Gorilla Trekking in Uganda, Rwanda & Congo
Our genuine passion for tourism, conservation and community development pushes us to provide the most outstanding tours and travel experiences to our esteemed clients.
In Motion Gorilla Safaris – premier organizers of Gorilla Treks in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo.
East Africa Gorilla Safaris is a prime gorilla trekking company and offers the most peculiar and top-notch tour packages ranging from; gorilla safari tours, wildlife safaris, adventure tours, cultural experiences, hot air balloon safaris, hiking / climbing safaris, across the East African region and beyond.
East Africa Gorilla Safaris is an outstanding gorilla safari company in Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. We will take you deep to the only gorilla trekking destinations on the African continent – the great Bwindi impenetrable and Mgahinga gorilla national parks in south western Uganda, Volcanoes national park in Rwanda and Virunga national park in Democratic Republic of Congo.
Our workforce is made up of industry experts with 10+ years of professional experience, each aiming at serving and giving the most remarkable services to our clients.
Top Gorilla Trekking Destinations In East Africa.
In the pearl of Africa, gorilla trekking is arguably the most popular tourism activity. There are only 1063 mountain gorillas remaining in the wild globally and Uganda is endowed enough to shelter almost half of the number in its two gorilla trekking destinations. Mgahinga national park and Bwindi impenetrable forest national park are the only gorilla trekking destinations in the country both situated in the south west of Uganda in districts of Kisoro, Rubanda and Kanungu.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda brings out the ultimate experience of African safaris as these human-like primates are only sheltered in three countries including Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Mountain gorillas are part of two gorilla subspecies and cannot be found elsewhere apart from these three country hosts.
While on a Uganda gorilla safari, visitors should anticipate to experience a once in a timeless adventure as many of those who engage in this tremendous activity describe it.
Gorilla Sectors in Uganda
Gorilla sectors in Uganda are areas within the national park where mountain gorillas live. Bwindi and Mgahinga, the mountain gorilla national parks of Uganda are often vast with many gorilla families. The sectors help to locate different gorilla families hence easily the entire trekking experience. For instance, if visitors are trekking gorillas from a certain sector, you would tell the families that are there, and if they are habituated. Gorilla sectors also help in easing the counting process because it is a matter of knowing how many gorillas are in each sector and adding up.
Uganda as a country is home to more than half of the world’s population of individual mountain gorillas. The four gorilla sectors of Uganda located in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park have distinct uniqueness that vary between location, history, and also number of mountain gorillas in each sector. The following are the gorilla sectors in Uganda.
Nkuringo sector
Nkuringo sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in the northwestern part of the park. It is below the Buhoma sector close to the border with Congo. Nkuringo sector offers the utmost adventure of any gorilla trekking experience. This is because of its steep nature which tests nature lovers and gorilla enthusiasts as they attempt to maneuver it. The sector harbors gorilla families like the Bushaho and Nkuringo gorilla families among others.
The sector also offers beautiful views of the Virunga mountains in Congo. The Nkuringo sector also is the best place for Batwa community tours as it once hosted the Batwa ethnic group before Bwindi was gazetted.
Batwa ethnic group is one of the oldest ethnic groups in Africa. This cultural encounter will expose visitors to their cultural dresses, and ceremonies and listen to their ancient history in the forest of Bwindi. Batwa people are known to be the forest keepers since they lived and survived in Bwindi before its establishment.
Buhoma gorilla sector
Among all the sectors in Bwindi, Buhoma was the first sector to be formed. This was shortly after the first gorilla family Mubare was first sighted in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Buhoma sector with this prestige has elevated it to be the most popular in the entire park. This factor has thus led to its development in terms of infrastructure such as roads and accommodation facilities.
These lodges range from luxury to midrange, and budget, and travelers have a wide range of lodges to choose from. Buhoma sector is located in the northern part of Bwindi and harbors other gorilla families like Habinyanja, Rushegura, and Katwe to mention but a few.
Ruhija gorilla sector
The Ruhija sector located in the eastern part of Bwindi offers amazing views of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The vegetation in this sector is very dense compared to the other sectors. Ruhija sector terrain is relatively steep but navigable as it allows visitors interested in gorilla trekking to move through the terrain and vegetation for a glimpse of the endangered primates. This sector has several gorilla families including Mukiza, Oruzogo, and Kyaguliro among other gorilla families.
