Gorilla trekking can also be referred to as gorilla tracking which all leads to seeing the gorillas in their natural wild. Gorillas are ape specie that live in Virunga mountain ranges and in Bwindi impenetrable Forest national Park. Gorillas share 98% DNA with humans making them our closest cousins in addition to chimpanzees and bonobos.
Mountain Gorillas are endangered with less than 800 gorillas remaining in the whole world. Half of the world’s gorillas live in Bwindi impenetrable Forest national park in Uganda with the other half living in Virunga Mountain ranges which is shared by Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo.
In Rwanda, the gorillas live in Volcanoes national park with half of the gorillas in Virunga mountain ranges living in this park. Then, in Uganda, the gorillas live in Mgahinga National Park with less than 20 gorillas living n this park and the other gorillas in Democratic Republic of Congo live in Virunga National park in the Eastern part of the country.
In trying to understand gorilla tracking better, there are common questions that re always asked and these can be answered as below;
– What is gorilla trekking?
Gorilla trekking is the process of hiking up in highlands where the gorillas live penetrating through thick shrubs in search of the mountain gorillas. Virunga mountain ranges and Bwindi impenetrable national park are both mountainous in nature and gorillas live up in the mountains or down in the valleys where they wonder around in the forest in search of food. Seeing them therefore involves hiking up and down in search of them where they are feeding from on the day. You will be guided with park rangers and guides who will clear to way to create pass for you as you search for these amazing apes. This takes 2-8 hours depending on the movement of the gorillas in their natural wild.
Which is the Best place to do gorilla trekking (how strenuous is gorilla trekking in Uganda compared to Rwanda)
Most gorilla trekking tours are done in Bwindi impenetrable Forest National park in Uganda and Volcanoes national park in Rwanda. The gorillas in Bwindi and Volcanoes national park all resemble in size and character with the slight difference being that the gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable Forest National park are more shy as they are not exposed to human beings daily like it is with those in Volcanoes National park.
These two parks have differences in terms of terrain and vegetation cover. Bwindi impenetrable Forest national park is more rugged with steep slopes and valleys. The forest cover is also very thick the reason it was called impenetrable forest and this makes photography a bit uneasy as the gorillas hide in the shrubs. This makes gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable more strenuous and yet adventurous. On the other hand, Volcanoes National park is covered by bamboo and the general vegetation cover is not thick.
The terrain is also not very steep and the gorilla groups there are categorized in terms of low, medium and high level, which allows different categories of people to be able to see the gorillas. Gorilla tracking in Rwanda will take 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on the gorilla group allocated. Therefore, in trying to determine the best place to do gorilla tracking, this will depend on the interests of the tracker. For someone who likes hiking and challenge, Bwindi impenetrable forest national park offers the best opportunity to see the gorillas. On the other hand, for someone who does not like taking up a challenge and yet want to see the gorillas with a bit of ease, Volcanoes National park offers the best opportunity.
How much is gorilla trekking (guide to pricing)?
If you book the gorilla tracking safari through a tour operator, you will get differing prices depending on the number of days you have and the number of people and the season. But for a reputable tour company, the cost must not be below USD900 depending on the number of people. The tour operator will quote the price including transport to and from the airport or town, accommodation and gorilla permit.
For the gorilla-tracking permit in Volcanoes National park Rwanda, the permit costs USD750. Then, for gorilla tracking permit in Mgahinga National park and Bwindi impenetrable Forest National park in Uganda, the gorilla permit costs USD600 and then for discounted season of April, May and November, the permit will cost USD450. For Rwanda, gorilla tracking tour can be one day to three or more days depending on other activities one wants to add in the itinerary. Where as for Uganda, one needs at least 3 days including travel days.
How safe is gorilla trekking?
Gorillas live in groups headed by the dominant male silverback. These gorilla groups are habituated for gorilla tracking by human beings. Therefore, gorilla tracking is safe since these gorillas are habituated to interface with human beings. During gorilla tracking, you are escorted by the armed ranger guides to protect the group from any danger in case of any attack by other animals in the park like elephants, duikers. You will be given briefing on how to behave while with the gorillas, such as keeping distance from the gorilla, keeping still in case the gorilla comes closer to you and touch you. All these are aimed at keeping you safe from any harm by the gorillas.
what to wear on a gorilla trek
Gorilla tracking involves penetration through thick shrubs and muddy ground. This therefore requires some special gear to ease the gorilla tracking adventure. For footwear, you need to wear hiking shoes or wellington boots to ease in the hiking. You need to have long stockings, which you will tuck in the pants. This helps to avoid crawling insects like ants from entering inside you pants. You also need to have gutters if you can park them. Also, you need to wear thick pants and long sleeved sweater or jacket. This is to protect you from the stinging nestles which you will be passing through as you are tracking the gorillas. You need to have gardening gloves to protect your hands from getting dirty since the ground is slippery and muddy and you will most likely be touching the ground. You need to wear warm clothing, as it gets very cold in the mountains especially in the evenings. You will also need wet gear just in case it rains. It tends to rain a lot in the mountains and the rain will always come unexpectedly. For more information on what to wear, you can refer to the parking list.
Is gorilla trekking worthy it?
Gorilla trekking is one of the most exciting adventure one must experience in life. The sight of our closest cousins in their natural wild feed and play in the forest is so fascinating. These are so peaceful giants which behave like human beings and it is really rewarding seeing their behavior. Being only found in a one region in the world, for adventure travelers, it is worth adding on the bucket list to see these rare endangered mountain gorillas. By gorilla tracking, you are helping in conserving these endangered animals as proceeds that come from gorilla tracking permit purchase goes to the conserving of these apes.