Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda

Rwanda also referred to as the land of a thousand hills is among the few countries in the world having the rare mountain gorillas.

Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda takes place in the Volcanoes National Park on the northwestern side of the country about 3 hour’s drive from Kigali.

There are 10 habituated gorilla families that are available every day for tourists to track in their natural habitats and seeing a mountain gorilla in Volcanoes National Park means that you have to hike through its jungles. The time that you will spend hiking through the forest to see these wonderful species depends on where you will get your gorilla group that you were allocated at the time of booking for the gorilla permit and by the park management.

Mountain Gorilla

Gorilla tracking briefing begins at around 7:00 am local time and you need to be time conscious where possible you can spend a night in any of Volcanoes nearest lodges to help you get into the visitor center early enough. It is from here that the park management will be giving you hints on gorilla trekking rules and regulations, in the short term your overall behavior while in the jungles. After, you will set off for your trek in the dense forest where your imaginations will turn into reality.

Children are not allowed to go for the Gorilla Tracking adventure in Rwanda because they can easily be intimidated by our close relatives-the gorillas therefore the minimum age for gorilla tracking in Rwanda is 15 years.

Rwanda gorilla permit costs 1500 dollars per person per permit. This is almost a double fee compared to Uganda’s gorilla permit.

visitors and tourists who plan to stay longer for 4 days or more visiting mountain gorillas and other Rwanda national park-like Nyungwe forest, Akagera national park, and other attractions are offered a 30 percent discount. Conference tourists in the country are also eligible for a 15% discount if they wish to trek gorillas earlier or after their conference in Rwanda.

Mountain gorillas usually move from one place to another over the forested mountains looking for fresh plant leaves, wild fruits, and bamboo shoots as well as new places for building nests for resting during the night.

They live in a group that is always led by a dominant male mountain gorilla called a silverback. A fully-grown silverback can weigh up to over 200 pounds and it’s strong enough to take down a full-grown human being if provoked.

Tourists on mountain gorilla adventures are normally grouped into 8 members and are allocated a guide to lead them through the forest of Volcanoes national park.

Mountain Gorillas

The search for the mountain gorillas can even go up to 9 hours of hiking the forests or less and once you get to the mountain gorillas, you are given an hour to observe, learn more, and take as many photographs as you can.

You can combine your gorilla tracking safari in Rwanda with other tours to major Rwanda national parks including the Nyungwe park where you will get a chance of seeing Rwanda’s wildlife including the Chimpanzees, L’Hoest’s monkeys, silver monkeys, golden monkeys, Adolf fried rich’s Angola Colobus, red-tailed monkeys among others.

Contact us to tailor-make your Rwanda gorilla safari adventure at any time of the year.