What Is Best To Do Gorilla trekking or Gorilla habituation experience

What Is Best To Do Gorilla Trekking Or Gorilla Habituation Experience

The best choice to make from Gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience depends on what your reason for planning the Uganda safari is. Gorilla trekking is an adventure where maximum 8 tourists visit a fully habituated gorilla family and spend one hour with them. Gorilla habituation experience is an adventure where maximum 4 tourists accompany a team of researchers to have four hours with semi-habituated gorilla family. Contact Us

Gorilla trekking can be done in Uganda, Rwanda and D.R.Congo whereas gorilla habituation experience only happens at the moment in Uganda.

The number of gorilla trekking permits open to the public is maximum 8 per gorilla family in Uganda, Rwanda and D.R.Congo while maximum 4 visitors are allowed to do gorilla habituation experience per day per gorilla family

Four hours are allowed with the mountain gorillas during gorilla habituation experience where as one hour is allowed with the gorillas during gorilla trekking

More gorilla trekking families that is about 20 in Uganda, 12 in Rwanda, 6 in D.R.Congo are open per day whereas at the moment only four gorilla habituation experience families are open to the public in only Uganda.

The current cost of the gorilla habituation experience permit is $1500 for international nonresidents, $1000 for international residents and others Africans and 750,000shs for East Africans. The cost of the Gorilla trekking permit in Uganda is at the moment $800 for international nonresidents, $700 for international residents and 300,000shs for East Africans.

Where To Go Gorilla Trekking

In Uganda

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park 

Gorilla Trekking Africa

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is one of the two gorilla safari destinations in Uganda. This pristine forest is home to the few leftover mountain gorillas in the world. The Bwindi forest is vast and has several features on its land that make it quite challenging to go through to another area. To ease the administration of Bwindi forest, it was divided into four areas that is Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo.

Gorilla trekking is the main activity in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with currently about 19 gorilla trekking families open to the public. When booking gorilla permits for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, they are reserved according to these four area.

Gorilla habituation experience is the other activity in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park but so far four gorilla families are open for this adventure. These are situated in the southern sector of Bwindi forest. When reserving accommodation to use in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, consider the areas under which the gorilla permit is booked.

Mgahinga National Park

In Uganda, Mgahinga National Park is the other home for the mountain gorillas but so far one gorilla trekking families is confirmed a residence of this park and its name is Nyakagezi. The terrain of Mgahinga forest is composed of several highlands but the most outstanding are mountain Gahinga, Muhavura and Sabyinyo. These make it quite challenging to move fast when searching for the mountain gorillas.

Other than the mountain gorillas, golden monkeys are other endangered primate species you can find in Mgahinga National Park. It is home to black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, grey cheeked mangabey, red tailed monkeys and others.

More than 115 bird species are confirmed residents of Mgahinga forest but the list is expected to expand overtime. The excellent Gorge trail which loops half way Mountain Sabyinyo is a hotspot for birding. Some of the birds in Mgahinga forest include Tutle Dove, Handsome Francolin, White tailed Blue Flycatcher, Malachite Sunbird, lagden’s Bush Shrike and others.

In Rwanda

Volcanoes National Park 

Gorilla tracking Africa

Volcanoes National Park is a gorilla trekking destination in Rwanda with so far about 12 gorilla families open to the public. Some of the gorilla families in Rwanda include Sabyinyo, Umubano, Amahoro, Hirwa, Susa and others. The gorilla trekking experience in Volcanoes National Park is steep because of the nature of the topography of this park which is rugged as a result of Volcanic action in this area.

On gorilla trekking day, tourists gather for briefing at the ranger station then each tourist is allocated a gorilla family to trek but the criteria used to allocate these families is quite hard to determine. Some times gorilla trekking families are allocated according to age, physical capability and others. Even when you travel  as a group, you may be allocated different gorilla families.

Volcanoes National Park is home to other primates which you may get chance to find olive baboons, grey cheeked mangabey, blue monkeys, vervet monkeys and others. Over 200 bird species are residents of Volcanoes forest including Albertine rift endemics.  A number of natural tree species and other plants may be spotted in different parts of the park.

Where To Do Gorilla Habituation Experience

Gorilla Habituation experience is at the moment in Uganda only in the southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Four gorilla habituation experience families are open to the public at the moment. During gorilla habituation experience, tourists accompany a team of researchers who have some clues about the gorilla families under habituation.

Expect the mountain gorillas to behave in an odd way including going into hiding any time, chest thumping, they are still very shy and others. When you get to see some odd behavior amongst the mountain gorillas, don’t panic but wait for the ranger guides to find the route cause of the matter and open your mind to the new instructions even when you have to show a foliage chewing demo.

During the gorilla habituation experience tourists may be requested to participate in collecting some samples, identifying some items, taking notes on what you observe when with them and others. Ensure to take photos as many as you can while enjoying the presence of these vulnerable primates.

No matter the time you take to find the mountain gorillas and the hardships that may come your way, finally when you locate them, you may forget everything and focus on there presence for a moment. Mountain gorillas are adorable, admirable and exciting to be in company with. Despite there huge size and the myths people have about them as being aggressive, the reality is quite different.

