Gorilla Trekking During the Wet Season

The adorable and endangered mountain gorillas inhabit the Tropical and sub-tropical rainforests of mountainous areas, ranging from 2500 to 4000 meters above sea level. This means heavy rains are received all year round, downpours can be expected even during the traditional dry season. These Great Apes’ habitats are dense forests, areas of high altitude and moist places. For this reason if someone tells you he/she has trekked the mountain gorillas before, you will understand the challenges they must have undergone-crossing streams, passing through valleys, hiking mountainous slopes and falling from time to time.

The Gorilla natural habitats have wet, yet mild climate and daytime temperatures range between 23 and 25˚C while the nighttime temperature drops to about 10˚C. The annual rainfall oscillates between 1400 and 2000 millimeters, peak months being between March and May as well as October to November. Even when avoided, the wet season has a number of advantages as will be provided in this post.

Advantages of gorilla trekking during the wet season

The Gorilla Parks (Mgahinga, Volcanoes, Volcanoes and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks) receive fewer tourists during the wet season, to the point that some gorilla groups even receive numbers below the recommended 8 visitors each day. For this reason, there is privacy and the incredible feeling of having the jungle to yourself. The numbers experienced during wet seasons are not as huge as the ones in the dry season, but still gorilla permits have to be booked in advance to avoid last-minute disappointments.

Another good side of gorilla trekking during the wet season is that visitors take a shorter time to find the mountain gorillas, owing to the abundance of food on the lower mountain slopes. They will range closer to the forest boundaries and not go to higher elevations as it is within the dry season. Additionally, given the lower temperatures during wet seasons, these Giant Apes will prefer lower altitude areas thus another reason it will be easier and faster to reach them.

Discounts on accommodation facilities are also offered during the wet seasons because the Safari Lodges, Hotels and Camps have to attract travellers as a way of breaking even at the time when visitor numbers have greatly reduced. Therefore if you are travelling on budget, this is your best time for trekking the mountain gorillas in Uganda or Rwanda.

Surprisingly, the best photography views and experiences are achieved during the wet season because the rains create lusher vegetation in addition to clearing the dust from the air thus if you are interested in capturing the best shots, this is the most perfect time. Also, for travellers interested in adding birding in their gorilla trekking safari, this is the best time because there are higher chances of spotting migrating birds in addition to being the breeding season.

Challenges of Gorilla Trekking during the wet season

Now that it is clear that Mountain gorillas live in areas of higher altitudes that receive rains ranging from 1400 to 2000 millimeters annually, gorilla trekking in the wet season is no joke because it involves walking through muddy and slippery trails. Some of the undeniable challenges of this season include;

There are more challenging and strenuous gorilla treks, given the muddy and slippery nature of forest floor as well as hiking trails. Because of these conditions, a walking stick, sturdy hiking boots, waterproof backpack, a hat, poncho, warm sweater because it gets so cold, long-sleeved shirt as well as comfortable and breathtaking safari pants.

Relatedly, accessing the Park is difficult during the wet season because murram Park roads become messy, muddy and slippery. Therefore, the best way of getting there is by a four-wheel-drive vehicle.