This is one of the frequently asked questions as you are planning a gorilla trekking safari. The answer is yes, gorilla trekking is safe in Uganda.
Gorilla trekking is a primate activity that takes you to encounter large and powerful primates. These primates live in the large forested areas of southwestern Uganda.
Uganda is ranked a home to half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas. Gorilla trekking is one of the safe activities since the Uganda Wildlife Authority has come up with different measures in order to ensure safety during the tracking.
Uganda Wildlife Authority in ensuring the safety during the tracking of the gorillas, has trained several expert guides that lead you during the trekking of the gorillas.
To track gorillas in Uganda, you are supposed to engage in a safari that takes you to Bwindi’s impenetrable Mgahinga Gorilla National Park which is nested in southwestern Uganda. These two parks are populated with several gorilla families.
Tracked gorillas are first habituated for them to get used to the human presence. Gorilla Habituation takes about 2 years in the jungle.
What are the gorilla trekking measures that you should consider to ensure your safety during the activity?
As you are planning a successful gorilla trekking safari to Uganda, safety is one of the key things to consider. There are several things you need to know before engaging in the activity and they include;
Gorilla permit terms and conditions.
As you are planning a gorilla trekking in Uganda, you are supposed to have acquired a gorilla trekking permit. A gorilla permit is a legal document that is issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
Uganda Wildlife Authority only sells these permits to only licensed tour operators. You are also supposed to book in time to ensure availability during the safari.
A gorilla permit is limited to a period of 12 hours on the day of tracking the gorillas and it is entitled to one person. The authorities issue limited permits each day due to the conservation efforts put in place for the gorillas.
In Uganda, there are about 168 gorilla permits available each day that are available to book. The cost of each gorilla permit is 800 USD for the foreign nonresidents, 700 USD for the foreign residents, 500 USD for the rest of the African residents, and 300000UGX for the East African residents.
Physical fitness.
This is one of the key points that you need to ensure as you plan a gorilla trekking in Uganda. This activity is so demanding compared to any other activity since it involves long walks and hikes that take you to dense forests and steep trials which are quite challenging.
Physical fitness is one of the things to consider to ensure safety during the gorilla trekking safaris in Uganda. To ensure that you a fit for gorilla trekking, you are supposed to do regularly the physical exercises before the time of trekking.
Briefing sessions.
Briefing sessions are usually done on the day of gorilla trekking and are headed by expert ranger guides. These sessions are usually carried out at the starting point of trekking which is usually a visitor’s centre or park headquarters.
In this briefing session, you have highlighted the potential guidelines you need to follow to ensure safety during the gorilla trekking. Some of the potential guidelines are the dos and don’ts of gorilla trekking.
While you are at the briefing session, you have a chance to ask several questions about the activity which guides you to ensure safety.
Guided gorilla experience.
Gorilla trekking is a guided experience and self-guided gorilla experience is not allowed during the safari. Uganda Wildlife Authority trains its ranger guides to the level that you are offered the best gorilla trekking experience.
Some of the training sessions that the ranger guides that they are offered include client relations, gorilla conservation guidelines, and many others.
Gorilla trekking groups.
Gorilla trekking is usually done in groups where each group visits one gorilla family and each group is comprised of 8 people. This helps to ensure that the gorilla family is not stressed.
Each group is headed by a ranger guide who offers you guidelines that you are supposed to follow to ensure safety during the safaris. Upon meeting the gorilla family during trekking, you are supposed to see them at a distance of 8 meters and you are not allowed to surround them.
Equipment to ensure successful gorilla trekking.
As you plan a gorilla trekking safari, there are several equipment that you need to pack for the activity and these equipment help to ensure that the activity is safe. Some of the equipment that you need to pack for gorilla trekking include hiking boots, hiking sticks, rain jackets, dull-colored clothing, water bottles to keep hydrated, and many others.
Best time to do gorilla trekking in Uganda.
Gorilla trekking in Uganda is done throughout the year. The best time to engage in gorilla trekking is in the dry season June to September and December to February when the trekking trails are dry and clear which ensures the tracking of the gorillas.
What are the ideal safaris you can engage in for gorilla trekking in Uganda?
There are several ideal safaris that you need to consider for gorilla trekking and some of these include;
- 3 Day Uganda gorilla safaris
- 6 day Uganda primate safaris
- 2 day Uganda gorilla safaris from Kigali.
- 10 day Uganda wildlife safaris.
- 15 day Uganda and Rwanda wildlife safaris
- 6 day Uganda gorilla and Zanzibar safaris