December 07, 2021 | Bujo Safaris
Gorillas are the largest primates on earth and can only be found in their natural habitats in a few selected countries. These handful, endowed countries are only on the African continent and even interacting with these glorious creatures is restricted due to the fact that they are endangered, as listed by the IUCN. Gorillas are second in place as man’s closest relatives with 98% similar DNA. The number one spot is taken by the chimpanzees and bonobos who share 98.7% of our DNA. Gorillas are mainly divided into two species - Western gorillas and Eastern gorillas. Western gorillas are found in some West African countries like Nigeria, Congo, and Cameroon. The Eastern gorillas are only found in the two East African countries - Uganda and Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Democratic Republic of Congo is the only country where you can trek both the mountain and Eastern lowland gorillas in Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega national parks respectively.
These two species are further divided into four sub-species with each group having two. The Western gorillas are separated into the Western lowland gorillas as well as Cross River gorillas while the Eastern gorillas are divided into Mountain gorillas and Eastern lowland gorillas. All four subspecies might look alike at first glance but can easily be differentiated by color, body size, or the habitat where you will encounter them. For instance, mountain gorillas have a black coating of fur while the eastern lowland gorillas have a brown tinge.
Gorillas usually spend their day eating and taking naps in between. They are more protective over members especially mothers and then the silverback is protective over his group and usually thumps his chest as a sign of his strength to scare any would-be invaders. Even though gorillas are prejudged as aggressive and violent beasts, they are recorded as one of the most peaceful creatures than other mammals you would encounter in the wild. This prejudice can easily be changed with a safari into the African jungle and spending some of the most memorable moments of your life with these magical primates.
Gorillas like most primates have the ability to climb trees but due to their enormous body sizes, they habitually resort to terrestrial life. This means they spend over 85 percent of their time on the ground, unlike their closer related apes like chimps, monkeys, and bonobos. This has also slightly altered their diet from fruits like figs to more reachable plant matter like bamboo shoots, stems, and leaves. Younger gorillas especially the juveniles are expert tree climbers because of their medium sizes and this can be seen firsthand during a gorilla trekking expedition as they do their antics from tree branches. However, their huge body size doesn’t completely stop gorillas from climbing trees. Some of them build their nests near tree branches or also take up trees that possess branches that can support their weight comfortably.
Absolutely! Uganda is remarkably the best Gorilla trekking destination for travelers planning a Uganda gorilla trekking safari since it has almost half of the world’s total population of Mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking activities usually take place in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park and Mt. Mgahinga Gorilla National Park. Bwindi alone has over 400 mountain gorillas that can be tracked from the four major trekking regions of Buhoma, Ruhija, Nkuringo, and Rushaga. The gorilla trekking experience is the most sought-after Uganda wildlife safari that offers plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities because it creates the adventure of a lifetime where you get Soo close to the magnificent mountain gorillas.
Encounter the magnificent gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park in their natural habitat. The park is located in the southern part of Uganda covering an area of about 321sqkm and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park is home to a variety of wildlife species such as endangered mountain gorillas, forest elephants, baboons, potto, weyns’ duiker, and Forest Hogs, among others as well as other bird species such as broadbill, blue-headed sunbird, Graders broadbill, black-faced rufous warbler, handsome francolin, purple breasted sunbird, Ruwenzori Apalis, yellow streaked greenbul, Shelley's Crimsoning, regal sunbird, olive breasted greenbul, mountain masked Apalis, Neumann's warbler among others.
The ultimate gorilla experience starts at the park headquarters with a briefing about gorilla trekking, and dos and don’ts by the Uganda Wildlife Park Rangers. Travelers are divided into groups of 8 and allocated different gorilla families according to their health and fitness. Embark on a guided gorilla trekking safari navigating through the dense forests with wide views of birds and other wildlife of the park. The gorilla trekking experience takes about 6 to 7 hours depending on the nature and location of the gorillas since they live an active and elude nature. Upon meeting the gorillas, visitors are advised to wear face masks and allowed only one hour to spend with the gorillas as they collect memories through lenses and learn their lifestyle of feeding, grooming, playing with young ones, and sleeping. Later head back to the visitor’s information center and receive your Gorilla trekking certificates.
Absolutely! One can spend more than 1 up to 4 hours and by doing that, the experience becomes gorilla habituation. Gorilla Habituation is the process of familiarizing mountain gorillas with the presence of human beings. The habituation process is only done in the Rushaga sector of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
Uganda’s gorilla trekking permits are affordable to travelers embarking on a gorilla trekking safari to Africa compared to any other gorilla trekking destination. A gorilla trekking permit costs USD 800 (Foreign Non-Residents), USD 700 (foreign residents), and UGX 300,000 for East African citizens. A gorilla Habituation permit costs USD 1500 (Foreign Non-Residents), USD 1,000 (Foreign Residents), and UGX 700,000 for East African Citizens.
Gorilla trekking is an all-year-round activity but is recommendable to visit during the dry season usually from June to early August and then December to February. This period offers the best gorilla trekking experience as the gorillas move to the lower slopes of the mountain the tracks are less slippery, fewer insects, and there are fewer chances of it raining on your excursion. However, this is also peak season and attracts very many guests yet there is a limited number of Gorilla permits which calls for earlier planning like four to six months before setting out for your trip to avoid any inconveniences of missing a permit yet already at the destination.
The rainy season which runs from March to May receives fewer guests because of the little hurdles faced while gorilla trekking in this period like muddy trails, more insects, and higher chances of rain plus thicker vegetation to navigate. However, this time is ideal for guests who would prefer a more private experience or who have a low budget as the permits and lodge rates are normally cut during this time to attract guests.
Gorillas share a close DNA with humans and a number of our behaviors can be reflected in their day-to-day life. These traits range from expressing surprise, excitement, and pain depending on the occasion. These are experienced on a trek while observing them play, groom each other, protect their loved ones especially the silverbacks, or bond with one another. Gorillas can create strong bonds such that they even express grief at the loss of a member. All this and more can be experienced on a gorilla trekking experience in the African jungle.
Golden Monkey tracking: The Golden monkeys are an endemic species of primates. Golden monkeys are located in Mgahinga and Volcanoes National Park. Golden monkey trekking takes you through the forests of Mgahinga Gorilla National Park for about 4 to 5 hours. On finding the Golden monkeys, travelers are allowed 1 hour to watch the golden monkeys in their natural habitat.
Chimpanzee trekking: Meet man’s next cousins sharing a DNA of about 98% located in forests of Budongo, Kyambura Gorge, Kibale Forest National Park. Kibale Forest National Park is Uganda’s Primate capita with over 1500 chimpanzee individuals which makes it the most visited national park for chimpanzee trekking safaris.
Chimpanzee trekking starts at Kanyanchu Centre after a briefing as you get on the search for chimpanzees in the forests with loud noise from different bird species thus enabling you to spot a variety of bird species such as hairy-breasted barbet, yellow-billed barbet, shrike flycatcher Bocage’s bush shrike and Black-crowned waxbill among others.
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