DON'T MISS TRAVEL
DON'T MISS TRAVEL
One of the world’s top tourist bucket list activities on any African safari, Gorilla trekking is uniquely done in Uganda and Rwanda where the Muhavura mountain the natural habitat for the gorillas makes a border point among these three countries. One of the most iconic of these species are the silverbacks which are the elder males which have gray hair on their backs. They are the dominant males that protect, lead and guide the family on movements and directions. The 2-3 hours’ gorilla expedition is one of the most exciting world trips to go after in a life time. The treks are done in a series by the guides starting from early morning hours when the gorillas are just waking up.
You are advised book tickets in advance time of 3-6 months before the trekking date to have a chance of taking on this activity for there’s a limited number of visitors that are assigned to each gorilla family per day. The tickets are sold on the basis of first come, first serve.
For every permit you pay for and every visit you make to mountain gorillas and golden monkeys destinations, you directly contribute to the efforts of conservation and preservation of these endangered species; We salute all those that have embarked on this journey before.
Rwanda is the other destination of trekking these magnificent giants in its Volcanoes national park, an activity which also involves trekking up the volcanic mountains along with the entertaining golden monkeys, walks around the Ellen de Genera eco research center, spotting of various bird species among other activities.
The Gorillas are seen after a trek up the ranges of the Muhavura mountains and through thick montane rain forests. The biggest population of the gorillas that is 53.9% of the world’s less than 800 of these gentle giants lives in the Bwindi Impenetrable national park forests and Mgahinga National park of Uganda. The parks have 15 gorilla families that can be tracked and habituated (all day tracking). A brief talk of the history of the parks and behavior of the gorillas precedes the trek to equip you with more knowledge of how to engage with the mountainous giants. Gorilla trekking in Uganda comes along with golden monkey tracking, bird species and Albertine endemics in the montane area.
Gorilla trekking, birding, nature walks & hiking, sceneries, crater lakes....
Gorilla trekking, primates, hiking & nature walks, volcanic sceneries....
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Gorilla trekking, golden monkeys, crater lakes, chimpanzees, boat cruises, birding...
Gorilla trekking, golden monkeys, hiking, birding, volcanic features & sceneries...
Gorilla trekking, golden monkeys, Africa's big 5, boat cruise, birding, nature walks...
It will take 10 hours to drive from Entebbe international airport to Bwindi impenetrable national park in Uganda; with another option to use Kigali international airport from Rwanda taking 4 hours only. And only 3 hours to drive from Kigali international airport to the Volcanoes national park in the northwest of the country. Both countries are relatively doing well in terms of security and higher priority is given their tourism sectors.
Habituation is only done at Bwindi impenetrable national park giving an opportunity to visitors 4 hours per day with the Gorillas at a charge of $1,500 (tourists), $1,000 (foreign residents) and 750,000 UGSHS for East African nationals.
A gorilla trekking permit in Uganda costs $800 for tourists (FNR- foreign nationals/residents), $700 for foreign residents (FR), $500 for individuals from the rest of Africa, Ugshs. 300,000 for East African residents.
A gorilla permit in Rwanda costs $1500 for foreign nationals, $500 for foreign residents in Rwanda, rest of Africa and African nationals and $200 for East African residents and Rwandan citizens.
As soon as you locate these mountain gorillas, you will be allowed to stay with them for over an hour as you are having photos, observing, asking questions and so on. However, during this session, you are not allowed to eat anything, drink, and take photos when the flash lights are on.
You are not allowed to get too close to the gorillas and also advised to wear a mask if you’ve got one a regulation aimed at protecting the primates from catching viral or bacterial respiratory diseases like flue or cold.
When the one hour of staying around a particular gorilla family elapses, you are asked to get back to the lodge and leave the jungle for the gorillas.