We always encourage guests to try a walk or two on safari, if it’s not already the focus of the trip. The sensory experience is tough to describe, but getting a closer insight to an ecosystem and viewing wildlife from outside a vehicle is always enlightening. While you’re not as likely to get very close to big animals, as wildlife here is instinctively fearful of humans, a good guide will be able to make a safe approach with minimum disturbance and add new layers of interpretation not likely on any other form of safari activity. But then there’s Gorilla trekking…
After years of careful work by researchers, conservationists and now park authorities and eco-tourism operators, there are a number of Gorilla families that are totally accepting of humans in their presence. The most famous ones are part of two small populations of the critically endangered Mountain Gorilla, only found on slopes of the Albertine Rift that straddles the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
While prices differ in each country, the strict permitting processes are essentially the same – a limit of eight people can view a family for one hour each day. Some groups take hours of hacking through magnificent rainforest to reach, while others are found within minutes, near the boundary of their range.
Once found, guests get to spend a magical hour within metres of these incredible animals, going about their day as if nobody was around. The sheer size of a Silverback male; the humbling familiarity of ape-family life; the inherent gentleness of a creature that could snap you in half – all witnessed on foot, in their domain, totally accepted. It’s no wonder it’s become one of the ultimate safari experiences.
Thankfully, authorities from each country are doing their best to run the experiences responsibly. Money generated from permits and visitors to the region is having a positive effect as protection of the Mountain Gorillas’ habitat is seeing a resurgence in their population.
Rwanda and Uganda are making great progress in offering diverse safari experiences to complement their Gorilla trekking. However, new transport links are making it ever easier to combine a traditional safari destination like Tanzania’s Serengeti or Kenya’s Maasai Mara with a Gorilla extension. New regional flights between these parks and Kigali, Rwanda and Entebbe, Uganda have just been launched, on top of the numerous daily flights to and from Nairobi.