Rushaga gorilla sector
Among all the sectors of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Rushaga is the largest. The Rushaga sector just like Nkuringo has a steeper terrain than the other sectors. The Rushaga sector is the largest in all the sectors of Bwindi. It is because of this size that it hosts most gorilla families in the park. The sector is located in the southern part of the park offering beautiful views of Lake Bunyonyi. This lake is a crater and is the deepest lake in the country.
Rushaga sector also gives stunning scenes of the Virunga Mountain ranges. This sector is also well developed with modern accommodation facilities and close to the community. Some of these accommodation facilities are also owned by the locals and give a chance to visitors to visit the local communities and bond. The gorilla families in the Rushaga sector include Bweza, Busingye, Nshongi, Kahungye, and Mishaya gorilla families.
The gorilla sectors in Uganda vary from each other regarding the uniqueness of location, history, and number of gorillas in the sector as we shall see below.
Location
Location is a very key factor when planning a gorilla trekking experience in Uganda especially in Bwindi. Each gorilla sector in the park is strategically located offering unique views of the surrounding and the endangered mountain gorillas. As you are preparing to trek the mountain gorillas, in mind that the sectors are located in different directions.
Nkuringo and Rushaga have stunning views of the Virunga mountains and additionally, from Rushaga, you can view Lake Bunyonyi. Travelers can access the park from the compass direction depending on where they are coming from for instance travelers coming from Queen Elizabeth National Park can easily access the Buhoma sector from the northern side.
History
History is another distinct factor of the gorilla sectors in Uganda. The Buhoma sector was the first sector in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park to be formed. This rich history of the Buhoma sector has made it the most popular sector in Bwindi. The Buhoma sector is also the most developed in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park with modern infrastructure.
Number of gorillas
Buhoma sector has the greatest number of gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Though other sectors also have a reasonable number of mountain gorillas. In Uganda, as mentioned earlier Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has the greatest number of mountain gorillas in the country. Uganda boasts harboring over half of the entire mountain gorillas in the world.
Bwindi impenetrable national park covers about 331 square kilometers, dominated by montane and lowland forests and borders Rwanda and Congo’s Virunga national park.
Bwindi impenetrable national park is the first gorilla trekking destination in Uganda sheltering over 450 gorillas. It is the largest host of these rare primate species in the whole world. This has seen the park registering nothing but progress hence boosting gorilla tourism in the country
Almost all visitors who book a Uganda tour come to witness and spend their quality time with these human-like primate species that share almost 98% of human genes. Bwindi impenetrable national park is home to 24 habituated gorilla families. Some gorilla families are still under habituation process that takes nearly three full years where they are trained to tolerate human presence.
Gorilla families in Bwindi impenetrable national park are something any trekker wouldn’t want to miss out as they are characterized by charisma, playfulness especially the adolescent ones and the way the adult gorillas care for their young ones makes it a beautiful experience to watch.
Habituated gorilla families in Bwindi impenetrable national park are sheltered in four gorilla tracking regions scattered in different parts of the park and they include Buhoma gorilla sector in the North, Rushaga, Nkuringo in the southern part of the park and Ruhija in the Eastern part.
Among all the four, Buhoma gorilla sector is the most visited gorilla sector and can easily be accessed especially from the famous Queen Elizabeth national park making it a favorite and popular spot for gorilla trekking in Bwindi impenetrable national park.
For visitors yearning to have an ultimate full experience of gorilla trekking, then Buhoma is the right spot to be. The sector also carries rich history as the first gorilla trekking spot in Uganda and the first tourists to carry out this life time activity did it from here. It also shelters some of the oldest and the first habituated gorilla family groups in the country – Mubare, Rushegura and Habinyanja.
To trek gorilla in Buhoma sector, visitors need to ensure they book their gorilla trekking permits in advance to avoid missing out as most trekkers who come first tend to prefer Buhoma to other gorilla sectors.
There are only five habituated gorilla families in Buhoma gorilla region including Mubare, Habinyanja, Katwe, Rushegura and Muyambi gorilla family. Mubare group was the first to be habituated in 1992 and has 9 gorillas. Habinyanja was initially one family with Rushegura family, but later split to start up their own families. Rushegura gorilla family now harbors 19 members and was habituated in the year 2000 while Habinyanja is made up of 17 gorilla members and was fully habituated in 1997.
Rushaga gorilla sector is yet another gorilla tracking region in the park and shelters 8 habituated gorilla families. The region is famously known as one of the best spots for gorilla habituation process and shelters the largest number of gorilla families in Bwindi.
