Have you been passionate about wildlife filming and creating documentaries or you want to create a difference from usual visitors who just come and take pictures with animals? Rwanda has a special place in which you can turn your dreams into reality in the shortest time possible. Filming gorillas can help in promoting wildlife conservation across the globe.
Here is an opportunity for you to spend time with gorillas that appeared in the famous “gorillas in the mist” film. Come make your own film with the same gorillas. Currently, over eight hundred and eighty (880) mountain gorillas have been recorded to find their being in the jungles of only four national parks across the world namely; Mgahinga national park (Uganda), Bwindi impenetrable national park (Uganda), volcanoes national park (Rwanda) and Virunga national park (Democratic Republic of Congo).
Located in northern wing of Rwanda approximately one hundred and five kilometers from Kigali (a two to three hour drive distance from Kigali city), volcanoes national park covers an areas worth one hundred and sixty kilometers characterized by montane rainforests combined with bamboo forests. This makes gorilla filming easier in Rwanda compared to the impenetrable forests of Bwindi national park in Uganda.
Volcanoes national park shelters over three hundred mountain gorillas as of now divided into ten habituated gorilla families available for filming and trekking. You can book gorilla filming permits from Rwanda Development Board office (the body responsible for tourism activities in Rwanda).
Rwanda’s gorilla filming prices
A three consecutive day validity filming pass including professional photography and mountain gorilla filming goes for five thousand dollars (5000$) in the volcanoes national park. Another refundable fee worth two thousand dollar (2000$) security fee is paid before the climax of the trip. This money is refunded as you hand in film copies to Rwanda Development Board for purposes of accountability and confirmation that the activity was in line with wildlife conservation and gorilla tourism promotion in the Volcanoes national park.
Application fees for the filming permits, clearance of your filming equipment, transport and film ideal Safari Lodges within and around Kinigi Park Headquarters in Musanze district is all part of the filming fee. However, the cost is exclusive of actual gorilla permits.
Important to note is that gorilla permits are given at a per-head basis meaning that even if you came in groups, you will be required to secure permits individually and a maximum of eight people can track a single gorilla family at a time.
Guidelines of gorilla filming in Rwanda
In order to avoid being disappointments on the last minute, passionate individuals and companies are advised to book gorilla filming permits six months before.
In order to make the process of filming incorporate the cost of permits, transportation of the filming equipment and the amount of time spent while filming in the Jungles, all filming equipment must undergo clearance at the Kigali Airport customs and permission to be used should be granted.
Mountain gorilla filming essential attire and equipment
Tourists on a gorilla filming adventure must wear long sleeved shirts, long trousers, waterproof hiking boots, hats and sunglasses, gardening gloves, rain jacket and a backpack for drinking water and lunch box/snacks and a walking stick just as mountain gorilla trekkers.
Obtaining press cards in Rwanda
Credentials necessary for filming in the Volcanoes national park required from all international media houses and journalists can only be obtained from one institution that is Rwanda Academy of Language and Culture.
Press cards in Rwanda can be obtained at 30$ a fee charged from film crew members for at least 15 days and then 50$ for 30 days.
Contact us for more guidance on the paperwork process of getting the press cards in the shortest time possible.
The best time to visit Volcanoes NP for gorilla filming
Filming mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park is an all-round activity that takes place throughout the year; however most journalists and filming crews prefer the activity in the drier months of the year that is June, July, August and September then October to February. It is in these months that the area is dry and offers better photographic experience hence making mountain gorilla filming a beautiful adventurous moment.
