Category: Travel Tips

Are you considering choosing a tour Company for gorilla trekking in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda or Uganda, and don’t know to go about it? While most travellers skip this booking process and instead opt to plan their own Gorilla safari, there are numerous drawbacks of this planning process.

However, if you must use the services of a Tour Company for organizing your gorilla safari adventures, make sure that it is credible and reliable. It is sometimes difficult for travellers to determine the sincerity of these Companies but simply check out the list of credible companies on the “Association of Uganda Tour Operators” (AUTO) Website. The perception some travellers have about booking gorilla trekking tours through Tour Operators is that they are very costly. This can be true and false at the same time, depending on the chosen Company.

Imagine the stress and hustle of booking your own gorilla permit (that costs $700 foreign non-residents, $600 for foreign residents and Shs. 250,000 for East African visitors), having to run around to book and board a public bus from Kampala to Kisoro or Kabale Town (for about $14) then struggle to find a motorcycle taxi (popularly known as Boda Boda) or walk for a reasonable distance to the reserved place of stay. This sounds interesting and an experience worth trying, considering the risks involved but one thing you need to keep in mind is that you are visiting a foreign country and also, you might have no one or take long to find help in case things go south.

As for a gorilla safari with a Tour Operator, you will always be helped by your Safari driver or better still easily find help. Although Uganda and Rwanda are generally safe and secure, there can never be a 100% safe safari destination because some incidences of petty crimes are inevitable.

Reasons why you have to book with a Tour Company?

The entire essence of undertaking a safari is exuberance and you can’t get the most of your trip with stinginess. Put it this way; the more money you are willing to spend, the mote merriment you will expect to have.

Tour companies usually put their best skills, energy and commitment in organizing memorable gorilla safaris for travellers. Right from booking gorilla permits, putting together the most exquisite places of lodging, the most comfortable safari vehicle for transferring to the Gorilla National Parks and back as well as hiring an expert safari driver who is seasoned and very conversant about gorilla tourism in Rwanda and Uganda.

The other reason has got to do with accommodation where the tour operators have knowledge on the best kind of accommodation to book, especially in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park where gorilla families and places of lodging are based on the trekking region/sector. And also, you are likely to take a longer time if booking by yourself and surprisingly, places of lodging have different rates-rack, residential, tour operator and confidential.

The Rack rates are the ones offered on brochures, websites and during inquiries, thus higher than the tour Operator rates. Confidential rates are the ones offered as an agreement between the booking agent and accommodation facility depending on the volume of sake thus are the lowest. For this reason, a room might cost $350 per night when you are booking by yourself yet the tour operator will offer the same room plus all the amenities at $200 per night.

Which tour Company should be chosen for Gorilla Trekking?

Many Tour Companies in Uganda and Rwanda offer gorilla trekking tours but the question is, “how can you choose the best company to book with?” First, the credible ones are members of AUTO (Association of Uganda Tour Operators). Send inquiries to some of these Companies and go with the best prices/quotation.

When choosing the Tour Company to go with, avoid being biased or making preferences for the big dogs because even the under dogs have organized successful and memorable gorilla trekking tours.

At the the Day of gorilla trekking, you will find porters at the main trailheads looking for tourists who can use their services. These porters come from the local community and are well trained to give you a hand during the gorilla trek.

Did you know that hiring a porter will make your trek easier? For starters, hiring a porter is an essential thing that ypou should not overlook. For a walking stick, you will be given one for free at the information centre. If you a souvenir stick, it  can be bought from the local community gift shops that also exist at the information centres.

There are many reasons why you should hire a porter. Hiring one will relieve of the “luggage” or “extra equipment” that will become a problem during your trek. For as low as US$20 you will hire a porter who will help you with the carryons in your backpack.

A trek to view the endangered mountain gorillas in the wild is an exhilarating adventure since it involves you hiking through the dense vegetation and steep slopes in Volcanoes National Park, Bwindi National Park, Mgahinga National Park and Virunga National Park while in search for a gorilla group.

Gorilla treks usually last for about 2-6 hours and for you to complete your adventure in the jungles even if your pack seems not heavy but this is lengthy. But may depend on your hiking speed, nature of habitat and where these massive creatures are. Since the adventure involves footwork, in most cases porters are very experienced and knowledgeable of the terrain and they can assist relieve you not only from heavy load for instance carrying your luggage, cameras, snacks and other gear you will be using but also in case you need to be pulled.

A porter will remain with you throughout your adventure and also can go extra mile to assist you cross trickier areas along the trails. Your walking stick is offer you support while on a trek and you can find one at park headquarters or lodge.

Hiring porters during your gorilla trek in Volcanoes National Park allows you concentrate on your adventure rather than being bothered by the heavy load. Also, it is one best way to give back to the local community and making sure that they are part of beneficiaries of mountain gorilla conservation.

Involving services of porters during gorilla trek in Uganda, Rwanda, DR Congo is one way to empower them so that they earn a living and also be in position to pay schools and meet other basic needs back home. Most of the park ranger guides and porters are ex-poachers and now they have devoted themselves in conserving these creatures and this is one way they can earn something for a living rather than engaging in illegal hunting.

By hiring porters, you will be helping their families too as well as nearby communities. You can hire a porter in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Volcanoes National Park, Virunga National Park and Mgahinga National Park at $10 to $20. For starters, this is a worthwhile amount if you need to make a difference during your adventure.

When you talk about gorilla trekking, most travelers are left to think that it is only for the young. But the latter is not true because even the elderly can be part of this life changing experience.

How gorilla trip for the old is planned

The best way for you to plan a gorilla trip in Uganda or Rwanda is by getting in touch with our reservation team and we shall have you covered whether your plan is to explore Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Mgahinga National Park, Volcanoes National Park or the Virunga National Park while on gorilla trek. When planning a gorilla trip in Uganda or Rwanda and you are very old then the best is for you to embark on a short gorilla trek.

Exercise before gorilla trek

Do as much as exercise as you can to keep you fit. It is this reason why we always advise our clients to book early enough or travel to a destination before the actual trek so that they can familiarize themselves with altitude so that you do not face challenges on gorilla trek. Note, gorilla treks in Uganda or Rwanda are all about hiking through the dense vegetation and steep slope while in search for mountain gorillas. A trek to see mountain gorillas can take you about 2 to 6 hours depending location of mountain gorillas, nature of habitat and your physical wellness.

Carry adequate drinking water and energy giving snacks

Have adequate drinking water and energy giving snacks to help keep strong and fit to make a complete trek. In your packing list, bottled water and snacks are some of the essential items not to miss out.

Talk to a tour operator you plan to deal with prior actual trek

It is always important that you talk to a tour operator before you embark on actual trek. This will help the tour operator explain to park official at Uganda Wildlife Authority so that you are allocated to the easier gorilla group to trek and also to enable park ranger guide move at a pace favorable to him or her. On actual trek, make sure that you are open to the park ranger guide so that he or she walks at your pace.

Hire sedan chairs/porter

In case of need for push or pull, there are porters at the park headquarters to give a hand of help although you need to hire one at $10-$20. Alternatively, you will be carried in sedan chairs for the disabled persons. You will be carried by a group of 4 porters and this may cost you about $400.

For the past 5 years, Rwanda had become an ultimate gateway for tourists interested in gorilla trekking within the Volcanoes National Park. After the increment of a gorilla permit to US$1500, the nearby Ugandan national parks have become an alternative to budget gorilla treks.

Still today, the highest number of tourists visiting Uganda fly to Rwanda and travel north to access Uganda’s gorilla parks. The main reason why most travelers fly into Kigali, is easy accessibility by most airlines to Rwanda than Uganda.  Therefore if you choose to go gorilla trekking in Uganda, you can easily book a more affordable gorilla trek starting from Rwanda, leading you to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest or Mgahinga National Park to see the mountain gorillas!

Big Deals on Gorilla Treks in Uganda

If you choose to trek gorillas in Rwanda your packaged tour must be above US $1500 per trek per person and with this amount, you will be able to get a fully packaged gorilla safari in Uganda. With a saving of up to US$900 per person you can easily extend your tour and do other activities that don’t miss on the bucket-list of adventures that you can take in Uganda such as chimpanzee trekking, golden monkey trekking, wildlife game viewing, boat ride on the famous Kazinga Channel in Queen Elizabeth National Park and many other attractions in Uganda.

The second reason being, Rwanda’s Kigali International Airport is reasonably closer to this gorilla hub destination and geographically it’s the closest of all the airports in the region. So it takes you about 3 and a half hours drive including crossing the country boundary to either Bwindi Impenetrable National park, Mgahinga gorilla National park or Goma Town in DR Congo from where you will continue on next morning to Virunga National Park to either trek the endangered Mountain Gorillas or get on a two day climb/ hike of the active mountain Nyiragongo volcano to see the largest larva lake in the world.

Another major factor is that, Rwanda recently joined the East African community to have a joint market with all the East African member states (Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan) and the East Africa single entry visa was launched for Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya so all tourist travelling within these 3 member states will be required to acquire a single tourist visa paid at the country of first entry. So when you fly into Kigali and trek in Uganda it is cost effective as well as time saving than driving 8-10 hours from Entebbe to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest or Mgahinga Gorilla national park.

The infrastructural development of the three gorilla hub destination countries is on a high, the road network is fantastic, the three governments have prioritized improvement on the accessibility roads, allow private investors to put up both low budget and high end or luxury accommodation / lodging facilities within or near this gorilla hub destination and of course with conservation at the back of their minds thus setting up eco friendly facilities in and around these critical reserves. The infrastructural development has eased border crossings as well as maneuvering through this hilly and mountainous region

Several gorilla safari agencies make it possible for you to fly-in Kigali-Rwanda and track mountain Gorillas in Uganda’s either Mgahinga gorilla National park or the famous Bwindi Impenetrable National park and if your adventure interest is to do double gorilla trek, then its only in Uganda where you can experience double Mountain Gorilla tracking in two different Gorilla national parks hence a rare and a unique adventure that is Bwindi Impenetrable National park which host almost half a population of these gentle giants while the other being Mgahinga Gorilla national park which is part of the Virunga Volcanoes, put together you find out that Uganda Host over half a population of the most rare and endangered species in the world, the Mountain gorillas.

If your budget allows you to track in the nearby Democratic Republic of Congo, gorilla hub tours limited can still make it possible for you to fly-in Kigali and track mount Gorillas in DR. Congo at the price of $400 per gorilla permit, per trek, a two days or 3 days is very possible as you get your adventure experience of a life time. This is another cost effective as well as time saving experience with Gorilla hub tours limited operating jungle adventure tours in this yet untouched and remote region of central and East Africa.

There are million questions related to gorilla tracking in Africa. The most difficult of all is about who can track these gentle giants. To start with is the age, anyone below the age of fifteen is allowed to track the gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda and of course DR Congo. All parents wish the best for their children, this being true, many clients want to track with their children who are underage. So we find our selves losing clients because of age. The second question is about fitness. Fit or not fit, you will be able to track the gorillas. It is so surprising but even the very old, above ninety years come and enjoy the trek. So if you were still undecided whether to book a gorilla safari or not, just go ahead and book a trip of your lifetime and see the endangered gorillas in the wild.

Tracking the giants is divided into two routes. The first trek is the hike from the closest car park to the bamboo forest and Volcanoes national park boundary and the trekkers usually spend 35 minutes to one hour depending on the pace they are moving on. While the second trek enters the same bamboo forest at the forest edge. The second route is known for the advanced and super fit trekkers, which is not the case for those taking the first. The first route trekkers can be predictable, and it is usually quite flat and undemanding though it will be different if you request for Susa gorilla group, which involves a longer and steeper ascent. It is the most strenuous group in Volcanoes national park.

The second gorilla trek route is quite tricky to predict, it usually depends on the movement of the gorillas or where they will have spent the night and on the steepness of the terrain en route. There are some other factors that may determine how hard this second trek will be such as the density of the vegetation that is bending, crawling through the jungle can be tiring especially if you have to dodge vicious nettles and whether it raining or has rained recently, in which case everything will be muddy and quite slippery underfoot.

In Rwanda, the allocation of gorilla groups is not based on accommodation or sectors as the case is in Uganda. Groups are allocated on request, fitness or age. In this, the most essential question here is how difficult the hike will be is which group you are allocated. It is on record that the hike to the Susa Group is the most strenuous but also most rewarding, with more than 40 gorillas on show, while the Sabinyo Group is the most reliably straightforward to reach, yet the hikes to Kwitonda, Hirwa and Group Thirteen are not that strenuous, you may call them moderate hikes whereas the hikes to Amahoro Umubano Groups tend to be more difficult, but not as tough as the Susa Group. If it is not your lucky day, any gorilla group might turn out to be difficult to hike, gorilla tracking not being a theory that it does not change, it all depends on the movement of the animals and where they spent the night. In addition, you cannot be guaranteed which gorilla group you will be allocated in advance. However the guides at Musanze do make a conscious attempt to match individuals to the most suitable group, this is so often on request. In general, the biggest number requesting for the Susa group consists of the lean-looking under-40s, while the opposite holds true for Sabinyo group.

Furthermore, the muddy routes or steepness and high altitude are also challenges to gorilla tracking. The biggest number of our visitors come from towns and cities with good road and communication network, which is totally the opposite in Africa, so they are unused to walking on the more irregular and seasonally slippery surfaces typical of the ascent paths and forest floor. This in mind, wearing strong waterproof shoes or hiking boots with a good tread and solid ankle support is highly recommended. Furthermore, if you think you might struggle in these conditions, there is a lot to be said for avoiding the rainy seasons, especially the months of February, March, April to early May, when conditions can be dauntingly muddy. To those whose dream is to meet the gentle giants face to face, all these are nothing!