When it comes to gorilla safaris, gorilla habituation and gorilla trekking are two activities that have left most people confused- the fact that they can’t differentiate them. Gorilla habituation and gorilla trekking are all different activities though they all offer tourists opportunity to meet mountain gorillas in the wild. When comparing the 2 activities, different factors are looked at including time, cost of gorilla permits, number of visitors per gorilla family etc.
What is gorilla habituation?
Gorilla habituation is entirely a process where wild gorillas are trained or made familiar to the presence of humans such that they do not cause harm. The process takes from 2 years less or more and includes team of researchers, trackers, scientists, conservationists, environmentalist who spend most of the time observing the daily behaviors of gorillas. In the course of habituating gorilla families, some gorillas take short time while others take long to familiarize themselves to human presence.
History of gorilla habituation.
Gorilla habituation was introduced in 2014 and it is only done in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Bwindi is located in Southwestern Uganda and it is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
What is gorilla trekking?
Gorilla trekking is all about hiking through African rain-forests to see a habituated gorilla family in the wild. It takes 2-6 hours to complete this experience depending on visitor speed of walking and weather among other factors. Before setting off to look for gorillas, briefing is done for visitors to understand gorilla trekking rules. Visitors are given absolute one hour to observe gorillas, understanding how they behave and taking pictures.
How many tourists are allowed for gorilla habituation and gorilla trekking?
During gorilla habituation only 4 (four) visitors are accepted per gorilla group and gorilla trekking takes 8 tourists per gorilla group family. Allocation of gorilla families is always done by park authorities- the park official and this is during briefing time.
Gorilla groups assigned
Gorilla habituation is conducted only in the wild gorillas or semi-habituated gorilla groups and tourists on gorilla trekking are allocated to already habituated gorilla groups. To be part of habituation, you will visit Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and specifically, Rushaga or Nkuringo sectors. Gorilla trekking is done at any of the 4 National Park- Volcanoes National Park Rwanda, Virunga NP, Bwindi and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park.
Cost of gorilla habituation and gorilla trekking permits
Gorilla habituation permits costs USD1500 for FNR- Foreign Non-Residents, USD1000 FR- Foreign Residents and East Africa citizens on gorilla habituation safari pay UGX750,000 per person. Gorilla trekking permits- Uganda cost US Dollars 700 for Foreign Non-Residents, US Dollars 600 (FR- Foreign Residents), UGX 250,000 East Africa citizens. All gorilla permits- whether for habituation or gorilla trekking are issued to persons above 15 years.
Time
During gorilla trekking, time to spend face to face with mountain gorillas is limited to only one hour. Visitors on gorilla habituation have 4 hours to spend observing various behaviors of gorillas and taking pictures etc.
Who goes for gorilla habituation and gorilla trekking?
Gorilla habituation is open to scientists, environmentalists, conservationists, trackers and takes full day or half day of following gorillas in their natural habitat. Gorilla trekking takes 2-6 hours and visitors/tourists search already habituated gorilla families with park guide on lead.
When to go for gorilla habituation & gorilla trekking?
Gorilla habituation and gorilla trekking are all year round adventures. But, the dry season is the best time to enjoy the best of these two primate experiences. There are 2 dry seasons to undertake gorilla habituation or gorilla trekking- December to February and June to September.
What to pack for gorilla habituation & gorilla trekking?
Consider packing appropriately whether it is gorilla habituation or normal gorilla trekking in Uganda or Rwanda. The items to include on your packing list are long sleeved shirts, gardening gloves, backpack/daypack, trousers, bottled water, sweater, good hiking boots, rain jacket, snacks, insect repellents, sun glasses, camera free of flashlight.
