Who can check Rwanda gorilla permits online?

October 15, 2015

Who can check Rwanda gorilla permits online?

Rwanda has its gorilla permits online but you need to go through a Platform to access it which brings us to who can check Rwanda gorilla permits online. This platform avails you with the possible details required for you to book a gorilla trekking permit. Alternatively, Encounter Africa Safaris is available for you to shoulder the burden of reserving the Rwanda Gorilla permits for you and other components of the gorilla trekking package.

In Rwanda, Rwanda Development Board is the only body responsible for selling and regulating all gorilla permits.

Steps to accessing Rwanda’s online Gorilla Permits include

Open the website but you must be having internet service.
When the site pops up with a request for you to enter the Rwanda National park you wish to visit, Enter Volcanoes National Park.
A drop-down menu with the possible activities done in Volcanoes National Park pops up.
Select gorilla trekking then Check the Availability
State the date when you wish to do gorilla trekking then the leftover gorilla permit spaces per your request are provided. Knowing the number of people you hope to do gorilla trekking with prevents you from searching back and forth for gorilla permit availability which is quite exhausting.
You will be requested to make purchases before they are sold out because their demand is high yet just a limited number is available for public booking.

Where To Find Rwanda Mountain Gorillas.

Volcanoes National Park

The Rwanda mountain gorillas live in Volcanoes National Park which lies in the northwestern part of Rwanda. This forested National Park is home to some of the endangered mountain gorillas that are the only leftover in the world.

At the moment about 1000 mountain gorillas are living in the entire world according to a recent census. Some of them meander the three distinctive Virunga Volcanoes namely Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Sabyinyo, Mountain Muhabura, Mountain Karisimbi, and Mountain Bisoke.

The mountain gorillas live in families and with gorilla habituation, a wild gorilla family can get used to human presence and later open for tourist viewing once passes the mocks.

Rwanda is celebrating about 13 gorilla families opened for tourism and some of them include the Susa gorilla family, Igisha gorilla family, Karisimbi gorilla family, Sabyinyo gorilla family, Amahoro gorilla family, Agashya gorilla family, Kwitonda gorilla family, Umubano gorilla family, Hirwa gorilla family, Bwenge gorilla family, Ugyenda gorilla family, and Muhoza gorilla family.

The park is one of the top Rwanda birding destinations hosting about 200 bird species including the Albertine endemics like Handsome francolin, African Green Broadbill, Western Green Tinkerbird, African Hill Babbler, Collared Apalis, Rwenzori Batis and others.

Volcanoes National Park hosts other primates like golden monkeys, blue monkeys, grey-cheeked mangabey, red-tailed monkeys, olive baboons, black and white colobus, and others.

The Buhanga Eco Park located in Volcanoes National Park is shielding Rwanda’s intriguing folklore. Even the Musaze caves were formed about 62 million years ago after the last volcanic eruption. The presence of the Dian Fossey grave takes you through the last steps taken by the mountain gorilla hero the fallen American primatologist who dedicated her entire life to the survival of the mountain gorillas

When Is the Best Time To Book Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Permits

All year round gorilla trekking is open for tourists to book but people prefer the drier months that is June to September or December to January when there are drier conditions in the forest.

Even the other forest dwellers like monkeys, birds, butterflies, and others are actively excited to look at during this season. The trails are a little less soggy because a good amount of sun rays penetrate into the thick forest while the raindrops are not intense.

Note that the demand for other services like accommodation, vehicle hire, and driver guide fees is high because even other the Rwanda tourism peak season is in high gear.

Low seasons come with fewer tourists visiting but an advantage for those wishing to do a solo gorilla trekking safari. The low gorilla trekking season in Rwanda is from March to May and November. Since few people may be booked for gorilla trekking, chances of taking an unprepared solo gorilla trek are high.

At times service providers provide discounted costs on their services like accommodation, vehicle hire, and others. You may use this opportunity to travel and stay in a facility that is high end yet you have a limited budget.

If you do not need much disturbance during gorilla trekking, by using the low season for Rwanda gorilla trekking, you may keep away people that would obstruct you from capturing the best shots and moments with the mountain gorillas.

Note that the gorilla trekking safari is one of the most touching African safari adventures that are unforgettable encounters with the African primates in nature.

How Difficult Is Gorilla Trekking In Rwanda

The nature of the topography where Volcanoes National park is located is filled with highlands. The presence of the five volcanoes that is mountain Bisoke, Mountain Muhabura, Mountain Gahinga, Mountain Karisimbi, and mountain Sabyinyo creates steeper slopes.

You need to have a level of fitness to locate the mountain gorillas. They at times live on the slopes especially during the severe rainy seasons when the ground is logged with water from rain and the dense network of rivers that overflow.

Packing and wearing the right gorilla trekking gear like tracking boots, long trousers, and long-sleeved shirts in wilderness-friendly colors apart from camouflage White, black and blue.

