Quick Look
The rare and elusive Mountain gorillas live in small family groups in the high-altitude cloud forests of equatorial central Africa. They live in only two areas. One is the VirungaĀ Volcanoes which straddle Uganda, RwandaĀ and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The other is the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Ā in Uganda. We offer gorilla trekking safaris to both the Virunga and Bwindi rainforests.
Their numbers declined dramatically in the last few decades of the 20th century. This was mainly due to the erosion of their habitat. However, since they have been protected, their numbers have increased by over 40% since 1989. So now there are over 1,000 mountain gorillas roaming wild.
Gorilla Trekking Safaris & Conservation
Gorilla trekking tours, with small numbers of people, play a vital role in this form of wildlife conservation. It allows for a carefully managed and minimally-intrusive encounter between you and a few gorilla families. Ever since the mountain gorilla research of Dian Fossy, the pioneering primatologist, people want to emulate her close encounters with these most charismatic apes. These gorilla family are somewhat habituated to humans, but the encounter is still very carefully regulated.
So the gorilla tracking permit prices are deliberately very high ($1500 in Rwanda and $800 in Uganda). As this vital revenue is what enables environmentalists to preserve the remaining unique montane and bamboo forest. The forest would be destroyed, if not for the gorilla trekking fees and the tourism dollars which go to the local communities. They would be forced to plough up or burn the forests to create more land for subsistence farming.
Why it's worth the price?
Despite the high fees, people snap up the gorilla tracking permits many months ahead. For the committed world adventurer, devoted photographer or wildlife lover, there is nothing to beat the thrill of an encounter with a male 'silverback' gorilla. An hour passes in a flash but you won't forget your time with them. Perhaps it is the fact that mountain gorillas are notoriously hard to capture on camera? Or the challenging trek to get to them? It all combined to reinforce what an incredible privilege it is!
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