A Guide To Gorilla Trekking in Virunga National Park, DR Congo.
One of the four sites worldwide for gorilla trekking and time with the threatened mountain gorillas is Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Rising recently in prominence because to the 2014 award-winning British nature documentary Virunga, Virunga National Park is the oldest and most biodiverse protected region in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, running alongside Uganda and Rwanda.
Including a third of the world’s threatened mountain gorillas, central Africa’s most well-known wildlife park has over one thousand animal species. Among the four national parks worldwide, this one safeguards the last known mountain gorilla habitat.
Situated on the eastern edge of the Congo Basin, Virunga National Park is the second-largest tropical rainforest worldwide with varied habitats ranging from the Rwenzori mountains to the Semliki River basin, to the savanna plains surrounding Lake Edward, stretching as far as the shores of Lake Kivu and encompassing the montane slopes of Nyamulagira, Nyiragongo and Mikeno volcanoes. Unfortunately, conflict, illicit activity like poaching, and unavoidable natural calamities continually endanger the UNESCO global heritage site.
Among the amazing features of the park are snow-covered mountains, red-hot lava lakes, dense rainforests, and broad savannah plains. The dark-fared mountain giants that prowls the slopes of the Virunga Mountains would, nevertheless, be the most draw to Virunga National Park.
One of a kind adventure is gorilla trekking in the most dreaded woods of Virunga. With every detail you need to organize your Virunga trip, here we aim to provide you a basic guide to gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park.
Trekking in Gorillas in Virunga
One of four national parks throughout the world that provide gorilla trekking experiences to see mountain gorillas in their native environment is Virunga National Park Though the strife in the area deters tourists, those who have traveled the Montane Virunga forest report it to be among the most amazing experiences available in these areas of Africa.
Armed rangers and experienced trackers guide visitors to locate the gorillas, and they are free to spend at least one hour silently seated 10 meters near the gorillas.
Like in Rwanda’s Volcanoes and Uganda’s Bwindi and Mgahinga, gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park begins early morning at 8:00 Am in small groups of eight tourists, two armed rangers, a professional tracker guide, and sometimes porters to assist visitors over the difficult terrain.
Finding the gorillas might take half an hour to six hours in deep forest, steep hills, and cold-misty conditions on a half-day Gorilla Trekking adventure in Virunga. Trekking in Virunga National Park calls for some modest physical fitness, hence be ready before you start.
For gorilla trekking to any tourist over 15 years, Virunga National Park has about eight habituated gorilla groups. For simple identification, the gorilla groups are called Humba, Rugendo, Kabirizi, Lulengo, Munyaga, Mapuwa, Nyakamwe and Bageni.
You will therefore be following anybody with up to thirty family members under the wary and protective eye of the dominant male silverback gorilla.
Rangers would know where the gorilla family is at any one moment throughout the day as they monitor the habituated gorilla groups in Virunga during the day. The park superintendent will assign you a group suitable for your physical fitness during your morning briefing at the park headquarters before you enter the forest. They make sure every guest sees the gorillas by doing this.
Comparatively, gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park is the experience one gets in Bwindi or Volcanoes in Rwanda.
To get to the gorillas, you will be traveling on uneven land, steep hills, muddy dirt, unused paths, and into deep forest. Sometimes the rain falls suddenly; after all, it is a jungle. Gorilla trekking is a real African bush experience as there is no shortcut or indication of the travel time to the gorillas.
Cost of Trekking in Gorilla Virunga
For everyone over fifteen years, a permit for gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park is USD 450 per person. DR Congo provides the least expensive gorilla treking experiences when compared to $800 Uganda’s permit and $1,500 Rwanda’s permit.
Either with a certified local tour operator like Katland Safaris or with Virunga Foundation in Virunga National Park—a bureaucratic procedure many avoid—you may arrange your gorilla permit. At Encounter, we simplify the booking procedure for our guests and do away with all the administrative sign-here-sign-there systems.
