Rwanda

Rwanda gives you the mountain gorillas of the Virungas, and they are close to the capital. Kigali to Volcanoes National Park is about thirty minutes by helicopter, so you can land in the capital in the morning and be at the foot of the volcanoes by lunch. Then, the next day, you climb through the forest with your guide and the park's trackers until they find the family, and you have one hour with them.

We use two places. At One&Only Gorilla's Nest you stay in one of twelve private lodges at the base of the volcanoes. On our Uganda & Rwanda journey you also track golden monkeys in the bamboo forest. In Kigali you stay at The Manor Hotel, a 1950s house in an avocado garden in the hills. A specialist guides you privately through the Kigali Genocide Memorial, with time afterwards to sit with it, and then you visit the Inema Arts Center for the work of Rwanda's contemporary artists.

Your international flight lands at Kigali, or you come in by private aircraft: a Pilatus PC-12 from the Maasai Mara, or a Cessna Caravan from Kihihi in Uganda, clearing formalities on the way. A helicopter makes the short hop to Volcanoes and back. When you leave, an Embraer Praetor 600 or Phenom 300 can take you on to Nairobi or Johannesburg.

Gorilla trekking runs all year, and June to September and December to February are the driest months. Gorillas, Migration & Golf runs July to October, to catch the Mara on the way.