How Gorilla Trekking is conducted in Congo

Gorilla trekking in Congo is conducted in Virunga National Park which is the only Park that offers both mountain gorillas and lowland gorillas which can be tracked in KahuziBiega National Park. Virunga National Park is located on the eastern side of the Democratic Republic of Congo and borders both Uganda and Rwanda.

The Park covers an area of 7800 km2 and is home to over 200 gorilla individuals mostly situated in the southern part of the Virunga National Park which is also a UNESCO Heritage site. Virunga National Park is the oldest wildlife protected area on the African soil created to protect and conserve the unique wildlife species therein, for science and research purposes, and to protect an indigenous threatened fruit-gathering community known as the Twa.

Congo Gorilla trekking

The Virunga wildlife conservancy is the joint where the West African rainforests meet with the East African savanna grasslands and run more than 300 km (190 mi) along the Albertine rift that splits the African continent from north to south. Virunga National Park is well known for its bird, mammal, and reptile concentration more than any other protected area in Africa.  Some of the notables include chimpanzees, mountain gorillas, giraffes, buffaloes, and many others. Virunga National Park has 8 gorilla families which habituated for gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park including Rugendo, Munyaga, Mapuwa, Lulengo, Kabirizi, Bageni, Nyakamwe, and Humba.

Gorilla trekking is conducted in Virunga National Park in Congo every day and 8 gorilla permits are sold every day at $ 400.00 per person per trek which is less expensive than in Rwanda and Uganda. A Day for Gorilla trekking beings in the early morning and you will be transferred to the Park Headquarters called Mukima and then the guide at the park will take you through a brief introduction before heading into the forest for the awaited trek. He will cover the geography, history, and some of the truths about the gorilla family you will be seeing.

The ranger guide shall also take you through the dos and don’ts during your Congo Gorilla trekking safari. After all, this is done, you will trek through thick forest with your guides to find the Gorillas, the length of the trek is entirely dependent on the gorillas — sometimes the guides can track them down in less than two hours, other times it takes much longer. Mountain gorillas are nomadic, traveling the jungle in families and staying in an area just long enough to clear it of food. They also don’t follow a clear path, and you’ll realize when tracking them that they like to meander.

During your trek, you are likely to spot other primates, such bird species include the Grey-throated Barbet, Madagascar Bee-eater, Narrow-tailed starling, Ruwenzori Turaco, African fish eagle, and many others are often sighted. Mammal species include red-tailed monkeys, De brazza’s monkey, blue monkey, golden monkey, Dent’s Mona monkey, Hamlyn’s monkey, Central African red colobus mantled guereza, grey-cheeked mangabey, black and white colobus monkey, waterbuck, bushbuck, blue duikers, bay duiker, yellow-backed duiker, red river hog, giant forest hog, topi and olive baboon, and rare tree species. After finding the gorillas, you will be allowed to spend one hour with them before trekking back to the Park headquarter. Thereafter you will be awarded a certificate for participating in gorilla trekking and thus contributing to the conservation of mountain gorillas.