Can I trek mountain gorillas if I have suffered from COVID-19?
Can I trek mountain gorillas if I have suffered from COVID-19? : The answer to this question is yes! You can trek mountain gorillas if you have suffered from COVID-19, however you must have recovered from the disease completely and tested negative for the disease at least 72 hours before the trekking experience. On top of negative test you will also be expected to observe all the COVID-19 SOPs when trekking the mountain gorillas.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak almost 2 years ago a lot of things have changed from the way we interact to the way we conduct business and of course the way we tour has also changed. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed literally everything. In the two years of the outbreak over 10 million families have been affected world-wide, about 4.55 million people have died to date and over 224 million people have suffered from the disease. With vaccination and early treatments the world is slowly getting back to normal, at least 80% of the world is back to normal as of today. However, the world is also still battling the COVID-19 pandemic with people still contracting and suffering from the diseases in almost all parts of the world. That’s why the World Health Organization together with country governments have put in place measures to help prevent the spread of the disease among people in hopes the soon the disease will be eradicated from the world entirely.
Because mountain gorillas share about 98% of their DNA with humans it’s possible that humans can actually spread COVID-19 virus to the mountain gorillas that’s why people with signs of COVID-19 are not allowed to go on a mountain gorilla trek. Equally people with any kind of communicable disease are not allowed to go on a mountain gorilla trek for literally the same reasons.
Mountain gorilla trekking is an exciting adventure where you go into the mountainous forests and trek deep inside the forests in search of mountain gorillas. When you find the mountain gorillas you spend an hour in their presence observing them and just enjoying their company. After the one hour you now trek back down hill to your next destination most probably your accommodation because mountain gorilla trekking experiences take about 6 to 9 hours depending on where you are trekking and how far deep the mountain gorillas are into the forest.
On mountain gorilla trekking experiences in top seeing and spending time with the mountain gorillas which the ultimate prize you also get to explore the mountainous forests learning about the different tree species in the forest and the different mountain ranges you trek and see on your trek. Also most mountain gorilla habitats harbor other animals, mostly other primate species like monkeys and baboons etc. and some forest animals like bush elephants, this means on a mountain gorilla trek you will also have chance to see several other animals that live in the forest.
Mountain gorillas in the world are found in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo with Uganda harboring almost half of the world’s total population of mountain gorillas. In Rwanda the mountain gorillas are found in Volcanoes National Park, In the Democratic Republic of Congo in Virunga National Park and In Uganda in Bwindi National Park and Mgahinga National Park.
Mountain gorilla trekking goes on all through the year in all these countries, though booking of trekking permits usually done about 3 or 2 months in advance. The mountain gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda cost 1500 USD, In the Democratic Republic of Congo they cost 400 USD and in Uganda the trekking permits cost 700 USD.
