Gorilla trekking is participated in any time of the year in Rwanda and Uganda and this because they are relatively wetter seasons in mountain gorilla inhabited national parks. However most tourists prefer the months from June to September then December, January and February.
In the country of Rwanda, many tourists avoid the month of February through March because this is when the first rains come and it much muddy and very wet in trekking gorillas. However, during these months, there is plenty of gorilla food down the slopes and it is much colder on the upper slopes. The endangered mountain gorillas keep on the lower slopes where they find it warmer and do get food very easily thus when you track these gorillas in these months the trekking time will not be long and in most cases, trekkers find the gorillas after 2 hours hiking.
In the country of Uganda, the main rains come during the March, April and May and these rains make it little bit harder to trek in the steep terrains though the rains come for about 1-2 hours in every 2-3 days and after these days the sun comes out. The seasonality to gorilla trackers can be attributed to the weather, seasons in the visitor’s home country plus the nature of their jobs foristance when it is summer time in the Europe, the number of gorilla trekkers will increase and will decrease during the winter season. However, there are other gorilla trekkers who take advantage of seasonal discounts on mountain gorilla tracking permits most especially during the low season.
Of the two countries- Uganda and Rwanda, Uganda is known to be the best gorilla tracking destination with a total of approximately 900 mountain gorillas which are left in the whole world and it is said that this represents over half of world’s remaining gorillas. The country has persistently increased on the high range of gorilla trekkers and is expected to hike up if the Ugandan government greatly invest in marketing these very rare to find attractions.
In Bwindi impenetrable National park where the activity is carried out, it is strategically situated in the southwestern part of the country and is the best place to go for the thrilling activity. It is estimated to host over 300 mountain gorillas and this number is big enough to offer exciting the tracking experience. To make the experience more exciting, the park hosts 11 habituated families of gorillas and they are all available for trekking coupled with the different types of trees within the park, it gives tourists a true picture of the real African beauty. Also not to forget are other primates which the tourists are mostly encounter as they make their way through the rain forest searching for the most vulnerable species.
The other park is Mgahinga National park also found in South Western Uganda though the number of habituated gorilla families is few compared to Bwindi Impenetrable National park. The park also gives good ambiance for relaxation as a tourist enjoys while looking for the primates in their natural habitats. This park is unique from other parks in the country because this is where you will interact with the gorillas in their natural habitats and for many tourists in Uganda the activity of gorilla trekking is the anchor activity and does not only carry some expense, but also takes planning and preparation to make the most of the outings
Why gorilla trekking is good for conservation?
To many tourists in Uganda, the most unforgettable part of the safari is encountering the endangered mountain gorillas of Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga National park in their natural habitat. This encounter and interactions involves touching them, walking with them. Most of the safaris goers have got a great chance to participate in the thrilling wildlife related activity with their own discretion and this means that the tourist can very selective and boycott questionable operations and the activities which may endanger these gorillas.
There are programs where animals are kept and bred in captivity have been under scurrility and it worth questioning whether the tourism activities with the free- roaming the world animals are very ethnically sound. There are abundant of the non- profit and business that offer these wild activities the market in their adventures as being beneficial to the species which are involved and for wildlife conservation as a whole, animals encounters are unfortunately not always good for the animals or for conservation.
Investigating the impact of gorilla trekking on the conservation is very crucial because the endangered mountain gorillas are so much critically endangered and the world fund has reported that there are about 880 individual mountain gorillas which have been left in the whole world. This therefore calls for attention which is to be put in mind that the African gorillas have very few natural predators apart from human beings who are the leading driving force for the extinction of the endangered gorillas thus the population of wild gorillas has to be considered
When gorilla trekking is going to be carried out , permits which are relatively expensive are required to trek these gorillas in the national parks of Bwindi and Mgahinga which need to be arranged in advance limited number of trekking permits are issued aimed at restricting the number of tourists groups and the size of the groups, that visit the gorillas.
Before gorilla trekking, the park authorities brief the visitors on the regulations before they can set off with a much trained ranger with the assistants, who help the tourists who trek gorillas to maintain good trekking relations.
During the real activity of gorilla trekking, when a gorilla approaches a tourist, the instructions have been put across and this means that gorillas and people do get closer to each other than the safe distance required. A maximum of 8 people are allowed to go to trek gorillas at a time, with up to three groups tracking every day and if you sneeze or cough while with the gorillas, you are requested to cover your mouth and turn away from the gorillas and where wearing masks improves safety this is responsible precaution to protect the primates
The Uganda wild life authority has employed many veterinary officers in the conservation areas who keep the endangered mountain gorillas, healthy and gorillas have been successfully treated by gorilla doctors by UWA which is a non-profit organization which provides a life saving medical care in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo. However in the pearl of Africa, conservation through public Health has worked hard to improve health care in local communities and to educate gorilla trekkers and other people about disease transmission, livestock issues, and human health and mountain gorillas. The gorilla trekking industry is largely having positive impacts on the communities around and in the national parks where gorilla trekking is being carried out and there is also a local community/people benefit where gorilla tourism and are enlightened more about these primates in their relationship with these great apes and human –wildlife conflicts in most cases is reduced when the people involved in learning about this understand gorillas better.
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