Titus gorilla family
Titus gorilla family is one of the most peaceful habituated gorilla groups and among the most loved families to trek in Rwanda. Titus gorilla family stays in volcanoes national park which happens to be the only place where mountain gorilla trekking is done in the country. Titus gorilla family stays around areas of Mountain Bisoke and Mountain Karisimbi area and happens to be one of the oldest families to be habituated in the park.
The name Titus came from the ruling silverback called Titus who was born in the days Dian Fossey was in volcanoes national park at her research center Karisoke. His father was killed by poachers living him a young orphan and the group members his father was leading had to separate and join different families which forced Titus to do the same.
Titus kept on living in different gorilla families until he grew up and decided to settle in one group which was led by Beetsme and when Beetsme chased away all the males, Titus was left in the group for security reasons but later he challenged the group leader and become the dominating silverback. Titus was the dominating silverback from 1991 until 2007 when his own son Kuryana challenged him and took over the group leadership. Titus died of natural death at the age of 35 after the doctors had done post mortem.
Apart from Titus gorilla family, volcanoes national park has other 9 mountain gorilla families that are open for trekking and these include Hirwa, Ugenda, Karisimbi, Sabyinyo, Bwenge, Umubano, Agashya, Kwitonda, and Amahoro.
Trekking Titus gorilla family
Trekking Titus gorilla family starts with trekkers waking up early in the morning and moving to the park headquarters. Here they will meet rangers who will take them through the briefing process to know about the dos and don’ts of mountain gorilla trekking activity. Later grouping will be done but since your tour operator would have infirmed the rangers about the gorilla family you want to trek, they will add you to a group of those going to trek Titus gorilla family.
After grouping, you will move to the starting point where you will meet arranged ranger guides to lead you into the jungle. You can as well hire a porter in case of excess luggage and also pick a walking stick to help you balance during the hike. After several hours of searching the gorillas, you will be given 1 hour to be around these gentle apes and this will enable you to know about their habits, watch them do daily activities, and take photos. In the whole trekking process, you will have opportunities of seeing different park mammals, primates, and birds among others.
Booking trekking permits for Titus gorilla group
Africa Adventure Vacations does help travelers in booking gorilla permits for volcanoes national park and we can go ahead to book for you permits for Titus gorilla family. Tourists that want trek mountain gorillas in volcanoes national park and Titus gorilla family in particular can send us an email containing dates they want to travel and using these dates we can check for availability of the permits with the Rwanda Development Board and once the permits are available, we shall go ahead and send you an email containing different ways you can send us money for the permits.
After receiving money for the permits, we shall go ahead and secure a permit for you and then send you a scanned copy. On the final day of trekking, you will be assigned Titus gorilla family to trek because we would have already informed the ranger guides about which gorilla family to trek.
How much are the permits for Titus gorilla family?
All permits in volcanoes national park are of the same money at Rwanda development board. Permits for Titus gorilla family cost $1500 per person per trek and these allow a tourist to be around this gorilla group for a maximum of 1 hour. The gorilla permits for Karisimbi family and also other habituated families are sold to persons above the age of 15 years.
Number of people allowed to trek Titus gorilla family?
Only 8 people are allowed to trek Titus gorilla family according to the Rwanda Development Board. The organization has only 8 gorilla permits for this family every day and this is done to reduce overcrowding around the family, and also the risk of spread of diseases.
What to pack for Titus gorilla family?
There are so many things need to have a successful and amazing gorilla trekking safari among tutus family and some of them include waterproof hiking shoes, a pair of gaiters, gardening gloves, a camera and extra batteries, a pair of binoculars, sunglasses, long-sleeved clothes, rain jacket, scarf, reusable drinking water bottle, energy-giving snacks, facemask, sanitizer, and first aid kit.
Rules of regulation while trekking mountain gorillas
When trekking any of the habituated mountain gorilla families in Rwanda, tourists are advised to keep rules and regulations of the gorilla trekking activity in order to keep the mountain gorillas safe and promote mountain gorilla tourism in Rwanda. Some of the gorilla trekking rules and regulations in the park include not trekking when you are sick, avoiding direct contact with the mountain gorillas, not using flashlight cameras, keeping a distance of 7 meters away from gorillas, not littering in the park, keeping voices low and much more.
Activities to do before or after trekking gorillas of Titus group
Encounter golden monkeys
Tourists on a golden monkey trekking safari volcanoes national park can encounter the endangered golden monkeys before or after trekking Titus group. Trekking the golden monkeys will give you an opportunity to spot these endangered apes in their habits, watch them do daily activities such as hunting, breastfeeding, coupling, and taking photos. To trek golden monkey you must possess a trekking permit from Rwanda Development Board.
Encounter the birds
Encounter the different birds of volcanoes national park before or after trekking the mountain gorillas of Titus family. All you need is a birding permit, a birding book, and a pair of binoculars to spot birds that are far from you. The birding activity is led by ranger guides in this park and these take you to different birding spots with opportunities of spotting birds such as handsome francolin, brown-necked parrot, Ruwenzori turaco, baglafecht weaver, bateleur, African long-eared owl, Ruwenzori batis, Ruwenzori double-collared sunbird, doherty’s bush-shrike, red-backed shrike, blue-spotted wood dove, cinnamon-chested bee-eater, dusky turtle dove, and Archer’s robin-chat to mention but a few.
Hiking
Tourists on a safari in volcanoes national park Rwanda can hike the Virunga volcanoes before or after a successful gorilla trekking activity. Hiking these mountains is done at any time of the year all you need to have is a hiking permit from the park headquarters. Hiking can be done on any of the volcanoes – Karisimbi, Bisoke, Gahinga, and Muhabura and it’s led by a ranger guide.
Hiking the mountains takes you through different vegetation covers, spotting different birds, mammals, and primates. At the summit of these mountains, you will have stunning views of the surrounding lakes, national parks, mountains, and a crater lake on Mountain Bisoke.
Cultural tours
The cultural tours in volcanoes national park do take you to Iby’iwacu cultural village and this will give you an opportunity to meet local people of which some are former poachers. A visit to this village can be done before or after gorilla trekking and the local people will take you around different homes as you watch people do day to day activities, taste their local foods, you can be part of their ceremonies if any, support their businesses, and in the end, you will be entertained by traditional dancers.
