Gorilla Trekking Rwanda, All the beauty that describes Rwanda as a pure authentic destination also dwells into the capacity to host the mountain gorillas. The gorgeous rolling landscapes of northern Rwanda that makes the country to be called the land of a thousand hills, also dwells the isolated Volcanoes National Park. The park has statured Rwanda as the country for luxury gorilla trekking, due to the rates of gorilla permit to trek in Rwanda.
The beauty of the Albertine rift valley that extents southwards influenced the creation of the tropical volcanos that accommodate numbers of gorillas. Rwanda habitat about half of the world mountain population that resides in the Virunga forests (Virunga Conservation Area VCA). Almost all safari in Rwanda must include gorilla trekking to be considered complete.
When searching for the best country to visit and trek gorillas, then Rwanda should be on your lists. Gorillas at Volcanos are fully habituated so now trekkers have an opportunity for a close-up encounter. The gorilla trekking adventure is Africa’s highlight of the rest of the adventures.
Before gorillas are ready for trekking they first undergo habituation process. The process always doesn’t go beyond 2 years until the gorillas are familiar to human presence. The habituation process was earlier started by a renowned American zoologist/primatologist Diana Fossey in 1968. Gorillas are naturally aggressive mammals with their huge size that reach to attack in case of any threat. To calm their aggressive nature are undertake through a period of habituation until when they get familiar to human presence.
The process is done by researchers, conservations, scientists and rangers who take their time to study each of the gorillas in the habituated family. Today, Rwanda has about 12 habituated gorilla families that are available for trekking.
The adventure starts short after the early morning energizing breakfast at your lodge, then hurry on a drive to the park’s trekking starting point. At the starting point trekkers get briefed on the trekking etiquettes in details and grouped in the number of 8. Then, each group is assigned to an armed ranger guide who leads into the thick, rush, muddy, moist, mist slopes to start a search for the apes. The trek involves penetrating into the dense forests, search for giants which can last for about 30 minutes to 5 hours before finding the gorillas. On finding the gorillas, trekkers have an hour before the giants watching juveniles and infants jumping around. And coming close for a face to face contact with the silverback you realize they are directly communicating.
The safety contains a lot of things to consider among is the gorilla and peoples safety. The security of Volcanos National Park in Musanze district northern Rwanda is undoubtable. And a lot of safety measures are set to ensure that both trekker and gorillas remain safe from each party. Rwanda is fully safe and friendly destination to trek gorillas. Rwanda is one of the safest countries on the African continent with the lowest crime rate.
The standardized practice of the set laws makes Rwanda your safe destination. Though the rebel activities in the neighboring DR Congo near Volcanos National Park, Rwanda’s side of Volcanos National Park remains safe. When trekking gorillas, there is always accompaniment of armed and expertise guide will moving into the deep forests. And the other side of safety, is what to carry, wear, and the trekking etiquette all is aimed at seeing that all trekkers remain safe.
Gorillas trekking is accompanied with a list of dos and don’ts that every trekker must observe. Mountain gorillas are very cautious primates to their surviving ambiance which have been proved not to survive under captivity. The right moment of seeing and enjoying the silent busy moment is when kept all these set don’t for gorilla trekking. Gorilla trekking is limited to children below 15 years.
Mountain gorillas are very huge species and very aggressive, in case of any threat, these species can react by attack which might be dangerous. So, there are trekking etiquettes that are set to be followed by any guest rolling into the forest to trek gorillas.
When preplanning for the gorillas trekking adventure, the first thing to meditate about is a permits. Gorilla trekking is limited to how many people to trek gorillas per day. This is because Rwanda has limited habituated gorilla family of about 12 families and the demand is high. Trekking in Rwanda is expensive than at any other gorilla destination. A permit costs $1,500 which is nearly three times as much as that of Congo costs $450 and over double that of Uganda costs $700.
The dry months/season remains the best time to trek gorillas. However, should be noted that gorilla in Rwanda can still be trekked throughout the year. The dry months of June, July, August and mid-September is the longer dry season. This is the best time of year to see mountain gorillas in the Volcanos National Park of Rwanda. Also December, January and February are dry months also good for trekking gorillas. During the dry months there is limited rains, grounds are dry which is perfect to visit Rwanda.
Gorilla trekking is done in the geographically hilly, and dense tropical forests. When planning to trek gorillas here, there things to consider traveling with. These are sometimes traveling protected, eatables and memory creating tools. Just remember to trek gorillas is all about walking into this dense volcanic tropics.
These are important packing list to have when to trek gorillas; Long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, waterproof jungle boots, thick socks garden gloves, a rain jacket, a wide-brim hat, sunscreen, body insect repellent, at least 2 litters of water, camera, headband, and Hair ties. Others are snacks, packed lunch, walking stick, and binoculars.
