History of gorilla tourism in Uganda and Rwanda

December 28, 2015

History of gorilla tourism in Uganda and Rwanda

Gorilla tourism in Uganda and Rwanda was taken as one of the measures to protect the then highly endangered mountain gorillas from extinction.

In 1967, an American primatologist Dian Fossey staged her research in Rwanda and set up Karisoke Research Center. Her work was centered around the mountain gorillas to which she dedicated her life. She spent the biggest part of her day amongst the gorillas and recorded a lot of information about them which she shared with the rest of the world. From her work the film” Gorillas in the Mist” which brought the plight of these gentle giants to the recognition of the rest of the world was made.

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When a number of international organizations like National Geography, IUCN, and others joined her work, some of the suggestions were to let the gorilla be used to the presence of humans. This is today’s gorilla habituation where you get wild mountain gorillas used to the presence of humans without altering their nature.

She had a group of trekkers both local and international who joined her but her efforts were not appreciated by everybody so later in 1985, she was brutally assassinated by unknown assassins. In Rwanda, her grave lies amongst the mountain gorillas to which she dedicated her life. Tourists have the opportunity to hike in her last steps to where her remains lay.

From gorilla habituation which may take between 2 years to more years a gorilla family is created and this is given a name with its members identified by the researchers and habituators. Rwanda usually holds the Kwita Izina gorilla naming occasion to give names to the newly born mountain gorillas every year. It is a function that attracts even international nature conservationist and a conservation celebration.

In Uganda conservation of the mountain gorillas is going on and is still being supported through the sale of gorilla trekking permits and gorilla habituation permits, offering mountain gorilla research projects, and others.

Where To Find Mountain Gorilla Trekking In Uganda And Rwanda

Volcanoes National Park

This pristine forest is the only habitat where mountain gorillas in Rwanda survive. Volcanoes National park lies in North West of Rwanda sharing the Virunga area with Mghainga National park in Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable National park in Uganda, and Virunga National park in D.R.Congo.

Volcanoes National Park is covered by five distinctive volcanoes that are Mountain Karisimbi, Mountain Sabyinyo, Mountain Karisoke, Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Muhavura

This park was one of the first African parks to be gazetted in 1925 but later extended into the deeper ends of Rwanda in 1929 to form the Albert National Park. it was run by the Belgian Colonial Authorities.

The Rwanda unending civil wars later that culminated in the 1994 Rwanda genocide swept through all the mountain gorilla conservation efforts bringing them to a standstill. The volcanoes National park was one of the battlefields and even people encroached on it on returning for firewood provision and farming.

In 1999 after peace was restored in Rwanda, gorilla conservation and re-habituation of the mountain gorillas restarted.

At the moment, Rwanda has about 13 gorilla families open for tourism. Some of them include Susa family, Igisha family , Karisimbi family, Sabyinyo family, Amahoro family, Agashya family , Kwitonda family, Umubano family , Hirwa family, Bwenge family, Ugyenda family and Muhoza family.

You must book a Rwanda gorilla trekking permit from Rwanda Development Board to be allowed to take part in visiting the mountain gorillas.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National park in Uganda was gazetted as a forest reserve in 1942 and later upgraded to a national park in 1992. By 1994, Bwindi Impenetrable National park was recognized as a World Heritage Site.

In the local language called Lukiga, Bwindi means impenetrable and indeed this double meaning is fit for the nature of this Park.

The vegetation of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park has collected its list for over 250000 years. The vegetation is made up of Afromontane Vegetation and lowland forest. During the Arid conditions of the ice age period, Bwindi became the refuge where a long list of old wildlife was protected.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park hosts great fauna and flora namely about 10 primates are living in the forest including the mountain gorillas, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, blue monkeys, and others.

Other species that the forest hosts include about 350 bird species, 51 reptiles, 200 tree species, 310 species, 88 months, and others.

At the moment about 18 gorilla families are open for tourism and living in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

The gorilla permits for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are sold according to the area and these include the Buhoma area, Ruhijah area, Rushaga area, and Nkuringo area. In order to book accommodation for this park, you must know where your gorilla permit is booked so as not to wake up early to catch up with the briefing.

Mgahinga National park

In Uganda Mgahinga National park is the so far smallest National Park occupying about 33. 7 square Kilometers.

The topography of this park is composed of three distinctive volcanoes of the six volcanoes. This mountain forms the backdrop of this park and marks the southern limit of Albertine Rift Valley.

These mountain peaks include Mountain Muhavura, Mountain Sabyinyo, and Mountain Gahinga. With an 8 hours return trek, you can do a hike on any of these mountains.

At the moment only one gorilla family is open for tourism called Nyakagezi family. This gorilla family is known for meandering into Rwanda and D.R. Congo. This is the reason why in the past the gorilla permits for Mgahinga were sold upon the availability of the gorillas in the park.

