Gorilla Trekking Tours In Rwanda is often described as a life changing travel experience and with good reason. With only an estimated 1004 mountain gorillas left in the world. To observe these gentle giants in their natural habitat ranks among the most epic wildlife holidays in the world. Mountain gorillas make their homes on the bamboo-covered slopes of Volcanoes National Park in northwestern Rwanda, close to the border with Uganda and Congo.
This increase is obvious since a range of national parks with such a variety of animal highlights are possible for traditional Rwanda Safari. You will also see the Big 5, go up old volcanoes and spend time at Beach on a tour to the Land of a Thousand Hills. We offer you with our most up-to-date guidance on the Gorilla Trekking Tours in Rwanda.
Take a look in the below blog to know the brief knowledge about Gorilla Trek Safari in Rwanda.
What Makes Rwanda a Unique Gorilla Trekking Destination in Africa?
When Primate Researcher Dian Fossey decided to dwell here and interact with the mountain gorillas in the slopes of the volcanic Virunga Massif, she famously became the first human to closely relate with this kind of species in the wild. Thanks to the movie version of Dian Fossey’s book, Gorillas in the Mist that helped to draw more attention from people worldwide about the existence of this incredibly intimate wildlife experience. Gorilla Tracking In Rwanda is the only wildlife experience where you can get out of the car and move closer to the animals (gorillas), something that cannot be done amongst lions, elephants, buffaloes, rhinos or the big five for that matter.
Rwanda’s Gorilla Tracking encounters take place in Parc National des Volcano (Volcanoes National Park) a beautiful and misty national park on the slopes of the volcanic Virunga massif, spanning three countries including Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Together with Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, it remains the only place in the world to view these magnificent creatures, the largest of the great apes, in their natural habitat.
Today there is a total of about 1,004 of the threatened mountain gorillas left in the wild. Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda is ranked on top of all the gorilla trekking destinations in the region. It is considered the best managed, with strict rules, well-trained rangers and trackers, and a permitting process that allows a maximum of just 80 guests that are arranged in groups of 8 each visiting one of the 10 available gorilla families per day.
This is evidenced by the growing demand from fast-developing economies such as China, Russia and Brazil in addition to the traditional visitors from the U.S. and Europe. Although Rwanda doubled the price of their gorilla-tracking permit earlier in 2017 from $750 to $1,500, they are still becoming increasingly difficult to get given this ever-increasing demand.
How To Get Rwanda Visa?
Each of the visitors in Volcanoes National Park Rwanda who wish to travel to Gorillas is needed to acquire a visa from Rwanda before being able to follow them. Rwanda Visas are issued at Kigali International Airport to fly to Rwanda in tourism, or one can also purchase a Rwanda visa online.
Regarding the traveler’s requests for a visa that is valid for 30 days only, if you wish to spend more than 30 days in Rwanda, it is up to you to renew the visa. Visas to tourism for a total of US$30 are paid in up to US$, Rwandan francs or by using credit cards as a regular mode of payment. You have, however, recommended using US dollars in cash since sometimes payment by credit card may not be accessible. Types of tourist visas include individual entries, 90-day multiple entry visas.
Gorilla Permits In Rwanda:
Gorilla Permits for international tourists to Rwanda costs USD 1500 per individual, including entry fees, to go via mountain gorillas through the National Park of the Volcanoes. The Rwanda Development Board can purchase Gorilla licenses to manage visitor enquiries concerning gorillas and other park tourism. The board’s reservation email, which most visitors use to ask for reservation dates, or to follow dates, may allow for bookings online.
Alternative tourists who are not permitted to book a Gorilla license on the Rwanda development board can handle local tourist companies exclusively those verified by the board, which is very inexpensive.
Best Time To Visit Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Tours
Rwanda Gorilla Trekking is done all year round visitors should never worry about the wet seasons. The best time to track gorillas in Rwanda is for the period of the dry months from June, September, and December to February.
The dry season offers numerous advantages, however this is the time when many people need previous reservation. Visitors have the opportunity, because the vegetation is less thriving, woodland vistas and fauna. During the dry season, however, gorillas prefer to travel for more than a few hours in order to seek more verdant foliage.
What You Should Pack Before You Track Rwanda Gorillas:
As you are preparing to visit Rwanda Gorilla Volcanoes National Park, you should always be aware of the nature of the activities, which involve trekking in the deep forest for long hours, and occasionally cross over steep ridges or slide-like, tough paths.
