Every single day, a gorilla family receives 8 tourists to share with them a maximum of 1 hour in the popular gorilla trekking activity.
A gorilla family or group constitutes of a number of gorillas mostly including the lead silverback gorilla, the females, infants and juveniles.
Each gorilla family nests in a different place and every morning the park rangers and trackers allocate where they spent the night before trackers/trekkers are led to see the gentle giants.
Gorilla family allocation is done by the park management. Mountain Gorillas of Uganda are found within Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
In Rwanda mountain gorillas are found in Volcanoes National Park and in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
However, no matter the fact that a gorilla family to trek is allocated in the morning of the trek during briefing, a tourist also has the opportunity to request for placement in the group of their choice.
One might have read about the behaviors of different gorilla families before their trek and are interested in a specific family but unfortunately can’t be allocated before the trek day.
This is so because, gorillas have an unpredictable movement pattern (they nest/sleep) in a different place every night.
This make it difficult to pre-determine where the gorillas will be on the day of the trek.
This is reason as to why trackers go to the jungle each day early morning to search for the gorillas. They after communicate to the park headquarters and this helps in the allocation of families to trekkers.
Whether for a Uganda gorilla trekking safari, gorilla safari in Rwanda or Congo gorilla trekking safari, several factors are considered for the allocation of a gorilla family a tourist will trek. Here are the mostly considered factors;
Its always advisable to book your gorilla trekking permit early since it offers a chance to choose the sector to trek (applicable to Uganda).
Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the popular gorillatrekking safari Uganda destination with mountain gorillas found in the four sectors of the park (Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo).
The purchase of a Uganda gorilla trekking permit is dependent on the availability of the permit in a specific sector.
In case you would love to trek a family in a specific group then booking early would greatly help in providing change to trek in that specific sector.
When you are planning a gorilla trekking safari, accommodation is a key priority because after hours of hiking through the jungle you’ll definitely need a good place to rest.
Accommodation is rated as Luxury, Mid-range and budget or basic and according to your preference you will have to book a lodging facility month prior to the safari.
According to your preference the location of your choice of accommodation can determine which sector you will trek (applicable to Bwindi).
This is so because gorilla trekking starts in the morning and therefore one need to be at the park headquarters by 8:00am, roads can be rough and distance uncoverable within a few hours. Your tour operator will advise you on this.
Gorillas live on a high altitude however, not all of them are in the same point, some might reside at a lower altitude whereas others on a high altitude.
Trekkers are urged to disclose their physical fitness levels to the park rangers during the time of family allocation.
This will help park rangers to allocate a family according to the information given by the trackers offering either a short, medium or tough hike.
Physically unfit trackers and the aged are in most cases allocated gorilla families that are easy to find.
Now that you know, whether planning a Congo gorilla safari, Rwanda gorilla trekking safari or Uganda gorilla tour, endeavor to plan right. Don’t undermine any factor whether permit, accommodation or your physical ability.
Cate
Samuel
Robert
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