Rwanda Ranks The Best Gorilla Trekking Destination

Adventuring the little giants in Africa is a do on most tourists’ bucket lists, making once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the mountain gorillas up close in the wild. The gorilla encounter is such a humbling and touching moment looking at these human-like creatures who share 95% of human DNA. Gorilla Trekking was pioneered by Dain Fossey an American primatologist who committed her life to protect and conserving mountain Gorilla s which were under threat of extinction due to massive poaching, diseases, civil wars, and the community members that were encroaching on their parkland.

BEST TRAVEL DESTINATION -RWANDA’S VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK (The best place to see gorilla in Africa)

Gorilla Trekking is an income-generating project which is highly benefiting and protects the mountain gorillas as well as benefits both the government and the local community making gorilla conservation a responsibility of benefiting the government and the local communities. In Africa one looking for destinations for a memorable gorilla trek the eastern part of Africa has your back for that here are the only 4 national parks where a traveler can go join professionally guided gorilla tours in the tropical rain forests of the central and East African’s Albertine Rift. These great parks in Africa include; Bwindi impenetrable forest and Magahinga National Park in Uganda, Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, and Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rwanda Ranks The Best Gorilla Trekking Destination

Volcanoes National Park Rwanda

The Rwandan Section of the Virunga Conservation region, situated in the northern part of the country, is just 2 hrs drive from Kigali’s capital city. Over the recent years, Volcanoes National park has become one of the to-do things on every tourist’s bucket list planning to visit Africa for tourism because of its easy access and tourist attractions. unlike Bwindi, Magahinga, and Virunga national parks, Volcanoes is near the airport and city center. The park offers 10 habituated gorilla families, which have been grouped into simple medium, and tough treks for travelers to easily select a perfect trek they can manage

Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park

Magahinga Gorilla National Park

Magahinga National Park is one of the smallest National Park in Uganda covering about 33.7km but most important it offers habitat for endangered mountain gorillas, found in the remote South Western part of Uganda contiguous with Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and in the Virunga Mountains National park in the Democratic Republic Of Congo at an altitude of about 2,227m and 4127m above the sea level, the park was created to protect mountain gorillas as well as the rare golden monkeys that are also residents in the park. This park has only one habituated Gorilla group called Nyakagezi, even though this group used to cross boarders to Rwanda in the past, it now stabilized staying in Uganda which makes it a good spot for viewing mountain gorillas than it used to be in the past few years. This group
involves 10 individuals including four silverbacks that inhabit the striking features of the park. that include the three extinct volcanoes that form part of the bigger Virunga conservation area.

gorilla trekking in Magahinga National Park.

Provided two national parks that shelter the rare endangered mountain gorillas which are all found in south western Uganda are suitable for travel at any time of the year but expect that it nevertheless a simple experience but rather requires one to be physically fit in order to trek through the thick rain forests and steep ridges.
Bwindi impenetrable National park

The Bwindi impenetrable park is located in southwestern Uganda on the edge of the western wing of the Eastern African rift valley covering an area of about 321km with four gorilla trekking sectors that were created by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The park is situated 500 6000km from Kampala and an 8-9 hrs. drive from Bwindi national park comprises 11 habituated gorilla groups with 2 other groups set aside for gorilla habituation experience. The groups are found in the four distinct sectors in the forest which are the Buhoma which is located where the park headquarters are, Nkuringo, Rushaga, and Ruhija sectors. Each of the sectors has got more than one gorilla group that was habituated for trekking, the Buhoma has three groups Mubare, Habinyanja, and Rushegura. The Rushaga sector is found between Kabale and has four habituated family groups which include Mishaya, Kahugye, Busingye, and Bweza families. The Nkuringo sector is situated 10km from Buhoma and it has only one habituated family group which is the Nkuringo group the Ruhija sector is considered to be the most inaccessible of all the four sectors. Ruhija has three gorilla groups Bitukura, Kyaguriro, and Oruzongo.

The park is most accessible either by use of public transport or by air from Entebbe international airport to Kajjansi or Kihihi airfields which are close to the park, flights can only be possible only when scheduled charter flights. alternately the park can also be accessed by road with various routes about four different routes leading to the park from Uganda’s capital city Kampala which includes; the Kampala-Ntungamo- Rukungiri route which is about 390km, the Kampala- Kabale- Kanungu-Buhoma which is bout 414km taking a 6-8 hrs. drive, Kampala- Kabale-Ruhija-Buhoma route which is about 3-4 hours drive about 95km and the Kampala- Kabale-Nkuringo the route which is about 105km taking about 4 hrs. drive. Lastly one can be able to reach the park through the route that passes through Queen Elizabeth
National Park via Ishasha sector to Buhoma in Bwindi National park.

Virunga Mountains National Park

Mountain Gorilla in the Democratic Republic of Congo are around are found in the Virunga mountains National Park in the eastern part of the country on the border of Rwanda and Uganda. This park is a UNESCO world heritage site and covers an area of about 7800km of rain
forests inhabited by about 200 gorillas that stay in the Southern parts of the park most of the
times.

The park can be accessed by road transport from Kigali Rwanda which can take about a 3-hour drive to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo near the town of Goma which is about 32km to reach the park transportation is available but should be arranged with the park. The only advantage of trekking gorillas in Congo rather than Uganda and Rwanda is that there will b fewer tourists visiting hence you enjoy a private trek with your guide than in Rwanda and Uganda where there are many tourists visiting the gorillas.