Because of the time culmination of different wild plants, vegetation is tangled, and getting through sometimes requires using a machete in order to view the mountain gorillas.

Is Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Safe

Rwanda is generally a peaceful country since the genocide in 1994. The Rwanda government coordinates with the rangers of Volcanoes National park to provide safety to tourists and the locals around the park.
You must also pay attention to personal safety in order to enjoy the entire experience of Gorilla trekking in Rwanda.
Try to stay closer to the rest of the group during gorilla trekking so that you are not lost in the jungle. The Volcanoes National park is vast and extends into Uganda and D.R.Congo too. You may be lost.
Carry your belongings in one waterproof bag so that you lose none on your way to meet the mountain gorillas.
Do not provoke the mountain gorillas when you meet them despite the fact that they are serene. They have mood swings too so listen to the ranger guide’s instructions carefully.
Bringing your precious items to safari like jewelry may cause you to be very uncomfortable during the gorilla trek or even attract the wrong people to you. Try to keep these precious items away or leave them at home as you come for gorilla trekking.
Do not eat from anywhere other than the designated places where your guide shows you. In case you wish to taste local cuisine, request help from the driver guide for the best place to stop at. This is to reduce on chances of food poisoning.
While in public, do not count large sums of money which would attract the wrong people.
Cary some limited cash to change into local currency in case you wish to do any transactions while in Rwanda. Credit cards are not usually used in Africa because of the lengthy procedure of collecting money from them.
Never enter Volcanoes National Park without an escorting ranger guide because you may encounter unhabituated wild animals that may hurt you.

How Long Is gorilla Trekking In Volcanoes National Park?

The time when to locate the mountain gorillas in Rwanda is unknown but may take between 2 hours after starting the trek to about three-quarters of the day depending on a number of factors.

The proximity of the mountain gorilla’s food matters where if they are feeding closer to your starting point, they may be quick to find but when they relocate to a deeper feeding ground, they are hard to find. This is the reason why deciding on which is the easiest gorilla family to trek in Rwanda is hard. The mountain gorillas can change location in a short while depending on how much food they have.

In case a wild or another gorilla family attracts the gorilla family you are trekking with and they lose, your allocated gorilla family may be pushed into hiding. Locating the gorilla family is quite challenging in the deeper ends of the forest.

When the gorilla family loses a member, they go into a somber mood and which keeps them in the deeper ends of the forest. You need to be patient and follow instructions from the ranger guide carefully.

The weather conditions also determine how quickly or long you may take in the forest to search for the mountain gorillas. The severe rainy seasons create very cold conditions and soggy ground which may not go well with the mountain gorillas too. They may be pushed to the slopes where you need to hike in order to locate them.

What are the Rules Of Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda

Wear a clean mask when you locate the mountain gorillas to reduce the chances of passing any communicable infection to the mountain gorillas when you locate them. they are highly susceptible to human infections like flu, cough, covid 19, and others. Also, ensure you sanitize your tracking boots before going into the forest.
Never enter the forest without an escorting ranger guide because you may be attacked by other unhabituated forest dwellers.
Feeding the mountain gorillas is forbidden because they are wild animals that must search for their own food. When you are eating or smoking, do it at least 200 meters from the mountain gorillas.
Keep at least 8 meters away from the mountain gorillas when you locate them. This is to reduce the chances of passing any infection to the gorillas and then to you because they are wild animals. When they approach you, try to stealthily walk back.
Provoking the mountain gorillas is not a great idea because this may agitate them causing them to go into hiding.
Littering in the forest is forbidden because this is the food for the mountain gorillas. They depend on foliage their entire life with bamboo as their favorite. By dropping plastic wraps or soda canisters, you lead to spoiling the environment where the mountain gorillas get their food.
Spitting on vegetation contaminates the food that mountain gorillas feed on. The germs may spread a communicable infection to the entire gorilla group. Even other trekkers who visit the forest get disgusted too.
Only one hour is allowed with the mountain gorillas when you locate them so as to allow them to feed and carry on with their day-to-day activities. They need to groom their infants, make babies, lounge, and much more.
The age limit for participating in gorilla trekking is 15 years and above because the conditions that prevail in the forest that trekkers may meet may not be withstood by a child below this age. Some patience is required during gorilla trekking in case the mountain gorillas are far.
If you need to defecate, as the ranger guide dig a hole at least 30 centimeters deep and cover it well beyond recognition. Also to prevent other forest dwellers from exhuming it which may cause an infection to the forest dwellers.
If you want to sneeze or cough, do it away from the gorillas or in a handkerchief or elbow so as not to spread germs to the mountain gorillas.
Try not to make noise when you locate the mountain gorillas. They get scared of new sounds in their vicinity.
In case you catch any communicable infection like cough, flu, or cholera, volunteer to stay behind so that you don’t pass this to the mountain gorillas.
When photographing mountain gorillas, do it without a flashlight. They fear new occurrences in their vicinity.
Stay in a tight group when you locate the mountain gorillas so that they do not feel ambushed.