Three African countries with habituated mountain gorillas

Three African countries host the only mountain gorillas in the world: Uganda, Rwanda, and D.R.Congo. To form a gorilla trekking family, habituation has to take precedence. 

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What is gorilla habituation?

Gorilla habituation is the process of getting a wild gorilla family used to the presence of humans without altering their nature. A team of trekkers and researchers follow the wild gorilla family for about 2 years or more, depending on how they cope.

Where to find habituated mountain gorillas in Africa?

In Uganda

 Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is home to almost half the world's mountain gorillas. The word Bwindi locally means impenetrable; indeed, this double meaning is apt for this forest. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park covers an area of 327 square kilometers covered by thick natural trees and tangled vegetation that drapes over ridges and plateaus.

This biosphere reserve hosts some of the remains of the remaining mountain gorillas in the world, with about 9 more primate species, including chimpanzees, L'hoest's, potato, olive baboons, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, black and white mangabey, and others.

Bwindi's impenetrable national park, being a vast forest, was subdivided into four areas for easier administrative purposes. These administrative areas of Bwindi forest include Buhoma in the north, Ruhija in the east, and Rushaga and Nkuringo in the southern part of Bwindi. 

A wide range of birds graces the Bwindi forest, with over 350 bird species recorded, but the list is still expanding.

You can do a gorilla habituation experience in southern Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, where two gorilla families are used for this experience. Only 4 tourists can accompany a team of researchers and trekkers. This process helps a semi-habituated gorilla family get used to human presence without altering their nature.

You can stay before the mountain gorillas for only four hours during gorilla habituation.

What Are the Habituated Gorilla Families in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

• Buhoma area gorilla trekking families of Bwindi Forest
• Rushegura family, Habinyanja family, and Mubare family
• Ruhija Area gorilla trekking areas of Bwindi Forest
• Bitukura gorilla family, Oruzogo gorilla family, Kyaguriro gorilla family, and Mukisa gorilla family
• Rushaga Area gorilla trekking area of Bwindi Forest
• Nshongi gorilla family, Kahungye gorilla family, Busingye gorilla family, Bweza gorilla family, Mishaya, Rwigi gorilla family, Muchunguzi gorilla family, 
• Nkuringo Area Gorilla Trekking Families in Bwindi Forest
• Nkuringo family, Christmas family, Muhozi gorilla family

How to Book Gorilla Trekking Permits for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Gorilla permits for Bwindi Impenetrable National Park are booked according to the area, so even when booking accommodation, you must consider this. The travel time from one area to another should be shorter to attend the briefing and do gorilla trekking. This is because the connecting roads are in poor condition and can be impassable with poor visibility, especially at night when the atmosphere is misty. 

Mgahinga National Park

Maghinga National Park is the smallest Uganda National Park, covering about 33.7 square kilometers of land. This is also home to the mountain gorillas, but so far, only one gorilla family is fully habituated and open for tourist viewing. The Nyakagezi gorilla family has a record of wandering into Rwanda, so its gorilla permit was purchased upon availability.

This park hosts three distinctive volcanoes. You can test your fitness level with an excursion for 8 hours. Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Muhabura, and Mountain Sabyinyo form a backdrop for Mgahinga National Park.

A number of other primates live in Mgahinga Forest, including golden monkeys, black and white colobus, vervet monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, blue monkeys, and others.

Mgahinga National Park hosts a number of birds, including Albertine endemics. So far, about 155 bird species have been recorded to live in Mgahinga Forest, but the list is still expanding.

In Rwanda

Volcanoes National Park lies in the northwestern part of Rwanda. This is the only home of gorilla trekking in Rwanda. So far, Volcanoes National Park has 15 gorilla families fully habituated and opened for tourism viewing.

Some gorilla families in Volcanoes National Park include the Amahoro family, Sabyinyo family, Agashya family, Hirwa family, Muhoza family, Umubano family, Susa family, Karisimbi family, and others.

A number of other primates are residents of Volcanoes National Park, including golden monkeys, black and white colobus, red-tailed monkeys, black and white colobus, red-tailed monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, and others.

Over 300 bird species are residents of Volcanoes National Park, including Albertine endemics like Shelley's crimsonwing, Rwenzori Turaco, Handsome Francolin, and others.

How to Book a Gorilla Permit for Rwanda

Rwanda Development Board is the gorilla permit-selling body for Rwanda. You must have a date when you wish to do gorilla trekking. Check availability through a tour operator or from the Rwanda Development Board.

If positive, you must purchase your gorilla permit immediately, especially the peak season permits. They sell out fast because of high demand worldwide, yet they are limited to only a maximum of 8 per gorilla family per trek. Rwanda has so far 96 gorilla permits released for booking per day.

Provide personal details like your full name as indicated on the passport, passport expiry date, nationality, and date of birth. 

In D.R.Congo

Virunga National Park

Virunga National Park is home to 6fully habituated gorilla families open for tourist visits. Some of the gorilla families in Virunga National Park include the Lulengo gorilla family, Munyaga gorilla family, Kabirizi gorilla family, Mapuwa gorilla family, Rugendo gorilla family, and Humba gorilla family. The political turmoil of this area is making it hard to expand the number of gorilla families. 

You can do this on the ground to book gorilla permits for Virunga National Park gorilla trekking. This is because of the unstable political atmosphere of this area.

How long Is Gorilla Trekking?

