Facts About Gorilla Trekking

Facts about Gorilla trekking are those key points that people who are interested in Gorilla Trekking should put into consideration before they go for the activity. Mountain Gorillas are trekked in three countries Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Uganda has 2 National parks inhabiting Mountain Gorillas including Mgahinga National park and Bwindi Impenetrable National park, Virunga National park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Volcanoes National park in Rwanda.

There are a number of facts about Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National park, and this article is very useful offering one of the best facts to know about Gorilla trekking.

  • A Gorilla permit in Uganda in Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Mgahinga National park costs 600USD, in Rwanda a permit costs 1500USD in Volcanoes National park, Democratic Republic of Congo it costs 400USD in Virunga National park.
  • For those trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National park there over 11 habituated Mountain Gorillas that are inhabiting the Mountain Gorilla ranges in different sectors
  • The trek starts with a short briefing about Gorilla trekking in the Morning after breakfast your guide drives you to the park headquarters with your packed lunch. After the short briefing about the dos and don’ts, carry the trekking stick and be grouped in 8 people.
  • When trekking the mountain Gorillas note that the gorilla families are already habituated hence used to the human face.
  • When trekking the Mountain Gorillas you have a chance of spotting a number of wild primates, bird species, butterflies, tree species, amazing sceneries and many more.
  • Mountain Gorillas are trekked starting from 30 minutes to 7 hours depending on where they were last seen , feed, played, built their nests and many more.
  • Rwanda was the first country where Gorilla trekking 1st took place.
  • Mountain Gorilla trekking started with great works of Dian Fossey in Rwanda and started a habituation process.
  • One needs to be physically fit to trek the Mountain Gorillas in their habitats.
  • The regions where Gorilla trekking in Uganda takes depend on your permit. The permits are issued out per region depending on the age, interest and physical fitness. Each sector has park headquarters where briefing station takes place in Bwindi. The sectors include Nkuringo, Ruhija, Rushaga, & Buhoma sector.
  • You’re given one hour with the Mountain Gorillas to view them as they feed, groom each other, play, build their nests and many more to encounter.
  • For Bookings: Contact the Tour Operators in their respective umbrella, i.e. in Uganda under the Association of Uganda Tour Operators (AUTO), and  Rwanda under the Rwanda Development Board. For Congo, you book direct with Virunga.
  • During the trek, you will be very close to the Mountain Gorillas that share the same DNA with human beings, therefore, make sure you are no sickly and don’t share food with gorillas.
book a gorilla trip