The actual day of your gorilla trekking requires the clients to report at the Volcanoes national park headquarters as early as 7:30 am with your gorilla permit, equipped with your backpack containing water and packed lunch . You will be split into groups of 8 people for 10 different gorilla groups. On the day of the actual gorilla trek you are split into groups of 8 people, you will also have a full briefing on what to expect and how to conduct during the trek, along with some health and safety guidelines. During the gorilla hike, some terrain can be strenuous, so I suggest that you take advantage and engage a porter to carry your bags during the excursion – you will be glad you did; they know the land extremely well and will be very helpful for you during the trek, for a relatively low fee. The park wardens who are the guides assigned to every group of 8 people; are very knowledgeable and informative about the gorilla adventure.
These guides dispatched in to the forest earlier in the day so as to know exactly where each gorilla family can be found within the forest– and are in constant contact with the guides to let them know exactly where the gorillas are. Please be aware that the treks, depending on where the gorilla family is, can last from 1 to 5 hours, so make sure to have a packed snack with drinking water, also make sure to dress appropriately; long sleeves and long trousers are advised to fend off the many tiny forest inhabitants like insects, thorns
Once your group meets the mountain gorillas, you only get to spend an hour with them, with ample opportunity to take lots of photos and video clips. This experience is truly phenomenal and a must for anyone with an interest in wildlife. A top tip for your gorilla tour is; if a gorilla decides to charge don’t scream or run away, make full eye contact, stay still and show no fear until it calms down.
Other must do excursions in the Volcanoes national park are a trip to the local village price: $25 approximately, which will involve meeting the local faith healer, a tour of some of the village houses and a look at the production process for banana gin, get to meet extremely friendly people and more than happy to help.
