Gorilla trekking is a very popular wildlife activity that can only be done in Africa. Mountain gorilla trekking is even more popular and is only possible in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. As more and more people get to know about the activity, the number of travelers heading to the three countries increases each year - so much so that gorilla permits may be extremely difficult to get during certain months of the year.
The age limit for gorilla trekking is set by the different government authorities responsible for managing the national parks. In Uganda, it is the Uganda Wildlife Authority while in Rwanda it is the Rwanda Development Board. The age limit for gorilla trekking is 15 years in all three countries, but there can be exceptions in Uganda.
Why is There an Age Limit?
The age limit for gorilla trekking is set at 15 because younger travelers are considered to be children who may not be able to deal with any negative reactions from gorillas. Gorillas are very calm and gentile creatures, but they can become aggressive when they feel threatened or misinterpret the actions of trackers.
There are several reasons for this restriction:
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- Behavioral Concerns: Children may not stay calm or lay low when a mighty silverback approaches them or appears aggressive. Screaming or running away could force the gorilla to run after the youngster. The only way to contain an aggressive or charging gorilla is to act submissive and lay low.
- Maturity and Compliance: Mature travelers are less likely to get carried away. They are more likely to follow the gorilla trekking rules and instructions of the park rangers than younger trekkers.
- Mental Readiness: Youngsters may not be mentally ready for the activity. By the time an adult decides to go for gorilla trekking, they know what they are getting into. Children tend to go for safaris only to accompany their parents and may not be as excited about the trip as their parents.
- Physical Fitness: Very young children may not be fit enough to complete gorilla trekking. They could slow down the tracking party or request to get back to camp because they feel tired or bored.
- Health Risks: Very young children tend to get easily infected with communicable diseases like cough and flu (running noses). Mountain gorillas are very prone to human diseases.
Exceptions in Uganda
After reading the information in the previous chapters, you might be disappointed that you cannot go tracking gorillas with your son or daughter whom you believe is mature enough but not yet 15. Do not despair because an exception can be made for a 14-year-old child who is making 15 in the year of trekking. This exception is only possible in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. The child must be physically fit and mature enough.
Bwindi Impenetrable forest is less steep compared to Mgahinga and the Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. In order to qualify for this exception, parents may be required to provide pictures of the child to the Uganda Wildlife Authority with information about their physical fitness and maturity. The child must be about to make 15 years (14 years).
A child below 15 years of age may also be allowed to do gorilla trekking if they are accompanied by parents. The Uganda Wildlife Authority will require that the parent signs a consent/indemnity form to protect the organization from responsibility in case of any mishap during gorilla trekking. The Park Warden will ensure that the child is an allocated a gorilla group which is closest to the starting point.
Tips for Parents
As a parent, you can make everything smooth for the child by hiring extra porters to carry them in Sedan chair whenever they get tired. Porters and Sedan chairs are also recommended for elderly trackers.
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You can still travel with children who are too young (13 years and below) to take part in gorilla trekking. There are lots of interesting activities that they can take part in while you go out to search for the gorillas. Hotel staff can stay with them in the hotel and keep them engaged with games and children’s movies. They can also be taken for nature walks, cultural visit or touring nearly local schools.
Note: Anyone above 15 years can track mountain gorillas. There is no maximum age limit for gorilla trekking.
Note: The Wildlife Authorities in the three countries will require that you send a copy of your passport before issuing out the gorilla permit. Even if you manage to get a gorilla permit without the passport, you will still be required to show it at the briefing point for gorilla trekking.
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Alternative Activities for Younger Children
While children under 15 years of age are not allowed on the trek itself, they can still visit the parks and participate in other activities available for families.
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- Nature Walks: Children can go on guided nature walks that are conducted by the Rwanda Development Board.
- Golden Monkey Tracking: Children of 12 to 14 years are also allowed to do golden monkey tracking, another highlight of the Volcanoes National Park.
- Cultural Tours and Visits: Families can also engage in cultural experiences in the local communities around the parks.
