Traveler’s from all over Africa and the world still find gorilla safaris to be the most thrilling safari activity. Gorilla trekking, also known as gorilla tracking, is a technique used for gorilla safaris. It involves trekkers heading deep into the forest via various trail heads with armed rangers and tour guides in search of habituated mountain gorillas in the jungle.
Mountain gorilla trekking in Africa usually starts as early as 7:00 am with a training at park headquarters regarding what to do and what to avoid when trekking gorillas. This is done to start the experience of looking for
the gorillas. And when the tourists find the gorillas they will be given a period of one hour to be in the presence of the gorillas that is watching the gorillas feeding, watching the gorillas breast feeding, watching the mothers grooming their young ones, taking their pictures and recording their movies and among others.
Only three safari destinations in Africa offer trekking and tracking opportunities for mountain gorillas: Uganda and its two magnificent national parks, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Trekking mountain gorillas is best done in these areas. Other places to see mountain gorillas is Rwanda gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park, and gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park in Congo. Congo offers a second gorilla safari which is Eastern Lowland gorilla trekking in Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Kahuzi Biega National Park.
Gorilla safaris In Uganda.
The main destination for gorilla safaris in Uganda is the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which is located in the country’s far southwest. Due to its biodiversity and abundance of beautiful fauna and flora species, such as primates, mammals, birds, butterflies, reptiles, and plant species, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is one of the most visited parks in Uganda by many tourists. However, the Batwa people, who are also known as Uganda’s “pearl of Africa” are not to be overlooked.
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi, in the middle of an impenetrable forest, is a thrilling and adventurous safari experience. There are four primary sectors in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park where gorilla trekking is conducted: Rushaga, the only area where gorillas are habituated; Buhoma, the main trailhead for gorilla trekking in Uganda; Ruhija; and Nkuringo.
All of these sectors provide daily gorilla trekking, allowing trekkers over 15 to enjoy the excitement of climbing with the primates. With over 176 gorilla trekking permits available every day and approximately 23 habituated gorilla families, Bwindi Impenetrable is the best place to undertake gorilla trekking in Uganda and throughout Africa. More than half of the world’s remaining endangered mountain gorillas are found in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, more than any other location.
In addition to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, gorilla trekking can be done in Uganda in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, which is home to the Nyakagezi and Hirwa families, who migrated from Rwanda’s Kigali to Uganda’s Volcanoes National Park. This means that Mgahinga a national park so far has only two gorilla families’ available or trekking permitting 16 permits per day since a group of maximum 8 people are allowed to trek a particular gorilla family for one hour per day.
The cost of a gorilla trekking permit in Uganda is $800 for non-resident foreigners, $700 for residents, and UGX. 300,000 for East African Citizens. The gorilla trekking permit can be obtained directly from the Uganda Wildlife Authority or through a respectable tour operator like Takeoff Ventures Tours and Travel. It takes roughly nine to ten hours to travel from Kampala, the capital of Uganda, to either Mgahinga National Park or Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in order to start a mountain gorilla hike.
In in addition to gorilla trekking, visitors to Bwindi and Mgahinga national parks can enjoy other park activities including birdwatching, nature walks, the Batwa Experience, golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga gorilla national park and much more.
Gorilla safaris in Rwanda.
Going on a gorilla safari is one of the most popular safari activities that many tourists in Rwanda take part in. Uganda is the best safari destination to see mountain gorillas, but Rwanda is an excellent destination to go on a gorilla safari. Mountain gorilla trekking, which takes place in the Virunga Massif’s Volcanoes National Park, is Rwanda’s most popular safari activity for tourists.
The nation’s tourism sector is strengthened by this activity.
The Rwanda Development Board (RDB) offers this gorilla trekking permit directly, or you can get it through a tour operator that helps with gorilla trekking safari coordination. Because Rwandan gorilla permits are more expensive, many tourists decide to take flight into Rwanda, cross the border to go see cheaper mountain gorillas in Uganda or the Congo, and then return to Kigali, Rwanda for additional activities like hiking Dian Fossey's tombs, chimpanzee trekking, golden monkey trekking, genocide memorial visits, and cave visits, among other activities.
The journey to Volcanoes National Park takes two to three hours from Kigali city. Gorilla safaris In Democratic Republic of Congo. Going on a gorilla safari is one of the most well-liked activities that many visitors to a Congo
safari partake in. After Rwanda and Uganda, Congo is regarded as the third-best destination to see mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. Mountain gorilla trekking safaris take place in Congo’s Virunga National Park, which is a section of the Virunga Massif that is shared by three nations: Rwanda in the national park of volcanoes, Uganda in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, and the Congo itself in the Virunga National Park.
Travellers may discover the splendour of the oldest national park in Africa by going on an aerial gorilla trekking adventure at Virunga National Park. This was the first park to be gazetted and opened for tourism; however, because of the political unrest that Congo has experienced in recent years, the industry has suffered and
is currently only beginning to recover.
As a result, every gorilla trekking safari needs to be accompanied by a company of armed officers to guarantee the highest level of security for visitors, but currently the country is better and safe for gorilla safaris. Each individual may trek the gorillas in the Congo for $450, which includes full park security protection. Congo is the least expensive place in Africa to go gorilla trekking safari since this permit is can be at $200 during low season.
