The activity of doing gorilla trekking involves tracking down and spending an hour with a family of habituated mountain gorillas. Each mountain gorilla family's feeding location is disclosed to park authorities by a team of rangers who follow the gorillas in the early morning hours. For trophies and the sale of them as mementos was one of the main causes of gorilla poaching. By employing locals as rangers, porters, or even by supporting neighborhood initiatives like community walks, the mountain gorilla conservation group is still working to involve the local communities in its gorilla conservation campaign. The only source of funding for this can be found in the proceeds from the sale of licenses for gorilla trekking. Tourists assemble at the ranger station every day for a briefing before a ranger guide takes a party of no more than 8 people to the trail where the gorillas were last sighted.

According to the gorillas' location, gorilla trekking in Africa can take anywhere from two to seven hours. Once the gorillas are located, you will spend an hour with them in their habitat taking pictures, documenting the experience, and learning about their way of life, behaviors, and habits, among other things.

Gorilla trekking permits are offered by the Uganda Wildlife Authority in Uganda, the Rwanda Development Board in Rwanda, and the Goma Virunga Park offices in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Before buying a gorilla permit, it is necessary to confirm that it is still available because occasionally they sell out. You must persist even though the service phone lines at sales locations that sell gorilla permits are congested. The current situation won't necessarily remain unchanged just because a gorilla permit is confirmed to be available. Once you discover availability for your selected gorilla trekking dates, fully pay for your permit because first come, first served policies are in place. Someone might enter and buy everything for your date. Payment is required to reserve any permits. In order to protect the interests of our clients, Dav Safaris reserves gorilla permits; nonetheless, you must specify the day on which you desire to go on a gorilla trekking safari. We will later ask you to email us some personal information, such as your full name as it appears on your passport, the expiration date, your birthdate, and your country of citizenship. After a successful gorilla trek, we will utilize this information to issue a gorilla trekking card on your behalf from the Uganda Wildlife Authority, and we will also include it on your certificate.

Foreign nonresidents must pay $700 for a gorilla trekking permit in Uganda, while East African residents both foreign and residents must pay $600 and 250000 Shillings respectively. For non-resident foreigners, a gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda costs $ 1500; in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it costs $450; for SADC members, it costs $200; and for Congolese citizens, it costs $150 per trekker.

Visitors are advised to pack the necessary gorilla trekking gear, which includes a long-sleeved shirt and pants, gardening gloves, long socks, energy snacks, insect repellent, a warm sweater, a walking stick, a camera and extra batteries, a backpack, and a rain jacket among other items, due to the unpredictable weather changes in gorilla destinations.

Yes, disabled tourists can go gorilla trekking. To make transportation simple, they will be carried in a modern sedan chair with a steel base, seat belts, and handles or a traditional bamboo stretcher. Because gorilla trekking is a sport for all ages—young, old, elderly, and others—a disabled person will take part in it as long as they can travel to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The minimum age for gorilla trekking is 15 years, whether it's in Uganda, Rwanda, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The primary motivation for selling gorilla permits, whether for gorilla trekking in Uganda, Rwanda, or the D.R. Congo, is to raise money for conservation. The cost covers park admission fees, health care, ranger guide costs, and charges for supporting the neighborhood. Both the permit fees and the tipping are not included when hiring a porter before doing gorilla trekking.

Gorilla trekking is only permitted for 8 people in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC.

Nearly the same weather patterns can be found in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Virunga area, where gorilla treks are conducted. Rainy seasons make the soft volcanic soils appear soggy and boggy, which is one of the factors influencing gorilla trekking booking times. For gorilla trekking, the drier months of June through September and December are best since the routes are easier to navigate and less overgrown vegetation is in tracking routes. You can still undertake gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Volcanoes National Park, and Virunga National Park even if there are severe rainy seasons from March to May and November.

On an African safari, going gorilla trekking is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure, but you also want to make memories while you're there. Depending on your goals for the day, choosing the ideal park for gorilla trekking is a matter of personal preference.

Brings you to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, which is home to about half of the mountain gorilla population worldwide. For a distance of about 540 kilometres, the drive from Kampala or Entebbe Airport may take around 8 hours. A minimum of 3 days are required for a gorilla trekking program in Bwindi. A gorilla permit in Uganda costs $700 per person, which is less than in Rwanda. You can easily connect for fantastic game drives, chimpanzees trekking, launch trips, birding, and much more from gorilla trekking in Uganda's Bwindi Forest.

