Getting to see gorillas on gorilla trekking safari in Africa is not an easy task. Many travelers from all over the world travel to Uganda or Rwanda for a gorilla tracking experience in one of the prime locations that have been habituated for gorilla tourism. Did you know that there are just a few mountain gorilla individuals left in the world? Records from the last known 2012 Gorilla Census, estimate the remaining populations of the mountain gorillas to be about 880 individuals, distributed within 4 national parks in Africa; Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Planning a Gorilla trek
Where to Go Gorilla Trekking
Planning a gorilla trek is not easy something easy! It is not easy to spot them in the wild nor are you guaranteed to see them on any gorilla trip to some National Parks along the boarders of Uganda, Rwanda and Congo.
The prime locations for gorilla watching are Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda and the Volcanoes Park of Rwanda. The world known Bwindi Impenetrable national park hosts about twenty habituated gorilla families while the Volcanoes National park has 12 families habituated for gorilla viewing. Remember, gorilla tourism has a been success in both Uganda and Rwanda for the past 15 years and these parks are open to visitors all year round who would like to go gorilla tracking. The two other national parks where the gorillas can be sighted are; the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a destination that is often disturbed by local conflicts and Mgahinga gorilla National Park which hosts the very unstable gorilla group often moving back and forth between the park and Volcanoes National Park.
Requirements for a Gorilla Trek
Proper planning for a gorilla trek requires an early reservation of gorilla permits. No visitor can visit the gorillas within the park without a gorilla permit. It is advisable to book gorilla permits in a period between 6 months – 1 year before your tracking date for a peak season and at least 3 months for off peak season. A gorilla permit cost USD800 for Uganda, USD1500 for Rwanda and USD500 for Congo. Remember gorilla permits are not transferable from one person to another!
A Typical Gorilla Trek
The trek to in the dense impenetrable rain forests where the different family gorilla groups live, will take you through very dense and thick vegetation, up steep slopes and can last several hours. The time for a gorilla trek varies and there is no estimated time you will take to find the gorillas. Experience shows that a gorilla trek normally takes about 1 hour – 3 hours of hiking before locating the gorillas. However rare scenarios have also occurred where travelers hike up the whole day without seeing the mountain gorillas. If unlucky, you will get back to the forest the next day and hike another gorilla group!
Gear for a Gorilla Trek
The dense and thick forest is filled with burning and stinging nettles and therefore you should put on clothes and boots fit for jungle exploration. It is very important to wear gloves due to the chillness and also the dampness. Red ants are also common, so wearing long socks.
Comfortable sports shoes, long sleeved shirts and also long tour trouser and tuck them into your trousers is a very good and appealing idea not forgetting to carry an umbrella or a light rain coat because the weather is very unpredictable and since it’s a rain forest, showers are always running. Since gorillas move around every day from place to place within the forest this has made it  aren’t all that easy to track making the time taken before you get a glimpse of these creatures unpredictable.
Please Note
The gorillas you’ll be tracking are habituated and used to human presence and this is why you are able to get quite close within their range though a maximum distance of 5 meters is maintained since sometimes they can get irritated with human presence and they charge or they can just charge at each other. Upo meeting the mountain gorillas you have up to 1 hour to watch the mountain gorillas, take their photographs, and enjoy their company within the wild.
Would you like to learn about gorilla treks? Visit The Gorilla Trekking Guide for more informative and detailed piece of information about planning a gorilla trek in Africa.
