How difficult is gorilla trekking in Rwanda?
How difficult is gorilla trekking in Rwanda? Endangered mountain gorillas in Rwanda are found in the highland forested areas of Volcanoes national park in Virunga massif which is shared between Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National park, Congo’s Virunga national park, and volcanoes National park in Rwanda. The other significant number of endangered mountain gorillas can be seen in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park situated in the western part of Uganda.
The fact that mountain gorillas live in high and elevated areas of mountains, trekking them you must hike using foot up to where they are. Usually, Rwanda and Uganda present the best places for mountain gorilla trekking because they harbor the largest number of mountain gorillas as compared to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Gorilla trekking safaris in Rwanda takes place in Volcanoes national park which also features one of the highest volcano Karisimbi which is approximately 3800 meters above sea level and with this altitude, volcanoes national park remains cold most of the time.
Gorilla trekking bin Rwanda involves visitors to hike or walk all over elevated step slopes of about 2500 to 3500 meters or beyond this above this in Volcanoes National Park. This makes gorilla trekking hard provided that you will also need to travel for long distances which needs you to be physically fit. For travelers who are not physically fit may find it difficult to trek gorillas provided that gorillas move long distances as you need to follow them until you see the allocated gorilla trip.
There is some difficulty in getting a gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda. Gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda involves limiting the number of visitors allowed to trek gorillas in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National park. This means that you need to book in advance for the permit to Rwanda in order not to miss out on this thrilling activity. Doing the booking individually may be challenging but you can use the services of a well-experienced tour operator like Africa adventure vacations that will help you book all that is required for your gorilla trekking safari in Rwanda. Even it will be easier for you to have an accommodation facility, as well as transport, means when you book with a local travel agency or tourism operator.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda still is difficult in that it limits categories of travelers especially those above the minimum age. Children before 15 years are not allowed to trek gorillas in Volcano National Park in Rwanda and this presents some difficulty to travelers for gorilla trekking safaris in Rwanda. However, children can still take part in other wildlife safaris game drives especially to explore the big 5 mammals of Africa in Akagera National park. Children can also go with their parents on boat cruise safaris on various water bodies in Rwanda. Authorities in Rwanda so critical of this age and visitors must disclose their age before they are approved and given a gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda.
Some of the gorilla families in Virunga National park move far away within the forested park necessitating the trekkers or the visitors to move on foot for long distances to explore the Mountain Gorillas. The mountain gorilla families in volcano national park in Rwanda sometimes presents some difficulty to trek especially when they move up the mountain volcanoes. This means that you need to have some levels of experience in hiking safaris to overcome such rewarding difficulties.
Gorilla trekking safaris in Rwanda and Uganda are best done during the dry season especially in June and September and from December to February annually. The dry season is best because the gorilla trekking trails are dry and passable and cause less wetness to the trekkers. Gorilla trekking safaris in Rwanda and Uganda can be done throughout the year since you can book for your gorilla trekking permit from any of these countries. The prices for a gorilla trekking permit in these countries are the same despite the variation in seasons whether wet or dry. However, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, you can receive some discounted safaris on gorilla permits during the west season or low season of the year.
Gorilla trekking safaris in East Africa involve hiking for somehow long distances and this presents challenges to travelers engaging in this activity. But after the trek surely you will forget all the hurdles you have passed through to secure a gorilla trek in Rwanda.