Gorilla habituation experience is another exciting and informative activity that visitors don’t want to miss. This is what makes Uganda a unique gorilla trekking destination as it allows visitors to engage in gorilla habituation experience which allows passionate travelers to learn broadly about these primate species.
You shouldn’t also miss the Nkuringo gorilla sector where the famed Nkuringo family is sheltered. The family is absolutely charming and is the only family in the park to have given birth to twins in the year 2004. Trekking this gorilla family is somehow challenging as it tends to move for longer distances or sometimes high in the mountains forcing visitors to hike through the rugged terrain.
There are over 19 gorilla individuals in Nkuringo sector and was the very first family to be habituated in this sector.
Mgahinga Gorilla National Park is the second gorilla trekking destination in Uganda and shelters only one habituated gorilla family known as “Nyakagezi” making it one of the popular spots for gorilla trekking in the country. Even though Mgahinga is the smallest national park in Uganda, it is one of the most visited safari destinations and primate trekking activities have entirely made it famous.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda start at 7:30am in the morning with a briefing in the company of tour guides and park rangers for safety. The adventure can take between 30 minutes and 6 hours depending on the location of tracked gorilla family.
Visitors are only limited to one hour once they locate a specific family while maintaining a short distance of about 7 meters in their presence and are advised not to get very close with these primate species.
Rwanda is yet another perfect gorilla trekking destination on the African continent and one of the best places to trek and spend quality time with endangered mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. There have been tremendous efforts through Rwanda Development Board and the central government to boost tourism sector and to date, this sector has registered nothing but success and progress.
There is improved infrastructure in the country especially roads that have been improved hence easing all tourism activities in the country. Rwanda is one of the safest countries to visit and one of the leading safari destinations in Africa.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda can only be done in Volcanoes National Park, a vast and popular destination in the country, part of the Virunga region. The park is dominated by savanna grasslands, bamboo forests, Afro-montane forests, several volcanoes including Muhabura, Sabyinyo, Karisimbi and Gahinga.
Rwanda gives its visitors 14 habituated gorilla groups to choose from and they include Agashya, Susa, Karisimbi, Hirwa, Sabyinyo gorilla family, Kwitonda, Bwenge family, Ugenda gorilla family, to mention but a few. During briefing just a few minutes before the activity commences, visitors are divided into groups of eight people and each group allocated to track one gorilla family.
While trekking these primates, visitors can also sight other wildlife species in Volcanoes National Park including several bird species, buffaloes, elephants, duikers, monkeys, baboons, etc.
Meet Rwanda’s newborn gorillas at one of the world’s most prestigious wildlife festivals. Kwita Izina continues the centuries-old Rwandan tradition of naming children in front of family and friends. Rwanda began officially naming mountain gorillas in 2005. It has evolved into a global celebration of nature. By naming them, we give these magnificent animals the respect they deserve.
The ceremony is an opportunity to thank the surrounding community, research partners, veterinarians, and dedicated conservationists, rangers, and trackers. 374 mountain gorillas have been named in the last 18 years. The 18th Annual Kwita Izina will be held on September 2, 2022, to commemorate the country’s dedication to sustainable and responsible tourism.
The Kwita Izina Gorilla naming ritual continues a centuries-old Rwandan tradition of naming children in front of family and friends. Park rangers and researchers named their gorilla pups in the Rwandan mountains thirty years before the first formal gorilla naming ceremony, and they observed each gorilla in its family and habitat.
Rwanda began officially naming mountain gorillas in 2005. It has evolved into a global celebration of nature. Naming these magnificent animals gives them the respect they rightfully deserve. The ceremony is largely intended to thank the communities, research partners, veterinarians, and committed conservationists, rangers, and trackers who work every day to conserve the gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, the gorillas’ natural home. More than 350 mountain gorillas have been named in the country.
In the previous 15 years, almost 350 mountain gorillas have been named. Kwita Izina is now part of an ambitious effort to safeguard Rwanda’s natural heritage and boost tourism’s role in the country’s transformation. Rwandans from all walks of life now recognize the gorilla’s intrinsic importance and contribution to the country’s economic prosperity as a result of the naming ceremony. Rwandans were trained as gorilla keepers. Rwanda has emerged as the continent’s leading conservation and sustainable tourist destination. For example, the 2010 census counted 480 mountain gorillas in the Virunga Massif, but the 2016 census counted 604 in the same area. These initiatives have helped to increase the global population of mountain gorillas to 1,063, which is no longer categorized as endangered.
A juvenile mountain gorilla named Kwita Izina was honored at the foot of Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park.
