GORILLA TREKKING RWANDA

Over 80% of travelers to Rwanda go gorilla tracking in the famous volcanoes national park a protected park which inhabit these endangered remaining apes in the world. the park consists of 125km2 of mountain forest with six Virunga volcanoes which gives challenging but magnificent hikes. This land of a ‘’thousand hills’’ as its sometimes referred to is known as the leading mountain gorilla safari destinations in the world housing almost a half of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas over 360 individuals out of 900 mountain gorillas left in the world live in tropical rain forest of volcanoes national park.

Rwanda is a very small country occupying an area of about 26, 338sq and its one of the most densely populated countries with about 13 million according to UN estimates 2013. However this small country when it comes to tourists attraction it because number one  as many tourists whole over the world jet into this small country to have a glance on the countries wonders mostly the rare mountain gorillas which can only be seen in their natural habitat not zoos/under captivity like many others wildlife species. It’s a great opportunity to be among the few to sit among these rare apes in their natural environment thinking that their only 900 species left in the world while observing their behaviors as well as taking as many photos as possible.

Before the tracker came a cross these magnificent apes in the mysterious intimacy of the rain forest , you will be entertained by many forest dwellers including various species of primates like the rare golden monkeys, civet monkeys, baboons among others, calls of colorful birds, mammals species like antelopes, bush bucks among others all these help you prepare for the encounter of one of the gorilla families with a fully grown silver-back (silver-back because of the grey hair on its back) which  is up to three times size of an average man, yet considered peaceful and tolerant of human visitors.

Volcanoes national park is located in the northwestern part of Rwanda in Ruhengeri Musanze district in a drive of about 2-3 hours from Kigali Rwanda’s capital and largest city up to Kinigi park headquarters. Book your gorilla permit earlier to secure your gorilla tracking as Rwanda gorilla permits tend to get finished too early due to high demand of gorilla permits and they are sold on first come first served basis.  So its recommended to book your permit at least 2-5 months  prior to your tracking dates to avoid disappointments and last time bookings which is most of the time un successful.

Permits are booked at the RDB Tourism and Reservation office in Kigali or at Kinigi park headquarters. It’s always advised to book your gorilla permit through a tour operator or a tour company organizing your safari as they have easy access to these permits over 80% chances than an individual.

Rwanda gorilla permits costs usd$700 per person for non-residence, usd$375 for foreign residents, and Rwandan citizens are charged 30,000Frw per person per tracking and all fees include park entry fees and range guide fees. 

On the scheduled day of tracking/trekking, you must present yourself for briefing at the Kinigi park headquarters before 7:00 AM to get brief information about gorilla tracking and also to get assigned to the gorilla group you booked for and also to a ranger guide. After set to the forest to begin the gorilla tracking activities which goes to up to half or full day depending to the gorilla group you are assigned to and also meeting them depends on where they spent their last night from. Ounce they are met you are strictly allowed one hour with them. RDB Tourism & Conservation currently has English and French speaking trained guides as well as a team of 80 trained gorilla trackers many of whom speak French or English. Rwanda has 10 habituated gorilla families ready to receive visitors every day and only 8 members are allowed to track in each gorilla family and two gorilla groups are for research purpose 

Gorilla tracking rules and regulations

• ·         You are supposed to maintain a distance of about 7m from the gorillas to avoid transmission of human diseases. Someone who is affected with a cold, flu or other contagious illness, is not allowed to visit the gorillas as these can easily transmitted these apes.

• ·         Tracking time is strictly limited to one hour while observing their behaviors as well as taking photography.

• ·         Only eight (8) members are allowed per group to view these apes  per group.

• ·         Spitting in the park is strictly illegal.

• ·         In case you need to cough, cover your mouth and turn away from the gorillas as this will help you plus the life of gorillas.

• ·         When with the gorillas, keep your voice low in order to enjoy watching them.

• ·         Try not to make rapid movements that may frighten the gorillas they may charge on you and always follow the guide’s instructions.

• ·         If a gorilla should charge or vocalize at you, do not be alarmed, stand still, look away from the gorilla and follow your guide’s directions.

WHAT TO DO ON A SAFARI TO UGANDA

This pearl of Africa as it was named by Sir Winston Churchill, has a lot to offer to tourist and Uganda is regarded as the best safari destination in the world attracted by very many tourists whole over the world that jet in to this small East African country to be part of the experience. Like its counterpart Rwanda, Uganda is a land locked country and has no seaport, no one has ever come to this country and leaves the way he/she comes, it’s a life changing experience especially when next to real nature of Africa. However very few people know what exactly makes this pearl of Africa so unique that one should wish to go for a safari. There a number but to mention some include

