Great experience, trip of a lifetime! - From our first contact with Mercy at Amahoro tours, I felt that she understood what my travel objectives were and really helped my hone in on creating the perfect “bucket... read more list” experience we were hoping for! I had looked around at different tour companies and really wanted to support the local community by using a local tour company rather than one of the bigger ones.I was a little nervous about that, but am so glad it’s the direction we went in. Mercy guided me through all the preliminary necessities so we would be sure to be prepared for the trip, including shots we needed, fill out the visa paperwork before we arrived, etc. we wanted more of a custom itinerary (visiting the Rwanda mountain Gorillas three times, and the Golden monkeys once as well. Mercy had also arranged for us to visit other local places like the Genocide memorial museum to learn about the 1994 tragic events, the Ellen Degenous/ Dian Fossey center to learn about the research Dian Fossey did with the Mountain Gorillas and work they are still doing today , and Red Rock initiative, helping the community (we would learn how to make banana beer and watch the beautiful local women sing and dance and drum)
From the moment we landed in Kigali, our driver and guide for the week, Edmond, picked us up and helped us get settled into our hotel for the night. We had met some women on the plane who asked us if we were going on Safari as well, which we had not planned on. There is a national park three hours away Akagera. We were supposed to stay in Kigali for the next day, but after speaking with our guide, Edmond, he seemlessly changed our plans so we could add a full day game drive to our trip! It was 100 percent worth adding it in to our itinerary! His ability to cater to our needs and switch things up last minute was amazing and really enhanced our trip.
We were driven up to the mountain the next day, staying at the Five Volcanos boutique Hotel. A sweet hotel, small, with a great dining room, bar, lounge area with a big stone fireplace, and sliding doors that opened to overlook the back garden and all the blackheaded weaver birds busily singing and building nests while we had our meals, it was delightful. The staff went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and comfortable, and even brought me a cake since I was celebrating my birthday while we were there. The chef and food was delicious and fresh with options to choose
E from (you filled out a sheet at the end of breakfast for your lunch order, and after lunch for your dinner order) . The air conditioning wasn’t working in our room, but they offered us to change rooms, we opted for a fan and that worked out fine. After trekking each day the hotel staff would remove your muddy boots, rub your feet, clean your boots and deliver them back to your room, clean and ready to go for your next adventure.
We had three days of trekking, each spending an hour with different Gorilla families, trekking through the farm land and then trudging through the thick brush, sometimes muddy trails to find the group of Gorillas we were searching for. Sitting and observing these incredible animals is something we’ve dreamed of doing for so very long, it exceeded my expectations. We brought gators and hiking boots (our hotel, 5 Volcanos boutique hotel. Had some available to borrow) and I would recommend wearing a heavier hiking pant and shirt to avoid (the unavoidable ) stinging nettles. On our forth day of trekking we went to observe the Golden monkeys, they had a quicker energy then the
mountain Gorilla and were fun to watch play, swing from tree to tree in the mountainous rain forest. After each of your trekking days you tip each of the guides, trackers, and porters, which carry your bags for you and make sure you don’t fall in your face while trekking. I wish I had been better prepared with small bills (usd) as it wasn’t super simple to get money. We tipped each of the people who helped with the trek 20,000 RWF, which was about 13usd per person. Mercy checked in during our trip to make sure everything was running and that we were having a good time. It was such a great experience working with Amahoro tours, Mercy and Edmond, we would highly recommend!