Gorilla trekking in Congo
Gorilla trekking in Congo
Gorilla trekking is the most popular activity in Congo where visitors move into the forests in search of the habituated gorilla families and once found spend one hour with them in their natural habitat. Congo is one of the best gorilla trekking destinations in Africa in that it harbors two types of gorillas that is the endangered mountain gorillas and the endangered eastern lowland gorillas. Gorilla trekking in Congo is done in two national parks namely Virunga national park and Kahuzi Biega national park.
Gorilla trekking in Virunga national park
Virunga national park is located in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo and is the most visited national park in the country due to the mountain gorillas. The national park is a home of 8 habituated gorilla families namely Humba, Kabirizi, Mapuwa, Lulengo, Rugendo, Munyaga, Bageni and Nyakamwe families which are available for trekking on daily basis. Gorilla trekking in the park starts in the morning with a briefing at the park headquarters about the expectations during trekking, rules and regulations to be followed while trekking. after the briefing you will be grouped into 8 people to trek each habituated gorilla family and grouping of individuals in done according to age, physical fitness, personal preference among others so that individuals who are not physically fit get an opportunity of trekking the nearby mountain gorillas.
After the grouping you will start trekking in the jungle with a park guide who will be sharing various information about the mountain gorillas .Gorilla trekking in Virunga national park takes about 2 to 5 hours in the jungle or even more depending on the location of the mountain gorillas because they like to move from one place to another in search of food. Once the mountain gorillas are found, you will be able to spend one hour with them in their natural habitat learning about their lifestyle, history, habits, behaviors, taking photos and recording the moments which gives you breathtaking and lifetime experiences.
Gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega national park
Kahuzi Biega national park is located near Bukavu town in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo. The national park is the only destination harboring the Eastern lowland gorillas in Africa which are larger than the mountain gorillas. The national park is a home of 9 gorilla families and only 5 have been habituated for trekking daily and they include Chimanuka, Bonnani, Moungwe, Mugahuka and Nganwa families. Gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega national park starts in the morning with a briefing at the park headquarters where after you will be grouped into 8 people an allocated a gorilla family to trek. Grouping of individuals in the park is done depending on your personal preference, age, physical fitness among others therefore visitors who are not physically fit will be allocated a gorilla family that is easy to trek.
After you have been grouped, you will start trekking in the jungle with a park guide who will be guiding you to where the gorillas are and also sharing information about the Eastern lowland gorillas. gorilla trekking in Kahuzi Biega national park takes about 2 to 4 hours and once the gorillas have been found you will be allowed to spend one hour with the gorillas in their natural habitat and during this hour you will have an opportunity of recording the moments, take plenty of photos, learn about their lifestyles, habits, behaviors as the interact with each other, feed, play, among others and then return back to the starting point or park entrance to meet up with your guide.
Cost of a gorilla trekking permit in Congo
A gorilla trekking permit is a legal document or card that is issued to any visitor above the age of fifteen allowing him or her to visit a habituated gorilla family in either Virunga national park or Kahuzi Biega national park.
A gorilla trekking permit in Congo costs $400 for foreign non-residents and $150 for Congo citizens. The gorilla trekking permit in Congo is cheaper compared to other gorilla destinations like Uganda where a gorilla trekking permit costs $600 for foreign non-residents, $500 for foreign residents and in Rwanda where it cost $1500 for all nationalities.
How to book a gorilla trekking permit in Congo
A gorilla trekking permit in Congo can either be booked directly via the Virunga foundation in Virunga national park by contacting the offices via email or telephone calls or by booking through a trusted tour company like Achieve Global Safaris. When booking via a tour company, you will contact us with the date, months, year and destination where you want to trek gorillas from. We will then check for availability of the permits in the national parks and when there are available permits you will be asked to make a deposit for the permit. Once the deposit has been made you will be asked to send a scanned copy of your passport and we will acquire the permit for you.
After acquiring the gorilla trekking permit you will not be sent a scanned copy as confirmation the way it’s done in Uganda and Rwanda therefore we will reserve your permit based on mutual trust. booking a gorilla trekking permit via a tour operator is the best option in that we will not only book for u a gorilla trekking permit but we will also organize for your entire safari which involves transportation, meals, accommodation among others and by doing this we will save you all the hustle.
When to book for a gorilla trekking permit in Congo
A gorilla trekking permit in Congo should be booked 3 to 5 months in advance before the trekking date because they are competitive in Virunga national park and usually get sold out especially during the peak season in the months of June to September and December to February.
However gorilla trekking permits in Kahuzi Biega national park can even be acquired at the last minute for last minute travellers because due to political instabilities in the country the park is not always crowded with gorilla trekking travellers.
Best time to go for gorilla trekking in Congo
Gorilla trekking in Virunga national park and Kahuzi Biega national park can be done anytime throughout the year though the best period is during the dry season in the months of June, July, August, September, December, January and February. During the dry season there is less rainfalls in the national parks therefore access roads to the parks will be passable, there will be short shrubs in the jungle which enables you to clearly view the gorillas and take clear pictures and the gorilla trekking trails will be passable compared to the wet/rainy season when the gorilla trekking trails will be wet, muddy and slippery.
What to carry on your gorilla trekking safari in Congo
There are different items you should carry when going for gorilla trekking in either Virunga national park or Kahuzi Biega national park including hiking shoes to keep your feet dry, gorilla trekking permit which allows you to visit a habituated gorilla group, long sleeved shirt and trousers to keep your body warm, insect repellent to protect you from biting insects in the forest such as tsetse flies, warm sweater, rain jacket/poncho to protect you from rainfall, garden gloves to protect your fingers from getting germs, energy snacks such as drinking water and packed food from the lodge, backpack to carry your items, camera to record the moments and take great photos, walking stick to give you support while trekking in muddy and slippery grounds among others.
