Many travelers who have made it for gorilla trekking can testify that gorilla trekking experience is one of the most delightful, lifetime adventures very one should include on a safari either to Uganda or Rwanda. No one can fully describe the joy and wonderful moment attached to the first setting eyes on the few remaining apes (gorillas) in their natural habitat.
Am one of the few gifted with a chance to rack the gorillas groups both in Uganda and Rwanda, but every day, it comes with a new experience which is incomparable. Each country charge differently but I have never regretted any of the trekking and I felt the cost of the permit is worth the value. Although the experience is much interesting, but it comes with some ups and down since it involves passing through the steep rocky hills in the forest and sometimes on a rainy day it comes muddy and the forest becomes tough to pass through.
However, when you meet these giants yet humble primate in their territory, it will be worth your effort and the difficulties you have passed through because history. The trek to meet the gorillas in unpredictable, however once the gorillas are met, you are strictly allowed to stay with for only one hour with these endangered great apes and get any details you have been wishing to know about them from the ranger guide as you study their behaviors. To be among the eight people per group to trek the gorillas, you have to own a gorilla tracking permit which is advised to be reserved in advance at least 2-3 months prior to gorilla trekking. You can book the gorilla permit yourself but chances of getting it your self is minimal since the tour operators are given the first priority of getting them, and its better you use a tour company to organize for you a gorilla safari packages.
By the time of writing, an approximate of 480 Mountain gorillas are living in the Virunga Masiff, and they are shared by 3 African countries including Uganda, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC), however, there are extra over 450 mountain gorillas in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. If all combined, there are about 1000 mountain gorillas left in the world in the three countries of Uganda, Rwanda, and DR Congo. Mountain gorillas live in age-graded group’s families similar to those of humans and each gorilla group is led by a dominate silverback which is responsible for any activity taking place in the group, but only habituated groups are available for tourism (Rwanda has 10 habituated gorilla families and Uganda has 18 gorilla families which are ready to receive visitors very day). We will fully describe the habituated Gorilla groups in our coming articles.
If you want to pick between Uganda or Rwanda for gorilla trekking experience, here are some tip-offs, but remember flavor and favorite varies as an old saying “One man’s meat is another man’s poison”.
Costs of the Gorilla Trekking
The price for gorilla permit differs from each country, in Uganda the price for gorilla permit is us$750 per person per trekking while in Rwanda a gorilla permit costs us$1500 per trekking for one only one hour. While the by the time of writing gorilla habituation permit in Uganda and Rwanda is US$1500 per permit. Gorilla habituation permit in Uganda takes up to a maximum of 4 tourists and in Rwanda it takes only 1 hour to Track the Gorillas Group. Only 8 people are allowed to trek the gorillas per gorilla family. The money paid is a preservation fund to support the gorilla conservation and the communities around the gorilla habitat. In this case, If you are considering the gorilla trekking permit as a significant factor in picking a country to trek from, then you would consider Uganda because its gorilla permit is less, but if this is not the case, any country can work for you.
Gorilla Park Location from the nearest international Airport/Capital City
When considering the gorilla park distance from the capital/ airport, Rwanda generally provides the easiest access to gorilla trekking experience. However, this is so important when you are joining gorilla trekking experience with visiting other countries for example Kenya or Tanzania or more especially if you have inadequate time to spend in the country.
You can even trek the gorillas in Rwanda for only one day which is very impossible in Uganda. Volcanoes National Park is situated just about 116 km from the capital city Kigali and it’s just a drive of about 2 or 3 hours to drive from Kigali to Volcanoes National Park. Meanwhile, Bwindi and Mgahinga Uganda gorilla parks are located 510 km from the capital city Kampala/ Entebbe Airport approximately 8 hours’ drive on a road. In Uganda, you can only do 3 days gorilla tour 1 day for traveling to Bwindi or Mgahinga, day 2 is tracking date and day 3 is travelling back to Entebbe international airport).
Most tour companies in Uganda now give a gorilla package combined with other wildlife activities since there are several National Parks and game reserves along the way to Bwindi Forest and Mgahinga National park. Rwanda’s arrogance is its aptitude for one to do the gorilla tracking safari even in one day one can trek the gorillas and fly back to Kigali international airport which is impossible in Uganda. In real practice, however, the one-day gorilla trek tour is not recommended because of the too much pressure it brings, since gorilla are not human, they are very difficult and meeting them is not a guarantee. Also, note that it might be much easier to get space/tickets availability in Uganda than in Rwanda due to the fact that Uganda has many gorilla families than its counterpart of Rwanda.
