WHAT MUST YOU HAVE FOR A GORILLA TREK

Are you planning to take a safari to Uganda, Rwanda or Democratic Republic of Congo for gorilla trekking experiences? Are you interested in seeing mountain gorillas or eastern lowland gorillas in Africa? Africa's gorillas are the most thought after wild creatures across the world, and undoubtedly gorilla trekking in Africa is the most unforgettable and non regrettable travel experience that comes once in a life time. Gorillas are all over the world but what kind of gorillas are you interested to see? Mountain gorillas are the world’s critically endangered species that are only found in three African countries in the whole world: Uganda, Rwanda and DRC.

Tracking mountain gorillas only occurs in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Virunga National Park in DRC. Whereas the Eastern Lowland gorillas are only found in DRC and they can be tracked in Kahuzi Biega National Park and Maiko National Park. Gorilla tracking varies based on respective countries, for Uganda the permits are obtainable at $600 per visitor and this applies for foreign non residents, $500 for foreign residents and shs.250000 for East African residents. These prices apply for the peak season in Uganda and in the low season, they drop to $450, $400 and shs.150000 especially in the month of April, May and November. It is a must that you have a gorilla permit to allow you track a gorilla family in a given destination of your choice.

For visitors who are interested in extending their stay with Gorilla Habituation Experience in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, they can obtain permits at $ 1500 per visitor for foreign non residents, $1000 for foreign residents and shs.750000 for East African residents. Unlike gorilla trekking where visitors have only an hour of face to face interaction with gorillas, habituation experience offers visitors all the four hours and it is an all day gorilla experience which is only done in Uganda.

MOUNTAIN GORILLA TREKKING IN AFRICA

There are things that you can not do without and this means you must have them if you are interested in gorilla trekking in Africa. A gorilla trek in Africa isn’t a mere walk around the park but hiking through the dense jungles of Africa’s tropical rain forests to spend that only one hour with these spectacular creatures in their natural habitats. Some of them may sound obvious but once you are there you certainly appreciate the help that these items will offer to you thereafter.

The following are some of the things that you must not forget for a gorilla trek.

A walking stick:

You might wonder why you must have a walking stick on gorilla trek but hiking through the jungles of African forests demands you to have one. Gorilla tracking isn’t just a walk that you always take on flat landscape but challenging yourself through the steep slopes and terrains to see these incredible primates. A walking stick will relieve you off from the stressful and tiring terrains on gorilla home as it offers you a balance and grip. They are obtainable at the park visitor centers in any of three countries where gorilla trekking takes place. You can purchase one at any souvenirs around the park or get one at the lodge where you will spend your a night; other lodges can even give it to you at a free cost! This walking stick is plain and mostly goes up to five feet in height with more ornamental and carved in nature. Having one will offer you steadiness while in your trek, don’t risk tracking gorillas without a walking stick!

WALKING STICKS FOR YOUR TREK

A porter:

Gorilla tracking is unpredictable at times and given the fact that you have heavy property to carry, you will need a person to help you. By delegating the heavy load to a porter can relieve you from the tiring hike and you will have much time to concentrate on the trek. Offering responsibility on porters isn’t bad since this is one way through which they can also have something to eat, pay their fees, rent and solve many issues pertaining themselves. Porters can be hired between $20 and $24 and this will grant you a wide array of relaxation as you freely enjoy the trek experiences. It is not easy hiking through the dense vegetation to see the gorillas with a heavy load on your back. A porter will always be there with you through out the tracking process including the difficulty or trickier areas of the trails. Whether you are still young and feeling energetic it is better to have a porter as the only way of investing in the lives and the future of these Africans.

In conclusion, gorilla trekking is the most hectic adventure experience that needs trekkers and trackers to be physically fit to hike through the steep slopes where these incredible creatures live. You should also not forget to have your permit at hand as you go for the trek, waterproof hiking shoes, long sleeved shirts or T-shirt, shocks, rain jackets and many other things that are necessary for you to pack. Enjoy your trek without stress!

TOP ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES YOU MUST EXPERIENCE IN RWANDA:

Adventure safaris are one of the most craved experiences by many travelers around the world and yet there are very few destinations to offer such enticing memories. For adventure travelers who have ever watched the “Indiana Jones Movies” or probably read several adventure novels by “Karl May”, such adventure spirit in most cases is ingrained within ourselves but unfortunately we can’t find it. Well, if you are adventure lover or interested in experiential safaris in East Africa, visit Rwanda-the land of a thousand hills for real adrenaline adventure experiences of a life time. Adventure seekers need to worry less while in East Africa or Africa now; Rwanda’s countless adventures a wait for you. The list of experiential adventures is just numerous in the country and you stand to choose from the variety. You can even be combine your safari with Uganda and have a wide range of experiences. Let Rwanda be a must to visit if you are interested in authentic African experiences of a life time. With all a thousand hills, you shouldn’t miss a million smiles in this remarkable landlocked country!

