Certainly, we heard about the great increase in number of the mountain gorillas, and this is great news. If you didn’t then no need to worry check out here click here
An emotional mountain gorilla
Where to find the mountain gorillas
Mountain gorillas are in three African countries of the world two in East Africa and the other one in Central Africa. In East Africa Uganda and Rwanda are home to the rare mountain gorillas with two national parks in the far South West of Uganda which are Bwindi Impenetrable National park and Mgahinga gorilla national park within the Virunga massif. The Virunga massif also known as Mufumbiro/the Virunga conservation area covers 434km2(168sqmi) including the adjacent parks of Volcanoes National park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo where one can sight both the mountain and lowland gorillas. Gorilla safari Uganda and Rwanda gorilla tours are in no way affected by the current closure of the Virunga National Park in Congo which will resume its activities soon.
The altitude at Virunga massif ranges between 2,227m-4,127m with Mt. Muhavura at 4,127m, Mt. Gahinga at 3,474m on the Uganda-Rwanda border and Mt. Sabinyo at 3,645m on the Uganda-Rwanda-Congo borders. A triple gorilla experience is what one gets when they take a safari to any of these three countries.
Curious and playful mountain gorilla infant
The Virunga massif peaks of Mt. Muhavura, Mt. Mgahinga and Mt. Sabinyo are associated with local descriptions. Gahinga is a “Kinyarwanda” word from the people of Rwanda meaning a pile of volcanic lava stone heaps, Mahavura meaning guide and sabinyo meaning old man’s teeth, therefore have a guided walk through a pile of volcanic lava stone heaps to the old man’s teeth on your gorilla safari in Rwanda, Uganda or Congo. This area was previously home to a variety of refuge wildlife during the Pleistocene ice age as they trekked up and down the forest according to the weather.
There different habituated mountain gorilla groups open to tourism in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in four different sectors of Buhoma, Ruhijja, Rushaga and the Nkuringo. In the Virunga massif the gorillas are habituated in the different national parks of Mgahinga gorilla national park, Virunga national park and volcanoes national park though they are trans-boundary therefore they move within the whole massif.
The famous mountain gorilla trekking
Mountain gorilla trekking is the foremost tourist activity that has brought tourists for safaris in these three countries as they follow trails to trek a gorilla group and have a close view of the great jungle ape for one hour. There’s always a similar experience whether during a Rwanda gorilla safari, Uganda gorilla trekking safari or gorilla trekking safari in Congo.
The joy of finally getting to the mountain gorillas
Gorilla trekking Permit prices
To enjoy the gorilla trekking activity, one needs a permit that is booked prior the safari. In Uganda a gorilla trekking permit costs 600USD per individual per day, In Rwanda a gorilla trekking permit costs 1500USD and in Congo a gorilla trekking permit costs between 400-450USD
When one hour in the jungle isn’t enough, there’s another option;
Gorilla habituation is a great activity only experienced during Uganda gorilla safaris where a tourist gets to live with a gorilla family for 4 hours in a whole day activity at Bwindi impenetrable national park. This experience is one of a kind in Uganda done to make the gorillas familiar to tourists. Gorilla habituation has a different pricing from gorilla trekking, it costs 1500USD. During gorilla habituation the tourist should be accompanied by trained researchers that guide through the process since the habituated mountain gorillas are still undergoing learning.
Doe’s, one need to be fit to enjoy gorilla trekking? If that’s your question right here is the answer
The answer is Yes. The mountain gorillas are one of nature’s largest primates that reside in high steep mountain forests of up to 8000 – 13,000ft (1,500m-4000m), the same height a sky diver would jump out of a plane. Bwindi impenetrable national park altitude ranges between 1,160-2,607m above sea level and Virunga massif ranges between 2,227m-4,127m above sea level. This however, should not let a traveler miss the experience, a porter can be hired to help through the trek when one can’t do the activity by themselves.
Mountain gorillas are human like and great seeing how they manage living in the mountain heights. Experience the mountain gorilla habitats that are so diverse with very many more wild species.
