Days That Suit a Congo Gorilla Tour

Situated east of the Atlantic Ocean, Congo is the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa by area and is home to both mountain and lowland gorillas.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the mountain gorillas are in the Virunga national park within the Virunga mountain chains adjacent to Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda and Volcanoes national park in Rwanda. Virunga national park is in the North Kivu province.

Lowland gorillas are found in Kahuzi Biega national park in the South Kivu province. Many travelers wonder on how long they need to spend in Congo to undertake Congo gorilla tours but, this is a matter of the person’s schedule, budget and the number of activities they want to do. Here are different options on how many days a tourist needs for a Congo gorilla safari;

A 1-day Congo gorilla trekking tour is ably done when the tourist is within the towns near either Virunga national park or Kahuzi Biega national park.

Gorilla trekking is done between 8:00am – 7:00pm during day, the gorilla trekking time is unpredictable since the gorilla movement is unpredictable.

When someone can access the national parks before 8:00am then they can spend one day to trek the gorillas. Gorilla trekking permits should be booked prior at $400 per person.

2 days gorilla safari starts from Kigali Rwanda and a transfer from Kigali international airport to an accommodation facility close to Congo’s Virunga national park.

A long the way is a lot of sight seeing through the foothills of the beautiful Virunga mountains. On day two a gorilla trekking is done and a transfer back to Kigali.

3 days gorilla trekking safari in Congo is one of the short gorilla tours that will reward you with the beautiful encounter of the gentle giants.

Day one involves transfer from Kigali Rwanda to Congo, a city tour to Bukima can be involved on that day. On day two, a gorilla trek is done from morning until when the gorillas are finally sighted.

A nature walk can be done in the afternoon if the trek ends early. Day three involves a transfer back to Kigali-Rwanda.

5 days gorilla safari in Congo doesn’t only involve a gorilla trek but a Nyiragongo mountain hike. Day one involves transfer from Kigali Rwanda to Congo.

On day two hike to the nyiragongo Volcano. This is one of the most active volcanoes in Africa with recent eruptions. Descend from the Nyiragongo volcano on day 3 and rest at your accommodation facility. Gorilla trekking is done on day 4 and transfer back to Kigali on day 5.

For the 5 days lowland gorilla trekking, the safari comprises of a chimpanzee trekking at Lwiro forest and visit the historical museum on day 3 and a hike to mount Kahuzi on day 4.

The 6 days gorilla trekking safari is one interesting package with both a Gorilla safari Rwanda and Congo gorilla tour in Volcanoes national park and Virunga national park respectively.

During the six days, day one is transfer from Kigali to Congo, do gorilla trekking on day two, Hike mount Nyiragongo on day 3. On day 4 descend from Mount Nyiragongo and transfer to Kigali, do a gorilla trek in Volcanoes on day 5 then have a city tour on day 6 and transfer back to Kigali.

In 7 days, a gorilla trekking and wildlife safari can be done in Congo. This safari involves trekking both mountain and lowland gorillas in Virunga and Kahuzi Biega national parks.

Day 1 involves arriving to Kigali and transfer to Virunga national park. Do gorilla trekking in Virunga national park on day 2, ascend Nyiragongo mountain on day 3 and descend on day 4.

On day 5 transfer from Virunga national park to Bukavu, do a lowland gorilla trek in Kahuzi Biega national park on day 6 then transfer back to Kigali on day 7.

If you want to go for a Congo gorilla tour by air, direct flights are only done once a week to Goma by Ethiopian airways every Saturday.

This is favorable for those ready to do a 7 days gorilla and wildlife safari in Congo. This is because return flights are only done once a week after the 7 days.

The reason most safaris start from Kigali in the neighboring Rwanda is because it’s the closest airport besides Goma and Kigali has daily flights compared to Goma.

Stop wondering on what will fit your schedule, now you know how to spend your time in Congo just choose the best days for you.