Benefits of Gorilla trekking and conservation; Gorilla trekking is one of the finest tourism activities in the East African region. Visitors from all different race of world visit Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda yearly to watch these impressive creatures ‘’ great primates’’ in their natural habitats. Other majorly done activities in these three countries includes; nature walks, bird watching, cultural visits, game drive, fishing and boat cruise many more.
More so, Gorilla trekking is an incredible activity which entails hiking through dense forests to search for gorillas. Mountain gorillas can be only seen up close at Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo – Virunga National Park, Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Among the three countries – Uganda has the highest population of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas but some visitors prefer Rwanda because of the shorter driving distance to the gorilla parks.
Cost of Gorilla Permits; Among the three countries that offer ‘’Mountain Gorilla Trekking’’, Rwanda is the most expensive destination. Gorilla permits in Rwanda cost USD1500 and this doubles Uganda’s price of gorilla permits. Gorilla trekking permit cost USD700 in Uganda per person and USD400 in Congo. Generally, accommodation costs in Uganda and Congo are cheaper than those in Rwanda.
Note; Gorilla permits are the tickets that allows visitors to visit gorillas in the jungle. Permits are usually on high demand and one wishing to trek gorillas as to make their bookings in advance, preferably 6 months earlier than your expected travel date.
Best time to visit the gorillas is during the dry seasons starting in June to Mid-September and December to February when the gorilla trail is mud free, not slippery and roads to parks are accessible. The weather seasons are the same in all the three countries.
Day of gorilla trekking, visitors are briefed at the park headquarters about what to expect while tracking the gorillas.
Rules for gorilla trekking;
Keeping a safe distance from the primate
Do not eat in their presence.
Flash cameras are allowed
Always stay silent when your near primates.
Accessibility;
All gorilla national parks can be accessed by either road or air. Road transport is the most preferred means of transport by travelers. Travelers get chances to experience the nature and stop at other important tourist attractions along the journey.
Air transport; This is the best used transport for travelers who have limited time in the country though it’s more expensive compared to road transport.
Interestingly, Gorilla parks in all countries are surrounded with very beautiful accommodation facilities in form of Eco –lodges, cottages and hotels. Some are located in the nearly towns and offer budget friendly or luxurious facilities.
Benefits of Gorilla Trekking to Communities Living Close to the Park;
Gorilla trekking has benefited the communities living around the national park in many ways. The money got from gorilla tourism has enabled the park management to pay scientists like veterinary doctors and researchers. They also offer important duties like checking the primates regularly for any sicknesses, conducting gorilla censuses as well as establishing how to improve on their living conditions where necessary. This is the reason why the overall population of mountain gorillas continues to increase.
Money generated from gorilla trekking has enabled the government of ‘’Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo to employ rangers and their role in the park is protect the primates from poachers, intruders, rebels and forest encroachment many more. Gorilla trekking has also helped to prevent poachers from encroaching the park to hunt down the gorillas for meat. This is because there are regular tourists in the company of the park rangers.
This has benefited to the communities around the park in such a way that when the primates are protected from poachers and their future generations will continue to be beneficiaries of gorilla trekking.
The rangers, park guides and standby patrol teams not only organizing gorilla trekking and also monitoring the movement of the primate within the forests to locate where they last built their nests so as to ensure that visitors see them in the shortest time.
Mountain gorilla trekking has led to the development and rejuvenation of other sectors of the economy like; the road system leading to the gorilla parks has been improved. The money generated has also been used to develop other tourism sites such as Chimpanzee and Golden monkey trekking. Although the biggest percentage of the money collected from Gorilla permits is always remitted to the surrounding communities of the parks. More so, the money collected enables the local people through their leaders to build schools, health centers, clean and safe water sources many more. These services are either offered free of charge or at discount to the communities living close to the gorilla parks.
Visitors who visit the gorilla parks usually visit the surrounding communities as well and engage into cultural activities. Activities include learning the traditional songs –dances, sampling traditional African foods, purchasing traditional African crafts and souvenirs like mats, hats, stools and music instruments’’.
Visitors also reside in the locally owned safari lodges within the national park surroundings and neighboring towns. This has led to the rise of local entrepreneurs who are behind the perfect accommodation facilities. More to that, many local youths have been employed in the safari lodges and in the parks as porters.
Lastly, gorilla trekking has benefited the local communities in many ways. Through improving the livelihoods of many people residing close to the national parks by providing employment opportunities, business opportunities and social services.
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