Combining Rwanda gorilla and chimp trekking with Kahuzi Biega National Park

Combining Rwanda gorilla and chimp trekking with Kahuzi Biega National Park is a supper plan with creating an opportunity to be at least 8 meters in the wilderness with both the mountain gorillas and the eastern lowland gorillas. Many adventure seekers want to know the difference between the mountain gorillas and the eastern lowland gorillas but this is the ideal safari when every testimony about the factual nature and difference between these two gorilla species can be narrated.

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Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda lies in the Northwestern part of the country and is a pristine rain forested park. The existence of rain forests in this area is the natural habitat for some of the world’s only leftover mountain gorillas and other inhabitants who have existed for so many years. Gorilla trekking is the topmost activity in Volcanoes National Park with so far 12 gorilla trekking families.

Kahuzi Biega National Park one of the largest rain forests in D.R.Congo covering more than 6000 square kilometers of Land is home to the elusive eastern lowland gorillas and other primates like chimpanzees. At the moment about 5 gorilla families are present in this Kahuzi Biega National Park. Due to political instability in the Eastern D.R.Congo, the development of tourism in this area is still stagnant. Lwiro chimpanzee sanctuary is the home of chimpanzees in Kahuzi Biega National Park.

Whether on a chimpanzee safari in Kahuzi Biega National Park or gorilla trekking Volcanoes National Park, one needs a permit. For conservation reasons the number of gorilla permits open to the public per day for each family is a maximum of 8.

When planning to do gorilla trekking in Rwanda and chimpanzee sanctuary visit in D.R.Congo, you need to secure accommodation to use in advance as the best options run out early because of high demand for these facilities especially during the peak season.

How to Plan Gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega National park and Volcanoes National Park

Day 1 Drive To Kahuzi Biega National Park

Wake up for breakfast and your ranger guide will pick you up from your overnight hotel in Kigali to head to Kahuzi Biega National Park. You pass Gisenyi then head to Cyangungu border in Rusizi to cross into D.R.Congo.  Proceed to Bukavu town arriving later at Kahuzi Biega National Park.

Kahuzi Biega National Park is a tropical rainforest and a biosphere reserve with several wild animals and birds. This is a lowland evergreen forest situated between two mountains that is Mountain Biega to the east and Kahuzi to the west. It is from these two mountains that Kahuzi Biega National Park gets its name.

Check into your Lodge For dinner and accommodation

Day 2 Chimpanzee watching in Lwiro Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Kahuzi Biega National Park

Wake up early morning for breakfast and head to Lwiro Chimpanzee Sanctuary the rescued home for several primates including chimpanzees. These primates are rescued from scared, abandoned, orphaned and cannot be re-assimilated into their community. Lwiro Chimpanzee Sanctuary is their second home.

Other than chimpanzees, the sanctuary is home to other primates like Bongo, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys and others.

 While at the sanctuary tourists engage in activities like chimpanzees up close, keeper for the day, chimpanzee watching, and much more.

To be allowed to engage in some of the activities at the sanctuary, you must have undergone inoculation.

Spending the day with the chimpanzees is unforgettable and it is an opportunity to have an insight into the life of these primates.

 Dinner and overnight at your lodge.

Day 3 Drive to Volcanoes National Park

Depart for Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda passing via the Nyungwe National Park then Musaze and Ruhengeri. This is quite a long drive but very scenic and you drive through the stunning rolling hills of Rwanda.

Volcanoes National Park is the only home for the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. This prehistoric forest is home to other primates like the endangered golden monkeys, blue monkeys, olive baboons, vervet monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, and others. other than gorilla trekking, Volcanoes National Park is a busy destination with chances of birding in Rwanda, Diane Fossey hike, Nature walks, community visits and much more can be done in around this park.

Check into your accommodation

Accommodation:Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Kinigi Guest House

Day 4: Gorilla Trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Wake up for breakfast, carry your gorilla trekking gear and packed lunch to the ranger station. Together with other trekkers, you are given the guidelines to follow during gorilla trekking, allocated gorilla families later, and then follow the ranger guide. The ranger guides follow the trail leading where the mountain gorillas were last seen the previous night.

The gorillas in Volcanoes National Park sometimes spend time on the slopes of the several highlands around the park so making the trek to find them quite challenging. On the way to find the mountain gorillas, you may encounter other primates like olive baboons, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, and others. An array of birds over 200 species and much more.

The time of locating the mountain gorillas is quite hard to determine because the location they are very mobile primates with nothing to stop them from crossing over to other deeper ends of the park. Some level of patience is required before locating these primates.

Finally when you locate the gorillas, only one hour is allowed with them. Return to your lodge for dinner and overnight.

Day 5: Departure day

After the chimpanzee safari experience in Lwiro and gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park, drive to Kigali International Airport to catch up with your departure flight.

How Much is the cost of chimpanzee safari in Kahuzi Biega National Park and Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda

The cost of gorilla trekking in Rwanda and chimpanzee safari in Kahuzi Biega includes purchasing the gorilla permit for Rwanda and making arrangements for activities to do with the chimpanzees in Lwiro chimpanzee sanctuary.

Other safari costs may include accommodation, transport, driver guide fees but all these are influenced by the number of people traveling with, time of booking a safari, number of days on safari, additional activities to include in gorilla trekking, and much more.

When is the best Time to Book Gorilla trekking in Rwanda and Chimpanzee safari in Kahuzi Biega National Park?

