The country of thousand hills couldn’t miss on hosting mountain gorillas it has all that the gorillas need to have a good life like the lush forests and the five volcanic ranges that are just adjacent to Volcanoes national park. Trekking mountain gorillas is the same experience in all countries that have these baffling apes but some visitors rate Rwanda Gorilla Trekking as the most memorable in Africa.
The glorious volcanoes national park has 5 amazing volcanoes and a thick lush green environment that creates a pristine environment for mountain gorillas. The park has 12 habituated gorilla families and they are only spotted from this National park while in Rwanda.
Volcanoes national park Rwanda - the home of mountain gorillas
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda was introduced to collect funds for the well being of the gorillas after the census of Dian Fossey made in the 1980s showed that there were around 250 mountian gorillas surviving in the world. The five mountains in the park like Karisimbi, Bisoke, Sabyinyo offer an amazing home for the gorillas considering the fact that they love moving over raised areas. Foraging in this park is not quite hard for the gorillas while in the park because the forests receive rainfall and have enough vegetation cover that the jungle gems can feed and sleep on.
The first trekking activity in Rwanda was undertaken in October 1979 and only 6 tourists were permitted to glance at each gorilla family for an hour. Gorilla trekking in Rwanda was distracted during the Rwandan genocide however it was restored in 1999 and since then it had registered successful progress being the highly undertaken tourist activity with some tourists making it as the best destination for mountain gorilla trekking.
Gorilla trekking rules and regulations
The rules and regulations of trekking these gorillas are the same for all the countries and they include the following:
Tourists are encouraged to wash their hands with soap and water before setting off to protect the health of the gorillas from being compromised.
Gorilla trekking is strictly allowed for people who are 15 years of age and above. This is because kids normally have fears hence they can alarm the gorillas. It is also known that children have a lot of childhood diseases that can be transferred to the apes.
Trekking is done in groups and each gorilla family is trekked by one group that involves 8 tourists per the day.
While tourists are on the hunt of the hidden treasure of apes, they should walk silently without making alarms or any noise because gorillas are very sensitive creatures.
If there is anything that can distract the gorillas and prompt them to charge is a flash light from a camera. It is highly recommended that tourists don’t use flash light cameras while in the park.
