Combining gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda
Combining gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Rwanda: This is one of the best encounters one can make with the endangered primates. This safari involves visiting two of Rwanda’s most famous parks that is Volcanoes National Park and Nyungwe national Park. Exploring these national parks is one way of protecting the habitat of these amazing wild creatures.
Most of the safaris to the gorilla and chimpanzee habitats always start from Kigali International Airport. Guests are always welcomed and greeted by driver guide from their trusted tour operators who also briefs them about the safari.
If the visitors arrive in the morning hours, they can proceed to their trekking destinations or have a brief Kigali city tour in which they can visit some of the beautiful places in the bustling Kigali city. Some of these places include the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, Caplaki Craft Village, Nyamirambo Women’s Center, Amahoro Stadium, Kimironko Market, and Kigali Convention Center to mention but a few. if arrival is in the evening hours, the visitors can decide to stay in any of the many hospitable accommodations in Kigali and proceed to the tracking park the following morning.
Gorilla trekking
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda is carried out in Volcanoes National Park which is located in the northwestern part of the country in Ruhengeri district. This park comprises five of the eight volcanos that make up the Virunga ranges. The volcanos include Mount Karisimbi(4507m), Mount Sabinyo (3669m), Mount Muhabura (4127m), Mount Bisoke(3711m) and Mount Gahinga (3473m). This park borders Uganda and DRC Congo which all make up the Virunga Conservation area. This park has coverage of 160sq km with rich montane ecosystems that embrace the ever-green bamboo forest, open grassland, and a home for mountain gorillas, golden monkeys, and other wild creatures.
Gorilla trekking starts with an early morning briefing at 7 am at Kinigi Park headquarters. Trekkers are later placed in groups of 8 members who later set off with the guidance of trained game guides and armed rangers to meet the great apes in their natural habitat. Allocations are made according to the level of physical fitness and health. The elderly and disabled have a chance to request shorter treks and are allocated to visit gorilla families close to the starting point. This is because gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park involves a lot of hiking through different altitudes and rugged terrain. When briefing and allocation are done, each trekker is provided with a walking stick, and the actual trekking starts at 8 am.
Volcanoes National Park has only 12 habituated gorilla families meaning that only 96 permits are available daily for tracking. visitors are advised to book early enough at least 3 months before their travel dates and each gorilla permit costs $1500 and is only issued to persons of 15 years and above.
Rules to be followed in the gorilla trekking excursion
-The time to be spent with the mountain gorillas is one hour. Once you have an encounter, use your time profitably. Do not use flash cameras for photography as this threatens them away.
– Keep your voices low as you trek and keep watching out for other wildlife in the park.
– Avoid coming so close to the gorillas, maintain a 7-metre distance They are so inquisitive and may want to come close to you. As they try approaching you, slowly move back at least five meters.
Avoid using body language like raising the arms or pointing at them as they may consider them as threats, and they run away or attack you for self-defence.
If any gorilla charges or when the silverback beats his chest, do not run away, keep calm and leave the rangers to handle the situation.
-Avoid smoking, eating, and drinking in the presence of the gorillas as they may attack you with the need to grab your food. The remaining pieces of the cigars can cause fire outbreaks that can destroy their habitat.
-Do not leave any waste in the park. pick up all the food droppings, wipes, tissue, and used water bottles and dump them in the garbage bins at the park head quarters or at your hotel.
After the amazing trekking excursion, trekkers are awarded with trekking certificate as appreciation of their contribution to gorilla protection and habitat conservation.
Gorilla trekking safaris are always combined with a visit to the gorilla guardian’s village to meet the community members who were gorilla poachers but later turned into conservationists and promoters of Rwandan culture and tradition.
From Volcanoes National Park tourists travel to Nyungwe National Park for the Chimpanzee trekking experience.
Nyungwe National Park is East Africa’s intact chimpanzee home. It is an ideal place for making early morning observations of chimpanzees another group of endangered primate species in the wilderness. This park is a high-altitude mountainous forest found in the southern part of Rwanda. It is the largest protected mountain park in Africa with a coverage of approximately 1600 – 2000 square kilometers harbouring several wildlife creatures with chimpanzees as the best attraction for different tourists.
Nyungwe National Park has approximately 500 chimpanzee individuals but only two troops are habituated. One troop resides in Nyungwe main park and the second in Cyamudongo, a small part of the forest in the eastern part of Nyungwe National Park.
Chimpanzee tracking in Nyungwe
Chimpanzee tracking starts at one of the three park centres, Gisakura, Kitabi and Uwinka. This activity also begins with an early morning briefing about the rules and regulations to be followed during the trek. Guests are advised to be at the park headquarters by 7 am. For registration and briefing.
Trekkers are also grouped into 8 members only and led by park guides and rangers into the park jungles. Trekking takes 2-6 hours depending on where the chimps spent the previous night where they are sighted or how far they have gone to look for food.
Once the chimpanzees are found, visitors are allowed to have one hour of interaction as they observe their feeding habits how they relate with each other, and how they react to human presence. Have flashless photography and return to the park headquarters.
Note: the rules and regulations to be followed during Chimpanzee trekking are the same as those in gorilla trekking.
What is the cost of a chimpanzee tracking permit?
Chimpanzee trekking permits cost $250 per person per trek. This price is inclusive of the park entrance charges.
Chimpanzee trekking can also be combined with other activities offered by Nyungwe National Park which include canopy walks, visiting the Gisakura tea estate, guided nature walks to the surrounding communities hiking to Isumo waterfalls, bird watching, and many others.
What is the best time for a combined gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari?
Rwanda is a country that can be visited at any time all year round for gorilla and chimpanzee trekking experience. The dry months of June, July August, and September and December to February are considered best because the tracking trails are dry and passable. However, it is not a guarantee that trails are completely dry because the parks are composed of thick tropical forests where rain pours are expected at any time of the day. Visitors are advised to carry waterproof jackets and the best hiking equipment.
Benefits of combining a gorilla and chimpanzee safari
As you drive from Kigali to either Volcanoes National Park or Nyungwe National Park, enjoy the attractive rolling hills of Rwanda and the natural beauty of the volcanic mountains and the dense tropical rain forests with dense canopy and thick underground vegetation.
Participating in Chimpanzee ang gorilla trekking is one way of contributing to the conservation efforts and supporting tourism as part of the payment is used to develop the community that advocates for preservation of the primate habitats.
Through cultural immersions, you get to interact with members of the local community and get to learn more of Rwanda’s history, culture, and tradition.
Payments made to the accommodations is a way of contributing to the uplift of the natives’ standards of living.
For those interested in the combined gorilla and chimpanzee trekking experience below is the suggested itinerary for your next safari.
- Day 1:Arrival in Kigali and transfer to Volcanoes National Park
- Day 2:Gorilla trekking and Ib’yiwachu Cultural Visit
- Day 3:Transfer to Nyungwe National Park, it’s about 5-6 hours drive
- Day 4:Chimpanzee trekking and visiting Gisakura Tea estate.
- Day 5: Drive to Kigali for your flight.
As you are planning for this combined gorilla and chimpanzee trekking safari, you are advised to make early bookings of your trekking permits to avoid last-minute disappointments as permits always run out of stock especially during the peak season from November to February and June to August.
