Gorilla trekking in Rwanda takes you to Volcanoes National Park located in northwest of Rwanda in Musanze. It is adjacent to Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Parks. The gorilla trekking tours are the park’s main activity which every tourist yarns for. Out of the three countries that host these apes, it has the highest gorilla permit price of US$ 1,500 and if you choose to trek for these primates here, you’ll surely get an experience worth the cost.

Once you arrive in Kigali, you will be transferred to your lodge the day before trekking, rest as you prepare for the following day. On the day of trekking, wake up and have an early morning breakfast. Set out of the lodge and you will be transferred to the starting point. There you will meet the rest of the people that you will trek with, meet the ranger guide of Volcanoes national park.

He will give you all the guidelines before penetrating into the forest to search for the apes. He will guide you through the trails on the hilly volcanoes until you come across the family mountain gorilla family group being trekked. You are advised to wear long sleeved shirts or t-shirts and long trousers because you will go through trails covered with tall plants. The duration of the activity depends the movement of the gorillas.

It can last for 30minutes, an hour or more. Once the gorillas are spotted, you are given a maximum of one hour to interact with them, take photos and observe their behaviours. You are not allowed to use flash cameras. You will find the primates playing, feeding on the plants and jumping on the branches of trees, you are advised to maintain a minimum distance of 7m from them. Other common sightings will be the beautiful birds of the forest. If you are lucky, you may as well spot some of the other residents of the forest such as the golden monkey, buffaloes, hyenas and bush bucks.

Note that only those above 15 years of age go for mountain gorilla trekking. About 80 gorilla permits are issued for trekking daily to the 10 groups of mountain gorillas. This calls for advance booking since the permits are competitive and can get finished and you end up missing the trek.

There are 10 amazing gorilla families that have been habituated for trekking by tourists. Each of these families is visited by a group of a maximum of 8 people. You’ll enjoy the trek differently depending on which family to be visited. The mountain gorilla groups are; Susa (Susa A), Amahoro, Karisimbi, Sabyinyo, Umuban0, Ugenda, Kwitonda, Hirwa, Bwengye and Group 13. It is from these ten groups that you will get chance to trek for depending on your level of fitness.

The moment you choose to visit volcanoes national park, you will make a choice for the lodge to stay while on your safari. You have a variety of options of lodges for your comfortable stay. There are luxury, mid-range and budget lodges to cater for all capabilities of different tourist. The lodges include Wilderness Sabyinyo Lodge, Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, Bisate Lodge, Singita Kwitonda and Kataza House, Virunga Lodge, Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel among others.

while in Volcanoes national park, there are much more activities to do apart from gorilla trekking. These are; golden monkey tracking, mountaineering, Visiting Dian Fossey’s tomb, birding, and visiting the twin lakes, IbyI'wacu village tour among others. All the other activities in the park will give you everlasting memories which you can not afford to miss.

Trekking gorillas in their natural habitat means hiking through thick jungle; thus, you should wear long trousers and a long-sleeved shirt. Bring shoes or boots that can handle mud, as well as a waterproof jacket.

You should also pack water and a snack with you, since you might be hiking for several hours. Your guide can lend you a walking stick for the hike if needed, and if you would like to, you can hire a porter to carry your small belongings to keep your hands free from the starting point. The porter fee is always not more than $15 which will only help them facilitate their needs.

Come along with a camera that works in low lighting; flash is not allowed when around the gorillas. Consider bringing a cover for your camera, as it may rain at any time of the day or of the year. It is this camera that will give you and keep for you the good memories you have got from the gorillas.

Conservation of gorillas in Rwanda is mainly run by the Dian Fossey Foundation and The International Gorilla Conservation Project among others. This foundation has been the back bone for the survival of gorillas in volcanoes national park. Since then, many lodges have carried it on by charging a conservation fee to all tourists making use of their lodge and its a real prosper to the industry.

The presence of the giant attractive primates has led to a number of events one of the famous one being that for naming gorillas. the event is known as “Kwita Izina” meaning giving a name in Kinyarwanda. It is an annual event and if you are interested in attending it, you inform us to give you the right timing for it. Such functions strengthen the gorilla survival in the country calling for more tourists.