Category: Tips

A trip to trek the rare mountain and Lowland gorillas in Africa entirely involves a lot on planning, effective preparation and research. Today, about 980 individuals of these critically endangered species are left in the entire world and they are only distributed within the jungles of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). When it comes to this lifetime adventure, various factors have to come to guide you so that you have the most successful safari in East Africa. To be on safer part, we have listed some of the things that are worth knowing as you plan for your gorilla treks in East Africa.

Below are the practical tips for planning a gorilla trekking safari.

1. Plan your gorilla trek in advance

Gorilla trekking in Uganda, Rwanda & DRC are the best tourist activities in Africa and you need to plan it in advance. You need to start planning at least six months in advance; this is because there are many things you need to think if you want to have a successful gorilla safari in Africa.

2. Where to go for gorilla trekking

Mountain gorilla trekking is only conducted in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Uganda, DRC and Rwanda for these lifetime experiences and in Uganda, trekkers only visit Bwindi Forest National Park and Mgahinga National Park which are located in southwestern side of the country while in Rwanda, you can visit the Volcanoes National Park in the northwestern part of this spectacular country and DRC in Virunga National Park and Kahuzi Biega National Park. Every destination features its habituated groups where gorilla treks are conducted everyday. In Rwanda the notable groups include the Susa ‘A’, Susa ‘B’, Hirwa, Sabyinyo, Ugenda, Amahoro, Kwitonda, Umubano and in Uganda, the prime families include Nkuringo, Bitukura, Busingye, Kahungye, Bweza, Mishaya, Nshongi, Nyakagezi, Habinyanja, Oruzogo, Rushegura and Kabirizi Gorilla group and lastly in DRC include; Humba Gorilla Group, Rugendo Gorilla Group, Mapuwa Gorilla Group, Lulengo Gorilla Group among others.

3. Book for your gorilla tracking permit early

When you think of mountain gorilla adventures in East Africa, bear in mind that permits is a must to have to guarantee your spot. Booking your gorilla permits at hand offers about 95 percent chances for you to track a group of gorillas. Each gorilla permit is equal to a spot to one habituated family and only eight (8) trekkers are allowed to track one group per day.

Trekking permits in Uganda are obtainable at A gorilla habituation permit costs USD1500 for foreign nonresidents, USD1000 for residents and 750,000 Uganda Shillings for East African Citizens while a gorilla tracking permit costs USD700 for foreign nonresidents, USD600 for foreign residents and 250,000 Uganda shillings per person per trek and they are obtainable from a trust worthy tour operator on ground or through Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). About 12 habituated groups can be tracked in Uganda and they translate into 96 permits for visitors to purchase. In Rwanda, you can purchase a permit at $1500 and this cost cuts across all visitors on gorilla safari in Rwanda. Permits in Rwanda can be booked through ground tour operators or Rwanda Development Board. Only 80 permits are available for visitors to purchase in Rwanda, DRC gorilla permit is at $400 and $500. You are advised to book for your trekking permit in advance at least 3 to 4 hours to avoid any kind of disappointment.

4. The best season for gorilla trekking

If you are planning to travel to East Africa for gorilla tracking, it is important that you know the ideal time for you to perfectly enjoy your primate adventures in Uganda, DRC and Rwanda. Usually, most travellers visit East Africa during the dry spell to catch a glimpse at the rare mountain gorillas while they are in their natural habitat. This season starts from June to August and this is regarded as the longest dry season, and from December to February which is also famous as the peak season in all protected areas. However, this doesn’t mean that trekkers shouldn’t come for this breathtaking adventure. It is also possible for you to track a group of gorillas during the rainy season. During this season, it can rain at any time just like it is a case during the dry season though the amount differs and the sun can come out after sometime and normal treks can continue. The disadvantage with this season is that, the ground can be muddy and slippery making it a big challenge for trekkers to walk through the thick vegetation cover as they search for a group of these rare apes in the wild.

5. The magical hour with the gorillas

Both destinations allow visitors to spend only an hour with a group of habituated gorillas in the wild while exploring their general behaviour. The treks entirely involve hiking through the thick vegetation and steep slopes to look out a group of these dramatic creatures. The experience takes about 30 minutes to 8 hours but this depends on various factors some of which include visitors’ hiking speed, nature of the habitat and location of the habituated gorilla groups that will be assigned to you to track in the course of the day. Once you encounter your group, make sure that you maximize every hour and explore more about these unique species, take as many photos as you can.

