virunga national park for mountain gorilla trekking (twice), take part in chimpanzee trekking within Mahura forest, hike up mount Nyiragongo one of the volcanic mountain in virunga massif and descend it, later on, to be transferred back to Kigali for departures. This Congo safari tour includes 10 days and 9 nights exploring the primates, mammals, birds, vegetation cover and many more.
Highlights of 10 days Best of Congo safari tour
- Day 1: Arrival
- Day 2: Transfer to Kahuzi Beiga national park in Bukavu
- Day 3: Lowland Gorilla Trekking
- Day 4: Nature walks
- Day 5: Transfer to virunga national park
- Day 6: Gorilla Trekking experience in Virunga
- Day 7: Second Gorilla trekking experience in virunga
- Day 8: Chimpanzee Trekking
- Day 9: Nyiragongo Volcano Hike
- Day 10: Descend Mount Nyiragongo and departure
Detailed Safari Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival
- Arrival in Kigali: On the 1st day of 10 days Congo safari tour, you will arrive at Kigali international airport where Achieve Global safaris company representative will meet you and drive you to the lodge in Kigali while briefing you and introducing you to your 10 days Congo safari tour. Depending on your arrival time, you will check in, have lunch and then meet your drive for an evening Kigali city tour.
Day 2: Transfer to Kahuzi Beiga national park in Bukavu
- Transfer to Kahuzi Beiga: on day 2 of 10 days Congo safari tour, you will enjoy your served breakfast then check out and meet your driver to embark on the journey to Kahuzi –Beiga national park in Bukavu. During the drive, keep your eyes open as you will have a view of Lake Kivu and Nyungwe national park. Enjoy an enroute lunch and before proceeding to your prepared lodge for dinner and overnight.
Day 3: Lowland Gorilla Trekking
- Lowland gorilla trekking: on day 3 of 10 days Congo safari tour, you be served with breakfast, then be driven to the park headquarters to take part in a briefing session thereafter you will be allocated a particular gorilla family that has been habituated. However, on this day, remember to carry packed lunch and enough drinking water. Gorilla trekking lasts between 2-8 hours including an hour of the close distance between you and the gorillas and throughout the trek, you will be protected by police, army convoy, and the armed rangers. After the trek, you will return to the lodge for dinner and have an overnight sleep.
Day 4: Nature walks
- Nature walks: on 4th day of 10 days Congo safari tour, enjoy a relaxed breakfast and later on embark on a nature walk. Kahuzi Beiga national park has a lot of walking trails leading to several destinations including the walk to the coffee plantations, a walk to the water fall, among others. During the nature walk, you will be in position to sight different species of fauna and flora.
Day 5: Transfer to Virunga national park
- Transfer to virunga national park: on day 5 of 10 days Congo safari tour, after breakfast, you will check out of your lodge and be transferred to virunga national park a home to endangered mountain gorillas within Congo. Lunch will be enroute and dinner at the lodge in one of the three lodges that is Mikeno lodge/ Kibumba tented camp/ Bukima tented camp.
- Gorilla trekking in virunga/ 1st mountain gorilla trekking: On the 6th day of 10 days Congo safari tour, you will enjoy a heavy breakfast at your lodge, put on your best hiking attire, pack a lunch box, and a bottle of drinking water then be transferred for a gorilla trekking briefing, meet your rangers, hire a porter and start the fascinating expedition of gorilla trekking that will last between 2-8 hours depending on the physical fitness of the trekkers and the gorilla movement. Remember to keep your camera flash light off while in the home of primates.
Day 7: Second Gorilla trekking experience in virunga
- 2nd gorilla trekking: on day 7 of 10 days Best of Congo safari tour, have breakfast like the previous day, wear your gorilla trekking gears including waterproof hiking boots, garden gloves, long sleeved attire and then put the lunch box in your backpack and be transferred to the starting point to enjoy a second day with the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. On this day, you will be in position to encounter a different gorilla family and trust me you will recognize a different in behaviors of different families after comparing the two treks. Lunch will be in jungle and dinner at the lodge.
Day 8: Chimpanzee Trekking
- Chimpanzee trekking: on day 8 of 10 days Congo safari tour, you will wake up early again, as you might even lack time to enjoy your breakfast. You will need to pack some snacks and enough drinking water then be transferred to Mahura forest for chimpanzee trekking. This lasts about 2-6 hours which also depends on the fitness of trekkers. Once you come closer to chimpanzees, you will spend one-hour taking photos of these endangered primates and later on return to the lodge for evening relaxation, dinner, and overnight.
Day 9: Nyiragongo Volcano Hike (Ascend)
- Ascend mount Nyiragongo: on day 9 of 10 days Best of Congo safari tour, you will need to wake in the morning, enjoy your breakfast, then pack all your belonging as you plan to leave the lodge and be transferred to Kibati police patrol where you will encounter with the armed rangers, and convoy to start your hiking safari to summit mount Nyiragongo. Along the hike, you will encounter some wildlife species including primates, mammals and birds. You will enjoy your packed meal amidst the hike and dinner will be at the summit. While at the summit, you will witness the lava lake as it glows brighter amidst darkness as some raindrops fall into it. You will be in position to capture as much photographs as possible since you have the whole night over there.
Day 10: Descend Nyiragongo and departure
- Descend Mount Nyiragongo: On your last day of 10 days Best of Congo safari tour, you will wake up early, have breakfast at the summit then prepare to start sloping back down to Kibati police patrol. Descending is so interesting and takes few hours as compare to ascending. Upon arrival at Kibati, you will then be driven by the convoy of armed army and transferred back to Goma where you will be picked up by your driver.
- Departures: you will then be driven to the hotel for lunch then be dropped at the Kigali international airport for departures back home or to the next destination. In case you have another day in Kigali, you will then be dropped to your lodge.
END OF 10 days Best of Congo safari tour
Inclusive in this 10 days Congo safari tour
- Park entrance fees
- Congo visa
- Airport pickup and drop off
- All activities
- 3 Gorilla trekking permits
- Chimpanzee trekking permit
- Nyiragongo hiking permit
- Ranger fees and convoy
- Enough drinking water
- Accommodation will be as per itinerary
- Meals as per itinerary
Safari exclusives
- Tips
- Visa and ticket
- Laundry fees
- Porter
- souvenirs