Mgahinga National park is created for its beautiful scenery but is still a virgin because it is not often visited. The long bird list makes it a special place to be for keen birders. At the moment, Mgahinga National Park has about 115 bird species including Albertine rift endemics. The list is still expanding as more professional birders visit the park.

How To Book Gorilla Trekking Permits For Uganda And Rwanda

In Uganda, gorilla trekking permits are sold by Uganda Wildlife Authority for all the destinations where mountain gorillas live.

Rwanda gorilla permits are sold By Rwanda Development Board.

Steps To Reserve Gorilla Trekking Permits

Know the date when you wish to do gorilla trekking either a permanent date or a tentative date. Even the number of gorilla permits you hope to purchase. This is to reduce the chances of moving back and forth with checking availability.

When you send us an enquiry, our safari consultant checks availability and gets back to you according to the prevailing status as per the dates of your preference.

We advise our clients to purchase their gorilla permits as soon as possible to avoid losing them when other people purchase them. They are highly demanded yet limited in number. A maximum of 8 permits are allowed to be purchased per day per gorilla family.

No gorilla permit is reserved for anyone without payment whether in Uganda or Rwanda yet a first come first served basis is used when reserving the gorilla permits.

In Uganda, you have to provide some personal details like nationality, passport expiry date, full name on the passport, and others. These are used for record purposes and some of it is included on the certificate after accomplishing your trek

Which is The Best Country For Gorilla Trekking Of Uganda And Rwanda

The feeling you get after meeting the mountain gorillas makes you forget all you may have gone through during the preparations to do gorilla trekking.

To distinguish which country is best for gorilla trekking, you need to visit both Uganda and Rwanda. These are different factors that you may consider like

The cost of gorilla permits whereby the Rwanda gorilla permits cost $1500 per person compared to $700 per person in Uganda.

The time you travel to Volcanoes National Park from Kigali Airport is about 3 hours through winding roads. The time you take from Entebbe Airport to Bwindi Impenetrable national park or Mgahinga National Park is about 8 hours to 9 hours for about 530 km or 540 km.

Rwanda’s briefing point before gorilla trekking is more open and well set compared to the briefing point of Bwindi Impenetrable National park in Uganda.

The least number of days for a Rwanda gorilla trekking safari is 2 days while the least number of days for a Uganda gorilla trekking safari is 3 days.

Uganda has about 19 gorilla families open for tourist books now while Rwanda has about 13 gorilla families open for tourism.

Is Gorilla Trekking In Uganda And Rwanda Safe

Yes, gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda is safe. These countries share a border and monitor the security of this area joint because the mountain gorillas do not consider political boundaries. The cooperation between the rangers of both countries also makes it safe for gorilla trekking.

You just need to pay attention to personal safety.

What Are the Rules Of Gorilla Trekking

When in the forest try not to Spit on the soil or vegetation because it is forbidden and contaminates the food for the mountain gorillas. Most of the life of mountain gorillas is dependent on vegetarians like bamboo, soft leaves, fruits, stems, and others to survive.
Keep the forest clean from garbage so littering is forbidden. Carry nothing from the forest and leave nothing because this is a natural habitat where the mountain gorillas thrive. It provides food for the mountain gorillas, when you dump items like plastic, they do not decompose which alters the nature of the forest which is the habitat of the mountain gorillas.
Surrounding the mountain gorillas when you locate them causes them to feel insecure and agitated which may lead them to retreat into the deeper ends of the park.
Using flash photography is not allowed because mountain gorillas are scared of new occurrences in their environment.
If you fall sick and catch any communicable infection like cholera, flu, or cough, Corona Virus, volunteer to stay behind so that you don’t pass it to the gorillas. They are highly susceptible to human infections. The extent to which they may be affected may cause the so far conservation work done to go back to highly endangered.
In case you wish to Eat or smoke do it 200 meters from the mountain gorillas. This is to prevent chances of the gorillas grabbing it from you. They are wild animals that must search for their own food and not depend on the human provision.
The time you locate the mountain gorillas only one hour is allowed with them. The reason is to allow the gorillas to go about there day to day activities. The mountain gorillas have been habituated to be in the presence of humans for just that hour.
Burry all fecal materials beyond recognition so that the animals in the forest cannot exhume them. Ask the ranger to dig a hole for you about 30 cm and cover it well.
In case you wish to sneeze or cough, do it away from the mountain gorillas and use your handkerchief or elbow.
Try not to talk loudly or make noise when going on a gorilla trekking because you may also scare the other forest dwellers that may be interesting to see.
Wearing a clean mask before meeting the mountain gorillas is one of the added rules for gorilla trekking after the Corona Virus Lockdown.
The age limit for gorilla trekking is 15 years and above because children below this age may not withstand the conditions in the forest. The time for locating the mountain gorillas is not known a child below this age may not withstand
Keep a distance of about 8 meters from the mountain gorillas when you locate them. this is to reduce the chances of passing an infection to the mountain gorillas.
Provoking the mountain gorillas is not accepted because you do not know how this will treat them. they are very sensitive to anything that happens to them.