6. Your physical wellness matters a lot

Gorilla tracking involves walking via a thick tropical rainforest, bamboo that thrive within the Volcanoes National Park, Virunga National Park, Kahuzi Biega, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga National Park. The adventure takes visitors for about one to eight hours based on your physical fitness and location of the group that will be assigned to you to track. Gorilla treks are conducted at moderate altitude and you are advised to be physically well.

7. Gorilla trekking precautions

Before you set off for the actual trek, you will be briefed by one of the park officials who will take you through the dos and don’ts to be followed while you are with gorillas in the wild. Some of the rules and regulations to be observed while on your trek include, only eight trekkers are assigned to track only one habituated group per day, you will be required to clean your hands prior embarking on the actual trek, your voice should be low at all times but where necessary, ask as many questions as you can, a distance of 7 meters should be kept at all times, keep wastes till you return to the visitor centre where there are dust bins for you to dispose them off, do not drink, eat or smoke in the forest, only persons above 15 years are allowed to go for this lifetime adventure, if you don’t feel well, you won’t be allowed to go for gorilla trekking and many others.

8. What to wear

Interested trekkers are encouraged to come along with long trousers, long sleeved shirts/T-shirts, waterproof hiking boots, insect repellents, enough drinking water and energy giving snacks, sun screen, hat, rain jacket, first aid kit, day pack and others. The other things that are worth knowing for trekkers on gorilla safari to Africa include paying attention to your guide while in the gorilla habitat; carry enough money to take you throughout the vacation, hire a porter to help you with heavy luggage and others.

9. Visas and border crossing

Gorilla trekking often involves crossing borders between Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. If you are planning to do gorilla trekking in Congo, expect to cross the Goma border post at a cost ($100 for the VISA). Those who find the price of gorilla permits in Rwanda too high can choose to track the gorillas in Uganda instead but arrive through Kigali to avoid traveling for 8 hours from Entebbe or Uganda’s capital Kampala. Gorilla trekking from Uganda through Kigali involves paying a VISA fee of $50 at either the Katuna or Cyanika border crossings. The East African tourist visa can also be acquired at a cost of $100 for those who are combing safaris in different countries of East Africa.

10. Yellow Fever vaccination card

This may not seem important but it is a requirement for entering all the three countries. If you read reviews about gorilla trekking, you will learn that yellow fever vaccination cards are one of the key documents asked at the airport and while crossing borders. If you are planning to travel to most African countries, you need to consider the cost of taking the shots.

In conclusion, if you are planning to travel to East Africa for mountain gorilla trekking, you need to be physically well to be able to hike through the thick jungles and the steep slopes to see a group of these unique creatures in their natural habitat. Gorilla trekking is generally a breathtaking adventure that comes once in a lifetime.

In this age we know that animals all have very different and specific needs if they are kept in captivity, and many people question whether or not we actually still need zoos and aquariums…  The short answer to this, from my point of view is that there are many zoos around the world which carry out incredible work for conservation and education.  I firmly believe that seeing an animal in real life will develop a closer bond with the general public – and thus be more likely to lead to change – than seeing a documentary on TV.  If you need some examples of the great work which is done by zoos, what better than showcasing some species which beat extinction thanks to work done with them in captivity (mostly by zoos but also by private keepers of these species):

Beating Extinction With Zoos

Przewalski’s Horse (Equus ferus przewalksii)

In my opinion this is the most beautiful of all the wild horses, and can be seen in many zoos around the world if you don’t believe me!  They hail from China and Mongolia where they went extinct in the wild in the 1960’s, however thanks to zoo work they can now once again be seen running in the wilds of both of these countries.

Mountain Chicken Frog (Leptodactylus fallax)

As with a number of amphibians, this species is facing an uncertain future due to the chytrid fungus which is lethal and spreads like wild fire.  Thanks to work by zoos, including places such as ZSL London and Durrell Zoo on Jersey, huge levels of work have gone in to not only securing a future population of this frog, but also in to researching a cure for this fungus.

The American Red Wolf (Canis rufus)

Only 14 individuals remained in the wild by 1980, however thanks to zoo breeding by American zoos and re-introduction by 1987 these numbers were back up to 100.

Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis)

As few as 40 or so wild Amur leopards remain, however zoos around the world hold 5 times this many with over 200 individuals spread around the globe, making a strong and healthy safety net population.  Once there is a way to effectively stop the risks raised by hunters, these animals can once again be used to repopulate the wilds of Russia with this majestic cat.

Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)

This is a very strange looking species of salamander seemingly caught in a never ending juvenile state.  They live only in Lake Xochimilco in Mexico (a small lake on the outskirts of the hugely populated Mexico City) where studies found 6,000 individuals in 1998, 1,000 in 2003, 100 in 2008 and not a single animal in 2013 per square Km.

 

This species is classified by the IUCN red list as critically endangered, possibly extinct in the wild however thanks to captive breeding of this species there are still thousands outside the Lake Xochimilco area – in fact you can even find them in many pet shops.

Californian Condor (Gymnogyps californianus)

A hue, majestic bird which was once common in California, faced extinction in the 1980’s, however with the help of San Diego Zoo (employing some great hand rearing techniques using a condor puppet), their numbers have increased ten-fold in the wild.

What Does Accreditation Mean?

Whilst the projects above are all well and good, a case between the UK and USA has come to international attention which focuses on the difference between accredited and unaccredited zoos, and claims that unaccredited zoos are (due purely based on not being affiliated with a zoos association) of a low standard and that their conservation is non existent or of little value.

This particular case concerns a research center in the USA wishing to move a group of their retired chimpanzees to a fully licensed zoo in the UK.  However an animal rights activist group called the USA opposed the move, with one of their biggest claims being that the zoo is not a suitable home for these chimpanzees as they are not accredited…  Accredited by whom you may ask?

When people speak of accreditation they mean an outside authority (not government body) such as a zoo or aquarium association has developed a set of standards, and require zoos to adhere to these standards in order to become a paid for member of that association.  The zoo associations which I am currently aware of are:

• ACOPAZOA (Colombian Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
• AIZA (Iberian Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
• ALPZA (Latin American Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
• AMACZOOA (Caribbean Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
• AMMPA (Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums)
• ANPZ (French Association of Zoos)
• ARAZPA (Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria)
• AZA (American Zoo Association)
• AZCARM (Mexican Zoo and Aquaria Association)
• BIAZA (British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
• CAZA (Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
• CZA (Central Zoo Authority of India)
• DAZA (Danish Association of Zoological Gardens and Aquaria)
• EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
• FUNPZA (Venezuelan National Foundation of Zoological Parks and Aquaria)
• IZA (Israeli Zoo Association)
• JAZA (Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
• MAZPA (Malaysian Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria)
• NVD (Dutch Zoo Federation)
• OZO (Austrian Zoo Association)
• PAAZAB (African Association of Zoos and Aquaria)
• PKBSI (Indonesian Zoological Parks Association)
• RDPOZiA (Board of Directors of Polish Zoological Gardens and Aquaria)
• SAZA (Swedish Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria)
• SAZARC (South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation)
• SEAZA (South East Asian Zoo Association)
• SNDPZ (National Syndicate of French Zoo Directors)
• SZB (Society of Brazilian Zoos)
• UCSZ (Union of Czech and Slovak Zoological Gardens)
• UIZA (Italian Union of Zoos and Aquaria)
• VDZ (German Federation of Zoo Directors)
• WAZA (World Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
• ZOOSchweiz (Swiss Association of Scientific Zoos)

One thing which is worth noting is that being unaccredited is VERY different to being unlicensed.  Just because a zoo is not part of a zoo association, as long as it is operating as a legal zoological institution it will still be licenced under their local or government authority.  Whilst I cannot speak for most other countries, I do know that the licencing procedure and standards in the UK are set very high and don’t differ very much from the entry requirements of BIAZA.  This is a very important distinction to be aware of and keep in mind.

Does Accreditation Really Matter?

The claim being made by animal rights activists (see above) is that a zoo should be accredited by the American Zoo Association (AZA) or the equivalent in which ever country and region a zoo operates in and that if they are not – the standards within that zoo are not enforceable or enclosures and staff knowledge etc will be of a lower standard than in an accredited zoo.  However there are many reasons from management styles through to age or past disagreements through to current disagreements about policies between zoos and associations which may have made a zoo decide not to become accredited.  It certainly can be seen as a seal of quality or approval, however not having this seal of quality doesn’t automatically make it a sign of poor quality.

As an example I will pull up the case above concerning the chimpanzee move to the UK.  This UK zoo was a member of BIAZA and as such accredited, however for their own reasons decided that they wanted to terminate that membership.  As such they are now unaccredited, however the park has continued to grow and improve since that time – TripAdvisor and their FaceBook page are testament to this.  Their standards are very high and the new housing which they have built for the chimpanzees can be seen below:

I think you would be hard pressed if you were to be completely honest with yourself, to say that this is a poor quality or substandard enclosure.  To put this in to context, below are a number of shots from various chimpanzee enclosures which house this species at zoos which are accredited by their local, regional and in some cases the global zoo association:

Whilst the final set of enclosures aren’t necessarily bad, can you honestly say that these are all of a significantly higher standard (if at all) than those at the unaccredited British zoo, and if I had not told you which one was at the unaccredited zoo and you had to guess – would you have guessed correct?  Most importantly however you probably wonder what the outcome was with the legal case.  Well there was nothing which the US courts could determine about the zoo which made them unable to look after chimpanzees or unsuitable for the move…  And yes – those chimpanzees are now living out the rest of their lives in a stunning new enclosure!