Gorilla tracking: this is perhaps the most done interesting activity done on earth, and the leading tourist attraction in Uganda. Uganda houses the highest percentage of these apes about 900 mountain gorillas that left in the world, Uganda houses over 450 individual and these apes inhabit the rain forest of Bwindi impenetrable and the Mgahinga gorilla forest national park both parks are located in the south western part of Uganda. Meeting these giant apes in their natural habitat is a dream that come true and you are allowed to stay with these giant apes for a period of only one hour while learning their behaviors as well as taking as much photography as you can. Tracking these endangered apes requires someone to poses a gorilla permit in order to be allowed to meet these endangered apes in their natural habitat, Uganda gorilla permits costs usd 600 during the high season and 350 usd$ during the low seasons of April, May and November

Wildlife Tours;- Uganda is a gifted country with a number of wildlife species all these species are inhabited in over 10 national parks and game reserves. Visitors are fortunate to view various species of wildlife including the big five mammals like elephant, lions, leopard, hippos, buffaloes, others species of mammals include giraffe, various species of antelopes, zebras, rhinos, just to mention but a few. Each Uganda national park has unique features which makes the park attractive. Uganda national parks include Lake Mburo national park, Murchison falls national park, Kidepo Valley NP, Queen Elizabeth national park, all these parks offers the best Game drives tours through a 4X4 tourist pop-up vehicle. It is a breathtaking moment to come across various species of wildlife in their natural setting.

Cultural Tours;- Uganda is a cultural melting pot, as evidenced by the existence of 50 plus different indigenous languages belonging to five distinct linguistic groups and an equally diverse cultural mosaic of music, art and handcrafts. Culture is certainly one of Africa’s best tourist attractions and when it comes to culture Uganda is regarded as the best destination for cultural exploration. Meeting different cultural groups in their localities through a village walk gives a visitor chance to meet and interact with some of the elders from different cultural background and origin. The local people perform their cultural dances and music and visitors if interested can join and interact with them in their dances, music weave making among others activities.

Other tourist activities which can be enjoyable on a Ugandan safari include: Chimpanzee trekking, Uganda is one of the countries with the highest percentage of primate species coupled with chimpanzee the closest relative of man sharing almost 98% of human DNA, over 5 places in Uganda are a home to chimpanzees including kibale forest national park, queen Elizabeth N.P (Kyambura gorge), budongo forest, Ngamba island chimpanzee sanctuary.  Other activities include Hiking adventure, nature walks, city tours, boat rides, spot fishing and more

TOP 5 AMUSEMENT PARKS ACCESSIBLE WITH A CAR

Most of Uganda national parks are located in very remote areas, so accessing them at times becomes a little difficult, so a 4x4 tourist vehicles with pop-up tops are recommended to use when going on a self drive safari in one of Uganda national parks. Uganda is gifted with over 10 national parks and a number of wildlife reserves, each park are reworded with unique and incredible creature making each park different from one another. The parks are gifted with a wide variety of animal species, birds, primates and plant species most of them are waiting for you to explore. However, all Uganda national parks can be accessed by our comfortable vehicle either self drive or with a driver by our experienced drivers/guides. Here are the most five amusement parks in Uganda that can be accessed with car

Bwindi impenetrable national park;

This is Uganda’s most visited national park, found in the south western part of Uganda, several routes with different kilometers can be used, the first alternative route is that from Kampala- kanungu then to Bukoma, this takes about 5-6 hours drive from Kampala Uganda’s capital city, the other alternative route is that from Kampala-Ruhungiri-Kihihi-Buhoma about 6-7 hours, Kabale –Ruhija –Buhoma 6-7 hours and finally from Kampala-Kabale- Nkuringo 7-9 hours. Each route can lead you to the park with a lot of easy especially if using 4x4 land cruisers or Rav 4, Van. This park is much known for hosting the rare mountain gorillas which have attracted a very big number of tourists from whole over the world to come and spend at least 1- 2 days in the wild with these endangered apes while studding their behaviors as well as taking photography for a period of one hour the recommended time to stay with them. 

Bwindi national park inhabit the highest number of these remaining apes over 900 individuals apes left in the world Bwindi houses over 400 of these apes the rest are shared by Mgahinga national park(Uganda), volcanoes national park(rwanda) and the Virunga national park of Democratic Republic of Congo. Our vehicles can take you to all these entire gorilla tracking destinations either with a driver/guide or self drive. Ounce you reach at the park, you will park your vehicle at the park headquarters and then join another members in a group of 8 members who are allowed to track per group, get briefed from the park wardens or senior ranger guides about gorilla tracking activities and then after, follow the ranger guide to the forest to begin the gorilla tracking activity possibly the most interesting activity done on earth. Tracking time is unpredictable, it can go from a half to full day since meeting these apes depends on where they spent their last from, and ounce you meet them you are allowed only one hour with them. After the activity return back to your booked accommodation or if you still have more energy you can go for another activity, like community walk to meet the Batwa pygmies who will entertain you through their cultural dance and music, teach you their hunting, weave, fire making skills. The park has very many accommodations ranging from budget to up market accommodation like the Buhoma lodge, clouds gorilla lodge, mahogany springs, chameleon hill lodge, gorilla forest camp, bwind gorillas resort and many more.