Here’s all you need to know about the event and the famous mountain gorilla. Kwita Izina was inspired by the historic Rwandan custom of naming kids soon after birth. Young mountain gorillas born in Rwanda the previous year are named during this ceremony. This year’s ceremony will name 19 baby mountain gorillas and their freshly established families. The Kwita Izina ceremony names approximately 239 mountain gorillas. There are fewer than 1,000 mountain gorillas on the planet. This endangered species can only be found in three countries and four national parks. Mountain gorillas produce enormous amounts of tourism money and directly benefit the economy.
Mountain gorillas produce major tourism money and directly aid communities economically. Rwanda produced roughly $400 million in tourism revenue in 2016. Tourists visiting the country’s mountain gorillas contribute significantly to this. Former AWF CEO Patrick Bergin was given the distinction of naming a gorilla in 2008. Sakora was her name.
Therefore, Gorilla Naming Kwitai Izina is a Rwandan tradition that names baby gorillas for easier identification. This began in 2005 when a number of gorilla cubs were named, each after the circumstances of their birth, their future expectations, and where they were born. Gorilla naming rituals are held in Volcanoes National Park, attracting a crowd of tourists, conservatives, researchers, and locals who come to enjoy every moment. Virunga National Park is home to ten gorilla families. It has the reserve’s greatest gorilla population. Rwanda’s gorilla naming is not only a sign of great ape naming but also an occasion to recognize conservationists and a global showcase for the country’s gorillas. The naming of a young gorilla is uncommon because most Rwanda Development Board (RDB) rituals are done in one day, but this time the event lasted a week.
Formerly known as Albert National Park, Virunga is a top gorilla destination in Congo and is situated in the eastern part of the country bordering Rwanda and the great mountain Rwenzoris of Uganda. Going for Congo safaris without spending some time with endangered mountain gorillas feels absolutely incomplete as the chances of sighting them in Virunga is over 95% as there are about 200 gorilla individuals in this national park making it a variety for visitors to choose from.
Kabirizi gorilla family group is one of the gorilla groups in this park and the largest host of over 30 gorilla members. Other gorilla families in Virunga National Park include Mapuwa gorilla family, Humba family, Rugendo family, Nyakamwe family, Lulengo gorilla family, Munyaga gorilla family, etc. The largest gorilla family in Virunga National Park is Bageni group that split from Kabirizi with about 26 gorilla members. Humba group also split from Nyakamwe gorilla family due to continued misunderstandings that developed between two brothers, Nyakamwe and Humba. Nyakamwe gorilla family is made up of 11 gorilla individuals and derives its name from the group leader and dominant silverback known as “Nyakamwe”. Munyaga gorilla family is yet another group with 7 gorilla members and is sheltered in Bukima sector.
Humba gorilla family is made up of 10 gorilla members while Rugendo gorilla family has eight gorilla members and Mapuwa with 22 gorilla individuals.
Just as it’s the case in Uganda and Rwanda, gorilla trekking tours in Congo start after the briefing in the morning where visitors are instructed on rules and regulations to follow while gorilla trekking. After of which visitors can embark on the trekking journey that involves getting through deeper forests, hiking and searching these human-like primate species.
Virunga national park also offers a rare opportunity for visitors to engage in other gorilla trekking activities like visiting the Senkwekwe gorilla orphanage which is situated just close to the park where visitors can spend their time caring and encountering these orphaned mountain gorillas rescued from poaching and other illegal wildlife activities.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda can only be done in Volcanoes National Park, a vast and popular destination in the country, part of the Virunga region. The park is dominated by savanna grasslands, bamboo forests, Afro-montane forests, several volcanoes including Muhabura, Sabyinyo, Karisimbi and Gahinga.
Rwanda gives its visitors 14 habituated gorilla groups to choose from and they include Agashya, Susa, Karisimbi, Hirwa, Sabyinyo gorilla family, Kwitonda, Bwenge family, Ugenda gorilla family, to mention but a few. During briefing just a few minutes before the activity commences, visitors are divided into groups of eight people and each group allocated to track one gorilla family.
While trekking these primates, visitors can also sight other wildlife species in Volcanoes National Park including several bird species, buffaloes, elephants, duikers, monkeys, baboons, etc.
Apart from Maiko national park which does not offer gorilla trekking opportunities, Kahuzi-Biega National Park is the only spot for tracking Eastern lowland gorillas, one of the two sub-species of eastern gorillas. The mighty park is situated near Rwanda’s Lake Kivu bordering Rwanda and Burundi. Almost all visitors who go for Congo safaris never miss out on visiting Kahuzi-Biega national park so they can spend their quality time with the rare Eastern lowland gorillas.
