Where to trek mountain gorillas? Where can I find mountain gorillas? Do mountain gorillas live in Africa?
Mountain gorillas are considered to be both primates and great apes which are only found in the Virunga Mountains and adjacent to this great chain of mountains. This area is comprised of mountain jungles and hence called the Impenetrable forest which runs on the border of Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
This is the only region in Africa where you can find these primates that are close to humans sharing 98% of DNA. This means that there are lots of similar characteristics and behaviors between mountain gorillas and human beings. These among others include living in groups called families and each family has a leader which is the silverback. These primates are prone to infectious diseases such as flu, diarrhea, cough, cholera, and more, they breastfeed young ones and can easily communicate with each other.
Mountain gorillas as the name suggests, live in highland areas in the altitudes of 8,000 to 13,000 feet above sea level. In Uganda the Pearl of Africa, mountain gorillas can be found in two national parks; Bwindi National Park and Mgahinga Gorilla national park.
Bwindi National Park shelters almost half of the mountain gorilla population with 21 habituated gorilla families that are open for trekking and a few other groups for habituation experience. In the case of Mgahinga National Park, there is only 1 habituated gorilla family – Nyakagezi though the park offers another rare primate experience – the golden monkey trekking. Both national parks are located in far southwestern Uganda at the border of Rwanda and D.R. Congo.
In Rwanda the land of a thousand hills, called so because of the beautiful towering hills that surround this beautiful country, mountain gorillas thrive within the Volcanoes national park. This park is situated at the border of Uganda and the Democratic of Congo making it possible for gorilla families to keep migrating from one country to another. There are over 10 habituated gorilla families open for gorilla trekking experience here, as well as golden monkeys.
One can always go gorilla trekking in both Uganda and Rwanda.
In the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, these gentle giants are located in Virunga national park which is home to 10 habituated gorilla families open for trekking daily. This amazing park has two active Volcanoes in the Virunga mountain ranges including Mt Nyiragongo which is mostly hiked and Mt Nyamuragira. The third is Mount. Mikeno which is a dormant volcano. While in D.R. Congo, you can as well opt to visit the lowland gorillas in Kahuzi-Biega national park to get the real difference between the two subspecies of gorillas.
Gorillas live in groups also known as families and each family is comprised of 2 to 30 members. The silverback plays a key role in controlling all group members and also, mating all females in the group. At this time, mountain gorillas would be extinct in Africa but thanks to the efforts of Dian Fossey – a female primatologist through Dr. Louis Leaky who helped start a research and an anti-poaching campaign to save the gorillas from being poached, and killed for meat, trophies and other purposes.
There are two experiences that bring people closer to mountain gorillas and these include – gorilla trekking and gorilla habituation tours. Gorilla trekking is done in the three countries, allowing visitors to spend one hour in the presence of gorillas whereas gorilla habituation experience allows tourists to spend up to 4 hours in the presence of a habituated gorilla family.
The gorilla habituation experience takes place only in Uganda’s Bwindi National Park in the southern Rushaga sector.
Ready to visit mountain gorillas in Africa? Standard Safaris is ready to take you for a gorilla trekking or gorilla habituation safari, to create life-long memories.
