The Great Ape Package

The Great Ape package offers the opportunity to see two great ape taxa in Virunga National Park.   It consists of four nights in Mikeno Lodge, two gorilla treks and a habituation walk with the chimps.  This package departs Goma on Mondays at 13:00.

The Great Ape

Day 1:
Arrival at Grande Barriere border crossing by 11:00 am and ensure check-in with Virunga tourism office by 11:30 am. The tourism office is conveniently located in the Grande Barriere border post building, opposite passport control. Tourism staff will provide guests with gorilla permits at check-in, which must be presented before the start of each trek. Guests will be transported to Mikeno Lodge at the Park headquarters in Rumangabo. On arrival to Mikeno Lodge, a late lunch will be served, and the afternoon can be enjoyed at leisure, including exploring Rumangabo’s several nature trails, bird watching or paying a visit to Virunga’s Congohounds.

Day 2:
After an early breakfast, guests will set off to Bukima Ranger Post. On arrival, trekkers will meet their Ranger guides and receive a briefing before starting the gorilla trek. Treks usually require 1-2.5 hours of hiking each way, depending on location of the group being trekked and the difficulty of the terrain. After spending the allotted hour with the gorillas, trekkers will return to Bukima Ranger Post and onto Mikeno Lodge for a late lunch. The rest of the afternoon can be spent at leisure to reflect on the morning’s trek.

Day 3:
After an early rise, you can go for a walk through the Mahura Forest and onto a chimp habituation walk, returning for a leisurely breakfast in the lodge. For the rest of the day guests are invited to explore Rumangabo, the park’s headquarters, visiting the widow’s workshop, enjoying a stroll birdwatching or simply relaxing. In the evening, sit around the fire and listen to everyone’s stories of the day with a gin and tonic.

Day 4:
After an early breakfast, travel to Bukima for your second gorilla trek. Following the trek, you will be transferred back to Mikeno Lodge for a late lunch. The afternoon is free to explore, visit the Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage or cosy up by the fire reading a good book.

Day 5:
After breakfast, guest will be transported back to Goma with drop-off at the Grande Barriere border post.

Related Accomodation & Treks

Frequent Asked Questions

A. Yes, there is WIFI

A. The orphans are in an enclosure and therefore guests are unable to go into the enclosure with them or visit them in their night house.

A. Gorilla treks, chimp treks, Congo Hounds demonstrations, visit the Widow's Workshop, nature trails and bird walks

A. You will probably see them but you will not necessarily get close to them. They are under habituation

A. For security reasons we do not allow guests to walk around

A. 1.5 hours

A. All transport is either organised by the Park or trusted DRC tour operators. If you are taking Park transport, it is included in the price of your package.

A. All transport to and from Grande Barriere and within the Park is included in your package price. If you will be staying in Goma prior to or after your stay in Virunga, you can independently organize additional transport directly with a tour operator.

A. If arriving by car and after clearing passport control at the Grande Barriere border crossing, please check in with the Virunga tourism office conveniently located in the same building. If arriving by plane, a Virunga staff will meet you at the arrivals area upon clearing passport control. In both cases, Virunga staff will guide you to the appropriate transport thereafter.

A. For logistical reasons, it is likely that you will share transport with other guests.

A. Between an hour to two and a half hours and one hour with the gorillas.

A. Two to four rangers.

A. For a group of gorillas with more than 10 family members, we allow 6 clients. For a gorilla group with less than 10 family members, we allow 4 pax.

A. Virunga National Park is currently welcoming tourists. The safety of our visitors is of the highest priority and our staff consistently assess the situation on the ground to ensure appropriate security protocols are in place. If any signs indicate a security issue, management may decide to temporarily close one or more of its attractions. All bookings for these attractions will be refunded in full or alternative options offered. All visitors must make an assessment on advice from their respective consular services. If you have any further queries, please contact the tourism team by email visit@virunga.org.

A. Protection for at least USD 100,000 emergency medical evacuation plus USD 100,000 medical expenses is mandatory. Visitors are wholly responsible for arranging their own insurance and ensuring that they are in possession of private Travel Insurance with protection for the full duration of the trip in respect of medical expenses, injury, death, repatriation, cancellation and curtailment, with adequate benefits. Visitors making their own arrangements should ensure that there are no exclusion clauses limiting protection for the type of activities included in their tour.

A. Filtered drinking water is provided for guests staying at all Virunga accommodations with the exception of Nyiragongo.

A. All tourists must provide a certified negative PCR test for COVID 19 taken in the last three days or a COVID vaccination certificate. Please read our full COVID-19 guidelines before booking.