The group gets a family name after the mountain gorillas in Uganda or Rwanda or D.R.Congo have been habituated. The families of gorillas are addressed under these names. For simple tracking during their lifetime, researchers and habituators have assigned names to every gorilla family member.

Every gorilla trekking family consists of individuals designated as the dominant silverback, thereby bearing full power of the gorilla family. The silverback has black backs, females, young, newborns, and gray saddle on its rear.

The dominant silverback may be replaced by his sons or any other family member qualified to protect and lead the gorilla family.

Depending on how quickly the family adjusts to human presence, researchers and trekkers follow a specific gorilla family for an undetermined length during gorilla habituation between two years to around five years.

 

Families Traveling on Uganda’s Gorilla Trekking

Right now, Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park house roughly 19 gorilla families living together. You need to know which region your permit is allocated in order to schedule gorilla treks for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Four regions comprise Bwindi impenetrable national Park permits: Buhoma area, Ruhijah area in the northern portion, Nkuringo area, Rushaga area in southern Uganda.

Among the Uganda gorilla trekking sites are Buseye, Kahungye, Nshogi, Rushegura, Mubare, habinyanja family, Christmas, Nkuringo, Bweza, and others.

Nyakagezi is the name given to Mgahinga National Park gorilla trekking family exclusively. This family used to slink into Rwanda in the past. This made early booking of gorilla permits for this park difficult. When the gorillas were verified to be there, they were sold on the spot.

Late on, it has been established that the Nyakagezi gorilla family has long-standing residence in Mgahinga National Park.

 

Families of gorilla trekking in Rwanda

There are now 13 gorilla families available for visitors in Rwanda. Residents of Volcanoes National Park, they meander throughout the slopes of five mountain ranges: Mountain Muhabura, Mountain Sabyinyo, Mountain Karisimbi, Mountain Bisoke, Mountain Gahinga and others.

Among the Rwanda Gorilla hiking families are those of Hirwa, Susa, Sabyinyo, Group 13, Amahoro, Umubano, and others.

Rwanda has an annual gorilla naming ceremony known as Kwita Izina to formally identify the recently born mountain gorillas.

 

1. R. Congo Gorilla Trekking Families

Of the three mountain gorilla habitats, Virunga National Park has the lowest opening count of gorilla families for tourism. Currently just six households have been living for visitors visiting D.R. Congo. Munyaga gorilla family; Kabirizi gorilla family; Mapuwa gorilla family; Rugendo gorilla family; Humba gorilla family; Lulengo gorilla family

Arriving in Virunga National Park, the gorilla trekking permits are bought due to unrest in this part of D.R. Congo. This park is among the difficult to enter locations even considering the active character of the volcanic mountain here named Nyiragongo. Its larva sometimes moves across a more extensive region.

To see the mountain gorillas, visitors on gorilla trekking are randomly split into groups of maximum eight. They are split based on degree of fitness and ability so that the ranger guiding them can match the slowest speed of the visitors.

 

 

Which nation would be ideal for gorilla treking?

No matter where you travel, an unparalleled experience is what gorilla treking in the African bush offers. Standing in front of these gentle giants leaves a unique experience.

Whether your trip is to D.R. Congo, Rwanda, or Uganda, all the challenges you go through to find the mountain gorillas dissipate for that one instant.

The price of the gorilla permit differs: in Uganda $800, in Rwanda $1500, and in D.R. Congo $450 per person per trip.

At now, Uganda has the highest number of gorilla families—19 gorilla families. D. R. Congo has six gorilla families; Rwanda has thirteen.

While the travel from Entebbe Airport to Bwindi Impenetrable National park runs around 8 to 9 hours, the drive from Kigali Airport to Volcanoes National park takes approximately three hours.

Among all the three nations, Uganda has the most variety of complementary activities you might mix with gorilla treking.

Less than time to travel from Entebbe Airport to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, the journey time from Rwanda Kigali Airport to the park is about six hours.

The five volcanoes that surround Volcanoes National Park make Rwanda gorilla trekking to be more mountainous. The geography of Uganda is less mountainous than that of Rwanda’s gorilla trekking site.

 

How To Plan Gorilla Trekking Safari

The sole guarantee for anybody to be sure they will be going gorilla trekking in Uganda, Rwanda, or D. R. Congo is the gorilla trip permission. You should so be aware of the time you want to hike the mountain gorillas. The entity in charge of gorilla permit sales in Uganda is Uganda Wildlife Authority. About Rwanda D. R. Congo and Rwanda Development Board

Especially when the gorilla trekking safari is in the peak season, reserve lodging ahead of time. Even for other activities in these parks such birdwatching, nature hikes, and others, the lodging is much sought after and overbooked.

Get a car and driver-guide ahead so you won’t fight for few guides at the end. Even educated and experienced guides are few at the busiest times. Speaking about your African safari adventure makes you feel amazing even using a competent individual.

