Reasons you need to trek mountain gorillas in volcanoes national park
Reasons you need to trek mountain gorillas in volcanoes national park Rwanda- This article will give reasons as to why you should visit the volcanoes national park in Rwanda. The park is located in the northwestern side of the country and it’s easily accessed in just 2-3 hours. Volcanoes national park is famous for hosting mountain gorillas but there are other attractions in the park like the monkeys, mountains, and birds.
Thousands of people always love to trek mountain gorillas in volcanoes national park in Rwanda despite the high permit price because it is more expensive compared to that of Bwindi impenetrable forest national park, Mgahinga national park as well as Virunga national park. The mountain gorilla left in the world is about 1070 and these have found their home within the above national parks.
Volcanoes national park has more than a quarter of the mountain gorilla population in its thick forest which means that there are 98% chances of meeting these mountain gorillas in their natural habitats. Trekking them will require you to have a permit issued out by the Rwanda Development Board and this is sold to persons above the age of 15 years at a fee of $1500.
Below are some of the reasons that you need to trek mountain gorillas in Rwanda;
Fully habituated mountain gorilla families
You need to trek mountain gorillas in volcanoes national park because they are fully habituated and they cannot harm people unless if provoked. Volcanoes national park has 10 fully habituated mountain gorilla families and they are all open for trekking at any time of the year. Visit volcanoes national park to trek mountain gorillas such as Karisimbi, Umubano, Agashya, Sabyinyo, Kirwa, Kwitonda, Susa, Amahoro, Ugenda, and Bwenge.
Affordable gorilla trekking permit
You need to visit the volcanoes national park for mountain gorilla trekking because the permits are affordable to everyone. The permits for mountain gorilla trekking in volcanoes national park are purchased at a fee of $1500 per person per trek and these can be got from the Rwanda Development Board or any trusted local tour operator at the same fee.
Improved accommodation
Besides marketing, the government of Rwanda has attracted so many investors in the country and these have constructed the best accommodation facilities that are even ranking in the top best hotels of Africa. There are so many luxury and semi-luxury hotel facilities in volcanoes national park and these include Bisate Lodge, One $ Only Gorilla’s Nest Lodge, Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel, Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge among others
Accessibility
Volcanoes national park can be easily accessed from Kigali city and reaching the park takes only 2-3 hours which makes it the national park accessed in a few hours in the whole country. The roads leading to all national parks of Rwanda including volcanoes are well constructed.
Topography
Mountain gorillas in volcanoes national park do live on the slopes of mountains such as Karisimbi, Bisoke, Gahinga, Muhabura, and Sabyinyo but this doesn’t mean they leave far at the tops. They have found food on the lower slopes of these mountains so searching for them is not that different because the hiking trails are not that steep. Trekkers however need to be physically fit to trek these mountain gorillas and those that are very old will be carried by porters at a fee.
Safety
Volcanoes national park is one of the safest national parks to trek mountain gorillas. there are no wars or rebels in the volcanoes national park forest and there are trained armed rangers that can protect you from rebels in case of any. The armed ranger guides also protect the trekkers and other people visiting the park from dangerous animals.
Dian Fossey
Visiting volcanoes national park gives tourists to know about the life of Dian Fossey or even see her grave. The populations of mountain gorillas in the world increased or have been increasing because of the works of Dian Fossey. She was an American primatologist who lived her entire life looking after mountain gorillas. She habituated mountain gorillas, chased away poachers, and taught people to love these primates. Those that want to hike to Dain Fossey’s grave pay a certain fee and the ranger guides lead them to the grave.
Apart from mountain gorillas, you meet other attractions in the park and these include the golden monkeys that live on the slopes of Virunga Volcanoes in the bamboo vegetation. You can also encounter different bird species in the volcanoes national park like the Dusky crimsonwing, handsome francolin, dusky turtle dove, brown-necked parrot, red-faced woodland warbler, and much more.
In volcanoes national park you can do meet other animals like the buffaloes, elephants, giant forest hogs, duikers, monkeys and much more but these are seen while doing trekking or hiking or nature walks, The park hosts 5 Virunga volcanoes so you can hike any of these or have a distant view while in the park and these are Muhabura, Gahinga, Sabyinyo, Bisoke, and Karismbi.
Best time to visit volcanoes national park
People from different parts of the world can visit volcanoes national park at any time of the year but there are months that are better than the rest and these are the dry months. The dry months are June to September and December to February and are characterized by little or no rainfall, the trekking trails are muddy and slippery, the vegetation is thin and the roads leading to the park are passable.
Tourists from different places of the world can still visit volcanoes national park for any activity in the rainy season that occurs in March to May and October to November but there is plenty of rainfall in this season. The rainy season leaves the park trails muddy and slippery, the vegetation is thick giving unclear views of animals and the roads leading to the park are passable.