There are about 140 eastern lowland gorillas where visitors can track them in about 30 minutes to 6 hours depending on their location as they also tend to move in thicker forests to search for food. Unlike mountain gorillas, Eastern lowland gorillas are notably bigger than the former.
A silverback is an adult male mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei) that has a distinctive grey or white band on their back. In their natural environment they can only be found in 3 African countries comprising Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are part of the eastern gorilla subspecies that live in the Virunga volcanoes (Volcanoes National Park, Virunga National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park) and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Their habitat is primarily constituted of tropical Afromontane and bamboo forests situated in high elevations, ranging from 3,806 feet to 1,1811 feet above sea level.
The unique habitats of the silverback mountain gorillas offer them shelter and food sources including roots, leaves, fruits, insects such as ants and plenty more. This has sustained a worldwide population of around 1,063 individuals, including the iconic silverbacks.
Each silverback gorilla can eat over 19 kilograms of food in just a day. Their immense appetite is key to sustaining their massive sizes.
Silverbacks drink water occasionally since their diet consists of succulent foods to ensure they remain hydrated. This implies that they generally rely on the moisture from the leaves, roots, fruits and other vegetation they forage to meet their hydration requirements in the forests.
The silverback gorilla can thrive in their natural habitat for about 35 to 40 years. However, this time would be much more if they did not engage in risky behaviors such as protecting their families, habitat loss, poaching, diseases, climate change and human conflicts such as wars among others. In captivity, they can survive up to around 50 years. This is thanks to sustainable food supply and absence of external threats from other gorillas and human disruption.
The silverback gorilla is the charismatic alpha male and usually more intelligent. He demands respect and dominance as the patriarchal leader of his family. The silverback is strong and wise enough to guide and protect family members. He determines the movement of his group, while playing a key role in mediating conflict.
A silverback gorilla is generally gentle despite their massive size and strength. They also display strong familial bonds for instance in raising and nurturing baby gorillas. Silverbacks are generally shy and are rarely aggressive in their natural environment but prefer a peaceful existence of foraging for food and idling with their family. They can become more aggressive while defending their family. Being immensely family-oriented and often having an intimate interaction with all family members enhances the sense of security and cooperation among each family member. This subsequently leads to higher survival chances in the wild.
Each silverback gorilla, like all mountain gorillas has a unique nose, thanks to different wrinkles above each nostril. This is key for identification and study purposes.
Silverbacks being the largest apes on the planet have weights ranging from 298 pounds to 500 pounds. They can stand up to 5 feet to 6.5 feet when fully erect. On average their, arms measure up to 7.5 feet to 8.9 feet.
A silverback gorilla beats his chest to communicate various issues including displays of authority and aggression, and also to express joy and liveliness. They can beat their chest with cupped hands to make sounds that carry over hundreds of meters away to be noticed by rival males and potential threats. This is also significant in attracting females as potential mates and also establish their dominance in their group. However, not all silverbacks beat their chests the same way. Also, some silverbacks beat more frequently and for relatively longer durations than other silverbacks.
Silverbacks know how to use tools to perform a variety of tasks, for example testing water depth with a stick before crossing a stream; making an improvised ladder to ensure that younglings reach for fruits in trees; and using sticks as eating tools to avoid bites from ants while feeding on them.
Silverbacks can become even up to over 10 times as strong as an average adult human. This is vital to defend their troop while ensuring easier navigation in rugged terrain.
Because of their immense sizes and strength, silverbacks have a few threats from fellow mammals. Leopards are their main threat in the wild since they focus on the younger and weaker mountain gorillas. However, it should be noted that they are usually vigilant, watching to deter any predator with their sheer presence and power.
Mountain gorillas and particularly silverbacks have remarkably powerful bites thus positioning them as daunting defenders of their troops. With an approximate force of 1,300 pounds per square inch, a silverback’s bite is much stronger than a lion’s. This is significant in fending off predators while maintaining dominance in their family.
Silverbacks are agile and can run up to 11 meters per second. Such a remarkable speed makes them capable of escaping an enemy or predator.
Silverback gorillas, like all mountain gorillas are critically endangered and have a huge possibility of facing extinction if conservation measures are not sustained. They are still grappling with habitat loss, diseases such as Ebola and illegal hunting for their heads, feet and limbs. Therefore, there is still need to expand their habitat, as well as promoting more conservation awareness programs to ensure their survival for future generations.
