The Top 4 Places For Mountain Gorilla Trekking
The Top 4 Places For Mountain Gorilla Trekking: Mountain gorilla trekking is one of the most sought after safari activity in East Africa with an average 2000 person visiting the different mountain gorilla trekking places for them to get a chance to see these unique primates and challenge themselves to a climb in the gorillas’ habitat.
Well because this is the most sought after activity, tourists are always asking questions about which places are best for the trekking experience, so in this article, we digest the top 4 places for mountain gorilla trekking in East Africa.
In East Africa, mountain gorilla trekking is done in two countries thus Uganda and Rwanda; and close to these two countries is the Democratic republic of Congo where mountain gorilla trekking is also done. So the top 4 places for mountain gorilla trekking are:-
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is the top most place in the entire world for mountain gorilla trekking; this park has the highest number of mountain gorillas living in the Bwindi Impenetrable rain forest. Bwindi National Park is home to over 700 mountain gorillas, which is almost half the total number of mountain gorillas in the world. The mountain gorillas in Bwindi National Park are habituated in over 20 families that are distributed among the Park’s four sectors which are Buhoma, Ruhija, Rushaga and Nkuringo.
Mountain gorilla trekking in any of these sectors costs 700 USD per person per a trek and all treks are done in groups of 8 people. Because of the huge number of gorillas in the park, on your trekking experience in the park you are assured you to see and enjoy the company of the gorillas for utmost one hour.
Mountain gorilla treks in Bwindi National Park are both adventurous and thrilling. Adventurous because of the somehow challenging climb up the steep trails of the Bwindi mountainous forest and thrilling because of the experience of the forest, the unique tree species, the birds you see on the way, the butterfly species in the forest and of course spending time with the mountain gorillas.
Bwindi National Park is located in south western Uganda, 8 to 9 hours’ drive from the country’s capital Kampala.
Volcanoes National Park
Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is the second top most place for mountain gorilla trekking in the world, this park comes second in number mountain gorillas living in the park’s rain forest.
The park has over 200 mountain gorillas habituated in 10 families that are visited all year round for mountain gorilla trekking activities. Mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park will cost you 1500 USD per permit person per a trek.
Mountain gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park is less tedious than trekking in Bwindi National and also since the park is within the Virunga region you get to see some of the scenic views of the Virunga Massif.
Like in Bwindi, a gorilla family in Volcanoes National Park is visited by 8 people for one hour per day.
Volcanoes National Park is found in the North West of Rwanda, 2 to 3 hours from Kigali city, country’s capital.
Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park in Eastern DRC is the third top place for mountain gorilla trekking and the cheapest place for a mountain gorilla trekking safari. The park like Rwanda Volcanoes National Park has about 200 mountain gorillas that are available for trekking throughout the year.
The best thing with trekking in Virunga, you also get the opportunity to see mount Nyiragongo one of the two active Volcanoes in the Virunga region. Similar to all the other places gorilla families in Virunga are visited by a group of 8 people for an hour in their habitat.
Mountain gorilla trekking permits in Virunga cost 400 USD per person per a trek and the park is located about 1 to 2 hours from Goma.
Mgahinga National Park
Mgahinga National Park also found in Uganda, gives one of the unique experiences of mountain gorilla trekking because a trekking experience in the park also allows you to have spectacular experience of the virunga region. On a trek in this park you can view the entire Virunga region and see other primates like golden monkeys that are in the park.
Though this park has the fewest number of mountain gorillas, with only 2 gorilla families living in the park the additional experiences in the park make the mountain gorilla trekking experience a worthwhile experience. Mountain gorilla trekking permits in Mgahinga National Park costs 700 USD per a permit per a trek.
Mgahinga National Park is located in south western Uganda 9 to 10 hours from the country’s capital Kampala.
These are the top 4 places in the world where you are assured of getting the best mountain gorilla trekking experience and it’s important to note that trekking permits for all these places are booked about 3 months in advance because of the high demand of trekking safaris in these places.
