Gorilla trekking is a unique and enthralling experience that stays with you long after you have left the rainforest. It involves following a troop of gorillas through the rainforest with a trained guide and quietly observing their actions in their natural habitat. The safaris are done on foot and various other primates and animals can be spotted. Rwanda and Uganda are popular destinations for this safari.
Gorilla trekking is done on foot, in Uganda and Rwanda, as well as in a few other places in central Africa, and participants should therefore be reasonably fit to walk for some distance through the rainforests. In general, in Uganda, the gorillas are often only found further into the forest, and move in groups of between ten and twenty gorillas. Their group will usually have at least one silverback (an alpha male). Gorilla trekking in Uganda is fairly challenging due to the longer distance that needs to be covered in order to find the gorillas, but it is wonderful to see so much of the forest if you can manage it. In Rwanda, families of gorillas are quite often nearer to park’s entrance and shorter walks are often required in order to see them. They are usually in groups of between nine and thirty-nine gorillas. Of course, no one can guarantee where the families will be at the time of your visit.
A highly sociable animal that thrives in a stable group of his/her peers. Each group usually has one male, also known as a Silverback, and groups may have between ten and thirty members. A female gorilla carries her baby for almost nine months and carefully looks after her new-born for several years before she will have another. The babies ride on their mothers’ backs for two to three years from the age of four months. When they are a few years old they learn to play, chase each other and swing from the trees, and in general, become part of the family.
Many think that the only stars of the thick forests in West Africa are the mountain gorillas, but often the chimpanzees steal the show! Perhaps this is because they are the closest living relative to the human being, or perhaps it’s just because they are so fascinating to watch. Whatever the reason we highly recommend considering a chimpanzee trekking experience in one of the national parks of Uganda or Rwanda.
