#TravelTuesday: Gorilla Trekking In Rwanda

Rwanda is called “the land of a thousand hills”, a green undulating landscape of crops, gardens and tea plantations.

The country is also home to a third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, which attracts Rwanda’s largest tourism impact.

Gorrila trekking in rwanda begins with a hike into the Volcanoes National Park, where visitors are guided up the volcano with the assistance of a tracker, guide, and porter.

Depending on where the group starts their hike, trekkers may encounter fields of pyrenum crops, which are used by East Africans as a natural insecticide.

During the hike (which could be muddy depending on if it rained the night before), your guide may describe the surrounding flora, and how certain species are used as medicines by the indigenous Batwa pygmy tribes.

Mountain gorilla families can include between ten and thirty members, with a fully grown male silverback at the head of the family.

Because the gorilla families constantly move around the forest searching for food, the hike could take between one and two hours depending on their current location in the forest.

When the magical moment arrives of finally encountering the family, the primates will be grooming, playing, and eating as if they never noticed the arrival of curious human onlookers. It will be shocking to see how close you are able to get to them Within having any barriers.

Currently the number of mountain gorillas is estimated to be over 950 gorilla species.

Once these gorillas were very endangered at the extent of extinction, and today high conservation efforts have been put in place to monitor and protect gorillas in the jungle forest of The Virunga massif region .

This region has 3 national parks of Volcanoes ; The national park in Rwanda, Virunga National Park in Congo and Mgahinga national park in Uganda) and Bwindi impenetrable forest.

Volcanoes national park today holds 60% gorilla numbers of the Virunga Massif region and the number have been growing over years of strict conservation.

Today Volcanoes national is home to over 20 gorilla families, of which 10 have been habituated for gorilla tourism while the other 10 families are still on research and still under habituation.

Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is only about 125kms from the Kigali International Airport, making it easily accessible by road. (About 2 hours drive)

The price of the gorilla trekking permit is US$1500.

There are several tour companies in Rwanda that offer complete gorilla tourism packages that include accommodation, transport, tour guides and permit processing.