Are Rwanda mountain gorillas different from Uganda mountain gorillas? : Mountain gorillas are all the same, they are huge human like animals that stay in high altitudes of forested mountains. They feed on fruits, leaves, shrubs and a few forest foods for survival. They live groups led males called the silverback. These groups consist of females and their infants. Mountain gorillas are some of the endangered species in the world and are found in three countries in the world which are Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic republic of Congo. Most people visit these three countries for a chance to experience the mountain gorillas especially in Rwanda and Uganda; the DRC not so much because of insecurity issues.
Hence the question “Are Rwanda mountain gorillas different from Uganda mountain gorillas?”
As we have explained above mountains gorillas are all the same so Rwanda mountain gorillas are not different from Uganda mountain gorillas. However these mountain gorillas both have different habitats and these habitats give the mountain gorilla visitors or trekkers unique mountain gorilla trekking experiences different from the other.
Therefore we can assure you that no matter where you for your mountain gorilla safari, you will see the same mountain gorillas, however your mountain gorilla trekking experience will be unique to the place you have you have trekked in. Uganda has more mountain gorillas and mountain gorilla families so huge numbers of people will trek the gorillas in the different sectors on a day compared, to Rwanda that currently has only 10 gorilla families.
But as we said, the gorillas remain the same. So what are some of the unique experiences you will should expect in Rwanda and Uganda?
First of all you should know that both Rwanda and Uganda give you absolutely amazing mountain gorilla trekking experiences, so shouldn’t feel like choosing one would give you more or less.
Montanan gorilla trekking is done all year round in Both Rwanda and Uganda. In Rwanda mountain gorilla trekking is done in Volcanoes National Park and in Uganda it’s done in Bwindi National Park and Mgahinga National Park. For purposes of this article we shall compare Bwindi National Park and Volcanoes National Park.
For all the trekking experiences the same rules and guidelines apply for the conservation of the mountain gorillas. These include not getting close to the gorillas keep at least a 7 meter distance between you and the gorillas, don’t use flash photography, don’t feed the gorillas, don’t do anything to threaten or affect the gorillas and their habitat, follow the given guidelines at all times among other rules.
All mountain gorilla trekking experiences, start in the early morning with a briefing and then you proceed to the forest for the trekking experience.
At either trekking destinations you will spend only one hour with the mountain gorillas.
The difference then include:-
Forests
Though they are both rainforests, they are different the Bwindi Impenetrable rain forest is thick and deep while the forest at the Volcanoes national park is wide spread across the 5 virunga mountains but is not that thick. So definitely as you walk through the forests you will notice this sharp difference together with the type of tree species in the forests, most of them are specific to that particular forest, its one a few that are the same.
Trekking trails
The trekking trails in Volcanoes National Park are smoother compared to the trails in Bwindi National Park, this is because Bwindi’s landscape is rugged unlike the landscape in volcanoes. It also quite harder to navigate the Bwindi trails compared to the ones in Volcanoes. However for this reason, Bwindi trekking is considered more adventurous than Rwanda.
Gorilla permits
The gorilla permits for trekking Rwanda cost 1500 USD per person per a trek while the permits in Uganda cost 700 USD per permit per a trek.
