Eastern Lowland Gorilla Trekking

Eastern Lowland Gorilla Trekking is another form of gorilla trekking only that this one is done in lowlands and on a different type of gorillas. Kahuzi Biega is a tropical rain forest dominated by two outstanding extinct volcanoes: Kahuzi and Biega. Kahuzi beiga happens to be the home of one of the last groups of Eastern Lowland Gorillas which consist of 250 individuals.

Democratic public of Congo is the only country in the world with the only remaining lowland gorillas and these can be found in only 2 of their national parks that is Kahuzi Biega National Park and Maiko National Park.

Kahuzi Biega is a national park that is located in Bukavu town that is in the eastern side of Congo close to the Rwanda border and South of Lake Kivu whereas Maiko National Park is a remote area of Congo, Nord Kivu.

Congo is blessed with big and unique tourist attractions and receives many visitors despite the insecurities in the country. The lowland gorillas are one of the unique attractions it has to offer.

Eastern Lowland Gorilla Trekking:

A permit for East Lowland Gorilla trekking goes for 400 USD as compared to the 600 USD of the Uganda mountain gorilla trekking and the 1500 USD of the Rwanda gorilla trek.

Eastern Lowland Gorilla trekking can be done throughout the year though it is advisable to visit for the trek in the drier months that is May to August then November to Jan as that way the ground is a bit drier and movement isn’t as hard as it would be on rained on-mushy grounds.

Please remember this is a forested area so rain is expected anytime of the year so ensure to dress up appropriately for your trek. The appropriate dress for Eastern Lowland Gorilla trekking is hiking boots, raincoat, light cotton clothing is recommended. T-Shirts, short and long cotton trousers (or jeans), long sleeved shirts or sweaters (it can be cold in the morning & evening).

Eastern Lowland Gorilla trekking is cheaper than visiting the mountain gorillas which makes it a great option for travelers who are looking for a lifetime experience but a pocket friendly one.

Those visiting Kahuzi Biega only in Congo are advised to cross from Kigali through the Ruzizi border as it is closer to the park than the Gisenyi side.

Kahuzi Biega is more famous than Maiko National Park as it is considered a better destination for the ideal lowland gorilla trek as there are more gorilla families to visit in this sector.

One would need a minimum of 3 days to do this Eastern Lowland Gorilla Trekking as that is the standard package offered to visitors by the park.

These Eastern lowland gorillas are the largest of the gorillas. On encounter with the gorillas on the trek, visitors are allowed 1 hour to enjoy the mighty creatures. The continuous loss of the logging in the forest and poaching of these animals is reducing the population of this already critically endangered species. Book your lowland gorilla trek already with us and live your dream.

Other animals of Kahuzi Biega National Park Congo.

However much the main attractions of Kahuzi Biega National Park are the Eastern lowland gorillas, this park has many more wild animals living within its vicinity that can attract and excite visitors for example the African Forest Elephant, Baboons and Monkeys, Buffaloes and golden monkeys can also be found in this park as well as Antelopes. There are a number of predators in this park. This can be your one stop destination when visiting Congo.

The African Forest Elephant, commonly known as Loxodonta cyclotis is a forest dwelling animal and is not a rare encounter in the Congo Basin. African forest elephants are estimated to have a population of a third of the elephant population with a decline in their population due to the poaching threats for their ivory and bush meat but have not had much study carried out on them because of their habitat being thick and dense forests.

How to differ the savannah elephant with the forest elephant is the latter has a lower body weight (smaller) and smaller and rounded ears. These majorly feed on fruit, leaves, twigs, roots branches basically are herbivores. Interestingly, these forest elephants of Kahuzi Biega take up both the low altitude and highland areas of the park. They stay in small groups of about 10 individuals and this would be a magical encounter if met while on your gorilla trek. They are also nocturnal animals.

The several predators/ carnivores in Kahuzi Biega are the leopard (the most outstanding one), you may also encounter one other cat known as the golden cat in this forest! Fascinating isn’t it? These golden cats are majorly nocturnal so your chance of seeing them at night is higher compared to day time.

The type of buffaloes found here are the forest buffaloes aka the Dwarf Buffalo. These are different from the savannah buffaloes in terms of their color as these forest buffaloes have a red to tobacco color texture making them easy to tell apart.

The antelopes found here in Kahuzi Biega National Park include the bongo, duiker and others that are distributed all over the park but are mainly hunted for game meat though it is hard to find them due to the denseness of the forests.

The monkey species in this park are quite many for example the Black and white colobus monkeys, Mangabey and blue monkeys to mention but a few. These are herbivores and stay in the moderate or lowland areas of the park.

One can get to learn more about Kahuzi Biega when