Should you choose a fly-in gorilla trekking safari, you must secure a seat on the allocated aircraft since they are overbooked during the peak season. Apart from these domestic flights, local residents hire them as well for trips upcountry.

List additional pursuits you may like to include into your gorilla trekking during your African vacation. Add chimpanzee trekking, birding safaris, boat cruises, wildlife drives, white water rafting see source of the Nile and so much more in Uganda.

Along with gorilla trekking, Rwanda offers other activities like chimpanzee treking, game drives, boat cruises, cultural tours, museum visits, genocide memorial visits, and others.

Along with gorilla trekking, D.R. Congo activities include birdwatching, hiking to Nyiragongo Volcano, and others.

 

The ideal time to arrange Gorilla Trekking in Africa

Though all year long gorilla trekking is accessible for visitors, the drier months—June through September and December through January—are pleasant for the journey.

Less wet earth on the paths would make walking over difficult for hikers. This season is more busy even among other forest residents like birds and monkeys. Less rain means that the humid conditions are not as severe.

During this time, mountain gorillas also eat nearer the ground.

There are few people visiting the jungle during the low season, which runs from March to May, so your chances of finding a gorilla family all to yourself are rather strong.

You may be the only trekker for the day, hence even if you want to choose where you want to go, you may do it in the low season.

In the low season, when the forest has enough to feed new recruits, chances of discovering a gorilla family with some young ones are more frequent.

Low season filming or photography of the mountain gorillas with less disturbance from other tourists is ideal. You move in the forest simply the crew as no one is scheduled for the safari.

 

The cost of gorilla trekking safaris

A gorilla trekking safari begins with the gorilla permit per location. Regarding package kinds, the cost of gorilla permits is not discriminating. Gorilla permits cost the same whether your trip is luxury, mid-range, budget, or otherwise.

Other elements included in the safari quote help to explain the variations in the gorilla package pricing. Among them are several:

 

 Days on the Gorilla Trekking Safari

The pricing the whole safari increases the more days you have scheduled for gorilla trekking. To the overall cost of the quote, the number is rather important. Three days are the minimum required for gorilla trekking in Uganda. Two day gorilla trekking safari is the minimum required in Rwanda.

 

Extra activities to mix with gorilla walking

The whole package costs more the more activities you include with gorilla treking. Different actions in Uganda, Rwanda, and D.R. Congo are valued depending on the price established by the accountable authorities.

Valued differently include chimps’ treks, game drives, birdwatching, climbing, and others. You should budget additional time on your safari days as they may not coincide with the mountain gorillas.

 

Timing for Trekking Safari in Gorilla

Service providers may provide discounts during the low seasons to accommodate the low business. There are good possibilities of obtaining these discounts when you schedule your gorilla trekking expedition in the months of March to May or November.

Usually, the peak seasons come with high expenses on gorilla safari elements like lodging, car hiring, driver guide charge, and others. This is so due to the great demand among those eager to engage in this journey and other activities.

 

Count of persons on gorilla trekking

A gorilla trekking safari’s cost per person decreases as the number of paying members of your party increases. This is so you may split expenses on things like driving guides, petrol, car rental, and others.

 

Count of gorillas on trekking times

The trip costs more the more times you spend mountain gorilla trekking. This is so because every time you have to get a gorilla permit to see the mountain gorillas.

 

Safety Level of Gorilla Trekking in Africa

While gorilla trekking is safe in Uganda and Rwanda, D.R. Congo is somewhat risky due to the political turmoil here. Together with the security institutions of every nation, the ranger guides provide safety to inhabitants around their particular national parks.

 

In gorilla trekking, personal security also matters.

Enter the forest without a ranger guide never. Other residents of the forest might endanger you; these include elephants, buffaloes, duikers, leopards, gigantic forest pigs, and more. Like other mountain gorillas, they are not accustomed to human presence.

Eating from anyplace on the streets while on gorilla trekking might lead to food sickness.

Counting a lot of public money should never be done as it may attract the wrong kind of individuals.

Travel with the people you know to help you not to get lost in the bush. The ranger moves at the slowest speed of the slowest trekkers; yet, should you stray from the others, you could become lost in the deep jungle.

If you become injured in the woods, include a first aid bag should you need emergency treatment. You have to carry a waterproof backpack so that, should you fall, all of your stuff is housed in one bag. They will not be dispersed throughout the wilderness.

You do not know everyone at the location, hence you should not carry valuable valuables around. Tell the lodge management about them and that they be stored in the safe. Remember to pick them up when leaving.

As advised at the briefing and by the ranger guides, follow their directions. This is thus since most of them have encountered mountain gorilla behavior. If you are advised to withdraw, do not hesitate since in case you persist you might create problems.

You never want to harass the mountain gorillas as you have no idea how much you may stir them. Should they get enraged, they walk on one foot, bang their chests, travel into the deeper portions of the forest or drag the grass about, so much more ruckus.