Gorilla Mountain View Lodge; This is a spacious eco-lodge that lies on the foothills of the Mount Karisimbi one of the volcanic mountains that make up the Virunga Volcanoes Range. It also referred to as the Virunga Massif. Furthermore ,it stuns with rewardable views of the volcanoes.
Gorilla Mountain View Lodge also locates only 3 kilometers from the park headquarters. It’s location ease to the trekking trails of mountain gorillas and golden monkey tracking and also a cozy and comfortable property to come back to each evening, enjoy a fire place for your warmth and they provide blankets that keeps you warm throughout the night.
They have 30 comfortable cottages which are made from brick and tile. Nothing extravagant they can do but to provide everything you need like en-suite bathroom and comfortable. Supplied by a generator that connects electricity and hot water in the bathrooms. Its location leads you to easy trekking of the gorilla’s family.
Each cottage has a fire area inside the room and since the area experiences a lot of cold here, definitely you will enjoy the warmth inside the room.
The lodge was designed with spacious stone and thatch chalets which are spread across the tropical grounds. They were furnished with traditional décor and friendly staff.
Layout –Gorilla Mountain View Lodge
Recently, they have built a new wing to the property that makes attracts visitors here.
The lodge has a great overlooking of the volcanos.
Nice and comfortable dining and lounge area.
Activities to do at Gorilla Mountain View Lodge/Volcanoes National Park
Gorilla trekking Experience
Gorilla trekking is the main done activity at the lodge, which starts early in the morning after your breakfast served with delicious snacks, served with packed lunch boxes. Then after your driver guide will drive you to the park headquarters for briefing about rules of gorilla trekking in the forest. After a park ranger will lead you to the forest trail heads in search of a gorilla group you assigned to trek. As you’re trekking, you will have a chance of seeing other species like bird species, small monkeys like colobus monkeys, vegetation, tree species among others. Gorilla trekking experience can take about 30 to 7 hours, depending on their movements. But once you locate them one hour will be given to you to watch them as they feed, play, grooming their young ones, as you enjoy your lunch boxes as well as taking memorable photography. After hike back to the lodge.
Golden Monkey Trekking
This is an exciting activity which starts in morning accompanied with guides who leads you the forest to track them. When you meet them you will have to walk after them as you get excited about these active species which move from place to place while swinging on tree branches.
Visit the Grave Dian Fossey
On visit at the lodge, you can choose to visit the grave of Dian Fossey a famous person who carried a great research about mountain gorilla’s life style. The guide will guide you and gives you about her historical information behind Dian Fossey.
Mountain Hiking
Volcanoes National Park is famous destination dotted with beautiful volcanoes, landscape, mountains, bamboo forests where you can enjoy this experience of hiking while hiking you can be able to spot notable bird species.
Bird watching Nature walk
You can also be able to do birding in bamboo forest where you can be able to watch notable bird species such as Ruwenzori batis, Strange weaver, Olive-bellied, Bronzy sunbird, Crested barbet, African green broadbill, Grey-backed fiscal, Ruwenzori double –collared sunbird many more.
Location of Volcanoes National Park;
Volcanoes National Park is located in northwestern region of Rwanda, covering about 160 square kilometers of rainforest and encompasses five of the eight volcanoes in the Virunga Mountains where hiking can be carried out such as Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo. Despite the fact Volcanoes National Park mainly protects the steep slopes for this magnificent mountain range and a home of the endangered mountain gorillas and other wild animals. The park also is rich in scenic ecosystem which embraces evergreen and bamboo forest, swamp, heath and open grassland.