Therefore, dressing properly is always excellent and a suggested list of things to wear or to bring before tracking. At lower altitudes, the mountains of Rwanda are generally warm and quite chilly.
All visitors who want to hike gorilla must have yellow fever vaccine cards, as Rwanda is prone to yellow fever and malaria at times. To receive comprehensive medical protection, consult with your medical staff.
You are advised to wear strong walking shoes, a rain jacket, walking sticks, guards against stinging plants, long sleeves and a backpack is useful for carrying a lot of things such as toiletries and simple first-aid products like insect repellents. That is going to make your way easier.
What To Expect From Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Tours
After finalizing everything with your tour operator / agent and now your gorilla permit is ready, and you packed all the necessary gear like gloves, trekking boots, long sleeved wear, rain jackets, snacks and packed lunch, walking stick (if necessary), among others, this is what you expect on the trekking day.
Here are some of the highlights of your visit to a Safari Tours in Rwanda, you must get up early in the morning, and therefore you need to choose a nearby lodge nearer the entrance to the park. Lastly you need to talk about Rwanda Accommodation like lodges at Volcanoes Park, hotels in Kigali, language spoken in Rwanda English and Franch, You’re informed at 7 am on safety precautions and the etiquette by your Gorilla guide in Rwanda Safari Holiday Tours.
Remember that mountain gorillas are termed thus a requirement for walking. It takes between 30 minutes and a few hours to do something. The forest guides are really competent in English and will bring you to the precise ‘usually used’ group of mountain gorillas which will surely be absolved of human presence.
Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Groups
Rwanda has in recent years transformed itself into a truly luxurious and enviable tourist destination; and all of this luxury and tourism revolves around the mountain gorillas which reside here.
Susa Gorilla Trek:
Sometimes the group’s distant position prevents travelers from tracking this group. Including 28 gorillas with three silverbacks, this group is quite remarkable. Before they separated into two, this was the biggest gorilla troop. Susa were 42 individuals in the group and when they visited there, there were so many gorillas spread around the region.
Karisimbi Family Gorilla Trek:
It consists of 15 people and is usually the highest point in Rwanda on the slopes of the Mt Karisimbi volcano. For serious trekkers, the Karisimbi group is more adequate. In the upper mountain slopes of Karisimbi caldera, they appear to have built a home. So a full day walk can take this group to visit. At times the gang is moving to higher elevations, which makes Rwanda Safari Tours rather difficult.
Sabyinyo Gorilla Group Safari:
Sabyinyo is easily accessible and lead to a powerful Guhonda silverback. This is the largest silverback in any gorilla group, as its physical look is quite huge. Indeed Guhonda has retained as lone silverback his major opponent, Ryango. Sabyinyo has fewer members compared with other gorilla families, even though it’s outstanding.
Amahoro Gorilla Tours:
The most tranquil gorilla groupings is Amahoro, meaning “peaceful band.” The Silverback group contains 17 persons; two Black-back; five Adult women; 2 Sub-adult males; 2 Youth and five babies. This is the group of 17 individuals. Ubumwe, this group’s silverback is tranquil, simple to go and calm, and has unfortunately lost some members of the Umubano group commanded by Charles.
Umobano Gorilla Safari Group:
The group consists of 11 gorillas, 1 silverback, 1 sub-adult, 3 adult females and 6 youths. The group divided from the Amahoro family, Umubano indicates that these two groups are living together. They are therefore seen to come together.
Agashya Gorilla Group:
There are consequently just 25 gorillas with the dominant Silverback named Agashya. The group used to be accustomed to 13 gorillas, but owing to the silvernous strength the group grew to 25 gorillas, including 1 silverback, 12 adult women, 2 subadult gorillas, 3 youngsters and 7 infants. Although the group is normally followed along the region of Sabyinyo the range has other groups of gorillas in it, so it does not easily track deep down into the valley.
Kwitonda Family Gorilla Adventure:
This is one of the amazing groups with 18 gorillas, 4 silverbacks of them. It lives on the slopes of Mount Muhavura, supposedly of the Democratic Republic of Congo, nearby. The band is headed by a silverback called Kwitonda, who has managed the other three silverbacks well and can be…