Amahoro gorilla family
Amahoro gorilla family is one of the fully habituated gorilla groups in Rwanda. The gorilla family is found in volcanoes national park together with other 9 fully habituated families that are open for tourism at any time of the year. In addition to Amahoro gorilla family, volcanoes national park hosts Karisimbi group, Ugenda group, Hirwa group, Susa group, Bwenge group, Titus group, Sabyinyo group, Kwitonda group, and Ugenda group.
The word Amahoro was derived from a Kinyarwanda word to mean peace and this was because the gorilla group was always peaceful. Tourists that have visited Amahoro gorilla family before will assure you that the group is peaceful. Amahoro gorilla family comprises of 17 members and these are led by a silverback called Ubumbwe which means togetherness.
Amahoro gorilla family comprises of 1 silverback, 5 adult females, 2 juveniles, 2 sub-adults, 2 black backs, and 5 infants. With time the members of this gorilla family will have to change due to so many reasons among which include deaths, new births, new members joining the group, and others leaving. Amahoro gorilla group lives on the slopes of mountain Bisoke and to trek it you need to be physically fit because there are times it moves on the higher slopes of the mountains.
Trekking Amahoro gorilla family
Trekking Amahoro gorilla group is like trekking any other habituated gorilla family in volcanoes national park Rwanda. The activity starts with a briefing at the park headquarters where trekkers are expected to be very early in the morning. It’s from here that the rangers teach them the rules and regulations of the trekking activity and then grouping is done. You will join trekkers who are to trek Amahoro gorilla group because the tour operator would have informed the rangers earlier about what you want to trek.
Later you will be transferred to the starting point where you will meet the armed ranger guides to lead you into the jungle and in case of heavy luggage, you can hire a porter. Trekking Amahoro gorilla family takes 2- 7 hours depending on the location of the gorilla group and the speed of trekkers but when you meet the family, you will be given 1 hour to be around it, watch members do daily activities as you take photos. During the search for this family, you will meet different park mammals, primates, and different bird species.
Gorilla permits for Amahoro family
Gorilla permits for Amahoro gorilla family can be got from the Rwanda Development Board or any trusted local tour operator at a fee of $1500. The permits allow tourists to be around mountain gorillas for 1 hour and they come with a paid park entrance fee, guide fee, and community development fee. Gorilla permits for Amahoro gorilla family are 8 reasons being a maximum of 8 people can trek this family and they are sold to persons above the age of 15 years old.
Booking a gorilla permit for Amahoro family
You can book a gorilla permit for Amahoro gorilla family with Africa Adventure Vacations limited by just sending us an email containing the dates you want to travel. Using these dates, we shall check for the availability of these permits with the Rwanda Development Board and once the permits are available, we shall send you an email containing different ways you can send us money and once we have received it we shall secure you a permit.
On the day of trekking, we shall go ahead t inform the rangers about the gorilla family you want to trek and when grouping time comes, you will be assigned Amahoro gorilla family. Tourists can also book gorilla trekking permits for themselves by sending an email to Rwanda Development Board and the money for the permits once they are available and on the day of trekking, they can inform the rangers which family they want to trek.
What is the most appropriate time to visit Amahoro gorilla family?
Tourists can visit Amahoro gorilla family at any time of the year but there are months that are better than the rest and these are the drier months. The drier months are the best to trek Amahoro gorilla family and they occur from June to September and December to February. During the drier months, there is little or no rainfall in the park, roads leading to the park are passable, the trekking trails are less muddy and the vegetation in the park is shirt giving clear views of the mountain gorillas as well as other park animals.
Packing list for Amahoro gorilla group trekking?
There are a number of things you need to pack when coming to volcanoes national park to trek Amahoro gorilla family but the necessary ones include waterproof hiking shoes, a pair of gaiters, a pair of binoculars, a camera and extra batteries, gardening gloves, sunglasses, scarf, sweater, a hat, rain jacket, insect repellents, long-sleeved clothes, reusable drinking water bottle, energy-giving snacks, facemask, sanitizer, first aid kit, and much more.
Other safari activities to do before or after trekking Amahoro gorilla group
Golden monkey trekking
Golden monkey trekking is another activity tourists who come to volcanoes national park to trek Amahoro gorilla family can do before or after. Golden monkey trekking can be done by anyone as long as they have a valid golden monkey trekking permit. Like mountain gorilla trekking, golden monkey trekking starts with a briefing and later the trekkers head into the jungle led by the armed rangers to search these endangered primates. On meeting them, they are given 1 hour to be around them and this will enable them to know about their habits.
Hiking
Tourists on a safari to volcanoes national park to trek Amahoro gorilla family and can hike any of the Virunga volcanoes. There are 4 Virunga volcanoes that are available for hiking and these include Karisimbi, Bisoke, Gahinga, and Muhubura and to hike any of these, you will need a hiking permit which you can acquire from the park offices on the day of hiking.
Hiking these mountains takes you through different hiking trails with opportunities of meeting different park animals like elephants, buffaloes, duikers, hyenas, several monkey species, birds, and different vegetation covers. The summit of any of these mountains is rewarding with a crater lake at the summit of mountains Bisoke, stunning views of the surrounding areas, Virunga volcanoes, lakes and so much more.
Birding
Tourists can be part of birding activities before or after trekking Amahoro gorilla family. Birding activities will expose you to over 178 bird species of the park such as Grauer’s rush warbler, archer’s robin-chat, cinnamon-chested bee-eater, handsome francolin, Bateleur, Doherty’s bush-shrike, red-faced woodland warbler, Rwenzori nightjar, Baglafecht weaver, blue-spotted wood dove, Rwenzori double-collared sunbird, dusky turtle dove, dusky turtle dove, scarlet-tufted malachite sunbird, Rwenzori apalis, lagden’s bush shrike, Rwenzori turaco, red-backed shrike, African long-eared owl, brown-necked parrot, and strange weaver among others.
Cultural visits
Tourists coming to volcanoes national park to trek Amahoro gori9lla family can have a cultural visit to Iby’iwacu cultural village. The cultural village is led by the local people and these take you around different homesteads in the area, get to see people do daily activities, taste their local food, listen to their old stories, support their small business, and get entertained by the local people.
