Travel Guide for Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda | Volcanoes National Park
Travel Guide for Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda is an amazing piece of content that will guide a traveler through what to expect during gorilla trekking Volcanoes National Park. Volcanoes National Park is known for housing half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas which are found along the different slopes of the Virunga Mountains which has led to an increase on the tourist inflows in the park to participate in the gorilla trekking activity. The safety of the park has also encouraged the tourists to come into the country to have an amazing time with a guarantee that they will have a safe gorilla trekking activity in the park. In order to have the perfect gorilla trekking activity, you should follow the following travel guide for gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park.
Gorilla trekking Packing list
- Hiking boots should not miss out on your gorilla trekking packing list, because of the nature of the park. The park is a mountainous area and the different Rwanda gorilla families are found along the slopes of the virunga mountains, therefore, you should get good hiking boots to aid your balance while hiking the different mountains and also because the mountains tend to be slippery.
- A Raincoat should also be put on your packing list in the park because the weather in the park is so unpredictable whereby it can rain at any given time regardless of the season.
- Gorilla trekking can take a whole day because it involves hiking the virunga mountains to get to the different Rwanda gorilla families and then sloping down to the starting point of your gorilla trekking activity, therefore, it is advisable that you should pack some lunch to avoid getting hungry during your gorilla trekking activity.
- Insect repellent, the park harbours a number of insects including mosquitoes that can spread malaria with their bites so to avoid this you should carry your insect repellent to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes and other insects in the park.
- A camera to capture beautiful moments during your encounters with the gorillas.
Best time to visit volcanoes to participate in gorilla trekking
For any tourist interested in carrying out gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park, they should carry out the activity during the dry season in the June-mid September and from December- February. It is easy to hike the different mountains in the park during the dry season as compared to the wet season when the mountains can be slippery. However gorilla trekking in the park can also be done during the wet season which is during the month of Mid February-mid May and September –December this is because in the wet season the gorillas limit their movements because of the availability of food as compared to the dry season where they have to move from one place to another in order to get food.
Gorilla trekking permit price
The price of a gorilla trekking permit in the park goes for only 1500USD which can be got from the Rwanda Development Board or from a trusted tour company in the park. The gorilla trekking permit in the park has a number of inclusions that are offered in the park which may include the following;
Inclusions of the Gorilla Permit Briefing session
Before participating in the gorilla trekking activity in Volcanoes National Park, tourists will first participate in the gorilla trekking briefing session where they will be briefed on how they should act during their activity, the do’s and don’ts of gorilla trekking, they will be briefed on the behaviour of gorillas in the wild and how they are supposed to act during while in contact with them.
Park entry fees
Once you obtain a gorilla trekking permit, you will not pay park entrance fees however if you are interested in participating in other activities of the park, they will have to pay for the activities.
Safari guide
You will also have the opportunity to have a guide during your activity free of charge that is knowledgeable about the park premises and the mountain gorillas in the park. The safari guide will guide you through your gorilla trekking activity who will guide you through the safest and easiest routes in the park to get to the different gorilla families in Volcanoes national park.
A ranger
An armed ranger will accompany the gorilla trekking group to the park that will protect the tourists from any vicious animal attacks while carrying out gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park.
Gorilla trekking guidelines
- Tourists should be at least 7 metres away from the gorillas
- They should avoid feeding the gorillas any of their packed food because they can contract diseases to the primates.
- Littering in the pack should be avoided because it can harm the gorillas.
- Unnecessary movements should be avoided because they can trigger the gorillas as a threat to them which can make them react violently.
- Unnecessary noise should be avoided which can scare off the gorillas and lead them to react violently.
- Taking pictures of gorillas with a flashlight on should be avoided during your encounter with the gorillas.
Gorillas in Volcanoes National Park
The gorillas are found along the slopes of the Virunga Mountains of the park which include Mount Muhabura, Mount Gahinga, Mount Sabyinyo, Mount Karisimbi, and Mount Bisoke. The different volcanoes in the park are the home t the different Rwanda gorilla families that can be seen on the different slopes of the mountains. Some of the different gorilla families that can be seen in the park include; Hirwa gorilla family, Ugenda gorilla family, Karisimbi Gorilla family among other gorilla families in the park where you will have the chance to visit the families and understand their behaviour while in the wild.