Accredited Zoos Share Controversy

There are many accredited zoos which face their fair share of controversy…  With the bad publicity which SeaWorld has received over past years since the premier of Black Fish (publicity which in many cases I don’t necessarily agree with – but that’s a blog entry for another day altogether) many people may be surprised to hear that their parks are all accredited or that Copenhagen Zoo, the park which euthanized Marius, a surplus male giraffe and carried out a public autopsy in 2014 (something which sparked world wide outrage) is also accredited with multiple associations.

Zoo associations may be seen as a kind of “old boys club” and as such pretty much all of the worlds largest and oldest zoos are members of these associations – which means that most of the worlds best zoos are accredited.  However amongst zoos which are not accredited you have parks such as Wingham Wildlife Park, Hamerton Zoo and the Rare Species Conservation Center…  All of these British zoos do great work for conservation and have some of the most varied and specialist collections and / or species in European zoos.  As mentioned previously there are plenty of reasons why zoos may have left or never joined an association, however one instance where it is worth thinking twice about visiting a zoo may be on occasions where they have either tried to apply for membership but were refused or were kicked out of the association for some reason.

Don’t get me wrong…  This doesn’t mean that even all unaccredited zoos are good or always as good as all accredited zoos!  There are plenty of zoos which are unaccredited and in some cases shouldn’t even be licensed, and this is certainly something which you would be less likely to encounter amongst accredited zoos.  I think what you need to take away from this is that you need to look at any zoo upon their individual merits, not on whether an organization which you often just need to pay to be a member of, has put their stamp of approval on them…  It is always worth making up your own minds about many things in life – zoos are one of them!

I have always wanted to do something unusual in my life. However, I have honestly never come across anything that is worthwhile and thrilling. Recently though, I read about some activity called gorilla tracking on the internet. The members of my chat room said only interesting things about this activity and it left me wondering whether I was the only one who had not done it.

I knew at this moment that I wanted to do this on my next holiday vacation. I am not sure whether it was because of the need to keep up with the trend or for the thrill that the activity promised. However, now that I have done some research on the subject, I have come to realize that the activity is one of the most exciting and amazing activities in tourism at the moment.

The prospect of seeing the mountain gorillas in the natural habitat on an activity commonly referred to as gorilla trekking and not viewing them in some enclosure at the zoo is exciting enough. The mountain gorillas are so rare in the world that they are found in two conservation areas in the world, Virunga and Bwindi areas. Yes, I did my research and I have a few of the facts at hand right now like the gorillas cannot survive in confinement and because of this reason, you will not see these amazing primates in a zoo or something like that.

I have heard from some of the people who have been on such trips that you can get as close as 10 metres of the primates and who in their right mind would pass up an opportunity like this to interact with our near similar relatives. It is always good to enjoy these kinds of experiences with your friends by your side and because of this I hope to go with some of my friends. Knowing the kinds of people my friends are, I have a strong feeling that they cannot say no to this.

I have also learned that tracking the mountain gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park is on constant increasing demand and that I must book my gorilla tracking permit well in advance. Rwanda is also a very beautiful country and I have been assured that this will be a life changing experience as I will meet people who enjoy the forest life and in some way they are not obsessed with the luxury that life in the city offers.

I am therefore in the process of booking a safari to Rwanda with the best deal that I got from Go Gorilla Trekking. I have been communicating with several tour companies organising safaris in Rwanda and i chose GGT because of their available discounts and quick communications that are straight to point. I have also been told that Rwanda has one of the lowest crime rates in the world and that I will enjoy my trip safely and without any interruptions.

Also, from my correspondences with Go Gorilla Trekking, i have realized that Rwanda has very good hotels which is surprising for a country which in 1994 was embroiled in a catastrophic genocide. There are several luxurious, mid range and budget hotels. Though i have been traveling frequently on budget, am looking at staying in midrange accommodation. The trip promises an exciting and amazing experience and I am looking forward to enjoying my time in this small east African country and I promise to tell my story to whomever wishes to listen.