Why you should make gorilla trekking the last activity on your Uganda or Rwanda safari.
A ideal vacation is going gorilla trekking in Africa, either in Rwanda or Uganda. You may choose how you want your gorilla tracking safari to be organized, but a professional safari consultant can help you create the ideal schedule that works with the dates of your vacation.
Depending on your itinerary, you may do gorilla trekking at the beginning or finish of your Uganda safari vacation, although many people choose to do it near the conclusion. With this arrangement, you may enjoy your gorilla trekking safari without worrying about how you’re going to get there.
Volcanoes National Park, one of the tree habitats of the world’s only mountain gorillas, is the location for gorilla trekking in Rwanda. There are now 15 mountain gorilla families in Rwanda that are accessible to tourists. Among them are the families of Karisimbi, Amahoro, Susa, and Sabyinyo, among others.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Mgahinga National Park are home to Uganda’s gorilla families. Currently, 19 gorilla families are accessible to tourists, while two more are utilized for gorilla habituation adventures.
Because of the following, it is preferable to schedule the gorilla trekking excursion toward the end of an African safari if you want to include it.
Trekking with gorillas is exhausting.
The quest to find the mountain gorillas may wear you out if you go gorilla trekking. You could be too exhausted to continue if you have to go to another location.
Because of the region’s volcanic activity, the mountain gorilla locations have a jagged landscape with several highlands.
The mountain gorillas enjoy eating and relaxing in the highlands of parks such as Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. The Karisimbi, Gahinga, Bisoke, Sabyinyo, and Muhabura mountains are all located in this park. Additionally, Mgahinga National Park is situated on the southern slopes of three mountains: Gahinga, Muhavura, and Sabyinyo.
Since these mountain gorillas frequently visit all of these highlands, you should be somewhat fit if you have a reservation to travel with mountain gorilla families near them. You could be too exhausted after the hike to do anything else, not even the next day. This is one of the reasons you should go gorilla trekking in the latter part of your safari schedule.
The experience is thrilling.
One of the attractions of every trip in Africa is gorilla trekking. By going gorilla trekking last, you reserve the best for last. The time you spend with the mountain gorillas is mysterious. Knowing that you are only a few meters away from the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas is a breathtaking experience.
Other African safari locations might not experience this thrilling occasion. When most people watch movies or cartoons about mountain gorillas, they see them as violent, but meeting them in person and seeing how calm and timid they are is a unique experience. Before you head back home, you may schedule an exhilarating gorilla walk.
In the event that there are no permits available for the day you have selected, you will need to change your plans.
We check the Uganda Wildlife Authority or Rwanda Development Board listing for availability when you choose a day to go gorilla trekking in Rwanda or Uganda and then contact Katland Safari.
An option would be to change the itinerary chosen to accommodate gorilla trekking permits if this date is not available. If it is toward the conclusion of the safari, we will work with you to organize your gorilla trekking experience.
The locations of destinations for gorilla trekking
Both Mgahinga National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are situated in the southwest of Uganda, following all other parks in the western region. Lake Mburo National Park, Kibale National Park, Semuliki National Park, and Queen Elizabeth National Park are a few of the parks in western Uganda. These all precede the two gorilla trekking sites in Uganda.
These national parks can serve as rest stops on the lengthy trip from Entebbe Airport or Kampala City to Bwindi or Mgahinga National Park, which takes around eight to nine hours. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is around 530 kilometers away from Entebbe Airport or Kampala city, whereas Mgahinga National Park is roughly 540 kilometers away.
Instead of driving from Nyungwe National Park chimpanzee habitat, which is approximately five hours from Kigali Airport, you can do gorilla trekking last and then head to the airport later if you’d like. Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda is located in the Northwestern Part and is roughly three hours from the airport.
After gorilla trekking, it is simple to get from Uganda to Rwanda.
Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Mgahinga National Park is the ideal way to end a Uganda safari that passes via Rwanda. Game drives in Uganda may be done in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kibale National Park, or Murchison Falls National Park. Gorilla trekking might be the last activity.
Including border crossing formalities, the travel from the Gorilla trekking site in Uganda to Kigali Airport takes around six to seven hours.
How Much Does a Rwandan or Ugandan Gorilla Trekking Safari Cost?
The primary cost-cutting measure for all budgets, whether they are luxury, moderate, or low, is the price of gorilla permits.
The cost of a gorilla permit in Rwanda is presently $1500 per trekper.
The current cost of a Uganda gorilla permit is $800 per person per trek.
