Gorilla Trekking Frequetnly Asked Questions : Going for a mountain gorilla trekking experience can be exciting but also scary, because your going to be in the presence of these huge apes for an hour. Because of that fear a lot of questions arise, out of curiosity and just for the need to know.
One of the common questions we have had to ask is “if a gorilla comes near me?”
If a gorilla comes near you, just stand still, look calm and collected, don’t stare in its eyes. After some minutes it will continue on with its business. Usually Mountain gorillas come near you out of curiosity not because they want to harm you do anything to. So if you keep your cool and don’t disturb its peace, you will be fine, Gorilla Trekking Frequetnly Asked Questions
Nonetheless a trekking ranger is always with you to guide you on what to do if this happens.
But you should also keep in mind that during a trek your advised to keep a 7 meter distance between you and the gorilla to avoid such things.
Because for the gorilla conversation’s sake the less the interact or be in close proximity with humans the better for their health and wellbeing. primatologist and wildlife specialists have studied gorillas and say that a human can easily pass on a disease to the gorillas and some diseases are deadly, so it’s better you keep the distance between you and the gorillas to continue their preservation.
FAQS About mountain gorilla trekking.
- Mountain gorilla trekking parks
In East Africa there are four mountain gorilla trekking parks found in three countries that is Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic republic of Congo. The parks are Bwindi National Park and Mgahinga National Park, Volcanoes National Park, Virunga National Park respectively.
- Mountain gorilla trekking times
Mountain gorilla trekking is done for about 5 to 8 hours depending on the country you are trekking in. And all trekking activities start in the morning usually at 7am.
Mountain gorilla trekking is done all year round.
- Mountain gorilla trekking rules
The rules include but are not limited to:-
- Keep a 7 meter distance between and the gorilla on your trek
- Don’t use flash photography
- Don’t engage in anything that will disturb the gorilla’s peace.
- Desist from touching the gorillas
- Don’t feed the gorillas
- Don’t litter the gorilla habitat
- Don’t trek while you are sick, especially with a communicable disease.
Those are some of the rules your need to know and observe on your mountain gorilla trekking experience.
- Mountain gorilla trekking fees
Each country has different fees for mountain gorilla trekking. And the fees are 700 USD for Uganda, 1500 USD for Rwanda and 400 USD for the Democratic republic of Congo.
- Mountain gorilla safaris- duration
Mountain gorilla safaris as stated above can be done all year round. They safaris take between 2 to 3 days depending on where you are trekking and how you are getting there.
If your in Rwanda – kigali city, you can travel to Volcanoes National Park spend a night and then trek the next day and leave the park which is 2 days.
In Uganda if you are startin
g from Kampala to go any of the gorilla parks plan for 3 days – one day for the mountain gorilla trek and 2 days for the travel to and from.
If you are trekking in the Democratic Republic of Congo, you should consult with your tour operator about the length of the trip, it can be between 3 to 4 days depending on other factors.