Apart from the gorilla permit’s payment, your gorilla trip safari in Virunga will cost lodging ($100 to $300) and transportation.
How One Gets To Visit Virunga National Park
Goma, an hourly drive outside Virunga National Park, is the closest settlement. There are flights to the Goma; refer to the planner of your journey. But with Uganda Airlines, Rwandair, and Ethiopian Airways, Goma and Kigali (Rwanda), Entebbe (Uganda), and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) are definitely connected.
Alternatively, you may drive 10 to 15 hours from Entebbe to Kisoro (next to Bwindi Park), pass the Bunagana border, and be ready to clear immigration bureaucracy between the two nations.
Another route is via Kigali International Airport, crossing the western Rwanda border at Gisenyi to reach Virunga National Park four to six hours’ drive away. Covid-19 may cause this road to be closed; kindly verify with our reservations desk before you go.
Ideal Time To Visit
Though Virunga National Park is accessible all year round, the optimum times for gorilla trekking there are the dry seasons of June through September and December through February. During the dry seasons, there are less chances of rain; the ground is easily navigable; and the dirt roads leading to the park are dry.
While some people decide to visit Virunga during the rainy season in order to benefit from the low-season deals, many others avoid the wet seasons. But the availability of gorilla permits in Virunga may decide your trip more than the temperature.
Where One Should Stay
Among the four most remarkable safari hotels near Virunga National Park is the greatest one.
Tented Camp in Kibumba
The Kibumba Tented camp, tucked on Mount Mikeno’s slopes, has expansive views over the Mitumba Mountains and beyond the Virunga mountains. From the balcony of the tented rooms, Mount Karisimbi with Nyiragongo and Nyamulagiri red-hot glow is visible over the summit.
Tcheera Tented Camp
Tchegera Tented Camp, atop a crest of a collapsed caldera in the center of the breathtaking blue waves of Lake Kivu, is ideal for gorilla walking in Virunga National Park. On clear evenings, the camp offers amazing views of Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira as their brilliant red lava penetrate a star-covered sky.
Mikeno Lodge
Nestled near the Park headquarters in Rumangabo, Mikeno Lodge provides a pleasant stay amid stunning vistas of the Virungas and rich birdlife inside the lush Mahura Forest. Mikeono Lodge is the ideal luxury resort.
Lulimbi Tented Camp, Nyiragongo Volcano Summit Shelters, Hotel Begonias, Bukima Tented Camp Orchids Safari Club, Exodus Bukavu, and Coco Lodge are more reasonably priced lodging choices for gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park.
What To Pack
Know that you will be spending time at elevations of up to 5,000 meters while getting ready for your gorilla trekking safari in Virunga National Park; it gets chilly out there and may rain any moment. Your packing list should call for a lightweight rain jacket, an evening lodge sweater, a pair of thick socks, and maybe a scarf to keep you comfortable and dry throughout your visit.
To keep you dry and avoid the muddy paths, kindly bring pants, gaiters, and light-weight, waterproof hiking shoes. Great to stop thorny plants from pocking your skin is a long sleeve garment. Perhaps a tent to shield your head; take a waterproof bag to keep your tools dry. These should all be light; otherwise, you would be sweating while trekking with a heavy burden.
This comprehensive packing guide for gorilla trekking should provide all the information you need.
Planning a Gorilla Trekking Safari at Virunga, Democratic Republic of the Congo
In theory, planning a gorilla trekking safari in Virunga is not as simple as it seems. Being a nation with erratic civil unrest outside the national park, you will require an experienced and licensed local operator to assist you through all the practicalities of trip planning in DR Congo.
Over the last years, Katland Safaris has conducted various excursions to Virunga National Park including filming safaris in the UNESCO world heritage site; we would be happy to provide our services to you. To speak with a specialist and begin organizing your gorilla trip to Virunga.