The following are additional components of the Rwandan or Ugandan gorilla trekking safari:
When to Make a Reservation for the Gorilla Trekking Safari
Other services are in great demand when you schedule your gorilla safari during the busiest time of year. The great demand for services abroad is the reason for this high cost. In Rwanda and Uganda, this is also the busiest time of year for safaris.
Booking during the off-peak months of March through May or November increases your chances of receiving a discount from lodging, car rental, and other service providers.
The number of individuals that pay to go gorilla trekking
The cost per participant for the gorilla trekking expedition decreases as more individuals sign up. This is due to the fact that you may split expenses like as petrol, car rental, driver’s guide fees, and other expenses. You are responsible for paying for all safari costs as a lone traveler on a gorilla trekking safari.
The duration of the gorilla trekking expedition in days
The gross cost of your safari in Rwanda or Uganda increases with the number of days you spend there. This is due to the fact that the majority of service providers charge on a daily basis. Because of this, the gross cost might be significant.
The price range you decide on for your safari in Rwanda or Uganda
Luxury, mid-range, and budget packages are available for the Rwandan gorilla safari and Ugandan gorilla safaris. A package’s price increases with the number of inclusions and decreases with the number of exclusions.
The Extra Activities in Addition to Gorilla Trekking
The cost of a safari increases when gorilla trekking is combined with additional activities like game drives, chimpanzee trekking, birdwatching, white water rafting, mountaineering, and more. The organizations that oversee their operations charge each of these activities separately.
Things Not to Do on a Safari for Gorilla Trekking
Since plants and dirt are food for mountain gorillas, avoid spitting on them. It’s possible that you may infect the mountain gorillas.
Volunteer to stay behind if you have an infectious sickness, such as cholera, the flu, or cough, to avoid infecting the mountain gorillas, who are particularly vulnerable to these illnesses. Their DNA is almost 96% that of humans.
It’s illegal to dampen trash in the wild because it might change the environment where mountain gorillas forage. Since they are naturally vegetarians, they might never have enough food to sustain their bodies day and night if it doesn’t develop.
Avoid sneezing or coughing in public since this might expose the mountain gorillas to your germs. The mountain gorillas may die in large numbers as a result of these deadly illnesses. Cough or sneeze in a handkerchief or elbow away from the mountain gorillas to avoid such situations.
Since it is unknown how long it may take to find the mountain gorillas, children under the age of fifteen are not permitted to undertake gorilla trekking. You must have a certain degree of fitness because the terrain might be treacherous at times. A youngster younger than this might not be able to do this.
Avoid eating or smoking within 300 meters of mountain gorillas as this might lead to them stealing your food. Being untamed creatures, mountain gorillas have to forage for their own sustenance. Wild animals must rely on nature rather than people to survive.
Flash photography should not be used when photographing mountain gorillas since they are typically frightened of strange things.
Fecal excrement should never be left completely exposed because mountain gorillas and forest residents may exhume it and spread pathogens.
Since vegetation is the sole meal that mountain gorillas eat throughout their lives, avoid spitting on it. Even the dirt doesn’t need to be contaminated. Due to their innate vegetarianism, mountain gorillas rely on greenery for sustenance.
To keep the mountain gorillas from contracting any infectious diseases you may have, keep a distance of around 8 meters from them.
Spend just one hour with the mountain gorillas. They are accustomed to being around others for that brief period of time before being left alone to do their daily tasks.
Which Nation Is Ideal for Safari Gorilla Trekking?
You may simply learn about the differences between gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda by going on a safari.
However, realize that you are in front of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas while you stand there watching them relax. Additionally, you could forget the difficulties you faced in getting ready or traveling to go gorilla trekking.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Uganda differs in the following ways:
A gorilla permit for Rwanda costs $1500 per person per trip, but a gorilla permit for Uganda costs $800 per person every trek.
It takes around three hours to go from Kigali Airport to Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, and eight to nine hours to travel to Bwindi and Mgahinga National Park, the gorilla trekking sites in Uganda.
About 15 gorilla families are available for tourists in Rwanda, compared to roughly 19 in Uganda.
While the travel from Entebbe Airport to Volcanoes National Park may take more than 15 hours, gorilla trekking in Uganda is available via Rwanda, which is around a 6–7 hour drive.
Compared to the Ugandan side, the Rwandan gorilla trekking briefing point is more organized.
There are additional options for combining gorilla trekking with other activities in Uganda, such as visiting the Nile River’s source, trekking with chimpanzees, birdwatching, wildlife drives, launch expeditions, white water rafting, and more. There are less opportunities in Rwanda to combine gorilla trekking with other activities, such as chimpanzee trekking, wildlife drives, cultural excursions, and city tours of Kigali.
