Travel Guide for Gorilla Trekking in Virunga National Park
Travel Guide for Gorilla Trekking in Virunga National Park
Travel Guide for Gorilla Trekking in Virunga National Park: Virunga national park is the oldest national park in Africa that is a home to the world’s largest lava lake on mount Nyiragongo. The park has more of attractions that can be seen when you take part in the different activities in virunga national park that will ensure you have a memorable experience for a rewarding experience during your Congo safari. There are different activities you can take part in while in virunga national park like; birding because the park is a home to a number of bird species, you can take part in chimpanzee trekking, chimpanzee habituation, golden monkey trekking, nature walks and mount Nyiragongo hike that will give you a rewarding experience in the park.
Among the memorable activities that you can take part in, gorilla trekking has attracted a number of tourists to visit the park because of a number of factors like the activity being cheaper than gorilla trekking in Uganda and gorilla trekking in Rwanda. Another reason why tourists take part in the activity are the added activities that you can take part in for a rewarding gorilla trekking experience like visiting the Senkwenkwe gorilla orphanage which will give you the chance to take care of orphaned gorillas for a day which will make the activity more rewarding for an amazing time in the park. If you’re interested in having a memorable and comfortable activity during your safari, this travel guide for gorilla trekking in virunga national park will ensure that you know all the necessary guidelines, rules and regulations to follow, where to access the gorilla trekking permit in virunga national park for a comfortable activity, where you can access the gorilla trekking permits for an amazing activity in the park.
Travel Guide for Gorilla Trekking in Virunga National Park
WHERE YOU CAN CARRY OUT GORILLA TREKKING IN THE PARK
Before you participate in gorilla trekking in virunga national park, you should first obtain a gorilla trekking permit from a trusted tour company or from the virunga national park website that will offer different packages that will allow you to participate in gorilla trekking and when you obtain the permit then you will be able to take part in activity.
Gorilla trekking in virunga national park starts at the Bukima ranger post where you will be met by your guide and ranger for the safari who will take you through the briefing session of the rules and regulations to follow during the activity in virunga national park. After your briefing session, you will embark on your journey to the habituated gorilla families in the park, which can be accessed by hiking Mount Mikeno. When you get to the families, you will be able to understand the gentle giants in the park by spending one hour with them understanding their behaviour. You will get to see how they co-exist with one another, and their grooming patterns among other interesting facts about the primate species.
GUIDELINES TO FOLLOW DURING GORILLA TREKKING
You should always follow the lead of the guide in the park during gorilla trekking because the park is a home to a number of wild animals that can pose a threat to your health in case of your encounters with them. Therefore you should follow the lead of the guide who will take you through the safest trails in the park that will ensure you are not attacked by any wild animals and in case of any attacks, the armed ranger will help to scare them off by firing in the air hence a safe activity.
When you get to the gorilla family it is advisable to limit noise and movements because the gentle giants are easily triggered by the movements and noise which they consider threats to their wellbeing and this can lead them to attack you which can be fatal. Therefore you should limit noise and movements if you’re interested in having a comfortable and safe activity follow the instructions of the guide of limiting noise and movements.
Littering in the park during gorilla trekking should be avoided because it can cause accidents like a number of animals, primates choking from the litter or it can also lead to the spread of diseases which can be a threat to the mountain gorillas’ sustainability since the primates are highly vulnerable animals.
You should avoid eating in the presence of the gentle giants because they would attack you to get a bite of the food you’re eating and in instances where the tourist has diseases that can easily be spread, they can end up spreading them to the gorillas that is why feeding in the presence of the gorillas is highly prohibited.
You should avoid making eye contact with the gorillas while in their presence because it poses as a challenge to them. It should be noted that during fight for leadership among gorillas, the challenger looks the silver back in the eye to challenge them for leadership which leads them to fight and winner becomes the leader therefore you should think twice before looking the dominant silver back or the gorillas in the eyes.