Gorilla trekking in Rwanda gives such an unforgettable ultimate and once in a lifetime experience with the existence of primate species, the mountain gorillas while being one of the best countries for gorilla trekking activities and one of the safest countries to visit in Africa. The whole gorilla trekking process in Rwanda is costly but worthy of more visits and every penny spent.
Among the only three hosts of the endangered mountain gorillas including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, Rwanda has the most expensive gorilla trekking permits on the African continent. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda costs about 1,500 USD per day and person.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda can only be done in the mighty Volcanoes National Park situated in the far northwest of the country. Volcanoes National Park is one of the most popular tourism destinations in Rwanda and has since paved the way for the thrilling gorilla trekking activity as the most popular tourism activity in the same country. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda’s Volcanoes is once in a lifetime activity given the availability of the primate species of mountain gorillas in abundance and the chances of encountering one of the gorilla families are at 95 %.
Depending on the weather conditions, the presence and location of the mountain gorillas may vary since these primates tend to move for longer distances and in deeper forests alongside rigid volcanoes making their tracking a hurdle, especially during the dry season. It’s during this period of the year that the lush vegetation acting as food for the mountain gorillas tends to dry away living plain areas hence forcing these primates to move in search of food and drinking water making their tracking very challenging.
Surprisingly, the dry season of early December to late February coincides with the summer holidays in Western and European countries making that whole period a peak season where both local and continental visitors flock to the country and have a taste of what it feels to spend some time with these charismatic yet gentle primate species of mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. It’s at this point that visitors in several gorilla trekking activities including learning about their behavior, reaction towards human presence, feeding habits and how they care for their young ones just like humans.
Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes and Rwanda at large is quite costly compared to the Democratic Republic of Congo at 600 USD and Uganda at 700 USD yet the experience in Rwanda is unforgettable being one of the safest countries to visit in Africa. It should also be noted that Rwanda has one of the most active police in Africa ranked in the 3rd position. The infrastructure in Rwanda meets the standard level especially the roads in the city easing transportation to the gorilla trekking destination and several other tourism destinations.
Aside from the primate species of mountain gorillas being the key attraction of the Volcanoes, there are also other primate species in the park including black and white colobus monkeys, blue monkeys, vervet monkeys, golden monkeys, baboons, and Mangabeys. There are also other wildlife species in the park making it one of the most visited tourist destinations in Rwanda and these include elephants, buffaloes, duikers, bushbucks, hippos, warthogs, antelopes, impalas, to mention but a few.
Hiking activities can also be carried out in Volcanoes National Park as this same spot is situated in the Virunga ranges dominated by endless hilly areas and volcanoes. Golden monkey trekking is also one of the most popular tourism activities in Volcanoes National Park given the abundance of these quick yet charismatic primate species.
Visitors at Volcanoes can also go ahead and visit the famous tomb of Dian Fossey, one of the key attractions in the same park. Dian Fossey was recognized as a prominent primatologist with a genuine feeling and love towards the primate species of mountain gorillas. She’s remembered to have dedicated her precious life to protecting and conserving the mountain gorillas. She totally and openly condemned the poaching of these charismatic yet humble and gentle primate species that share almost 98% of the human gene code.
Deep within the Virunga volcanoes, she engaged in several research and studies of mountain gorillas and other primate species while she learnt about their behaviorism, feeding habits and reaction towards human presence. Dian also engaged and participated in the gorilla habituation activities.
