GORILLA TREKKING / GORILLA TRACKING

One of the best attractions in Uganda, but also in Rwanda and Congo is the mountain gorilla tracking also known as gorilla trekking. Mountain gorillas are an endangered species of primates which could only be found in few rain tropical forests in these areas of Equatorial Africa.

Mountain gorillas only in recent decades were studied and approached by the science, especially thanks to some primatologists, including the most famous Dian Fossey (“Gorillas in the Mist”, 1988). Fossey was killed in 1985, age 52, after spending years sensitizing the world on the protection of the gorillas against poachers and illegal trades.

The national authorities for the preservation of the national parks started to habituate some of the gorilla families, so that they could be familiarized to receive visitors as humans. This activity so called “gorilla tracking” must be booked long in advance to secure the individual permit. It is carried out in small groups of people, maximum of 8 per day per family of gorillas. This helps to safeguard and preserve the livelihood of the primates.

Gorilla Trekking

There remain only about 750 mountain gorillas in the world, according to the recent survey of 2006. Half of them, 370 individuals, are found in the Ugandan Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a small but original tropical forest in the South West of the country. The forest suffers from a highly population growth surrounding the park boundaries. About 30% of them have been habituated for the tourist visits, corresponding to 5 families, but more families are planned to be open up in future.

The other half is found in the Virunga Volcanoes Conservation area, which is shared between Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic. of Congo At the present moment, there are about 6 gorilla families which are possible to visit from the Rwandan Volcanoes National Park, starting from Ruhengeri. From the Congolese Virungas, there are about 5 families habituated and the tracking point can be reached from Kisoro in Uganda and from Gisenyi in Rwanda.

How to prepare your tracking:Gorilla Trekking
The gorilla safari is a trekking inside the mountain tropical forests. These are found in a high altitude of about 2000 metres on the average, and you expect cold temperature in the evening and very humid climatic conditions. Rain in this area is frequent and common all over the year. The duration of the trekking to see the selected gorilla family cannot be predicted since it depends on the movements of the particular group of gorillas.
However, you can expect a trekking of about 5 hours, sometimes in very hard terrains deep into the hills and mountains trails of any of the national parks where the gorillas are living. Bring with you trekking boots, light rain coat, and small bag to carry enough water and packed lunch from your lodge.

Destination Jungle will prepare you for the best Jungle program for gorilla tracking:

Uganda Bwindi National Park 3 days,
Rwanda Volcanoes National park 3 days
Congo Rwanda Gorilla Safari 9 days

DJ – Sounds of the Jungle