How difficult is it to track gorillas?
How difficult is it to track gorillas? Mountain gorillas live in only three country destinations in Africa which include Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo: There are four national parks in these countries that are inhabited by these giant engendered mountain gorilla species.
These include Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mgahinga forest national park both situated located in the western part of Uganda, Virunga national parks in the democratic republic of Congo, and Rwanda’s volcanoes national park in the Republic of Rwanda. All these parks are famously known for gorilla trekking in Africa.
How difficult it is to trek gorillas is an important question usually asked by tourists invading to track gorillas in Africa. It is important to point out that gorilla trekking involves walking through the tropical forest jungles which are at an altitude of about at 2500 to 3000 meters above seas leveled by a guide who is always on the front line showing you the way and up to where gorillas are.
The fact that gorillas are situated in hilly terrain covered with forests, it will take you between 2 to 8 hours to trek through this thick and dense forest in search of gorillas Sometimes it might be hectic to traverse through the thick forest especially during the wet season with a lot of slippery and muddy trails that might make the experience difficult however after seeing the gorillas my friend all that huddles encountered before will be erased in your mind.
The west season, however, is perfect for travelers who don’t like crowded places as most of the tourists to these gorilla destinations do so in the dry season as therefore during the wet or rainy season there are few visitors. You can as well enjoy discounted accommodation facilities during the wet or rainy season.
Trekking gorillas is also difficult in terms of the availability of gorilla permits. It is important to note that gorilla trekking is a highly demanded activity as compared to their wildlife activities on the African continent. 80 gorilla permits are restricted to each gorilla destination per day and there we recommended that you book a gorilla permit as well as possible from a trusted tour operator. It is good to plan a gorilla trek and involve local tour operators in the consultation process for you to get better services. A tour operator can book for you the gorilla permit, accommodation transportation, and all requirements of the whole package.
Still, gorilla trekking is difficult in that it restricts you from trekking it with your friends or children who are below 15 years. The minimum age limit for gorilla trekking in all African parks is 15 years. Such minor children cannot be allowed to take part in trekking until they assign forms such as indemnity forms which consume a lot of time and presents some difficulties. In Rwanda, the issue of age is also as critical as any travel to volcanoes national park you will have to disclose your age so that the authorities can ascertain if you’re legible to access the gorillas trekking permit.
The question of how difficult is it to track gorillas can be answered by saying that some of the gorilla families move far away deep in the jungle making the visitors on gorilla trekking safaris to move for long distances trailing these mountain gorillas. Some of the gorilla group called the Hirwa gorilla family located in Rwanda is very difficult to because sometimes it crosses to Uganda a bad vice versa and this makes it hard to trek. Still, some Rwanda gorilla family groups live up high the mountains and you need to be physically fit to trek the gorillas.
Its good for any trekker to forest exercises a day or two of trekking to be fit. All the tourism activities that require hiking present challenges to hikers especially those who are not fit. Gorilla trekking is not exceptional and therefore you need to be so fit exercise so as to come out victorious. Gorilla trekking is mostly done in Ugandan parks of Bwindi and Mgahinga gorilla parks. Uganda hosts more than half of the world’s remaining endangered gorillas.
