Trip Report: 2-Day Rwanda Safari During the UCI Road World Championship By Katureebe Patrick as the Driver Guide

Anthony from Seattle Washington State, USA. On the 23rd September 2025 & 24th September 2025 with Katureebe Patrick as the Safari Guide

I definitely recommend this short but exciting 2-day safari while you’re in Kigali for the UCI World Road Championship or any other Event. Rwanda is good at combining old ways with new problems and conservation initiatives. For example, we went trekking through Volcanoes National Park with golden monkeys and mountain gorillas and took an interesting tour of the Gorilla Guardians Village while were just from the world racing champions from Kigali, and even going back to watch the rest of the races.

This schedule will show you some of Rwanda’s cultural and natural treasures that you won’t soon forget, whether you’re in Kigali for an international event or just passing through.

Day 1: Transfer from Kigali for a Gorilla Trek in Volcanoes National Park (23rd September 2025)

Our Rwanda adventure started very early in the morning, when Kigali was still buzzing from the UCI Road World Championship vibe. We left Kigali at 4:00 am before the Roads were Closed and also to be Early the Gorilla Trek and drove three hours across the rolling hills of the “Land of a Thousand Hills” to the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda’s Virunga Mountains.

On arrival we grabbed some Hiking Snacks from Musanze and went to the park headquarters for check-in and briefing. I checked in with a Gorilla Permit and my Client and waited for the park warden to Assign Us a Gorilla Family and Our Guide.

We were assigned the Susa Family and Mr. Torero as Our Ranger Guide. After a friendly briefing from Mr. Torero, we drove to the Trekking point of Susa Gorilla Family, started off into the thick montane forest for the best part of the trip: trekking with mountain gorillas. They had to walk through thick bamboo trees and hard terrain until they finally saw the Susa family. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see the gentle giants eat, groom, and play in their natural habitat. The hour spent with them felt like it would never end, and it was a strong reminder of how important it is to protect the environment.

After the Trek we drove to the Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge for Lunch and the afternoon rest

Overnight: Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge

Day 2: Golden Monkeys & Gorilla Guardians Village (24th September 2025)

The next day early morning at 6:30am, we went back to Volcanoes National Park to hike with golden monkeys. I checked in and got assigned to a Ranger Guide for the Golden Monkey Trek. Before going for the Trek, we had to test Rwanda Coffee

We had a short drive to Sacoola the trekking point for the Golden Monkey trek.

From the Client’s words

Tonny “It was a magnificent hike. This was a more pleasant and less strenuous activity than gorilla trekking. As they dashed through the bamboo forest, the monkeys hopped from branch to limb and watched us closely. It was hard and fun to capture shots of them because they never stayed still.”

After the hike, we traveled to the Gorilla Guardians Village formerly known as Iby’Iwacu Cultural Village, which is a cultural village near the Volcanoes National Park. We got to observe a number of different Rwandan traditions here. For example, we saw dancing and drumming performances, learned about local agricultural and hunting abilities, and even tried on traditional Royal Attire. The cultural visit gave a lovely cultural touch to our Primate adventure.

We drove back to Kigali in the late afternoon after the delicious Lunch at Migano Restaurant in Musanze, bringing with us the joy of witnessing the endangered primates and the warmth of cultural experiences of Rwanda. The UCI World Road Championship was going on in the city, which made it even more fun.

We arrived in the Evening and found when some roads were closed and being used for the racing of the UCI World Road Championship. We managed to use the open roads to get Our way to Serena Hotel Kigali. We arrived at Serena Hotel at around 5pm and checked in and that was the end of our 2 Days Rwanda Primate & Cultural Adventure