Below are some of adventure activities that can excite your mind as you spend your time in Rwanda.

Experiential gorilla trekking adventures:

Rwanda is a renowned destination for mountain gorilla experiences of a life time. Gorilla trekking takes place in the Volcanoes National Park. Tracking mountain gorillas in Rwanda is one of the most sought after adventures in Africa and tourists can even trek more than ones. Mountain gorillas form the major reason that visitors from around the globe get into remarkable Rwanda. Gorilla experiences are incomparably the loveliest African adventures that visitors get after spending only one hour of face to face interaction with these outstanding creatures in the wild. Rwanda has ten habituated gorilla groups that visitors are assigned to track mountain gorillas. Gorilla safaris/tourism started way back in the times of Dian Fossey when she had traveled purposely to carry out her research in the volcanoes. It will be amazing, if you included this “life changing” experience in the list of experiential activities that you are going to encounter in Rwanda.

Other experiential adventures within the Volcanoes national park include the Dian Fossey hike that offer opportunity for adventure seekers a chance to explore more on the renowned primatologist and zoologist that committed herself in saving the mountain gorillas around the Virunga region.

MOUNTAIN GORILLA

Golden monkey tracking adventures

Expect more than mountain gorilla gorillas in Rwanda because higher chances are that you will also interact with golden monkey-the world’s striking primates. As you plan for your gorilla tracking safari, ensure include golden monkey experiences in the bucket list of activities in your safari. Golden monkey tracking is done in the Volcanoes national park and for those interested in gorillas can add this as their extra experiences. Golden monkeys are one of the most the magnificent primates that are worth visiting in the jungles of the Volcanoes national park. Unlike mountain gorillas, golden monkeys are unique on their own and they are renowned for their roaming behavior and visitors are required to keep an eye to sight them. Like mountain gorillas, golden monkeys are also habituated and this denotes that they are acclimatized to human presence in their natural habitat. Include this adventure in your safari and prove the best experiences of a life time in Rwanda.

GOLDEN MONKEY

Chimpanzee tracking adventure

Just at the Nyungwe Forest National Park, comes chimpanzee tracking as another fascinating adventure to excite the minds of travelers. The adventure begins a bit early and by 5:30, visitors are expected to be well prepared before they set off into this thick tropical rain forest to spend some hours with these beautiful close relatives. The best time for you visit the park, is basically during the rainy season. The chimps in this area are half way habituated and it is a bit simpler to track them. In addition, visitors can also include Ruwenzori colobus monkeys or gray cheeked mangabeys in the list and enjoy the best experiences with Rwanda’s primates. There are more than 400 monkeys with all 13 primate species that live in Rwanda! Don’t miss to hike in any of 130 hiking trails that are found within the jungles of Nyungwe forest national park.

CHIMPANZEE TRACKING

Volcano climbing

For hikers, climbers or mountaineering adventures, visit the Volcanoes national park for such dramatic experiences of a life time. The Volcanoes is a renowned home to about 3 (three) Virunga volcanoes that offer adventure lovers opportunities to hike on their summit to enjoy the stunning beauty of Rwanda and beyond. Two of these take a full day to climb while the other is an overnight adventure. They include; Mount Bisoke that stretches to about 3700 meters above sea level, Mount Visoke that seems to be best volcano especially at its foot hills while its summit is filled with spectacular a crater lake. Mount Muhabura is the second highest summit in the Volcanoes National Park. This is also the Virunga Volcano chain mountain that lies east and expands across Rwanda and Uganda. It forms one of the most magnificent land features in the park whereas the Mount Karisimbi hike also known as the white shell mountain takes about two days to the fifth highest snow capped summits in African continent. Visiting this mountain is indeed an experience of a life time.

Biking adventures

Is riding or biking one of your lovely adventures? Rwanda has come beyond mountain gorilla tracking with African biking experiences around the hills of Kigali that are backed by guided tours. The most strenuous biking adventure is mainly the Congo Nile Trail along Lake Kivu. There are also other additional trails that can extend your biking experience just like the Congo trail. You can take around three days, two days or even one day. They are however guided and for advanced bikers, they can do it on their own. Along the way, you can visit the tea and coffee plantation and this demonstrates the true heart of Africa.

For those interested in relaxing with water body activities, they are never left out of choice. There is sport fishing, kayaking, canoeing as well as experiential boat ride on Lake Kivu, Muhazi and Lake Ihema. For family trips, this is the best leisurely ground that you shouldn’t miss out in the land of a thousand hills. You can also do bike rides along Lake Nyarutarama-Kigali and then explore Rwanda’s city and its surrounding areas including the tree lined streets of Kiyovu for a chilly sun shine.