Gorilla Trekking Experience Difficulty and Altitude Variations
Both in Uganda and Rwanda, Mountain gorilla trekking experience can be as short as 1 hour or as long as 4 hours dependent on where the gorillas spent their night from and on the gorilla family assigned to. But typically, gorilla trekking takes you about 2 hours hiking to see the gorillas in both countries. According to my gorilla trekking experience, trekking in Rwanda may be marginally easier than in Uganda, but this is not a guarantee that Rwanda has the easier gorilla families to trek, it has ever happened to trek a gorilla family in Rwanda for 6 hours and 30 minutes in Uganda. As I mentioned already, gorillas are not human so they are unpredictable. So there is no guarantee of ease in a particular country.
In terms of altitude variation, Rwanda, tracking takes place at 8000-10,000 feet above sea level, though in Uganda, tracking takes place at 4000-8,000 feet above sea level. So Visitors coming from a low altitude country must have to think of adjusting before tracking in Rwanda. Or track the Uganda groups.
Other wildlife activities other than trekking gorillas
If considering other wildlife activities to enjoy other than gorilla trekking, Uganda takes it all, the long drive to Bwindi/Mgahinga is quite charming with great backdrops all through like the Equator crossing for informative talks and photography, plentiful wildlife in Lake Mburo National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park including the tree climbing lions, Kibale Forest National Park for primate trekking, terraced mountains with flowing rivers, and a lot of rural Africa and small towns. This can’t be mentioned on the Rwanda side when driving from Kigali to Volcanoes National Park.
On the other side, some sections of the roads to Bwindi Impenetrable Park are not so easy to drive to, yet in Rwanda it’s very easy on the smooth tarmac at least up to the Volcanoes National Park head office. Not to mention though, the roads leading from the Volcanoes park office to the gorilla trek trail-heads can only be accessed with a raised 4×4 vehicle.
Gorilla Tracking Experience or Better Gorillas
It’s always very difficult to know the gorillas in both countries Uganda and Rwanda. Uganda has 18 habituated gorilla families and 18 gorilla families and the mode and system of gorilla trekking in both countries is very similar. Gorillas are followed on a daily basis so that they become used to human beings so that they can be tracked safely in their natural habitat, therefore; the locations are effectively guaranteed. The gorilla tracking experience may diverge due to the following factors
- Somebody may be interested in a particular gorilla behavior
- Somebody may be interested in gorilla numbers, dynamics and group composition,
- Someone may be interested in the length and toughness of tracking,
- Somebody may be interested in the customer care given by the park staff.
However, with my long-time trekking experience in both countries, I have so far seen very little difference in the Gorilla Trekking Experience both in Uganda and Rwanda. All the gorillas in both countries are of the same species and have similar behaviors, group composition, and dynamics, some gorilla groups in Rwanda migrated from Uganda. All these characteristics may vary from group to group in a particular country. I have observed one critical difference, in Rwanda gorilla trekking begins early by 7:00 AM, with the visitors being entertained by the lively traditional dance troupe, coffee/tea dispensers with cups available for free to visitors at the park headquarters. In Uganda, entertainments are done in the evening from the various traditional cultural groups including the batwa pygmy that are near the park and a small fee is charged to support the local communities.
General Cost involved in Gorilla Package:
When comparing the general costs involved, since bwindi/Mgahinga are located far away from Kampala there is a long drive involved hence rising the general cost. However, due to high demand, Uganda has removed the low season fee to compete satisfactorily in the market, by the time of writing the cost for gorilla permit US$800 per person per trekking. Rwanda increased its gorilla permits to USD 1500 per person per trekking. The costs involved are mainly transport, gorilla permit, and accommodation). The cost variation in the cost is therefore heavily reliant on the transport incomes you use, accommodation selected. All these can be chosen by either you or the tour company.
Other Tourism packages in addition to Gorilla Trekking
If it happens that you only interested in gorilla trekking and nothing else like seeing other remarkable wildlife species, Rwanda is the best place to go. On other hand, if you are interested in combining both gorillas and wildlife species, Uganda is the best place to go. Uganda has 10 national parks and 12 game reserves which offers the best wildlife and game viewing experience and all these parks can be accessed in a few hours to two days. From Uganda’s capital Kampala to gorilla parks either in Mgahinga or Bwindi, you can branch to Lake Mburo National Park, Queen Elizabeth National park, Kibale Forest NP, Semuliki National Park among others. From here, you can view abundant wildlife species Uganda kob, as well as lion, leopard, elephant, giraffe, hippo and crocodile, several species of primates among other wildlife species. Not only that, Uganda is the best single country to visit for both chimpanzee and gorilla trekking. Many tourist after gorilla trekking in Rwanda crossover to Uganda to enjoy other wildlife species in Uganda’s national parks and reserve.
After all discussed above which country are you visiting now?
From the base of our experience in tourism, the definitive decision to choose a country to trek the gorilla is reliant on a variety of factors ranging from someone’s budget and interest.