This gorilla safari starts and ends in Kigali Rwanda. The nearest gorilla trekking sectors of Bwindi coming from Rwanda are Rushaga in the southern sector and Ruhija in the Central. This gorilla trekking in Uganda & Rwanda safari is conducted exclusively for trekking the endangered Mountain Gorillas in both Rwanda and Uganda.
This involves learning about the interesting life of the former forest people (the Batwa), and visiting Genocide memorial sites to pay homage to the more than one million victims.
The joy attached of setting eyes on these giant peaceful mountain gorillas is hard to describe. However, in the same logic, that delightful one hour you will spend with the gorillas doesn’t come cheaply since a permit goes for US$700 in Uganda and US$1500 in Rwanda however it is uncommon to find a person who regretted the monetary expenditure.
The 8 people are allowed to visit a gorilla family each day. In Uganda, there are 10 habituated gorilla families in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, and therefore can host up to 80 people tacking the gorillas on a single day. Rwanda as well takes 80 people each day. All being equal, the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda has a trivial edge over the rest since its gorillas are the mainly entirely habituated, and are commonly seen in bamboo than in the thick forest that makes photography much easier.
The experience may differ because of the way the gorilla family actually behaves in the presence of the trackers, how far and long one has to trek before finding the gorillas and how the park staffs carry on this exercise.
Reach at the park with your gorilla permit; you will need at least two litres of water, a hat, boots, tough pants, a long-sleeved shirt, rain jacket, insect repellent, a back pack to carry most of these things, lots of batteries, and get a walking stick from the headquarter since trekking through the forest can be hard sometimes.
Upon arrival in Rwanda, you will start this safari by touring the city of Kigali during which you will visit the genocide memorial sites where more than one million people lost their lives during the genocide of the mid 1990s in Rwanda. You will later transfer to Volcanoes National Park in northern Rwanda and check in at the Hotel booked for you in Ruhengeri near the park for dinner and overnight stay.
Arrive at the Kinigi Park Headquarters at 08:00 am for a briefing by the park rangers about the conduct of gorilla trekking activity. You will set off following the set trails to the lush volcanic forest full of birds, abundant flora, and fauna including golden monkeys, elusive elephants and buffaloes and scenic sights of the volcanic peaks seen through the forest gaps.
The trek involves great hiking through the varying terrain which makes it an attraction in it. You will spend one hour with the gorillas after which you will have a picnic lunch and later drive through the Virunga Volcanoes into Uganda through Cyanika boarder.
Drive to the park Headquarters for a briefing about what to do and not do while on a gorilla trek. After the briefing, you will set for the trekking in very thick vegetation. Trekking gorillas in Bwindi- Uganda is quite challenging as it involves moving over the rugged terrain of steep slopes and valleys. The jungle is very lively with rich forest sounds. The trek ranges between 2 – 8 hours and you have one hour to stay with the gorillas once sited.
The guides will then take you through the bush, pushing your way through the undergrowth, parting thick creepers, to track the gorillas. (This trek can take from half an hour to 5 hours – a reasonable degree of fitness is required as well as a sturdy pair of walking shoes).
When you finally locate the family that you are tracking, sit in the forest among the gorillas, listening to them grumble to each other, and marvel at the sheer size of the dominant male; the silver back. It is an extraordinary feeling sitting in the dense rain forest in the knowledge you are in the presence of the few remaining mountain gorillas in the world.
In the afternoon, go for a community walk among the Batwa people who used to live in the Bwindi Forest before it was gazetted as a National Park. You will learn about their life and culture as a forest people and be amazed by the wealth of knowledge they have on native medicinal plants; hunting and gathering; trapping animals, and predicting the weather.
The Batwa experience begins with a nature-walk, hike through the forest seeing the forest in a new way, through the eyes of the original people of the Forest.
The Batwa cultural experience was put in place by the displaced Batwa pygmies to educate their children and to share their amazing heritage and traditions with the world. The Experience takes place outside of the park in an old-growth forest on land that is next to the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park.
The Batwa experience begins with a nature-walk, hike through the forest seeing the forest in a new way, through the eyes of the original people of the Forest.
The Batwa Experience will also show you how they lived in huts made of grass, trees, the use of tree-houses, caves. Experience the Batwa village life of old, the sharing, of living as a community, as a people, learn the things that they revered and cared for and almost lost.
Visit a traditional Batwa homestead and learn from the women how to prepare, cook and serve a meal. You will also have the opportunity to sample the prepared dishes. Talk to a medicine man and learn about the medicinal properties of the forest flora.
After all this experience, drive back to Rwanda through the Cyanika boarder enjoying the country side views as well as the thousand hills of Rwanda. you take an overnight in Kigali then back home.