Kidepo valley national park;

Kidepo valley national park is known as Uganda’s remotest area located in the far northern part of Uganda, however with courtesy of our good and comfortable vehicles access to this park is very easy especially when using a 4x4 land cruisers. It’s about 705 kms from Kampala via lira, Kotido and kaabong and up to Kidepo, the other alternative route that can make you access the park is Kampala- Mbale-Sorot-Moroto via Kotido and Kaabong up to Kidepo Park, this route covers about 740km. The park has very many virgin incredible wonders untouched just waiting for you to explore. Kidepo is known for its unique composition of wild game co-existing with the dry mountain forests, open savannah and hilltops capped by the rock kopjes. The park offers the best sight for a number of wild games including giraffe, elephant, lion, and several species of antelopes, zebra, and hyena and over 500 species of birds are registered at the park, others activities that you can enjoy at the park include community walk, mountain hiking among others all these activities makes the park attractive. Don’t get scared on where to sleep various accommodation are available at the park including Apoka Lodge

Lake Mburo national park:

If you need short but interesting Safari Lake Mburo national park offers the best, its Uganda most nearest park located just about 270 km from Kampala Uganda’s capital and about 30 km from Mbarara town the largest city in the sub-region. Access is very possible to any type of vehicle available Rav 4, land cruiser or van. Many park activities are available for you to enjoy including game drives, which provide you a chance of viewing a number of wildlife species that inhabit the park, these include buffalo, elephant, various species of antelopes including the Impala from which the capital Kampala was named, bushbuck, burchell’s zebra warthogs the list is endless all these animals will be best viewed with our comfortable vehicles either self driven or with a driver. Other activities at the park include bird watching, boat cruise to watch more species of animals like hippos, nature walk among others. You will chose to sleep from among these accommodation type ranging from budget to up-market accommodation including Lake View Hotel, Rwonyo Tented Camp, Arcadia cottages, Mantana tented Camp among others 

Queen Elizabeth national park: 

Queen Elizabeth N.P is known as Uganda’s bio-diversified park situated in the south-western part of Uganda. You can use the Mbarara Bushenyi road leads you to the center of the park covers over 402kms from Kampala, passing just 22km from Mweya Peninsula, while the north through Fortportal covers a total of 410km. visitors have the opportunity to enjoy short detours to lake Mburo national park, Rwenzori mountains and Kibale forest national park which is renowned for chimpanzee tracking. You can also access the park from the south from Bwindi impenetrable national park a renowned park for gorilla tracking activities. Queen Elizabeth national park offers a wide variety of activities to visitors these include game drives for opportunities to see incredible species of mammals including the tree climbing lions, elephants, buffaloes, antelope species, leopard, warthogs to mention but a few. Others can’t miss activities include boat cruise on the Kazinga channel that connects lakes George and Edward hippos and crocodile can be seen on the lake plus several species of birds such as shoebill , kingfisher and many water birds. Enjoy tracking/trekking Chip at the Kyambura gorge side of the park plus several species of primates such as the black and colobus monkey, civet monkey among others. Bird watching and culture walk is another alternative activity done at the park.  The park has very many Accommodation options include jacana safari lodge, Katara Lodge, Mweya safari lodge, Ihamba safari Lodge among others.

Murchison falls national park:

This is one of the amusement parks in Uganda you can’t miss to visit with our self drive car, it’s known as the biggest amongst Uganda national parks with a wide variety of animal species. The park is located in the north-eastern part of Uganda at the end of the Albertine Rift valley. A number of route are available for you to access the Nile at Paraa at the heart of the Murchison falls conservation area. The river is crossed here using a vehicle ferry which runs at roughly hourly interval through the day. You can enter the park using the southern entrance gate, passing via Masindi town, which is about 4 hours drive (30km) from Kampala on the way you can make a detour to the ziwa rhino sanctuary, a home to only rhinos in Uganda, you can track them before you embark on an alternative run for 135kms from Masindi to the park’s Bugungu gate passing through budongo forest up to the park. The northern gate can also be entered via Chobe, Wankwa, Mubako and Tangai. They are reachable from kampala-pachwach road which crosses the Nile at Karuma falls bridge in the northern corner of the park about 260km from Kampala.

 At Murchison falls national park game you will enjoy a number of tourist activities including game drives around the Buligi game tracks on the northern bank with a trained ranger guide, this place is a fantastic way to see and photograph the wide range of animals in the Nile valley, your guide will have a good idea of where to spot lions and leopard and many other animals like elephant, buffalo, antelope species, giraffe and many more. Others actives at the park include birding, both game drives and launch cruise offers an opportunity for one to come several species of bird, do hiking and nature walks, launch cruise, spot fishing and cultural encounter. You can choose from among the following accommodation for an overnight stay include Paraa safari lodge, Bwana Tembo, Chobe Lodge, Pakuba Game Lodge, red chill among others.

With our vehicle, you can visit one of these parks or you can visit them all together either self drive or with a drive. All our drivers are experienced, they know very well Uganda, rwanda and DRC ,

 just contact  us for affordable and comfortable cars your safari will be a memorable one.