Rwanda offers guests some of the best primate tracking on the planet set against the backdrop of its endless green hills and soaring mountainsides. With over half of the world’s remaining mountain gorilla population, it’s no surprise that the majority of guests visit Rwanda to track and view our highly endangered cousins.
Mountain gorillas are something that should provoke a fight or flight response if encountered in the wild. In Rwanda, people treasure a visit with the endangered Silver back Mountain gorillas who are surprisingly playful and relaxed in human presence. The Silver back gorillas are located in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, which contains around 10 different gorilla families.
The country is also home to a third of the world’s remaining mountain gorillas, which attracts Rwanda’s largest tourism impact. A hike into the Volcanoes National Park begins with a brief orientation, and in groups of around eight, are guided up the volcano with the assistance of a tracker, guide, and porter.
Depending on where the group starts their hike, trekkers may encounter fields of pyrenum crops, which are used by East Africans as a natural insecticide. During the hike, your guide may describe the surrounding flora, and how certain species are used as medicines by the indigenous Batwa pygmy tribes.
Because the gorilla families constantly move around the forest searching for food, the hike could take between one and two hours depending on their current location in the forest. When the magical moment arrives of finally encountering the family, the primates will be grooming, playing, and eating as if they never noticed the arrival of curious human onlookers. It will be shocking to see how close we were able to get to them without having any barriers.
Playful baby gorillas will roll past visitors or wrestle with each other. One of the most interesting parts of watching the gorillas in their natural habitat is witnessing their human-like emotions and mannerisms. A female adult gorilla sits next to the lead silver back male and watch him, much like a human couple would interact.
Rwanda’s Virunga eco – luxury lodge located in close proximity to Volcanoes National Park will be your number one home of stay. It blends luxury accommodations, eco – tourism, and community service. “You can’t just build luxury, you have to connect with the community, however big or small”, he says.
Guests to the Virunga lodge sign up for a two-hour hike for a life-changing encounter with a gorilla family in the park. A percentage of proceeds from Volcanoes tourism dollars is allocated towards community outreach in the surrounding villages, which include beehive initiatives, agricultural support, and education.
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