We try as much as possible to provide important information about gorilla trekking on our website but should you fail to get what you are looking for, please do contact us for direct answers. Gorilla trekking starts with you and when it comes to us, we advise to enable you making a decision.
Gorilla trekking involves following gorillas from where they slept last nights to where you will find them either feeding or making their nests. Gorilla trekking is only done in Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. At Encounter Africa we conduct gorilla trekking tours in Rwanda and Uganda because of insecurity in Democratic republic of Congo.
BEFORE GORILLA TREKKING
You need to start planning for your gorilla trekking trip way in advance. Gorilla permits which are sold through Uganda Wildlife Authority Head offices in Kampala tend to sell out quickly so we advise that you contact us at least 5-6 months or even a year in advance so that we check availability of gorilla permits for the particular dates you are interested in and if we agree, we will pre purchase them for you and send you scanned copies for your records. The price for gorilla permits keep changing year in year out and it is different in Uganda and Rwanda. Once we manage to secure your gorilla permit, you will let us know your preferred accommodation choice (up market, mid range and or budget) and then we will send you a quote for a fully inclusive tour since we only buy gorilla permits for those clients that book a whole tour with us.
Our tours normally include airport transfers, services of trained English speaking drive guides, transport in 4×4 vehicles with fuel, park entrance fees, meals on full board in National Parks and bed and breakfast in Entebbe and Kampala on arrival. All park entrance fees and drinking water while in a vehicle. We exclude, airfare, vise, gorilla permits and all expenses of person nature like tips and drinks. We do combine gorilla trekking and other national parks, cultural, community and other sites/destinations to make your stay in Uganda or Rwanda longer and memorable. We will send you your full and final itinerary, information about gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda plus what you need to pack for your gorilla trek.
DURING GORILLA TREKKING
Every day, an advanced team of trekkers sets off into the forest to find where the gorillas are. They normally start from where they slept last night following their footsteps until they find them. The reason for doing this is to make it easier for tourists to find them. Habituated Gorillas can move for long distance most especially if they are searching for food or water. Sometimes, if there is a fight between habituated and non habituated gorillas, they will tend to move far and sometimes become hostile. The work of this advanced team is to establish the state in which these gorillas will be and then, they will communicate to the Park Head Quarters to tell them where the gorillas are. Because of this, chances of seeing gorillas is approximately 95%.
Early in the morning, you will wake up, most lodges in Bwindi and Rwanda provide packed lunch,enough drinking water and walking sticks to facilitate your gorilla trek. You will then walk or be driven to the park head quarters for briefing about the do’s and don’ts while you are with the gorillas. At the Park head quarters, you will be divided into a group of eight people since the maximum number of people to trek a give gorilla family is eight. Uganda wildlife Authority Guide will take you through a session of briefing and if you have any question, this is the time you need to ask it. Please note that our office staff will meet you on arrival for briefing but our briefing is all about make sure that what you booked is what we have and also to make sure that you have all that is needed for gorilla trekking. After briefing, you will then driven to the starting point and off you will start your trek. Gorilla trekking can be fairly strenuous so a certain level of fitness is always required. We encourage our clients to do gym work, some jogging before coming for their trek. Gorilla treks can take from 30 minutes to 8 hours to find the gorillas. Once you find these mountain gorillas, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them and then return to your lodge for relaxation and other activities of the day.
WHAT TO DO AFTER GORILLA TREKKING
Uganda has many national Parks of Interest where you could extend your holiday. These include, Queen Elizabeth National Park popular for its boat cruise on Kazinga Channel and game drives, Kibale Forest National Park for chimpanzee trekking, Murchison Falls National Park and other parks which in total are 10. We can combine wildlife viewing with culture, community visits, and volunteer work to make you holiday truly authentic and memorable.
Send us an email We can have all the information on this one page but do contact us with your specific questions and our well travelled and trained tour consultants will advise you accordingly to make you gorilla trekking holiday successful.
