Special brands of Visit Rwanda, a land of a thousand hills, have made Rwanda one of the best safari destinations in Africa, especially in East Africa. However, gorilla trekking is greatly behind all the brands and has proven to be such a great safari suggestion in Rwanda. If you’re looking for a lifetime travel experience around the globe, then take this amazing gorilla safari.
Gorilla safari tours are perhaps Africa’s highlight among the rest of the safaris. Nothing is more rewarding than entering this unlimited, deep jungle and tracing one of the world’s endangered species, the mountain gorilla. IUNC in 2019 unlisted mountain gorillas from the red list of critically endangered species to the list of critically endangered species.
A gorilla safari in Rwanda is, of course, mainly designed on a tailored and scheduled basis. This comes with a lot of complements, depending on the length of your suggested or requested trek. It’s almost everyone’s target on a safari in Rwanda, though there are many other safari activities to include on your Rwanda gorilla trek in the Volcanoes National Park.
Why mountain gorilla safaris are unique
Mountain gorillas are the closest human creatures; these species have been scientifically proven to share 98% of human DNA. So, these are the closest human relatives, beyond doubt, as studies continue to tell of the human evolution that took place about 7 million years ago.
And on the factual side, mountain gorillas are an endangered species and have remained endemic to only two forests within the Albertine rift valley at the edge of the central African tropical forests. Mountain gorillas can only be located in two forests: Virunga Conservation Area and Bwindi Forests. The two forests are shared among three countries; the Virunga forests are shared among Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Bwindi in Uganda. The three countries also share the four parks, where Rwanda hosts Volcanoes National Park, Uganda hosts two of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, and Democratic Republic of Congo hosts Virunga National Park.
Gorillas are endemic to these forests and can’t survive in any other environment. Mountain gorillas, even with the greatest care possible, can’t survive in captivity. This has attracted many travelers globally to come and watch these amazing, rare creatures. At their crafted, unaccompanied home, mountain gorillas also have a very weak immune system; even a small cold cough can kill them.
What a full gorilla safari tour package includes
This is a fully handled trip, with almost everything covered. When booking your gorilla safari tour in Rwanda, expect the following: gorilla trekking permit(s), vehicle and fuel, an experienced driver guide, all adventure activities, accommodation and all meals, and all park entrances. For cases like hard drinks, buying souvenirs, tips, and anything not included in the package, it is never catered for.
How much is a gorilla permit in Rwanda?
A chance to secure it is never for granted, and this needs to be done at least three months before your trekking date. Gorilla trekking is very competitive, and there are limited opportunities available daily to see these endangered human closest relatives. So, permits are always reserved in advance, and this is to avoid the embarrassment of reaching the destination when all permits are reserved for your preferred date.
Rwanda has about 96 gorilla permits available daily; the gorilla permits here double from the previous US$750 to US$1500 per permit. In 2017, the Rwanda Development Board doubled the cost of the gorilla permit to US$1500 to strengthen the conservation activities of the gentle giants and uprising the lives of communities around the park.
When to trek gorillas in Rwanda
The gorilla trekking safaris in Rwanda are done throughout the year; the most popular period to trek gorillas is the drier months of December to February and the months of June to August. Hiking into the montane forests of about 2000m plus trekking gorillas is more strenuous in the rainy seasons. Being in tropical rain forests, it may rain throughout the year.
Gorilla trekking etiquette
Mountain gorillas share 98% of the DNA of humans; however, mountain gorillas have a very weak immune system that is not like the human immune system and can easily be affected by human infectious diseases. A simple cold cough threatens the lives of mountain gorillas. Actions have been taken to control, prevent humans from infecting, and ensure the effective conservation of the precious gentle apes.
Daily, only a number of eight visitors are allowed to trek with a single gorilla-habituated family. If you have contagious infections like a cold, flu, or any other, declare it to the park management before they find out themselves. Otherwise, if the park finds it out themselves, things will not be good, and you will be stopped and not refunded.
While trekking and encountering the giant apes, maintain a distance of 7 meters. This is aimed at ensuring your safety. Though the gorillas are habituated, these are wild animals that are always sensitive to any threat and aggressively have to defend themselves against any threat, so they can end up attacking you.
Don’t eat or drink when you’re with your gorilla-trained family. The gorillas can be attracted to aggressively react to grab what you’re eating, though feeding these wild animals is not allowed; they have to maintain feeding on wild green.
Taking photographs, photographing gorillas you should not use flashing cameras, and sound from cameras is not allowed. While taking photographs, avoid making reckless movements when with gorillas because these gorillas have in mind that they are wild animals.
What to carry and wear to trekking gorillas
Mountain gorillas, as the name states, reside in mountainous forests, which can always receive heavy rainfall. Most of the time, the forests are moist, making it necessary to put on jungle boots or garden gum boots. Due to the moist and slippery rolling forests, hand gloves and rainproof coats are necessary due to unexpected showering.
Trekking gorillas may take about 1 hour to 8 hours searching for giant apes, and it’s ideally better to carry a packed lunch and enough drinking water.
Mountain gorilla trekking process
Although the whole process began after ensuring your gorilla permit, on your trekking date, have an overnight near the park as trekking starts early. That early morning, your driver guide drove you to the park headquarters. You’re grouped with eight people to trek with a single habituated family.
After grouping and assigning a gorilla family to trek, you’re briefed on trekking etiquette for your own safety and the safety of the apes. With an armed ranger guide, start to penetrate steep and sloping forests, tracing for gorillas.
Trekking gorillas doesn’t call for a certain level of fitness, but it will be helpful to be fit, as trekking may last for 30 minutes to 8 hours to encounter gorillas. Trekking is done at a slower pace, and where need be, take a short break and continue until you encounter the gentle giants. Trekking through the thick forest may seem to be very tedious, but finding the gentle giants makes all the wearisomeness disappear. You have an hour of summit with the gorillas watching as the juveniles keep on entertaining you, and the opportunity to contact the silver back eye-to-eye is a lifetime experience.
An hour with the gorillas here is life-time experience; the ranger guide will answer whatever question you have about the experience. Taking photographs from all angles but only maintaining a distance of 7 meters, limiting your movements, and taking lower shots is encouraged. At this moment, is it not a drinking or eating moment but rather feeding the eyes and the mind to fill your daily travels?
Supplement on a gorilla safari tour in Rwanda
Rwanda is naturally a gifted nation that offers a lot for a safari tour. The nature of your safari packages is important for deciding which other adventures to include on your great gorilla safari tour in Rwanda. There are a variety of adventure activities done in different national parks, such as Nyungwe Forest National Park and Akagera National Park.
This greatest gorilla safaris tours can include adventures like cultural community visits, golden monkeys, Diana Fossey grave hiking, volcano hiking, and nature walks. The tour can include other parks and activities like game drives, boat cruises, chimpanzee tracking, canopy walks, Kigali city drives, and visiting Lake Kivu, among others.