Gorilla trekking safari in Africa
Gorilla trekking is a thrilling activity where visitors move into the dense tropical forests in search of the endangered gorillas. Gorilla trekking activity is carried out in four destinations in Africa that is Bwindi impenetrable forest national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park in Uganda, Volcanoes national park in Rwanda, Virunga national park and Kahuzi Biega national park in Democratic Republic of Congo. These destinations harbor two species of gorillas that is the mountain gorillas and Eastern lowland gorillas which are found in Kahuzi Biega national park. There was a mountain gorilla census that was conducted and the results show that there are about 1,063 mountain gorillas in African and 459 individuals which are half of the total number are found in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park which makes it one of the best gorilla trekking destinations in Africa.
Gorilla trekking destinations in Africa
Bwindi impenetrable national park
The national park is located in southwestern Uganda in Kanungu district. Bwindi impenetrable national park is a home of half of the endangered mountain gorillas with 19 habituated gorilla families which live in four sectors in the park that is Buhoma sector in the north, Ruhija sector in the east, Rushaga sector in the south and Nkuringo sector in the south. Gorilla trekking in the park is carried out early in the morning and starts with a briefing about the expectations, rules and regulations to follow during trekking. After the briefing you will enter into the jungle with a park guide who will be sharing information about the mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking safari takes about 2 to 6 hours or even more depending on the location of the gorilla family and once found you will spend one hour in the presence of the gorillas learning about their habits, behaviors, taking a lot of photos with a flash less camera and recording the moments.
Bwindi impenetrable forest national park also offers gorilla habituation experience a process where the mountain gorillas are trained to get used to the human presence. During gorilla habituation process, you will go with a team of researchers, guides and participate in the habituation process therefore you will get an opportunity to spend four hours with the gorillas unlike gorilla trekking where you spend one hour with the gorillas.
Mgahinga gorilla national park
The park is located in southwestern Uganda in Kisoro district. Mgahinga gorilla national park is another destination in Uganda that offers gorilla trekking activity and a home of two habituated gorilla families that is Nyakagezi and Hirwa family. Hirwa family migrated from Volcanoes national park in Rwanda in October 2019 and it’s now trekked in Mgahinga gorilla national park. Just like in Bwindi impenetrable national park, gorilla trekking starts with a briefing at Ntebeko park entrance and after the briefing visitors will be grouped into 8 individuals and given a park guide who will be sharing information during trekking. Gorilla trekking in the park takes about 2 to 4 hours and once the gorillas are found you will spend one hour with them which is used to learn more about them in terms of their life style, behaviors, habits, way of feeding as you take photos and record the moments which gives you incredible and lifetime memories on your gorilla trekking safari.
Volcanoes national park in Rwanda
Volcanoes national park is located in northwestern Rwanda and one of the best gorilla trekking destinations in Africa due to the location of the park from the airport and the experience gained. Volcanoes national park is a home of over 14 habituated gorilla families which are available for trekking daily. Gorilla trekking in the park starts with a briefing about the gorilla expectations while trekking, rules and regulations where after you will be grouped into 8 individuals to trek a gorilla family and allocated a guide who will be leading you to the gorilla family. Trekking in the park takes about 2 to 7 hours in the jungle and once the gorilla family has been found you will spend one hour with them taking photos, recording videos and learning about their habits, behaviors, lifestyle among others.
Virunga national park
Virunga national park is located in eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo and harbors 8 habituated gorilla families. Gorilla trekking in the park starts early in the morning with a briefing at the park headquarters and after the briefing you will grouped into 8 individuals to trek each gorilla family. Trekking takes about 2 to 5 hours depending on the location of the gorillas and once found you will spend one hour in their presence learning about their lifestyle, behaviors, habits, taking photos and recording the moments among others.
Kahuzi Biega national park
The national park is one of the largest national parks located near the border of Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Kahuzi Biega national park harbors the eastern lowland gorillas which are bigger as compared to the mountain gorillas and they have been habituated into 5 groups. gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega national park starts with a briefing at the park headquarters and after the briefing you will start trekking in the jungle through the swamps which takes about 2 to 5 hours and once the gorillas have been found, you will spend one hour with them in their natural habitat watching them feeding, playing, females nursing their babies as you take photos and record the moments.
Cost of a gorilla trekking permit
A gorilla trekking permit is a legal document that is issued to a visitor above the age of fifteen years allowing him or her to trek a gorilla family in any destination. gorilla trekking in Africa is carried out in three countries that is Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo where each country has its own price for gorilla trekking therefore visitors who want trek mountain gorillas in Bwindi impenetrable national park and Mgahinga gorilla national park the gorilla trekking permit costs $600 which with effective from June 2020 will cost $700 for foreign non-residents, $500 for foreign residents and UGX 250,000 for East African residents. However a gorilla trekking permit in Uganda was increased by $100 for foreign non-residents and foreign residents effective 1st July 2020 therefore visitors should book early to catch up with the deadline.
Gorilla trekking permit in Volcanoes national park costs $1500 for all nationalities and it’s the most expensive permit in all African countries.
Gorilla trekking permit in Democratic Republic of Congo costs $400 for the foreign non-residents and foreign residents and a discounted gorilla permit at $200 during the low season. Democratic Republic of Congo is therefore the only destination that offers a cheap gorilla trekking permit and a discounted gorilla trekking permit which favors budget travellers.
How to book for a gorilla trekking permit
There are two options to consider when booking a gorilla trekking permit for example booking directly through Uganda Wildlife Authority which is a government body in charge of tourism in Uganda, Rwanda Development Board and Virunga tourism offices in Grande Barriere building Democratic Republic of Congo.
A gorilla trekking permit in any gorilla destination can also be booked via a trusted tour operator like Achieve Global Safaris. When booking via a tour operator you will contact us on the dates, month, year and destination when you want to engage in gorilla trekking and we will check for availability of the permit depending on the dates you have given us. Once there is a gorilla permit in that destination you will be asked to make a deposit on the gorilla trekking permit. Once the deposit has been made you will be asked to send your scanned passport copies which will be used to process the permit and we will purchase your gorilla trekking permit and send you scanned copies as confirmation which will be issued to you on your arrival when you are starting your safari.
A gorilla trekking permit in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, Mgahinga gorilla national park, Volcanoes national park and Virunga national park should however be acquired 3 to 6 months in advance before the trekking date so as to avoid disappointments because the gorilla trekking permits are competitive and usually get sold out especially during the peak season.
Best time to go for gorilla trekking safari in Africa
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, Mgahinga gorilla national park, Volcanoes national park, Virunga national park and Kahuzi Biega national park can be done anytime throughout the year though the best time is during the dry season in the months of June to September and December to February. During the dry season there is less rainfall in the gorilla destinations therefore there will be short grass in the jungle therefore there will be clear viewing of the gorillas, access roads to the national parks will be passable and gorilla trekking trails in the tropical rainforest will be passable as compared to the wet season when the trails are wet, muddy and slippery making gorilla trekking difficult.
On your gorilla trekking safari in Africa you can pack a number of essentials like hiking shoes, garden gloves, energy snacks, long sleeved shirt and trouser, long stockings, warm sweater, insect repellent, camera, backpack among others.
Gorilla trekking will offer you fascinating and unforgettable experiences on your safari and you can also combine it with other activities in the gorilla destinations like bird watching, nature walk, hiking, golden monkey trekking, visiting the Batwa/pygmies which gives you breathtaking memories on your gorilla trekking safari in Africa.
