How Much Does gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park Cost?
How Much Does gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park Cost? The Virunga National Park is located in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the borders with Rwanda and Uganda. The park is part of the Virunga massif, which also contains Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park and Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park.
The Virunga massif is well-known for its diverse biodiversity and as one of Africa’s oldest wildlife protection zones. The Virunga National Park was founded in 1925 by the European conservation movement, making it Africa’s oldest national park. The Virunga National Park is home to a variety of animals, primates, birds, and plants, some of which are peculiar to the Albertine Rift.
Mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, colobus monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, golden monkeys, Debrazza’s monkeys, and blue monkeys are among the most popular primates in Virunga National Park. To name a few, the park is home to forest elephants, blue duikers, okapi, buffaloes, topi, common warthogs, forest pigs, and Ugandan kobs. Two active volcanoes color the sky of Virunga National Park, contributing to the park’s aesthetic and natural richness. They are the Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira volcanoes. On the slopes of these volcanic mountains, fertile soils support the growth of forests and other forms of flora. The Virunga National Park is currently a UNESCO World Heritage site due to its outstanding biodiversity and breathtaking environment.
Despite being a UNESCO World Heritage site with incredible biodiversity, the Virunga National Park has not attained its full tourism potential due to political instability and insecurity in some sections of the country. The Virunga National Park has not been spared the effects of rebel action as it has attempted to destabilize the country’s many regimes over the years. Communities living around the park are also encroaching on park resources.
Poaching is still an issue in the park. Despite the presence of poachers and militias in the surrounding areas, Virunga Park is one of Africa’s finest maintained parks. The park has an international management staff and receives a lot of financing to compensate for the fact that there are fewer people visiting the park right now. They have established an outstanding Ranger program in which hundreds of people have been recruited to preserve the park. The park has established the incredible Senkwekwe Centre to rehabilitate orphaned gorillas. Poaching and militias have been held at bay in the park thanks to intensive training and deployment of Park Rangers. As the country grows more secure, we predict a bright future for Congo and the Virunga National Park.
How much does gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park?
Gorilla trekking is a daily activity in Congo’s Virunga National Park; a Congo gorilla permit costs USD400 per person per trek during the high season months of Mid-December to Mid-March, then June to October, and USD200 during the low season months of Mid-March to Mid-May, then mid-October to Mid-December.
About Gorilla Trekking in Virunga National Park.
Mountain gorillas are the most appealing of the magnificent species found in Virunga National Park. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is fortunate to have both Mountain and Eastern lowland gorillas. Mountain gorillas prefer greater altitudes than Eastern lowland gorillas, which prefer lower terrain. They are predominantly found on Mount Nyiragongo and Mount Nyamuragira. Mountain gorillas may also be found in Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park, as well as Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable Forests in Uganda. Mountain gorillas are severely endangered animals that are included on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list. Only approximately 1000 individuals survive in the world.
Mountain gorillas are the second biggest gorilla subspecies. Because they dwell at a greater elevation, they have more fur on their bodies. They, like all gorilla subspecies, eat only vegetation, particularly tree branches, shoots, vines, and leaves. Mountain gorillas are not aggressive. They wander from one location to another in search of food and refuge. Mountain gorillas, despite their frightening appearance and weight of up to 160 kilograms, are generally gentle primates. They are also incredibly sociable primates, living in groups of 6 to 30 individuals.
Because mountain gorillas are critically endangered, the three gorilla countries of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda took the lead in protecting the animals. Apart from seizing ownership of the parks, it was discovered that encouraging gorilla tourism will expose the gorillas to the broader world, generating financing, and make the people who live around the parks aware of the primate’s value to the park. Every year, millions of tourists visit Virunga National Park to experience gorilla trekking, which is one of the most popular activities on a Congo gorilla trekking safari in Virunga National Park. It contributes to the funds needed to maintain the park, support gorilla conservation efforts, and provide community outreach programs.
How many people can trek mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park?
Only a maximum of 8 people are allowed to trek a gorilla group in Virunga National Park daily. There are a total of eight gorilla families that are available for gorilla trekking in Virunga national park.
How long does gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park take?
The activity lasts 2 to 6 hours, however, guests are only permitted one hour with the monkeys. During the one-hour visit, travelers may see the gorillas feeding, playing, breastfeeding, grooming, and communicating with one another. The gorilla communication style is fascinating, but tourists should avoid imitating them to avoid drawing unwanted attention. Everyone has an hour to snap nice photos of themselves among the primates to show their friends back home.
What are the chances of seeing Mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park?
If you don’t quit after about an hour, your odds of spotting gorillas at Virunga National Park are 100%. The park rangers are well-trained and can follow the gorillas to their most recent position, regardless of whether they move or not. The park rangers use footprints and feces to determine where the animals are eating.
When is the best time for gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park?
The dry season is thought to be the best time to follow gorillas. This is the time of year when the routes through the woodlands are simpler to follow and there is less muck.
The trails become slippery and harder to navigate during the wet season. Because there are fewer trackers during the rainy season, you may have a more intimate trip. The decision to go out tracking is totally up to you. The greatest months to go gorilla trekking in Congo are January and February, as well as June and September. The months of June, July, August, September, January, and February are ideal for gorilla trekking.
How to get to Virunga National Park?
Visitors To reach Virunga National Park, most visitors fly into Kigali International Airport and then take a 3-hour journey to the border crossing at Gisenyi, Rwanda/Goma, DRC. Take note of your visitors’ travel plans and prepare appropriately, as foreign planes sometimes arrive in the late afternoon or evening.
Alternatively, travelers can fly into Goma International Airport. Ethiopian carriers, as well as other indigenous DRC carriers, fly into Goma. Because flights are sometimes delayed, it is best to arrange accommodation in Goma on the day of your arrival.
