Have you ever sought of meeting the rare mountain gorillas in a very close distance of about 7metres eye to eye? A close encounter with these giants is a moment in life very difficult to forget. Rwanda is blessed to be among the gifted countries to host these giants, a visit to this African country is never a regret, given the fact that it’s the leading mountain gorillas safari destination in the world housing almost a half of these endangered mountain gorillas indeed its worth to visit Rwanda for gorilla tracking.
Many people in the world still asking how these species are habituated and how they can be tracked by human yet their wild animals, tourism might be causing disturbance or exposing the animals to human disease. Its true gorillas can be met in their natural habitat since they are habituated thanks to the work of rangers particularly, a big thanks should go to Dian Fossy who habituated and studied these endangered mountain gorillas for a period of over 18 years, although she was killed by the said poachers whom she had made herself very unpopular since she was against their acts of gorilla poaching, Without her work truth the gorillas probably wouldn’t be here at all without tourism. It is the one thing that can guarantee their survival, by making them worth more alive than dead. Three counties in the world which host these giants include Rwanda Uganda and the Democratic tic Republic of Congo, about 880 mountain gorillas left in the world, 480 live in the Virunga Volcanoes, which straddle Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and some 400 in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.
Volcanoes national park is the only place people think to go when they think of mountain gorillas over 11 habituated gorilla family live in the park and 8 visitors are permitted to track in each group each day. Only one hour is allowed stay with these mountain gorillas but that one hour is likely to be the most emotional, humbling and exciting of your life. The mud and sweat become distant memories as these wild mountain gorillas is a true privilege and, if everyone could do it just once, the world would be a better place.
Volcanoes national park covers an area of 160sqkm and it is known as the oldest national park in Africa and it was gazette in 1929, it’s located in the northwestern part of Rwanda in Ruhengeri Musanze district about 2-3 hours from Kigali Rwanda’s capital and its largest city. The park is known as one of the most biologically diverse places in the world. The park houses mammal species like spotted hyena, buffaloes, elephant, black fronted duiker, and bushbuck can also be seen. It also hosts over 250 species of birds including at 29 endemics to Rwenzori Mountains and the Virungas. However mountain gorillas are the star attraction and these species have made Rwanda a popular tourist destination in the world a very big number of visitors visit Rwanda each year and over 80% of travels to Rwanda go gorilla tracking making it the most tourist attraction many people yearn for.
Rwanda Tourism Offices (ORTPN) has habituated 11 gorilla families for tracking and one gorilla group for research purpose. Each group is led by a dominant silverback responsible for any activity taking place in a group including determining where to feed, rest, also responsible for protecting the group with other members like the black back for any attack even if it means losing life a silverback can do in order to defend the group. Indeed there is no an interesting activity done on earth than a one hour encounter with the endangered mountain gorillas. For more information about gorilla tracking in Rwanda or Uganda contact us our team is read to get back to you as soon as possible.
Tips to Enjoy Your Gorilla Trek
It’s always good to your money for the gorilla safari and come back when satisfied , however to achieve this the following tips applies;.
When on a gorilla safari you should always take the guide’s advice and tuck in your clothing. What ever the guide tells you do ounce in the forest do because you may miss out something very important When a guides tell you stop My group stumbled upon some safari ants and those guys managed to find the tiniest places to get to know you better. On the other hand, we found that we didn’t need gloves, though they appear on some lists as recommended items.
When the group eventually gets close to the gorillas, guides and trackers will do their best to help you get the best photos and views of the gorillas. That’s when you really get to go off the beaten path, climb over and through bushes with the guides’ machetes leading the way, trying to keep up with the wandering gorillas.
The gorilla groups range in their location, and move around a few miles each day. You can end up walking anywhere from about an hour to 4 hours each way to visit the group, depending on which group you are assigned to. We visited the Kwitonda group the first day, which was a group of over 20 mountain gorillas, about 1.5 hours away walking through dense secondary growth.
We visited the Sabyinyo group the second day, which was a close walk through a bamboo forest.
If you have more time, don’t miss a relaxing holiday along the Lake Kivu. The Rwanda gorilla trekking experience is much rewarding if you also visit the Lake Kivu where you can relax at the shores of the Lake enjoying the sunbathing and if interested take boat cruise along the Lake visiting several fishing villages.
We ended our trip with a Kigali city tour – Kigali is the Rwanda’s capital city and here we visited several craft crops and local markets. We shopped and enjoyed African fruits, local snacks and thereafter tonight we had to board our flight back to America. Therefore I recommend any one looking for African adventure to choose Rwanda the land of a thousand hills, the ultimate destination for gorilla watching.