Kwita-Izina 2018 is the time when gorillas born after the last naming ceremony will be given names. For three decades, prior to the first official gorilla naming ceremony, the park rangers and Researchers named Rwanda’s baby gorillas as a key part of the on-going program in monitoring each individual gorilla in their family and habitat.
This year’s naming ceremony will be held on 7th September 2018. It is the biggest gorilla ceremony because it attracts very important figures from both the tourism and conservation industries worldwide every year. This ceremony features cultural performances and renditions from the local population and that marks the climax of Kwita-Izina week. Over 20,000 guests converge in the northern province of Rwanda at the foot hills of the Virunga Mountains in Kinigi.
Attendees include both local and international visitors including researchers, travelers and the conservationists who come together to appreciate conservation and devise means to even do it better. 2018 presents this unique opportunity where up to 18 gorilla babies will receive their maiden names. It is one ceremony that makes gorilla tours to Rwanda something that is not worth missing. Every baby is given a name according to their birth location, circumstance of birth and the future expectations. The purpose for this is to easily monitor each individual gorilla in their families within the national park plus bringing to attention the importance of protecting the endangered mountain gorillas.
Having been initiated in the year 2005, the ceremony has seen over 258 baby gorillas being given a different name which is a mile stone in the volcanoes national park. The park has gradually become a prime gorilla home with a total of to 10 habituated gorilla families.
Your safari to gorilla naming ceremony won’t be boring because there are various other activities that shall take place as a build to the event. As well as other park activities that make this safari much more fun.
Firstly, the Kwita-Izina week includes a familiarization trip. This is always the first to take place and its aim is to make all the involved parties like media, travelers, and tour operators to a common ground in addition to sharing views on how best the tourism industry of Rwanda can be improved.
Travelers here will also get the opportunity to experience other tourism sites such as Nyungwe national park, Akagera national park, Lake Kivu, Nyanza kings palace among others.
During this phase of the tourism week, other government tourism authorities and stakeholders like Rwanda development board take the opportunity to bring to the world what other offers destination Rwanda has. Which include culture, historical and other attractions.
During this week, two days will be reserved for an exhibition in Kigali, dubbed “conservation on conservation”. Rwanda’s achievements over time will be shared and others displayed in form of tourism products and reading materials.
The event will then be concluded with Igitaramo / a cultural dinner to fundraise for Rwanda’s future conservation projects. The dinner will also include entertainment from the locals, traditional cuisine and relaxation along the breezy shores of Lake Kivu.
What makes this year’s gorilla ceremony more interesting is that in the eve of gorilla naming festival, travelers, and locals will meet other invited guests and major players in the industry at the rocks cultural center to share their success stories and prospective investors will get an idea or two on how one can survive in the competitive industry.
Guests will also be able to learn how Rwanda has been able to make its tourism industry a major economic driver as the current, and how the future ideal state will be improved and maintained at the same time. It’s also a chance for tour operators to make more partnerships and increase their visibility globally.
This year’s gorilla naming ceremony makes Rwanda a perfect destination to explore the land of a thousand hills. Turn your dream into a reality and visit this year for an awe-inspiring gorilla naming event.