Gorilla Habituation Experience
Before going into details of the experience we need to first understand what gorilla habituation is and where is it carried out. Gorilla habituation is a little bit similar to gorilla trekking but the only difference is time, both period and hours. Gorilla habituation is the process of gently introducing wild mountain gorillas to the presence of humans. In simple terms gorilla habituation means familiarizing humans to wild mountain gorillas that have never had an encounter with humans.
This is done for purposes of research through studying the behavior of the wild mountain gorillas, conservation efforts such as knowing how many they are in the wild and protecting them from poachers. In Uganda gorilla habituation is only available in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in the Rushaga sector to be specific.
The process of gorilla habituation in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is quite an intense but fun experience as we shall see below. This is because visitors are given a special opportunity of being among the very few that get to expose the wild mountain gorillas to human presence. The process is as follows:
- Briefing: This is the first step in the process of gorilla habituation. This pre-tracking briefing is done early in the morning at the briefing centers in the park before heading out the forest.
An experienced ranger guide takes the podium immediately after an exciting cultural performance from the community members. He then briefs the visitors about the rules and regulations of the habituation process and the expected code of conduct around the wild mountain gorillas. Before the visitors head out for the next process, the guide ranger informs them about the specific gorilla family to be habituated.
- Trekking: After the pre-trekking briefing, an experienced guide ranger then leads the visitors into the impenetrable forest on a search for the gorilla family to habituated. The forest is dense and thus visitors are required to move in a single file formation for easy navigation. Along the way to the gorillas, visitors may come across different bird species in the forest and if luck is on their side they may catch a glimpse of other small primates like the vervet monkey, olive baboons, white and black colobus monkeys among others. The period for trekking depends on how far the gorilla family to habituated is.
- Observation: After an intense and adventurous tracking experience, visitors reach the tracked gorilla family to be habituated. Upon arrival, silence and patience are then required from every visitor to have a safe and easy habituation process. Because the wild mountain gorillas are being familiarized with the humans, it is very important not to scatter or surround the mountain gorillas. This is because they may feel threatened and act very aggressively or flee deep into the dense forest. Visitors are given a maximum of four hours to spend with the primates.
- Habituation: The visitors in the presence of the wild mountain gorillas can then record and learn the different behaviors and sounds of these gorillas with the help of researchers. They then observe them as feed, play, rest, build nests, care for their young ones and basically roam around with their daily chores.
Gorilla habituation permits are more expensive than the trekking permits with habituation permits going for USD 1,500. This is because during gorilla habituation visitors get to spend more time with the primates than trekking. For gorilla trekking visitors only an hour with the gorillas and during habituation visitors are given four hours.
Gorilla habituation permits in Uganda can only be booked through a trusted tour operator company. Visitors can get in touch with the tour company and after confirming the availability of the permits on the visitors preferred tracking dates book. It is very important to note that habituation permits in Uganda are not booked or bought online and therefore visitors interested in gorilla habituation should get in touch with a trusted tour company for bookings.
Before visitors are taken for gorilla habituation, they are always first briefed about the rules and regulations of habituation. They are then cautioned on the expected code of conduct in the presence of the mountain gorillas. Below are some of the rules and regulations to follow.
- Do not feed the mountain gorillas. It is prohibited to feed the wild mountain gorillas as they are wild and only feed on the natural vegetation around them. Feeding these primates may cause them to get sick by altering their diet.
- Flash photography is strictly not allowed. The mountain gorillas are wild and very sensitive to their surroundings especially to intruders. Flashing photography may scare them and cause to act aggressively or flee.
- Avoid making noise when around the mountain gorillas as it may frighten them cause them to act aggressively.
- Do not litter in the forest. Littering is strictly forbidden in the forest and visitors are encouraged and cautioned to live the forest as natural as possible.
- Never confront the wild mountain gorillas especially the silverback in case it acts aggressively. Silverbacks are wild and very territorial and confronting these beasts is very dangerous and can even lead to death. A silverback can weigh over 200 kilograms and strength of about 4-5 men so it’s an act of suicide to try and fight or confront it.
The following are some of the items to pack while of a gorilla habituation experience in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.
- Long sleeved shirt
- Jungle shoes
- First aid box
- Energy giving snacks
- Reusable water bottle
- Rain coat or jacket
- Light weighed clothes
- Accessories like sunscreen, sunglasses, cap/hut to mention but a few.
