How long does Gorilla Trekking last?
How long does Gorilla Trekking last? This is a commonly asked question by several Travellers who are in for a gorilla trekking safari in any destination. Well, Gorilla trekking is such a fascinating expedition where the trekkers alongside the experienced tour guides and the armed rangers trail deep into the forest, valleys, mountains, and hike through various trails covered with thick blush cover in search of habituated gorilla families ready or trekking. However much the activity is usually termed as a full day adventure in the wild, nobody is sure of the exact time flame to spend in the wilderness trekking the gorillas since they are always on move from one location to another in search of food, mating, playing and many more thus the time spend in the wild trekking gorillas depends on some factors which include the location where the gorillas were located nesting the previous evening and the distance they have move, nature and conditions of the trekking trails, fitness of trekkers, and the distance moved by a certain gorilla family all determine the time to be spent in the jungle trekking the Gorillas.
Back to the question of how long does gorilla trekking last
Well depending on the factors mentioned above, trekking gorillas can take about 30 minutes to 8 hours or even to full day since the trekking pace must always be in favor of the slowest person in a particular trekking group as the same ranger and guides are shared will all the people.
In most cases, people with special needs such as the people with disabilities like the lame who have to be carried on a wheelchair during trekking, the adults, breastfeeding mothers and other people with special requests can be allocated the gorilla families that are a bit closer to their accommodations in order to allow them also enjoy the privileges of encountering the gorillas in their wild homes similar to the privileges that are enjoyed by strong and physically fit people who are in position to trek for longer distances. This is always done during the briefing and family allocation at the park headquarters before commencing the trek
All in all, once a particular habituated gorilla family is finally allocated, just one hour is given to the trekkers to closely view the gorillas while learning different characteristics of gorillas, which include physical description, feeding habits, movement, habitats, and many more and also enjoy taking photographs while close to the gorillas. Actually this one hour is done in a blink of an eye and off to the accommodation trekkers return with everlasting memories that stick to their minds
Some of the important things
There are a lot of things to note down and even put into consideration in preparation for gorilla trekking as elaborated below;
As usual, gorilla trekking requires proper preparation and timely booking of the permits which vary in prices depending on which country one intends to trek. For instance, a gorilla trekking permit in Uganda goes for $600, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a gorilla permit goes for $400 which even goes as low as $200 in low season and $1500 for Rwanda permits which is equivalent to a gorilla habituation permit in Uganda. So a permit should be booked at least three months in advance and at most six months in order to obtain the permit and avoid missing out since, in high season, permits tend to be on a higher demand
Also, trekkers are advised to book accommodation facilities that are close to the sectors intended to trek. For example, if the trek is intended into Uganda, trekkers have to keep in mind that Bwindi has four sectors and each sector has different accommodation facilities available for trekkers and the same applies to other parks
Since gorilla trekking is carried out in the jungle, trekkers are always blessed with several sightings along the way which include other primates such as monkeys, several mammals including elephants, antelopes, buffalos, lots of bird species that inhabit forested and mountainous areas and all other wildlife that makes a trek more fun than just encountering the gorillas. This implies that by the time trekkers meet the gorillas, they have already exploited a lot of things found in the wild.
The time spent trekking gorillas is unpredictable, it is always crucial to remember to pack the lunch box, enough drinking water, and some snacks before setting off to encounter the mighty gorillas in the wilderness of their natural habitat
Keeping in mind that gorilla trekking requires real trekking, hiking, climbing and sloping via several trails which are sometimes muddy especially rainy months, thick and slippery terrains, trekkers are always encouraged to move with light, and waterproof hiking boots, light and long sleeved clothes, sunglasses, cap, insect repellant, a raincoat and many more that should be included in the trekker’s backpack.
Remember to hire a porter at the headquarters to assist in offering a push, or a pull in case it is needed. These porters are normally known for helping in carrying excess luggage for the trekkers but most hikers have actually realized that they do more than just carrying luggage but also assist the trekkers to offer a push and a pull during hilly trails.
Conclusion: The time taken during gorilla trekking will never be determined by anyone since gorillas are always on move from one place to another and never settle in one place. In some cases, gorillas have even seen crossing borders and move from one country to another thus it is not always guaranteed to fix the exact time that will be spent in the wild. You can imagine spending ample time in the rain forests amidst primates and all the wildlife that dwell in there. Trekkers can even book different permits in different countries in order to experience the difference in trekking from different parts of the world. For instance, trekkers can trek gorillas in Uganda, then cross over to Rwanda and do another trek and even proceed to the Democratic Republic of Congo to wind up the trek in three different destinations.