The dry season of the year is most preferred for gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park Rwanda and chimpanzee safari with Kahuzi Biega National Park. Primate safari adventures normally include walking in the jungle but you need to wear the right clothes.  The walk in the jungle is an activity where you walk through the dense forest with high precipitation that makes the trails boggy and slippery.

The gorillas, chimpanzees and other inhabitants in the forest are quicker to spot because the animals meander the forest freely and can easily be seen. There is more sunlight penetrating through the dense jungle to the ground drying up the trails and making them passable. There is also less undergrowth protruding through to obstruct the way. For clear photos there is more sunlight protruding through the dense jungle to provide better lighting.

The demand for both gorilla trekking in Rwanda and chimpanzee safaris in Kahuzi Biega National Park is high in the peak season yet supply is limited for conservation reasons. Chimpanzees and mountain gorillas feed on foliage to survive.

The wet season is also open for gorilla trekking tours in Volcanoes National Park and chimpanzee safari in Lwiro chimpanzee sanctuary with chances of seeing these primates. The walk in the jungle during the wet season may be challenging because of the severe rains that fall with less sunlight protruding through the dense canopy to the ground.

For those interested in having fewer people in their company during the gorilla trek and chimpanzee safari, the low season may provide a suitable time to organize this safari. In case you are conscious of your budget, the low season opens better opportunities for discounts during the gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda and Chimpanzee safari in D.R.Congo.

How Long Is Gorilla Trekking In Rwanda And Chimpanzee Safari In D.R.Congo

The time taken on gorilla trekking varies with conditions prevailing in the forest. The mountain gorillas are free wild animals that spend most of there time traversing the forest in search of a meal to satisfy their bodies through the day and night.

During the wet season, the ground is slippery and soggy from the severe rains that fall and yet less sunlight penetrates through to dry the ground. This makes the movement in the forest in search of the gorillas and other primates quite challenging to navigate.

As a tourist, you need to bear some level of fitness and be patient or open your mind to seeing other forest occupants like black and white colobus, grey-cheeked mangabey, black and white colobus, olive baboons and others. The long list of birds that traverse the forest is unforgettable for keen birders in gorilla safari and chimpanzee tours.

A limited time is allowed with both the gorillas and chimpanzees to reduce on chances of agitating these primates. Even the longer humans are with the gorillas and chimpanzees the more chances of interfering with the daily life of these primates.

Upon finding the gorillas only one hour is allowed with them then all tourists have to get back without causing any suspension.

Are Mountain Gorillas Or Chimpanzees Dangerous?

The mountain gorillas and chimpanzees are first habituated for some time before opening them to the public to visit. The gorilla or chimpanzee habituation process helps these wild primates to get used to human presence without altering their nature.

In nature, the gorillas and chimpanzees are naturally calm and when agitated, they would rather move into the deeper ends of the forest or retreat into hiding.

When agitated, the gorillas and chimpanzees may show signs of disagreement by hooting, throwing items in their vicinity, thumping their chests and much more. It not all the time that you witness such odd behavior that these gorillas and chimpanzees want to get back at you. At times they tease you, trying to seek attention, playing, joking, reacting to an attack from another gorilla family, and much more.

What are the rules of gorilla and chimpanzee safari?

• Try not to surround the gorillas when you locate them because this makes them feel ambushed. They are very sensitive primates that you need to follow the advice given by the ranger guides to enjoy every moment.
• Wearing a clean mask before meeting the eastern mountain gorillas is compulsory after the outbreak of Corona Virus. This is one of the preventive measures to reduce on the chances of passing this infection to their endangered primate specie.
• In case you wish to cough or sneeze, do it away from the gorillas or in a handkerchief to prevent the spreading of germs.
• Spitting on vegetation or soil is forbidden because it may contaminate the food on which the eastern mountain gorillas depend on.
• Use of flash photography is forbidden because this may scare the gorillas. They are highly sensitive to new occurrences in their vicinity.
• In case you wish to take a long call, ask the ranger guide to dig a hole for you at least 30 centimeters deep and cover everything well beyond recognition. This is to prevent forest dwellers from exhuming what you may have covered.
• Provoking the gorillas is forbidden because they have moods too. They may get agitated and move into hiding.in nature, they are shy and serene creatures but do not test their patience.
• Eating or smoking 200 meters from the gorillas may cause them to move and grab it from you. The mountain gorillas are wild animals that must search for their food and not depend on human provision.
• Tourists ages 15 and above are allowed to do gorilla trekking. This is because of the hardships that come with searching for the gorillas like the time of locating the gorillas is unknown, the way to the gorillas is sloppy at times, the provocative nature of the gorillas and much more. A child below this age may not withstand such so in case they make noise they may cause a stampede in the forest.
• Keep a distance of about 8 meters from the gorillas when you locate them. this is to reduce the chances of passing an infection to the mountain gorillas or chimpanzees. They are highly susceptible to human infectious diseases. Even when they approach, try to stealthily move back.
• Littering the forest or dumping garbage in the forest is forbidden because this alters the nature of the forest where the mountain gorillas feed. They are vegetarian in nature so when you dump indecomposable garbage, it may prevent the growth of plants on which the gorillas and other forest dwellers feed.
• Only one hour is allowed with the mountain gorillas when you locate them.

A combined safari is a great opportunity for you to learn and know the difference between mountain gorillas and lowland gorillas. Contact us for more information.