Common Mistakes to Avoid During Gorilla Trekking Tours
Have you ever been anxious about meeting someone for the first time and end up making mistakes or having the worst experiences while doing so? Well, it is understandable and because we don’t want you to face pitfalls during your gorilla trekking tours, we shall point out some of the common mistakes and how to avoid them.
Whether your planned gorilla trekking tour is based within Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park or Uganda’s Mgahinga and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks, you wouldn’t want anything to ruin your first encounter with the Giant Apes in their natural habitats. Finally meeting face to face with the mountain gorillas in the wild after reading or hearing stories from other people is one of the unmatched wildlife experiences and everything has to be done to make the best out of your encounter.
Therefore, the following are the common mistakes that you should avoid during gorilla trekking tours;
Turning up on a wrong day
One of the common mistakes to avoid during gorilla trekking tours is turning up for the gorilla trek on a wrong day. An important fact that you should note is that gorilla permits have your name and dates indicated, thus making them non-transferrable. Before anything else, a total of 8 gorilla permits are allocated for each habituated gorilla family and therefore, you arriving on a wrong day means going beyond the recommended number. For this reason, we always advise our clients to book gorilla trekking tours at least 3-6 months in advance, to allow enough time for making preparations. Having secured your permit, go ahead to mark your calendar and make sure to arrive the Gorilla Park a day before the actual trekking day. Note that there will be no refunds for the permit fees.
Not securing your gorilla permits in advance
Mountain gorilla trekking tours are only conducted in three African counties-Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda with the World population of these Giant Apes standing at 1063 individuals. For their endangered status, permits are limited to only 8 visitors for each habituated gorilla family.
Consequently, only 168 gorilla permits are available for Uganda, 96 gorilla permits are available for Rwanda and about 64 permits are available for the Democratic Republic of Congo, thus making them scarse compared to the number of people interested in enjoying the adventures. Therefore, bookings have to be made 3-6 months in advance because you will be disappointed for showing up at the last minute expecting to get a permit.
Forgetting your passport on the trekking day
Passports are required during registration at the Park Headquarters before treks begin and forgetting them is anther common mistake to avoid during gorilla trekking tours. Park Rangers normally crosscheck gorilla permits to ensure that you are the rightful holder/owner hence a passport is important. Do you know that you can be turned away from accessing the Park for not having your passport? For this reason, don’t ruin your long awaited dream by packing passport alongside the gorilla permit.
Not having hiking boots
The rugged terrains, dense vegetation and hilly/or mountainous slopes in Gorilla natural habitats, worsened by downpours require sturdy hiking boots. Surprisingly, some travelers underestimate the difficulty of hiking through the thick vegetation of East-Central Africa, making them to don sneakers or even sandals or open shoes. The Park Rangers that are familiar with these jungles usually put on gumboots and will emphasize having sturdy hiking boots to enjoy your gorilla trekking experience. Additionally, it is recommended to pack comfortable hiking boots that you have worn before to avoid cases of blisters from new shoes. Remember that gorilla trekking is undertaken within jungles and finding the mountain gorillas is not an easy walk through the park. Therefore, you need to be prepared to hike places of up to 2500 to 4000 meters above sea level and take between 1-6 hours or more.
Packing the wrong attire/clothing
Items like shorts, sleeveless tops or short-sleeved shirts and jeans might be your favorites but are not recommended for gorilla trekking. This is mainly attributed to the fact that the activity is undertaken in the jungle where rains are unpredictable, altitudes are high and vegetation is really dense. Therefore, the right attire for memorable gorilla trekking experiences include long-sleeved shirt/tops, lightweight and breathable safari pants of khaki, green or brown color, long cotton socks, waterproof rain jacket, sunglasses, wide brim hat and gardening gloves among others. Additionally, don’t forget a waterproof backpack for storing your drinking water, snacks, the rain jacket, camera, insect repellant, binoculars and other items needed during the trek.
