Many wonder about what happens on the actual day of tracking the mountain gorillas in Rwanda. The D-day for gorilla tracking starts at the Volcanoes National Park’s Kinigi Head Quarters where the warden matches visitor groups with gorilla families. Most times there is a compliment of a performance from local singers and dancers, complete with drumming and hair flicking which helps build the excitement.
The visitors are divided into small groups of six and a tour guide is allocated to each group. The guide gives a short briefing about what to expect for the day. Normally the groups could go upto a total average of 13. Head for a short, bumpy ride to the base of the Virunga Mountains in a small village. Before continuing you will get about two porters for each group, and they will give each one a walking stick, and set off, up through the terraced farmland.
It takes about an hour to get to the stonewall, which the Park built to protect the villagers and their crops from buffalo. From this point the jungle is incredibly dense and there is a great deal of mud to contend with especially in the rainy season, but the lush green palms, vines and moss-covered trees are all part of the attraction. The gorilla tour through the jungle now starts and you may trek for about 2.5 hours without seeing any gorillas.
It is always a strange moment when you first lay your eyes on a Mountain Gorilla. It is quite surreal, and you feel a bit like you’ve walked in on someone unannounced. It gets so amazing to watch, but normally too much for gorilla, as he can sometimes get up and start charging towards you. In this instant, make sure you stay in the same spot, crouch down, and try to make yourselves as small and non-threatening as possible. The gorilla will cool down and return to his posy and sit while looking at you belligerently.
Sometimes you will be greeted with him pounding his chest and making his hollow-knocking noise with his mouth. At times he sits down and begins munching away on grass and shoots. As he moves around from patch to patch, you get to see the distinct silvery-white coloring on his back, and the true form of the muscles across his chest and buttocks. As he eats you get to see the power in his jaw as he made mince-meat of the tough thistles. He also has tight-leathered sausage fingers which help him pick and maneuver the stalks. This is the part where you need to get your cameras ready and take as many photos as possible but always make sure not to use your flash when photographing the gorillas, don’t try to make noises like a gorilla (or any other animal for that matter), and take turns getting your perfect shot.
The adventure is so amazing that you don’t want to leave but within no time you realize your hour is over, it is then time to walk back to the village, say goodbye to the porters, and receive your ‘graduation certificates’. The end is always a very sad moment and you will obviously feel sad to say goodbye, but on the other hand you should be very grateful because visiting mountain gorillas is a privilege, not an entitlement.
Sustainable Gorilla Tourism
A Sustainable Tourism Activity is one that does not create a negative impact on the people, wildlife inhabitants or the environment. Mountain Gorilla Tracking is one such Sustainable Tourism activity.
Tracking the mountain gorillas is the most unusual and memorable wildlife adventure in Africa, possibly the world. Rwanda is the habitat of a third of the world’s Mountain Gorillas; great apes that are found in four national parks, Bwindi National Park and Mgahinga National Park of Uganda, Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda and Virunga National Park of DR Congo.
In order to track the Mountain Gorillas, you must first pre-apply for a permit from the Rwanda Development Board. This permit costs US$1500 per person. There are only 8 people maximum per day that are permitted to track a particular mountain gorilla family. After you have received approval of the permit(s), you can then book your itinerary.
The day that you are booked to go gorilla trekking, you must report to the Ranger’s post for a short briefing, after which you will start your tracking, together with a Ranger guide. As the mountain gorillas move about the forest, it is not known exactly where you particular Gorilla family will be on the day that you are tracking them; this means that it could take anywhere from 2 to 8 hours to encounter the Gorillas. You are permitted to spend one hour with the Gorillas.
The ORTPN have been empowered to enforce the regulations pertaining to protection and security of the Mountain Gorillas; each person that wants to track the Silverbacks is given a briefing of park etiquette and the dos and don’ts. This monitoring of the visitors to the Gorilla habitat helps to maintain a harmonious and stress-free life for the Gorillas; this attention to non-disturbance of the Gorillas and their environment ensures that this activity is sustainability. There is no negative impact on the gorillas or their habitat.
These Mountain Gorillas and their habitat are being conserved by the ORTPN and a large portion of the permit fee to track the Gorillas goes to the maintenance and upkeep of both the Mountain Gorillas and their habitat. Historically, these Mountain Gorillas have been endangered because of poaching as well as habitat loss; the park rangers are the monitors of uninvited people to the forests and maintain a 24 hour vigilance. Poachers are dealt with to the full extent of the law and the cost of this security comes partially from the Tracking Fees as well.
In addition, 20% of the Tracking Fees goes to the local communities that surround the park; 80% to the maintenance of the infrastructure in and around the park.