Gorilla habituation experience in Rushaga region of Bwindi

Gorilla habituation experience in Rushaga region of Bwindi is a moment to follow semi habituated gorillas in the wilderness without altering there nature. The semi wild mountain gorillas get famirialised with the presence of humans as they patiently follow them from de-nesting time to constructing of nests.

The tourists are in company of other habituators and researchers who take notes about the behavior of each individual gorilla, name the gorillas and so much more. Expect some wild behaviors from these mountain gorillas because they are not yet full used to the presence of humans.

Most Popular Gorilla Safaris

• 3 Day Uganda Gorilla Trekking
• 5 Day Gorilla and Chimp
• 8 Day Gorilla Tracking
• 2 Day Bwindi Gorilla Via Kigali
• 3 Day Uganda Gorilla Via Kigali
• 5 Day Chimp and Gorilla Habituation
• 3 Day Fly in Gorilla Habituation
• 3 Day Fly in Safari to Murchison Falls National Park
• 3 Day Bwindi Double trek via Kigali
• 5 Day Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda

Only 4 tourists are allowed to accompany the habituators for about 4 hours with the gorillas in the forest. You need to wake up earlier to find time for gorilla de-nesting. This is where the entire gorilla habituation experience starts.

In Uganda, gorilla habituation is done so far in southern part of Bwindi Impenetrable national park with two gorilla families.

Every one needs to purchase a gorilla habituation permit to participate and it costs $1500 per person per trek. Gorilla habituation started in January 2014 to add on the chances of tourists interacting more with the mountain gorillas and make unique memories of encountering  semi habituated mountain gorillas.

Locating these mountain gorillas is like playing hide and seek in the wilderness because they are not yet accustomed to human presence in there vicinity. Gorilla habituation take time or years depending on how the mountain gorillas cope with the entire exercise.

How To Book Gorilla Habituation Permits For Rushaga Area

Have a date when you wish to do gorilla habituation and the number of people you hope to travel with for this wilderness experience.

When you send us an enquiry about your wish to particulate in gorilla habituation, we check the status of the gorilla habituation permits as per the Uganda Wildlife Authority permit chart and our tours consultant gets back to you.

We advise all our clients to purchase there gorilla trekking permits in advance to avoid last minute panic. These gorilla permits get sold out fast because of high demand yet only a few are realized for the public to book. The gorilla habituation permits are sold on first come first served basis as it’s the only confirmation one has to show interest in taking this adventure.

After purchasing your gorilla habituation permit, we request you to provide some personal details like the full names on your passport, nationality, date pf birth and others as required.

 How Much Is Gorilla Habituation Safari In Rushaga

The cost of Uganda gorilla habituation starts with buying the permit which costs $1500 per person. The gross cost for gorilla trekking packages depends on a number of other factors like

The number of people travelling with for gorilla habituation.

The more the paying people in your party the less the cost of gorilla habituation.  Besides the gorilla habituation permit, you can share the cost of other safari components like transport, accommodation, gas charges, driver guide and others. This reduces on the per person cost for the gorilla habituation tour.

The Safari Package You Choose For gorilla Habituation

Selecting the safari package you choose for gorilla habituation depends on how much you wish to spend on the entire tour. The cost of gorilla habituation is graded according to luxury, mid-range and budget.

Even the services offered for each package defer as explained in the inclusion and exclusions of every gorilla habituation quotation we provide for our clients.

Timing For gorilla habituation safari

 The price for gorilla habituation in Rushaga low season many at times differ from those costs given in the high season. This at times comes in case service providers give us discounted costs, we pass these benefit to our clients to give them budget friendly costs.

Combo of Gorilla Habituation with Other Uganda Activities

The more the activities you add to gorilla habituation the higher the cost of this adventure. You may decide to do chimpanzee trekking, golden monkey trekking, game drives, white water rafting, mountaineering and other Uganda safari activities. These call for additional cost of the entire package of gorilla habituation

The number of Days you Take On Gorilla habituation Safari

When you take more days on gorilla habituation safari in Rushaga, your safari cost per day is also higher depending on what you may be doing.

What Is Included In The Gorilla Habituation Permit Cost

Ranger Guide and Habituator fees

The ranger guides  and habituators are among the mountain gorilla defending team . they take there time to study the information they provide during gorilla habituation. To make the gorilla habituation trek more interesting, they provide information that is not known else where about the gorilla family under this program.

For there efforts, they are paid salary to encourage them to continue supporting the gorilla conservation campaign. Without them, the mountain gorillas are in super danger from especially human activities.

Mountain Gorilla Medication Fund

 Mountain gorilla conservation and habituation need financial support and from the permit cost, this portion is accumulated.  The mountain gorillas may be wild and have to search for own medication but at times there illness is beyond there control. The gorilla doctors often come in to support this cause.

 To analyze the health status of the mountain gorillas samples of there blood is taken to there blood is taken to the laboratory after some time. All this serves funds that can be accumulated from the sale of gorilla activities

Park fees

 To enter all Uganda National parks, you need to pay park fees which are used to maintane the parks and others. With gorilla habituation, this fees in included in the cost of the permit.