- Community Tours: Children can also go for community tours within the neighborhood of the Volcanoes National Park.
How to Get a Gorilla Trekking Permit in Uganda
Within Uganda, Gorilla trekking is conducted in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park or in Mgahinga National Park. But because of the inconsistency of gorillas in Mgahinga, majority of the sold permits are for Bwindi NP. In Uganda, every gorilla permit goes for US $ 800.
On a single day, nearly 72 people travel into Bwindi to see gorillas and only 8 people are allowed to see a gorilla family. We strongly encourage you to book your gorilla permit with a safari agent, the most prominent mistake is to book a gorilla family which is far away from your choice of accommodation! The routes to Bwindi and its various regions are often tricky; this is a remote area. If you would like to do the gorilla trek on your own so as to save costs, you might end up incurring more.
These tour operators normally add an extra fee of US$60 to US$100 for each permit. Please remember to instruct your bank to deduct the bank charges for the transaction from your account. they don’t ask for any extra money for the gorilla permit if you are reserving the rest of your tour through them. Any additional costs will be for services like telephony and transport that will be incurred when acquiring the permit.
You will send a copy of your passport availing the details which will be used to register for your permit. Normally they need just your full names, nationality and the passport number. Your names will be registered and then we acquire the gorilla permit. On receiving the payment they will buy the gorilla permit but then having this permit doesn’t 100% guarantee you seeing the gorillas although chances of seeing them are about 98%.
Important to note is that tour operators in Uganda through their joint organization of AUTO normally buy as much as 80% of the permits for a time of up to two years to the intended date of trekking the gorillas. Each of the member agencies can buy as many as 20 permits in a single month. However individuals as well as those not under the AUTO umbrella can buy at most two gorilla permits every month three months before the intended month of the gorilla trekking when the reservations open on the very-first working days from Monday to Friday of that month. Permits that aren’t sold on opening of the booking days are resold the next day without any limit put on the number of permits sold by a single operator or even individual person.
What to Wear for Gorilla Trekking
Choosing the right clothing is essential for a comfortable and safe gorilla trekking experience:
- Good quality walking boots if trying any hikes or even climbs
- Warm layers of cloth for the cold evenings
- Clothing for wet weather (it becomes cold and wet at high altitude)
- A light weight jacket
- Gloves
- Long sleeved shirts
- Trousers
- Knee high hiking gaiters
You need to find the best hiking boots for gorilla trekking. More on Safari clothing wear on an African safari as well as the best camera and binoculars to use on an African safari.
Mountain Gorilla Facts
Usually The Males are two times the size of the females, they may grow to 6 ft tall and even weigh 350 -500 pounds. These are strong, with long arms and muscular. The males are referred to as the silverback because as they mature the hair on their back turns somewhat silver, hence the name Silverbacks. The strength of the males is ten times stronger compared to the strongest boxer, even taking steroids. The arms of silverbacks can stretch to 7 feet.
Mountain Gorillas classified as Gorilla beringei beringei, possess longer plus darker hair compared to their lowland counterparts because they stay in colder climates and higher altitudes. Their life span is between 40 and 50 years. The mountain gorillas mainly stay on the ground although they will climb a tree occasionally given that it can support them, however just like children, their young play in the trees. A fascinating fact is that Gorillas plus Humans are share 98% of their genetic composition.
The majority of Gorillas which you may have seen in a zoo are the lowlands gorillas of western Africa, and the mountain gorillas are actually a subspecies known as Gorilla beringei beringei. These can only be found in the wilderness of the Virunga highlands of Rwanda within Volcano Park. Visit Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park as well as Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda, and the Virunga National Park found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bwindi plus Mgahinga each possess varying characteristics as well as similarities. The Bwindi isn’t an extinct volcanic region while the Mgahinga is.
