Budget Gorilla Tours in Volcanoes National Park.
Budget gorilla tours in Volcanoes National Park offer travellers a chance to experience one of the best wildlife encounters at a more affordable price. The park is celebrated for hosting the endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. It’s situated in the northwestern part of Rwanda, bordering Virunga National Park and Mgahinga National Park, covering an area of approximately 160 square kilometers. It’s part of the greater Virunga conservation area and provides a rare opportunity to come up close with these gentle giants. Volcanoes National Park is one of the most visited national parks in Rwanda, attracting visitors to see our closest relatives on earth, which share 98% of human DNA.
Budget travelers get an opportunity to visit Volcanoes National Park and encounter the once endangered mountain gorillas in their natural environment by securing the normal gorilla trekking permits, and other components such as budget accommodation, and utilising the low season from March to May and October to November, which is subject to fewer turnouts of visitors and some of the services are on discount. Budget gorilla tours in Volcanoes take a duration of 2-3 days to reduce the cost of food and accommodation since these depend on the number of days you spend in the park.
The cheapest way to get to Volcanoes National Park
The best way to access Volcanoes during budget gorilla tours is by using road transport. This road transport to the park begins from Kigali city. It’s about a 2- 3-hour scenic drive from Kigali city to the park. Travellers can either use a bus from the bus park, though it’s so hectic and involves many stopovers since it keeps on offloading people. They can also do a self-drive from Kigali to the park or use a travel agency to prepare all their transportation, but at a low price.
The gorilla trekking experience in Volcanoes National Park
Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes begins with a briefing at the park’s headquarters and both budget and luxury travellers converge for a briefing from the park wardens. This briefing helps visitors to understand the rules and regulations of the exercise and the expectations. More still, they also check the validity of the gorilla permits and groups for trekkers not to exceed 8 in number after trekkers are allocated ranger guides to lead them into the jungle.
Each group is assigned a gorilla family to trek, and trekkers must abide by the rules and regulations of the armed ranger guides till they encounter their allocated mountain gorilla family. The trekking exercise takes you through different trails of the park, where you may encounter unique and various park species such as primates and birds, before meeting the gorilla family.
The duration of the gorilla trekking experience may take 2-7 hours, and the total time taken depends on the location of the mountain gorilla group from the previous location and the pace of the trekkers. Once the mountain gorilla family is spotted, the trekkers must keep the rules and regulations of the activity as taught at the briefing centre. Ranger guides will give trekkers a maximum of an hour to interact with the assigned mountain gorilla family, study and watch the members do daily activities, take photos, and learn about their habits. Later, they will trek out of the jungle, meet their safari drivers, and collect their trekking certificates for their tremendous support towards the conservation of mountain gorillas.
Where to stay on Budget Gorilla Tours in Volcanoes National Park.
Volcanoes National Park offers budget-friendly accommodations ranging from budget to mid-range options, all providing charming experiences. Consider choosing Hotel Muhabura, Virunga Hotel, Amahoro Guest House, Kinigi Guest House, Gorillas Volcanoes Hotel.
