Gorilla trekking in Rwanda-sharing the experience.
The Rwandan tour operator organization EREKA-Group, which is leading the charge to promote Rwanda as a tourist destination, issued an invitation to us. This eight-day acclimatization trip included stops to Volcanoes National Park to gorilla tracking, Lake Kivu in Gisenyi for boat rides, and Nyungwe Forest National Park for a canopy walk.
Rwanda Air kindly provided transportation from Entebbe to Rwanda and return, as well as domestic flights to Nyungwe Forest National Park, as part of our tour. Lebambou Gorilla Lodge, Serena Hotel Rwanda, and Mountain Gorilla View Lodge were among the other sponsors.
Trekking with gorillas in Rwanda
I was most interested in hiking with the world-renowned mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park, however we did visit many other sites in Rwanda, including as the genocide memorial center, Kings castle, Butale National Museum, and many more.
Getting ready to embark on the gorilla safari.
Our overnight stay at the Mountain Gorilla View Lodge was well situated to provide breathtaking views of the famous Virunga Volcanoes. For the first time ever, I was about to embark on this endeavor. We had breakfast and packed lunch in the restaurant first thing in the morning.
We borrowed vegetable groves from the Lodge, and the men were all prepared with long-sleeved shirts, trekking boats, raincoats, and pants. After we gathered our meals, we headed to Volcanoes National Park for a safety lecture on how to interact with gorillas. We arrived at the Park headquarters after a twenty-minute journey.
Guests were entertained by a local ethnic dance ensemble, and anybody who wanted to participate in could. The local dance troupe entertained us with music and dances as we sipped tea.
Split into smaller teams
We were soon divided into groups of eight, the maximum daily human contact with a gorilla family, since that was when they began to gather us. After introducing us to the gorillas, our designated tour guide began going over the rules of conduct for the day. We really enjoyed the exercise because of this man, and he never stopped pushing us to perform better.
Our guide informed us that we would be going on a hike with the UMUBANO gorilla family. We were thrilled to embark on this excursion, because the local language means “UMUBANA” (friendship). After a brief drive, we began our hike, winding past local gardens and homes until we arrived to the borders, where we were met by a group of porters.
Porters were chosen by some of my pals, but those of us who felt physically capable opted not to take them. We set out to climb the volcanoes as our guide gave us an educational speech. We initially saw a single silver back gorilla at an altitude of about 3,000 meters. Upon seeing him, our guide struck up a conversation with him, and after a while, he began directing us to the location of the other members of the group.
The story goes something like this: when a family has many silverbacks, they all have certain jobs to do. So long as one silverback stays with the family, the other may keep an eye out for trouble. Once we located the other members, this silver back continued to guide us.
Meeting the gorillas for an hour
It was like nothing I had ever seen before. There were probably five of them, and we saw them running and playing while the big silverback sat and watched them. He continued to sit there, unfazed by our presence, even while he attended to his family.
Your gorillas approached us and even reached out to touch us as we began to snap pictures! What an amazing adventure! We were only required to maintain a seven-meter distance from the gorillas in principle since their movements are completely unpredictable.
Depending on their attitude, it might be very different one minute and completely different the next. After an hour, we were informed to depart from the gorillas since they need some time to themselves. After leaving Volcanoes National Park, we began to fall.
In order to get our certificates for our gorilla trekking experiences and our contributions to the protection of these imperilled big apes, we were required to return to the park headquarters.
After checking into the Kigali Serena for the night, we had to make our way back to the airport to catch a flight to Entebbe International Airport in Uganda.
