Thinking Of Taking a Uganda Gorilla Safari?

There is no creature on earth surface that has gotten more human interest than mountain gorillas. Uganda gorilla safaris offer the best chance to observe our primate relatives in their natural habitat, up close and personal. Having a decreasing population and habitat, gorilla safaris where you can be guaranteed to see them live is limited to only 3 national parks in Rwanda and Uganda. Gorilla safaris in DRC are an on/off affair, and are not advised at this period due to the country’s safety conditions.

The cost of a gorilla tracking permit for a Uganda gorilla safari is $600 on a peak season and $450 on a low promotional period in Uganda and $700 per gorilla tracking permit in Rwanda. This price includes your national park admission/entry fee and ranger guides with safe escorts. Porters are available on request but require for you to tip them. However, you will not need to take much extra kit unless you have elaborate camera gear or you are filming.

The walk around the park headquarters to the gorillas and back takes up to 6-9 hours, although in some cases a gorilla family may be located a few meters from where your trek starts- it is all a matter of luck. Steep hills, mud, heavy vegetation, and altitude makes gorilla trekking an average physical activity where you will need to be relatively comfortable/fit as well as determined. When you finally get to where the gorilla family is relaxing, the tour guide will make some weird loud noises to make them aware of your presence, from that point, you have approximately one hour to sit or stand in awe and watch the family of gorillas perform their business. Surprisingly, gorillas are tolerant of humans, but you will still need to show them respect you would accord to any other wild animal and follow your ranger guide’s instructions.

With only just about 700 wild mountain gorillas left in the world, Uganda has an estimated 320, more than half of the world’s remaining mountain gorilla population. To see habituated gorillas living in their natural wild habitat, arrange a visit to Bwindi Impenetrable Gorilla Forest National Park and or Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, Uganda. Bwindi was the major destination for gorilla trekking through the latter part of the 20th century, primarily because of the conflict in Rwanda, as well as due to the specularity of the forest there. The forest has steep slopes and is extremely dense making trekking a challenging affair. The park offers 48 permits on a daily basis in several habituated gorilla families with each family allowing only 8visitors per day to prevent degradation of the habitat and risk to the gorillas. However, new gorilla families are still under study to as well be opened for tracking and gorilla tracking permit can be gotten from the Uganda Wildlife Authority or from the country’s mid to high end operators of safari tours.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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