Gorilla Tracking Safari Tips | What Is Gorilla Trekking

Gorilla Trekking Safari Tips

Tips for the gorilla trekking safari to Uganda or Rwanda include booking the permit in advance, planning the safari in advance, packing the rightis gorilla safari gears and more.

For adventure seekers, gorilla trekking is on the top of the bucket list of most tourists. The limited number of gorilla permits open to the public in Rwanda and Uganda is the barrier to gaining access to this adventure sometimes as maximum 8 gorilla permits per day per family are open.

Have some level of fitness before gorilla trekking safari because this adventure requires hiking sometimes. The mountain gorillas are mobile primates that spend time deep in the valley or on the slopes so you have to locate them.

Book The gorilla trekking Permit in Advance

When planning for the gorilla trekking safari, reserving the gorilla permit in advance is recommended because their supply is restricted to maximum 8 per day.

Since a gorilla permit is key to confirming gorilla trekking safari, you need to secure it first even if you are to trek sometimes as early as a year in advance.

For gorilla trekking in Bwindi Uganda, take note of the area where your gorilla permit is booked. Bwindi Impenetrable National park has four areas that is Buhoma, Rushaga, Ruhija and Nkuringo and gorilla trekking permits for this park are booked according to these areas.

Ask your travel insurance if they are covering up for your gorilla permit up front in Uganda a gorilla trekking permit for foreign non-resident costs $ 800 while In Rwanda a gorilla trekking permit costs $ 1500 per person per trek.

Reserve Other Gorilla Safari Amenities

Book other supporting gorilla safari logistics in Uganda or Rwanda including accommodation, transport as the best options sell out in advance. During the peak tourism season, competition for some of the safari amenities is over the top.

When booking accommodation to use on a gorilla trekking safari in Bwindi, consider facilities close or within the area where your gorilla permit is booked. This is to enable you reach the briefing point on gorilla trekking day in time.

Where To Go For Gorilla Trekking In Uganda Or Rwanda

Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Mgahinga National park are the only destinations in Uganda where to do gorilla trekking. Uganda has almost half the total number of mountain gorillas in the world which gives it an upper hand in chances of finding a gorilla permit. Currently oner 23 gorilla families are open for gorilla trekking in Uganda.

Volcanoes National park is the only home for gorilla trekking in Rwanda with currently about 12 gorilla families open to the public including Amahoro, Umubano, Agashya and others.

The Virunga area where all gorilla safari destinations are has rain forests that receive untimely rains that fall without warning so you need to wear or carry some rain proof gears. No matter the weather condition prevailing during gorilla trekking, finding the mountain gorillas is guaranteed.

Test your physical fitness prior to gorilla trekking.

The terrain of the Virunga area is generally ragged due to volcanic action in this area so you need to be physically fit to hike to where the gorilla may be. Rwanda gorilla trekking is generally steeper as the topography of Volcanoes forest is influenced by five of the six Virunga Volcanoes.

If you wish to know the easiest gorilla family to trek, it is quite hard to determine. Mountain gorillas are very mobile primates whose location is influenced by different factors like food proximity, family mood, weather conditions prevailing and more.

Finding the mountain gorillas may take 60 minutes to three quarters of the day but keep your spirits high for the grand moment when you get to stand a few meters from these endangered primates.

Gorilla trekking can also be open to by the aged or the physically disadvantaged tourists. On ground is the sedan chair service or basket stretcher services where you are lifted to the point where the gorilla family allocated to you is

You need to advise our booking safari consultant about your state in advance so that the right arrangements can be made for you in advance of travel.

Do a health check up prior to gorilla trekking trip

Gorilla trekking safari is best enjoyed when in good health because of the challenges likely to encounter while searching. Hiking during gorilla trekking is expected that may cause you to feel tired and increase your pluses. Do check with your doctor your health status before travelling for this safari.

The mountain gorillas are hilly susceptible to human communicable infections like cough, covid-19, flu and others which may end in their massive death. in case you acquire these infections before gorilla trekking, ensure to treat it in advance.

You can also volunteer to stay behind when you acquire the communicable infection while on ground but report to the ranger station. This is to prevent chances of passing the infection to the vulnerable mountain gorillas

Uganda or Rwanda are tropical countries where malaria is a common disease. You need to swallow anti-malarias prior to travelling because going into the jungle may deny you accesses to a better hospital. Travel with your medical insurance card too just in case.

Pack the right gorilla trekking gears

When packing for gorilla trekking in Uganda or Rwanda, pick a leaf from the list of gorilla trekking gears. Gorilla trekking happens in the dense jungle with rough surfaces that may hurt your body so you need some protective gears.

Some of the gorilla trekking gears include safari boots, long sleeved shirt, garden gloves, a camera, warmers, water proof gears, safari hat and more.

Carry some cash for on ground purchases as credit cards are not commonly used in Africa because of the lengthy process of obtaining money from them.

Adhere to gorilla trekking rules

Gorilla trekking in Uganda and Uganda has rules which every tourist is expected to abide by. During briefing at the ranger station, full details of gorilla trekking rules are communicated and these are in place to protect the mountain gorillas and tourists in the forest.

