Flights into Goma, DRC arrive mid-afternoon from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Ethiopian Airlines. Upon arrival, you will be greeted at the airport, and transferred to your hotel. Our trip officially begins this evening at 7:00 pm for a Welcome Orientation and Dinner in our hotel.

Activities Included

Following breakfast, we'll load up our 4x4's and begin the journey into Virunga National Park/Parc National Des Virunga, or as it is locally known, simply Virunga - home to Mountain Gorillas, chimpanzees and Nyiragongo - an active strato volcano where a visitor can observe one of the four active lava lakes in the world!

Activities Included

Today we will be in the heart of Virunga National Park walking with our dedicated trackers in search of Mountain Gorillas. After our incredible time, we will spend the evening chatting with the rangers and park staff that keep this area protected and safe for our visit.

Activities Included

We have another full day dedicated to tracking Gorillas in this amazing ecosystem!

Activities Included

One of the many perks of visiting Virunga, is that when it comes to chimpanzee trekking, one doesn't have to go far. This morning we awake at our beautiful lodge and head out early in search of the local chimpanzee population, that can be often found less than 20 minutes from the lodge. We'll spend the morning following groups and individuals. In the afternoon, we will have a birding session and demonstration with rangers, on how they use dogs for tracking poachers and uncovering mines that are unfortunately hidden throughout the park.

Activities Included

Nyiragongo is one of eight volcanoes in the Virunga Mountains and one of the most beautiful and active volcanoes in Africa. It has a 1.2 km diameter summit caldera containing the world's most active and largest lava lake. Nyirangongo is infamous for its extremely fluid lava that flows like water when it erupts. Its a full days hike, but the rewards are well worth it once we set camp on the rim of this incredible volcano to photograph the captivating lava flow at night.

Activities Included

It's almost guaranteed that after our hike yesterday, everyone will appreciate a day of rest. For those of you with extra energy, there is an option to visit the local coffee plantation and see how Texas A & M is working to market Arabica coffee from the to the rest of the world.

Activities Included

Today will be a long day of transportation down to the southern end of Lake Kivu to Kahuzi Biega National Park. The last remaining home of the Grauer's Gorilla. Less than 130 remain in the wild, and less than 20 tourists visit this park each month. Kahuzi-Biega is a small, but beautiful park and every tourist dollar helps to protect these incredible animals!

Activities Included

Kahuzi Biega National Park is a vast area of primary tropical forest dominated by two spectacular extinct volcanoes, Kahuzi and Biega. The park has a diverse and abundant fauna. One of the last groups of eastern lowland gorillas (consisting of only some 250 individuals) lives at between 2,100 and 2,400 m above sea-level, and we will visit them today!

Activities Included

With a 310 bird species, 26 of which are endemic, Nyungwe is one of the most important, and still undiscovered, bird watching destinations in Africa. Reaching to almost 3000 metres above sea level with Mount Bigugu, the higest point in the park. Nyungwe's forests extend to altitudes occupied by few other forests in Africa. We'll explore the park this afternoon and see the largest troup of Black and White Colobus Monkeys.

Activities Included

Nyungwe is also home to one of Africa's greatest concentrations of chimpanzees and we will head off this morning to see them in their natural habitat. At any given time, we can be surrounded by upwards of fifty individuals, and it is something spectacular to hear them calling and see them moving around us.

Activities Included

Our next stop is crossing into Burundi to Lake Tanganyika. We will have the afternoon resting along the beautiful shores, and enjoy a wonderful dinner under the open air.

Activities Included

This morning starts with a sunrise boat trip into Rusizi National Park. Here we have a chance to see large groups of hippos and a multitude of the beautiful water birds that frequent this region. Afterwards, we'll head into Bujumbura for a city tour and a wonderful Farewell dinner.