Mountain gorilla tracking is one of the most awe inspiring wildlife experience as you climb up and down the steep slopes of the vine clad Bwindi impenetrable forest in Uganda or the Virunga mountains of Rwanda’s Parc Des Volcans. This activity can take any where from 3 hours to 8 hours depending on how far the mountain gorillas have strayed in their foraging for food.
However, it is important to note that there are only over 700 mountain gorillas left in the wild and these can only be found in the border regions of Uganda, Rwanda and Congo and as such are protected by the governments of all three countries. Although the Congo (DRC) government finds it hard due to the unrest in the region where these giant gentle apes are found. There has been numerous killings of these apes needlessly by the rebel groups who have been taking refuge in the Congo forests thus hampering the conservation efforts of all three governments as these gorillas tend to cross borders, although this happens mainly between Uganda’s Mgahinga gorilla national park and Rwanda’s parc Des Volcans. The gorilla families in Uganda’s Bwindi include;
- The ‘M’ group; Mubare group consists of 10 gorillas with 1 silverback and was opened in 1993 for tourism.
- The ‘H’ group; Habinyanja group opened in 1998 for gorilla tours and trekking is composed of 21 individuals with 2 silverbacks
- The ‘R’ group; Rushegura group was opened to trackers in 2002 and is composed of 1 silverback and 10 gorillas.
- The ‘N’ group; The Nkuringo group consisting of 1 silverback and 19 gorillas was made accessible to trekkers in 2004.
Mgahinga national park tucked away in south western Uganda’s border with Rwanda has fewer gorillas than Bwinidi, which cross the border occassionally into Rwanda. This park has a solitary group of habituated gorillas namely Nyakagyezi which is open for tracking. Nyakagyezi has about 11 family members; 3 adult females, 2 silverbacks, 2 infants and 4 juveniles.
The high number of tourists coming into Uganda and Rwanda respectively has led bodies like Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), charged with protecting, Uganda’s wildlife to draft policies and regulations for those doing mountain gorilla tracking. These are;
- Any one with a communicable disease, like as diarrhoea or flu, is not allowed to visit the gorillas.
- Surrounding the gorillas is not allowed, people are to remain in tight groups.
- Once found contact time is limited to only one hour
- Please observe all instructions from your guide.
- A distance of about 5 meters is to be left between the tracker and the gorillas
- A tracker is advised to move back slowly when approched by the gorillas
- No flashes from cameras are allowed.
- Eating and smoking within 200m of the gorillas is forbidden.
- One is required to cover his / her mouth when sneezing or coughing or turn away from the gorillas.
- Human excrement is to be buried at least 30 cm deep in the ground.
- No disposal of litter within the park.
- Spitting in the park is forbidden.
- Minors (those under 15 years) are not allowed to track gorillas.
- Lound noise and sudden movements when with the gorillas is discouraged.
There are a number of companies offer gorilla safaris and a quick check with any of your favorite search engine will yield a number of very good tour operators within the region. There is Uganda gorilla safari
You can find gorilla tours in Uganda packages at www.gorillatoursinuganda.com