In conclusion, Rwanda has countless experiential adventures for many of the world’s adventure seekers. It offers a range of adventure activities right from mountain gorilla tracking, Volcano climbing/hiking, sport fishing, and hiking, golden monkey experiences to chill and relaxing experiences water bodies. Visit Rwanda for delightful experiences of a life time!

UGANDA’S GORILLA TREKKING PERMITS REMAIN AT THE SAME PRICE.

A gorilla permit is a card that is being issued by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) or Rwanda Development Board (RDB) to allow a visitor to go and track the mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park or the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. The permit enables the visitor to see the mountain gorillas for only one hour but it doesn’t guarantee him or her 100% that they will see these creatures in their wilderness.

Although gorilla trekking is the most sought after adventure in African continent, many travelers are still left pondering about its cost. The fact is that respective countries where mountain gorillas are found charge different prices for gorilla trekking permits. Recently, Rwanda one of the three famous destinations for gorilla trekking went a head and drastically increased the price of their gorilla permits to 100% for all tourists which stands at $1500 today some thing that raised speculations about Uganda’s gorilla trekking tariffs too. This however became a concern of every one in the tourism industry including the travelers, tour operators, conservationists and marketing bodies among other stakeholders. People were concerned about Uganda’s gorilla trekking tariffs like will Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) also follow Rwanda’s decision to increase the price of gorilla trekking permits?

SILVERBACK MOUNTAIN GORILLA

However, we can say there is good news about Uganda’s gorilla trekking permits now, UWA-the overall body that manages Uganda’s national parks and Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) have decided to maintain the cost of gorilla permits to a usual price for 2017. The two bodies accepted to keep the same rate for a period of 12 months. Gorilla permits in Uganda are purchased at $600 for foreign non residents, $500 for foreign residents and sh.250000 for East African residents and they apply per person per trek especially during the peak season! During the low season, UWA offers discounted gorilla permits to visitors at $450 for foreign non residents, 400 for foreign residents and shs.150000 for East African residents and this applies in the month of April, May and November 2017. Why not grab this opportunity now? Remember it is not yet known whether discounted permits will stay or will be scraped in 2018-2019 so the only chance is to book for your discounted permit for November this year as we wait for more up dates and confirmation from UWA! Alternatively, you spark your imaginations beyond expectations with Gorilla Habituation Experience still in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Uganda and then enjoy all the four hours with mountain gorillas. Gorilla Habituation Experience costs $1500 for foreign none residents, $1000 for foreign residents and sh.750000 for East African residents!

GORILLA PERMITS' PRICE IN UGANDA

Uganda has a total of 96 gorilla permits that are available every day base on the number of habituated gorilla families. in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National has a total of 88 permits since there are 11 gorilla groups that are ready for visitors to track the mountain gorillas while in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, only one gorilla family is habituated for visitors’ experience. A gorilla trek in Uganda allows only 8 people to track a particular gorilla family per day.

Uganda is renowned country that offer refuge to over 480 mountain gorillas out of 880 individuals that said to be still surviving in the world. This translates to about half of the world’s mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking in Uganda is conducted in only two places and if a visitor misses to track the mountain gorillas in one park, he or she has opportunity to achieve their dreams in the other park. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park are the two renowned places where thousands of travelers flock to see the wild mountain gorillas in their natural home. Mountain gorillas are one of the global worth natural resource and their protection or conservation is first priority in most of UWA’s decisions.

How to access Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park

By road: Tourists can take the Kampala-Queen Elizabeth National Park-Kihihi-Buhoma route. This is one of the interesting routes that will fill you with lots of pre-tracking experiences especially with rare tree climbing lions in Queen Elizabeth Park and the photo taking at Equator.

The second route can be through Kampala-Kabale-Kanungu-Buhoma and takes about 5-6 hour’s drive. Another convenient route can also be through Kampala-Ntungamo-Rukungiri-Kihihi-Buhoma or Kampala-Kabale-Ruhija-Buhoma or Kampala-Kabale-Nkuringo area.

By air: You can take a flight from Entebbe International Airport or Kajjansi Airfield and then land in Kisoro Airstrip and for visitors to Buhoma, they can take on flights and land in Kayonza Airstrip.

In conclusion, it is a requirement that all visitors intending to do gorilla trekking in Uganda to have a gorilla permit. The permit is an important tool that allows visitors to explore one of Uganda’s twelve habituated gorilla families in the South-West. Don’t miss a life time experience with our close relatives as they relax in their natural habitat just in the jungles of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda.