Wondering about where to go gorilla trekking? There are several destinations where you can meet the endangered gorillas in the wild. Here is a quick guide to where you can see the gorillas in Africa;
Mountain Gorilla Safaris
These are the most popular trips since gorilla tourism started with the mountain gorillas. There are four national parks where mountain gorillas are protected. Within these four parks you can enjoy gorilla safaris into either Bwindi or the Virunga Ranges.
- Bwindi Impenetrable national park
Lying in the south western part of Uganda, Bwindi impenetrable national park is home to roughly half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas. The national park is best known for mountain gorilla tracking in Africa with a total of 18 habituated mountain gorilla families. Guests to the park are free to track any of these gorilla families with a maximum of 8 individuals per gorilla group.
- Mgahinga gorilla national park
Mgahinga gorilla national park is situated in the south western part of Uganda among the popular Virunga ranges. The park is located along the border between Uganda and Rwanda. Mgahinga gorilla national park is home to about 50 rare mountain gorilla species. Visitors to the park can enjoy mountain gorilla trekking.
- Volcanoes national park
Located in north western Rwanda, the park covers 160 sq km where it encompasses five of the eight volcanoes in the Virunga Mountains. The park neighbours Virunga national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla national park in Uganda. Volcanoes national park is home to the mountain gorilla species and 9 habituated gorilla families at the moment after the migration of Hirwa gorilla group to Mgahinga National Park in Uganda.
- Virunga national park
Home to the world’s critically endangered mountain gorillas; Virunga national park is located in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo. Those seeking exceptional encounters, Virunga national park is home to plenty of wildlife especially mountain gorillas. The park covers 8090 sq km and it neighbours both Uganda and Rwanda. The park abounds with beautiful sights such as the two active volcanoes are located in the park- Mount Nyiragongo and Mount Nyamuragira.
Eastern Low land gorilla safaris
- Kahuzi Beiga national park
Located in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo, Kahuzi Beiga is the best places to track eastern low land gorillas. The park lies along Mount Kahuzi and Mount Beiga extinct volcanoes and is home to about 250 gorillas. The park has two families of habituated gorillas which can be tracked by visitors to the park. Gorilla permits to trek eastern low land gorillas cost 450 USD and tracking is done throughout the year although it’s advisable to do gorilla safaris during drier months. Eastern low land gorilla trekking is cheaper compared to mountain gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda making it ideal for guests who prefer a pocket friendly option for gorilla safaris. Visitors are allowed one hour in the midst of the mighty apes.
- Maiko national park
This national park is located east in Democratic Republic of Congo and is the second Eastern low land gorilla destination. The park is located in central Democratic republic of Congo and sits on 10885 sq km. Although it one of the most remote areas, Maiko national park is home to about 30 eastern low land gorillas. The park rewards guests with the adventure to track the eastern low land gorillas. Gorilla trekking safaris are done normally though the security agencies find it wise to halt all tourist activities when the country is politically instable and resume during stability. When the country is instable, DRC government informs the world through Embassies of different countries so, tourists are advised to get guidelines from their travel partners before visiting DRC.
Western low land gorilla safaris
- Loango national park
Loango is a true jewel of Africa’s western coast what some people have termed as ‘Africa’s last Eden’. The national park is situated in western Gabon sited on 1550 sq km. Loango national park offers extensive panoramas of viewing plenty of wildlife including the gorillas which are our area of focus in this article. The park has one habituated western low land gorilla group available for tourism. The park offers an enthralling opportunity of watching western low land gorillas in the wild. With the help of Pygmy trackers and a guide, the guests are led through small groups to track gorillas. Trekkers are allowed 1 hour and 30 minutes in the midst of the great apes.
- Lobeke national park
Located in south eastern Cameroon, Lobeke national park is what I would call ‘Africa in its rawest form’. It is one of the many places where visitors can track western low land gorillas. The park is one of the destinations with high density of western low land gorillas in the whole of Africa. However, Lobeke national park is one of the most underrated wildlife habitats since gorilla safaris in the region are still at infancy stage and accessibility to the park by road difficult as well as viewing some gorillas.
- Dzanga – Ndoki national park
Dzanga- Ndoki national is located in south western extremity of Central African Republic. The park lies on 1143.26 sq km with two non-continuous sectors- Northern Dzanga sector and Southern Ndoki sector. Dzanga sector has the highest density of western low land gorillas ever recorded making it an ideal western low land gorilla trekking destination. However, due to cases of unrest and limited infrastructure in the park, fewer visitors trek the gorillas at the park.
- Monte Alen national park
Monte Alen national park is located near the centre of Equatorial Guinea with an area of 2000 sq km. The park lies on the foot slopes of Monte Alen and Monte Allen a small mountain range 1200m above sea level. Monte Alen National Park is home to about 3800 western low land gorillas. Gorilla trekking takes a longer trek with in Monte Alen slopes. Unfortunately, gorilla tracking in the region is in its infancy stage hence there are less chances of spotting the western low lang gorillas.
Cross river gorilla safaris
- Afi mountain wildlife sanctuary
Situated in Southern Nigeria, the sanctuary covers 104 sq km. The sanctuary is home to the rare cross river gorillas on the Afi wildlife drill. There are few chances of viewing the gorillas in this region however; the government is heavily investing in the activities to improve gorilla safaris.
- Cross river national park
Cross river national park is one of the richest areas of tropical rain forest in West Africa. The park is home to the endangered cross river gorilla species situated at the Okwangwo division. Although the parks give spectacular view of cross river gorillas, they are not famous destinations because of insecurity in the region and other factors.
In conclusion, having looked at several gorilla safaris, you should be at liberty to choose which one is more convenient for you.