Visiting the Mountain Gorillas is not easy (there are only 8 permits a day to protect them and these are typically taken by large international travel agencies - getting one as individual traveler was pretty difficult) and very expensive (500 USD per person). Nevertheless, it's worth the pain as it's a wonderful experience.
Once you have the permit you take a bus from Kigali to Ruhengeri (2.5h). There you change to another minibus to Kinigi where you jump onto the back of a motor bike which brings you to the camp at 2300m in a wonderul setting in the Rwanda - Congo border area with several volcanoes around. The highest is over 4000m and snow covered.
The next morning you meet your guide at 7 and drive a good hour on a bumpy road with a solid 4WD. There the Gorilla trackers as well as an army patrol waits. With an Army guy in front and the back you start to hike. After about an hour you reach the boundary of the jungle and it gets really interesting. It takes you another hour of climbing over bamboo and other plants till you reach the Gorillas close to 3000m. There you are in the middle of the jungle and in front of you is the Susa group (the largest Gorilla group with 39 animals). From the 1 month old baby up to the huge silverbacks gather there. It's an amazing experience and the hour with them just flies by.
Btw this is the area where Diane Fossey studied the Gorillas.
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