 Park Security fee

This are needs extra security support from government security organs. The cost of maintaining security bodies here for the safety of tourists on gorilla habituation adventure is included in the gorilla permit cost.

Local Community Support

Every year a porting of the total cost accumulated from all gorilla destination activities is given to the local community to support there projects like road maintenance, clean water supply, medical care facilities, schools and others.

 This is one way to include the community in the mountain gorilla conservation campaign

When Is The best Time To Do Gorilla Habituation In Rushaga Area

Gorilla habituation is an all year round adventure but the drier seasons are more appealing to most tourists. Although rains fall any time without warning, the wet months that is usually March to May and November all factors kept constant the park trails are so soggy.

Since gorilla habituation you spend more time in the wilderness you need less humid conditions so you can used the June to September, December to January period but this does not guarantee that seasons don’t change.

How Long Is Gorilla Habituation experience In Rushaga

 The time you take doing gorilla habituation trek depends on factors like

 Proximity of the mountain gorillas.

Over time mountain gorillas feed from a particular location and when there food is exhausted, they look for new feeding ground. In case they move into the deeper ends of the forest, you have to follow them there.

In case of Attacks From another Gorilla family

If the gorilla family under habituation is attacked by another family and they loose, they relocate to another area. You have to follow them there and in case they are still in the bad mood, the researchers may request for a leave to leave the family to settle first.

When They Loose A Gorilla Family member

Like humans, the mountain gorillas have feelings and mood swings. Death of a family member creates a somber mood amongst the gorilla family which may not be ready to host intruders. This may affect the time of location the mountain gorilla during gorilla habituation.

Birth Of Baby Mountain gorillas

If the gorilla family has a new born, the mood is exciting and every member is protective of the mother and the baby. There is usually less chances of moving from where the mountain gorillas were spotted previously before both gain strength to move.

Season Of Gorilla Habituation You Choose

The wet seasons for gorilla habituation the ground is boggy with regular rains that usually fall with less sun ray penetration. The trails may be slippery and over flooded from the dense network of rivers that run in the forest. All these may make it challenging for gorilla habituation. when all factors kept constant the severe rainy seasons normally happen in March to may and November.

 You need to pack the right gorilla trekking gears like rain coat, warm attire to protect your body from humid conditions that may happen the entire day.

The dry season is normally June to September and December to January but this doesn’t guaranteed that the seasons wont change.

How Difficult Is Gorilla Habituation In Rushaga

Gorilla habituation is done in a volcanic area filled with ridges and plateaus. You need to have some level of fitness to succeed.  With habituation, you follow semi habituated mountain gorillas. They still have wild behavior that may push them into hiding at times.

What To Pack For Gorilla habituation In Uganda

• Safari trekking boots that will withstand the soggy ground especially when there is intense rainfall yet the ground has volcanic soils that get boggy.
• Safari Long sleeved shirt and trousers in colors friendly to wilderness. The camouflaged clothes are not allowed in Uganda for security reasons. You must carry cloths that will cover your body from pricking surfaces and biting nettles.
• A camera that does produce flash lighting during photography. Carry one with great lens that can catch a good photo amidst dripping water from the tree and surfaces of leaves.
• A pair of garden gloves to grip tightly on the creepers that you pass-by.
• An extra fully charged battery to exchange with when one runs low.
• A poncho or sweater to keep you warm because this area is generally cold throughout the day and night
• Energy snacks to feed on when you get hungry in the forest. The trekking at times gets tough and tiresome so you need some energizers.
• A torch for extra light during at night when lights go out.
• A waterproof backpack carry with your belongings and to keep them from getting scattered in the forest in case you fall while trekking in the wilderness.
• Some cash to change into local currency in case you wish to do any transactions while on ground like buying souvenirs. In Africa, credit cards are rarely used and a means of transaction because the procedure of collecting money from them is long.
• Toiletries just in case your lodge doesn’t provide
• Travel adapter and charger in case your electronic gadgets need to be  recharged
• Warm Flipflops to use while in the room because the floors get cold in most rooms yet the slippers available may be cold too.
• Pajamas to wear in the night and keep warm because this area get cold in the night
• A cap or large brim hat to cover your hair from dripping water from the tree branches and leaves. Even stinging flying insects in the forest may fall on your hair.
• A pair of stockings to tack in your trousers and offer protection during the walk
• Another pair of batteries to exchange with in case some run low in power.
• Insect repellant friendly to your skin so as to protect your skin from stinging insects in the wilderness.
• Sunscreen because Africa is a tropical continent you need to protect your skin from sun rays that may affect your skin
• A water bottle to carry drinking water in order to quench thirst while you trek to locate the mountain gorillas.
• Sun glasses to protect your eyes from buzzing insects in the wilderness.
•  Binoculars to see far ranging features that are existing in the wilderness
•  A note book or journal to put down your moments with the mountain gorillas
• Duffel bag to carry in your belongings when travelling for gorilla habituation.
• Bug spray in case your room has these bugs.

Contact us for more information.