At Sparkloft Media, we believe that great ideas are born when people step outside their daily routines. That’s why we created the Discovery Trip — a unique benefit that gives every team member, after three and six years, an extra week of paid time off plus a travel stipend. The only rule? Choose a destination outside your comfort zone.
This summer I had the chance to take my overdue Discovery Trip — and chose Rwanda. I had never been to this part of Africa before, I knew very little about the country and just researching the vaccinations that are required for entry put this trip definitely into the “outside the comfort zone” category.
The Discovery Trip isn't just about travel. It's about growth — returning with new perspectives that inspire our work and our lives.
Kigali: A City of Innovation and Remembrance
The starting point of the trip was Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Kigali surprised me with its modernity — electric motorcycle taxis buzz along clean streets, tech startups are on the rise, and there’s a strong sense of forward momentum.
But Kigali is also a city of remembrance. The Kigali Genocide Memorial offers a moving, sobering reminder of Rwanda’s past. Walking through the memorial — seeing photographs, reading names, and hearing stories — was one of the most powerful experiences of the journey.
Gorilla Trekking: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience
The highlight of the discovery trip was gorilla trekking in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park — a carefully managed, once-in-a-lifetime adventure. To protect the endangered mountain gorillas, permits are limited to just 80 per day and cost $1,500 per person. Each small group of eight visitors is assigned a specific gorilla family to visit, making the experience both intimate and sustainable.
Depending on where the gorillas spent the night, reaching them may involve up to a two-hour drive to the trailhead. There, you meet your guides and porters before beginning the climb. While you can carry your own pack, it’s customary to hire a porter — many of whom are former poachers. This approach is a powerful example of Rwanda’s conservation tourism model, showing locals that protecting gorillas and other wildlife, like golden monkeys, directly supports community livelihoods and the national economy.
From the trailhead, our group hiked for nearly two hours through steep, muddy terrain at an altitude of more than 2,500 meters (8,000 feet). Our guide stayed in constant radio contact with trackers who had gone ahead at dawn to pinpoint the gorilla family’s location. For the final half mile, we put on masks to safeguard the gorillas’ health and followed trackers as they used machetes to cut through dense vegetation.
And then, there they were — the Volcanoes National Park gorillas.
The first we saw was a mother tenderly cradling her 7-day-old infant. Nearby, another mother carried a 3-day-old baby. We watched teenage gorillas tumble and wrestle, two silverbacks posture in a heated exchange, and others lounge in the sun, grooming one another after breakfast. For one unforgettable hour, we shared space with these incredible creatures — so close that their family dynamics felt both familiar and extraordinary.
Too soon, it was time to say goodbye and begin the long descent down the mountain, carrying with me not just photographs, but an experience that will stay in my memory forever.
Rwanda’s Lessons in Resilience
While the gorillas were the headline, what struck me most was Rwanda’s people. In the decades since the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, Rwanda has rebuilt itself with remarkable unity and progress. Today, there are no ethnic divisions on ID cards — everyone is simply “Rwandan.” The country is also a world leader in gender equality, with over 60% of its parliament made up of women. Rwanda has been a pioneer in sustainability, becoming one of the first countries to ban plastic bags, and it has emerged as an innovation hub, home to Zipline’s groundbreaking drone delivery system for medical supplies. Rwanda is a living example of how a nation can redefine itself.
That said, the future is not without challenges. Regional tensions, particularly the ongoing conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, continue to create instability at Rwanda’s borders and raise difficult questions about security and diplomacy. Balancing rapid economic development with the need for political openness and regional peace will be critical for Rwanda’s next chapter. The country has come a long way, but its journey is still unfolding.
Learn More About Rwanda
- Visit Rwanda – Official Tourism Website
- Volcanoes National Park Gorilla Trekking
- Kigali Genocide Memorial
What Is the Sparkloft Discovery Trip?
✨ A unique employee benefit
After 3 and 6 years at Sparkloft, team members receive:
- One extra week of PTO
- A travel fund to support their trip
- Only one rule: choose a destination outside your comfort zone
Past Discovery Trips have taken Sparkloft employees everywhere from Morocco to Japan to Brazil — and now, Rwanda.
At Sparkloft, we know that inspired people create inspired work — and the Discovery Trip is one way we make that possible.