Offers a 2-day schedule for gorilla trekking, which is the shortest length of time you may spend on an African gorilla safari. On the other hand, the Rwanda gorilla trekking permit is the most expensive ($1500) of its competitors. It is most easily accessible by a 2-and-a-half-hour journey from the Kigali Airport to Volcanoes National Park, which is located around.

Wars in the country and instability have affected it. The Virunga conservation team is putting a lot of effort into defending the gorillas from these attacks, therefore gorilla trekking is also taking place. Of the three mountain gorilla habitats, the Virunga National Park permit is the least expensive and costs $450. The quickest journey to Virunga National Park departs from Kigali Airport.

Many tourists from all over the world save their hard-earned money to spend that one hour with mountain gorillas, but the question is if it is worth the price. Mountain gorillas are among the fortunate survivors of the ice age, and in the entire world, they are still only found in Bwindi Forest, Volcanoes National Park, Virunga National Park, and Mgahinga National Park. Finding the mountain gorillas is an experience like no other. You feel a cold chill run through your body as you stare into those dark brown eyes and at that sheer size. Knowing that mountain gorillas are peaceful creatures is astounding, despite the contradictory emotions this situation evokes. You have a chance of seeing several other primates, including golden monkeys, blue monkeys, l'Hoest, chimpanzees, and more in the Virunga gorilla trekking area, which is a rich biosphere reserve. This region of the Virungas, which spans Uganda, Rwanda, and the D.R. Congo, is home to a diverse birdlife. Even the Albertine endemics, including Shelley's Crimsonwings, gorgeous Francolins, Rwenzori Turacos, white-bellied Robin-Chats, Blue Flycatchers, and Lagden's Bush Shrikes, to name a few, can be observed cruising through this area.

You can go gorilla trekking as often as you'd like, depending on your money and desire to see mountain gorillas. Each gorilla permit purchased is for one person per day per journey.

Safety precautions for gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are highly regarded. Although rebel activity may be disturbing the Virunga National Park in the DRC, tourist safety is a top priority. Tourists are led into the jungle each morning to begin looking for mountain gorillas by a crew of armed rangers. To ensure that the safety of visitors comes first, the rangers frequently interact with the park's administrative offices by radio call. The ranger will ask for assistance if any strange conduct is observed in the forest, which is quite rare, but this has not happened recently. Security is crucial since gorilla trekking is Rwanda's crowning foreign exchange achievement. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is guarded by the military even though it is located in Uganda.

Widespread volcanic activity is present in the gorilla trekking region, which accounts for the diversity of vegetation zones. For mountain gorillas, some of these vegetation zones serve as major feeding grounds. In order to find the mountain gorillas, travelers participating in gorilla trekking ascend the slopes, especially during the wet seasons when they are more likely to eat from the slopes. Due to insufficient sunlight penetration, the vegetation cover is less dense below than it is at the top. As a result, it is easier to follow the pathways, and the ranger guide always carries a panga to trim any spreading tendrils that emerge. How quickly or difficultly you find gorilla trekking depends on your level of fitness when doing so. Your muscles can handle the journey in the gorilla trekking areas with a little workout.

The definitive confirmation of any gorilla trekking excursion is purchasing a gorilla trekking permit in Uganda, Rwanda, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo. So that the availability of a gorilla permit per your day can be checked, you must know the dates you desire to go gorilla trekking and the number of persons you will be traveling with. To be able to ascend the slopes of the peaks and plateaus on the way, get in shape before doing gorilla trekking. Make a list of your gorilla trekking supplies so that you don't overlook anything crucial. As you travel further into the countryside, it is typically impossible to purchase some of the necessary equipment locally, and there are fewer stores to choose from. In particular, in Uganda, where gorilla permits are sold based on the area, reserve lodging as soon as you have your gorilla permits. Because it can be challenging to go gorilla trekking in one place and spend the night in another, especially during peak seasons, you should book lodging in advance.

Visitors are therefore encouraged to stay at lodges close to the locations where they are going to trek from for ease of accessibility. There are a broad choice of upscale, midrange, and budget accommodations giving quality services and facilities like comfortable beds, en-suite bathrooms with cold and hot water, restaurant where they serve local and international dishes, free Wi-Fi in public areas, gardens for relaxing after going to see the gorillas, and great scenic views among others.

With Dav Safaris, you can reserve permits for gorilla trekking or habituation as well as an safari travel to East Africa;Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania. For a perfect primates experience, we handle all the necessary details, including other local issues like lodging reservations, transportation plans, and other activities. We can help you plan a special trip to the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where you can do bird watching and trekk gorillas or habituate gorillas simultaneously. For a free quote and planning assistance, get in touch with our safari staff at info@davsafaris.com