Tourists are advised not to spit on the ground or grass while on gorilla trek as this contaminates the food on which mountain gorillas depend. Keep your voice low or keep quiet while searching for the gorillas as they are very sensitive to intruders in their vicinity and more.

Currency and money necessary during gorilla tracking safari

In Uganda, the common currencies used are Uganda shillings or Rwandan Francs, dollars with denominations above 2000 and pounds. It is advisable to carry some cash on you and change it to local currency which you will use for purchasing on ground.

Big notes are better to change because they weigh a bigger value in local currency than the smaller denominations.

Credit cards are not commonly used in Uganda or Rwanda because of the long process of authorisation. Although some centres accept credit cards like the upmarket hotels, master cards are not a guarantee in most places. Visa Cards may apply.

There is a limit to the amount that must be withdrawn from the credit card too. However for tragedy purposes, your credit card can be used for defence.

Tip after gorilla tracking

Gorilla tracking is a superb activity that gets you closer to the prehistoric primates that are the largest in the word. Several people contribute to your excitement of meeting the mountain gorillas.

As a token of appreciation, tipping a ranger, driver guide, hotel staff and others who render you great service. It is the most reliable way of giving back to the community.

After gorilla trekking activities.

Other than the mountain gorillas, during or after gorilla trekking, Uganda and Rwanda have a variety of safari activities you can choose to be part of including chimpanzee trekking, gorilla habituation experience, game safaris in Uganda, birding in Uganda and others.

Rwanda offers a number of other safari activities too other than gorilla trekking including game drive and boat trip in Akagera national park, chimpanzee trekking and canopy walk in Nyungwe National park and more.

To plan a good Uganda or Rwanda safari itinerary, you need help from a professional and experienced safari consultant who will help you build a working itinerary.  At Arch safaris And Tours, our team of safari consultants is ready to work with you to build an itinerary within your budget.

Is Gorilla Trekking Safe To Do

Gorilla trekking is safe despite being a jungle adventure where you move through a dense forest. Tourists are encouraged to carry the right gorilla safari gears like garden gloves, safari hat, insect repellant and others.

Stay close to other trekkers so that you are not lost in the wilderness. When with the mountain gorillas avoid staring into their deep brown eyes as this is suspicious to them. Mountain gorillas are shy primates that can easily be triggered to move into hiding incase they sense something suspicious.

Best Time To Do Gorilla Trekking Safari

The dry season is the best time to do a gorilla safari that is normally June, July, August, September, December and January. Even though the Virunga area is known to receive untimely rain in the dry season, the environment is quite different with more sunlight sipping through the dense leaves leaving the ground less moist.

Life in the forest especially amongst the forest dwellers is quite bright in the dry season allowing the mountain gorillas to explore the forest with few things to stop them. The trails in the forest are quicker to explore in the dry season since along the way there is less undergrowth.

Gorilla trekking in the wet season is also fine that is March to may and November although the gorillas spend most of the time in sheltered spots.

How Sure Can I Be To See The Mountain Gorillas During Gorilla Trekking

Seeing the mountain gorillas during gorilla trekking is guaranteed as these primates do not often relocate unless they are triggered. Mountain gorillas keep in cohesive families under the leadership of a dominant silverback but can only move when food becomes insufficient.

Mountain gorillas are first habituated a process that helps them get used to human presence so that they get accustomed to atleast spending an hour with these primates.

Each day a team of ranger guides wakes up earlier than others to follow up on the previous day nesting spot for the mountain gorillas possible heading to destination. This clue is used by the ranger guide with tourists to trace where the gorilla family may be spending the day.

Mountain gorillas also leave behind some clues which tourists are requested to identify and use as follow up during the search for the primates. Some of the clues the mountain gorillas may leave behind include freshly chewed foliage, foot prints and others. These are leads to where the gorilla family may be located in the forest.

The size of the mountain gorilla is bulky that is about 200 kilograms for the fully grown male mountain gorillas and almost half this weight for the female mountain gorillas. This weight doesn’t allow the mountain gorillas to move fast so you can catch up with them.

Are Mountain Gorillas aggressive or calm

The physical appearance of the mountain gorillas is mistaken for them being aggressive. The mountain gorillas have a dark furred body covered from head to toe and move by knuckle locomotion which is quite intimidating however this is not their nature.

Mountain gorillas are shy and likely to move into hiding when they sense something inappropriate. Despite this behavior, mountain gorillas can charge when provoked like they may hoot, pull grass around them and more.

Do not panic upon witnessing the mountain gorillas going through this but try to remain composed as you wait for the ranger guide to give new instructions that may end in showing submission.

Why do gorilla Trekking Safari

Gorilla trekking is a dream come true experience for most adventurers seeking to spend atleast one hour with the only few leftover mountain gorillas in the world.

By purchasing the gorilla trekking permit, you contribute to the conservation of the mountain gorillas whose existence was about at the rim of extinction by the 1980s. The existence of mountain gorillas was saved and revived by the conservation fraternity but more funds are still required.