Mgahinga Gorilla Park sits on higher altitudes and the Mountain Gorilla move up and feed on some of the afro-montane vegetation. Typically the endangered Mountain Gorillas eat large quantities of flowers, leaves, fruit, roots, bamboo and shoots in season. The Adults can consume up to 75 pounds each day.
The day of a Mountain Gorilla starts at 6 am up to 6pm with a snooze around lunch time. Uganda receives Light just past 6 am and darkness falls around 7pm. These move every day to different locations where they make nests using twigs plus leaves and spend their night. Some people have found these reasonably comfortable, just enough to actually slumber in.
Are Mountain Gorillas Dangerous Species?
Visitors into Bwindi Impenetrable Forest frequently inquire if mountain gorillas are dangerous? Although dominant and very strong, these are gentle as well as shy, and in addition the mountain gorillas which visitors see within Uganda have been habituated. In other words they are habituated to people, which process that takes close to 2 years. Dian Fossey actually was against the idea of visiting mountain gorillas which is done today, however it’s the money collected that survival of this endangered species, and seen their number increase over the recent years.
While mountain gorillas are threatened they do attack so as to protect their very own. When different Mountain Gorilla groups meet, there is a fight between the leader Silver backs to death. Recently 2 Silver backs fought within Democratic Republic of Congo and the rangers had to intervene.
Mountain gorillas exist in groups which differ in size from 2 - 30 or 40, however commonly in groups of 10. There is no specific mating season while babies are born through the year. The Males begin breeding at around 15 years while the females start giving birth between 10 and 12 years. Females can give birth after every 2 to 3 years giving birth to 4 - 6 offspring through their lifetime. Males leave their group at about 11 years of age, while a little over half of the females will leave their group. Mountain gorillas communicate through sounds like roars, grunts and shouts, and 25 sounds currently have been documented by researchers.
Other Primate Safaris In Africa
Besides the mountain gorillas, you can track the Chimpanzee in Kibale Forest National Park or the golden monkey in Chimpanzee trekking, golden monkey trekking in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and a number of other monkey species in Uganda. After your gorilla safari, you can visit the tree climbing lions of Ishasha, Murchison Falls National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park and PianUpe Reserve for the very best of wildlife safaris in Uganda.
Kibale Forest National Park Chimpanzee Tracking
Within Kibale Forest, you will find 13 primate species. The trekking runs from 8am to 2pm, the common trail is the Kanyanchu. Chimpanzee habituation experience is also done here. The tracking of the chimps require a permit which costs $150. A 3 day safari itinerary to Kibale is ideal. We recommend staying at Primates Lodge Kibale.
Queen Elizabeth National Park Wildlife Safari & Chimpanzee Trek
Visit Kyambura Gorge to see the chimpanzees. 16 permits are issued everyday. There trekking here is more challenging that in Kibale. The excursion takes about 3 hours depending on the location of the chimpanzees and your physical fitness. The cost is $50 per person per trek. Minimum age is 12yrs. Other primates here include the baboons, colobus monkey, vervet monekys and red-tailed monkey. Queen Elizabeth National Park has other wildlife including the tree climbing lions, hippos, buffaloes, leopards, elephants, antelopes, bird species and more. Spend a night at Mweya Safari lodge, Katara lodge and Jacana Safari Lodge.
Volcanoes National Park Gorilla Safari
Tracking the gorillas of Rwanda is done in the Virunga mountains park called Volcanoes National Park. A gorilla permit costs $ 1500. Rwanda has 17 gorilla families. The Susa group being the best option for our gorilla tours in Rwanda. The best time to visit Rwanda is during the months of late June, July and August. Volcanoes National Park is one of the 8 Virunga Mountains. There are primates found in Karisimbi, Bisoke, Sabyinyo, Muhabura and Mgahinga.
Golden Monkey Tracking in Africa
Besides the gorillas, tracking of the golden monkeys is the third best primate trekking activity just after the chimpanzee. Golden monkeys are found in Mgahinga Gorilla National Park Uganda and Volcanoes National Park Rwanda, all in the Virunga mountains.
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