Whether trekking gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda, or D.R.Congo, the time of tracing the mountain gorillas and back is still being determined. Some tourists have been lucky to find them in two hours, while others have taken over three-quarters of the day. 

Mountain gorillas are free animals living in the jungle despite the fact that they are to be in front of humans. The wilderness is not a zoo where animals are limited in space. A team of rangers rises earlier than anyone to follow the mountain gorillas to find out their prevailing mood. They forward their findings to the ranger station, and the rangers guiding tourists to do gorilla trekking that day are pre-informed. The mood for the mountain gorillas will stay the same.

The mountain gorillas may change location due to factors like food scarcity, a fight with another gorilla family, death of a family member, having an adventurous dominant silverback, and others. Some factors may prolong the gorilla trekking experience and are beyond human control.

When allocated gorilla trekking with slow people, you may take a long time to trace the mountain gorillas.

To succeed with gorilla trekking, you need patience and can look out for other interesting forest dwellers instead of only focusing on locating the mountain gorillas. The Virunga area has exciting primates, beautiful butterflies, ladybirds, an array of birds, and so much more.

Which is the best country for gorilla trekking safari in Africa?

The feeling you get when you locate the mountain gorillas makes you forget what you may have gone through preparing and searching for the mountain gorillas. Whether doing gorilla trekking in Uganda, Rwanda, or D.R.Congo, gorilla trekking is a lifetime adventure in the jungle, as the sight of the mountain gorillas may make you shiver and sweat at the same time.

There are some differences about gorilla trekking like:

The cost of the gorilla trekking permit

The Uganda gorilla trekking permit costs $800, the Rwanda gorilla permit costs $1500, and the D.R.Congo gorilla trekking permit price is $450 per person per trek.

The time taken from the airport to gorilla trekking destinations

The drive from Kigali Airport to Volcanoes National Park is about 3 hours, the drive from Entebbe Airport to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is about 8 eight to 9 hours, and the drive from Goma International Airport to Virunga National Park may take a day or two.

 You can drive through Kigali Airport to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or Virunga National Park at a shorter time.

Number of gorilla families per country

Uganda has about 19 gorilla families fully habituated and open for tourist viewing, while Rwanda currently has 15 gorilla families open for tourist viewing, and D.R.Congo has six gorilla families available for public booking.

Number of Optional Activities to Combine with gorilla trekking

Uganda has more alternatives to select and combine with gorilla trekking, like visiting the source of the River Nile, white water rafting on the River Nile, chimpanzee trekking, game drives, and launch trips; Rwanda has limited options to make a combo with gorilla trekking, like genocide memorial, chimpanzee trekking and others. D.R.Congo is limited with extra activities to combine with gorilla trekking like Hike to Mountain Ngorongoro.

When is the best time to book a gorilla trekking safari in Africa

Gorilla trekking is open all year round, but tourists book this safari more in the dry season: June, July, August, September, December, and January.

The mountain gorillas and other forest dwellers, like butterflies, monkeys, birds, and others, are more lively in the dry season.

When doing gorilla trekking, the ground is not so slippery, and the environment is not as moist as more sunlight penetrates the ground through the dense forest canopy.

The Virunga area has a dense network of rivers that sometimes overflow during the severe rainy season. The rivers are confined within the banks during the dry season even though it rains anytime without warning.

Note that prices for most service providers are high due to competition from other African safari activities. However, professional and experienced driver guides, vehicles in good condition are limited, and so much more.

Is gorilla trekking difficult?

Gorilla trekking is tiring, especially if you have to hike to where the mountain gorillas may be feeding or lounging. Even the trails are over-covered with overgrown undergrowth that falls over, obstructing the movement of the trekkers. The ranger guide uses a machete to trim the creepers and make way for tourists to move in the wilderness.

Having some level of fitness before going for gorilla trekking is the best choice because the Virunga is a volcanic area where you may find ridges and plateaus.

Wear the right gorilla trekking gear like safari boots, insect repellant, safari attire, and others to give you extra protection during a gorilla trekking adventure.

What are the rules of gorilla trekking?

• Lower your voice while searching to locate the mountain gorillas or keep quiet to avoid disrupting the mountain gorillas and other forest dwellers.
• Wear a clean mask and sanitize your shoes before starting your gorilla trekking adventure.
• When coughing or sneezing, do it away from the mountain gorillas in a handkerchief or elbow to avoid passing communicable germs to the highly susceptible mountain gorillas.
• Keep a distance of about 8 meters from the mountain gorillas when you locate them. This is to prevent chances of passing a communicable infection to these primates. Even when they advance, retreat slowly to maintain the gap between you and them.
• Volunteer to stay behind if you catch an infection because passing it to the mountain gorillas may cause their massive death. Conservation of the mountain gorillas has come a long way. 
• Try not to spit on the ground or vegetation on which mountain gorillas feed. You may pass germs to these endangered primates susceptible to human infection.
• Avoid dumping garbage on the ground that can alter the nature of the environment where mountain gorilla food grows.
• Only one hour is allowed with the mountain gorillas when you trace them. They are habituated to be in human presence for just that time. They must go about their lives, like feeding and grooming, away from human interference.
• Stay in a tight group during gorilla trekking because they may feel ambushed when you surround the mountain gorillas and move into hiding. The mountain gorillas are sensitive primates.
• Feeding the mountain gorillas is forbidden as wild animals must search for their food. Depending on the human provision, it is not accepted.
• Avoid provoking the mountain gorillas because your actions may prompt them to move into the deeper ends of the forest if agitated.