When you locate the mountain gorillas four hours area allowed with them as a conservation measure to protect them because they are still not used to the presence of humans. During the process of gorilla habituation, the gorilla family may get new members along the way which means taking extra care when with them.

What Is The Cost Of Gorilla Trekking Or Gorilla Habituation Experience safaris

The cost of the gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation experience safaris are packaged according to luxury, mid-range and basic. Other than the cost of the gorilla permits, there are other additional costs that support these tours including accommodation costs, transport costs and others.

The cost of the gorilla safaris is also determined by the number of people travelling with, number of days on safari, timing of the safari, additional activities to do with gorilla tours and many others.

At Arch Safaris And tours, our safari consultant is on ground to work with you to tailor the gorilla safari itinerary inclusive of your preference, advise you on the necessary requirements, within your budget. Customer satisfaction is our main goal and helping tourists make their dream African safaris a reality.

Why Do Gorilla Trekking Or Gorilla Habituation Experience Safari in Africa

During gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience, you get the chance to face the reality about the characters of these primates that are portrayed as aggressive most of the time. The mountain gorillas are only living in Uganda, Rwanda and D.R.Congo and can only survive here world over.

The mountain gorillas have some similarities with humans with whom they share about 96% DNA. Expect to watch the mountain gorillas groom, feed babies, play, discipline, fart, cuddle and many other characters that get the opportunity to witness. These primates have mood swings just as humans and this is one reason why it is hard to determine which of the gorilla families is best to watch.

By purchasing the gorilla permit, it is one of the ways to support the fund that promotes sustainable existence of these primates. According to the last census about 1000 mountain gorillas are living at the moment.

More community sensitization is required so when you hire a porter during the gorilla safari, you support the livelihood of the locals. By taking a community walk in the areas around the gorilla habitants, the funds collected are used to run community projects and this is one way of getting the locals to appreciate the co-existence with these primates.

Other than gorilla safaris, you may choose to combine with other wildlife safaris in Uganda and Rwanda including chimpanzee safaris, game safaris, birding and more in a natural environment which is becoming scarce.

Can I purchase the Gorilla permit in Instalments

Uganda and Rwanda accept instalment gorilla permit purchase of 30% and 70% but terms and conditions apply. The Gorilla permit must be bought before 90 days to the gorilla safari date and must be topped up before 90 days to gorilla tour day.

Failure to top up the gorilla permit may lead to opening it back to the public without notifying you. According to the terms of Uganda Wildlife Authority or Rwanda Development Board, no refund may be given back for the gorilla permit you fail to purchase in full and donot use.

Are Gorilla Permits In Uganda Or Rwanda Refundable

The Refund for Gorilla permits in Uganda or Rwanda varies with the refund policy of either Uganda Wildlife Authority or Rwanda Development Board. Because of the bureaucracy involved with the gorilla permit refund process some patience is necessary.

• How Gorilla Permit refund may be done

When you cancel the gorilla permit before 95 days to the gorilla safari day 75% refund may be given back , 90 days to 45 days to gorilla tour date 50% refund, below 45 day to 8 days 25% refund and before 7 days to 0 days no refund.

Other than getting a refund, in case you are unable to travel according to the dates booked earlier for gorilla safaris, instead of a refund, you may reschedule the gorilla permit to a new date. This should be within the dates of the year for which the gorilla permit was booked.

How safe Is Gorilla Trekking or Gorilla Habituation experience Safari

The gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience safaris are safe as these primates are first habituated for a period until proved ready to face the public. Before gorilla safaris, tourists must attend briefing then proceed in the forest in company of a team of ranger guides with some protective gears incase of an emergency. The ranger guide follow the pace of the slowest trekker so that no one of forgotten in the wilderness however, you must not relay the rest of the group because time of finding these primates is not known.

Tourists are expected to abide by the rules of gorilla safaris in order not to look suspicious before these primates. The mountain gorillas are known to be calm primates but they can charge when provoked.

Personal safety is very important during the gorilla safaris so carry the necessary gorilla gears and wear them before heading to the ranger station. Avoid carrying your valuables that you are afraid of losing during the search for the mountain gorillas.

When the ranger guides give new instructions when the mountain gorillas change mood and charge, be cooperative in order to calm the situation.

Donot panic when you notice some odd behavior amongst the mountain gorilla families as this may throw the entire forest into a stampede.

What to expect during the gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation experience tours

When you locate the mountain gorillas you have to introduce yourself to the mountain gorillas as a sign to show that you come in peace. This is done by one of you the tourists who is chosen to do the introduction on behalf of the rest of the group to the gorilla family.

The mountain gorillas usually keep munching on the foliage close by as though communication that its you again. This however should never fool you to go against the rules of gorilla safaris because these mountain gorillas operate a spy network.

The way to find the mountain gorillas is soggy and slippery from the regular rains that fall and vegetation that decomposes leaving the ground messy most of the time. There is normally less sunrays that penetrate through the dense canopy to the ground.

Expect to be with the fully habituated mountain gorillas for one hour and four hours with semi-habituated mountain gorillas.