Volcanoes National Park is another interesting destination for gorilla trekking in the northwestern part of Rwanda within the Virunga region. This park is also nested on an international boundary of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is one of the oldest National parks in Africa and is home to several primates. Some of the primates that you can see include black and white colobus monkeys, golden monkeys, vervet monkeys, red-tailed monkeys, mountain gorillas, and many others. Mountain gorillas are the dominant primates in this park.
These large and powerful primates share about 98% DNA with humans and the conservations of these primates were geared by the late Dian Fossey. Conservation of the gorillas by Dian Fossey led to an increase in the mountain gorillas in the park.
Since this park is part of the Virunga region, there are several Virunga ranges that you can encounter like Sabyinyo, Bisoke, Karisimbi, Gahinga, and Muhavura.
There are about 12 habituated gorilla families that you can encounter on a safari. Most of these families are habituated for them to get used to the human presence and this process takes about 2 years.
Ten of the gorilla families are open for gorilla trekking and the other 2 are used for research purposes.
What are some of the gorilla families that are encountered during the gorilla safaris to Rwanda?
To engage in gorilla trekking in the Volcanoes National Park, there are several gorilla families that you can encounter on the safaris to Rwanda and some of these include;
Susa A.
This is one of the oldest groups and Dian Fossey also used it for her research purposes . It is the biggest family in the park.
In this family, there are about 28 members, and the silverbacks in this park were used for research during the time of Dian Fossey. It lives at the highest altitude in the park and is difficult to track.
Sabyinyo family.
Sabyinyo family was formed after the death of Silver Back leader of group thirteen in 1992. During the habituation time, the group initially called Amavubi meaning “wasps” since it was difficult to habituate.
later it was named Sabyinyo since it was first sited around the Sabyinyo mountain which is part of the Virunga ranges. Sabyinyo is a local word meaning ” teeth of an old man”.
Sabyinyo is one of the easiest families to track in the park since it is a few kilometers away from the park headquarters. It is under the leadership of Guhonda Silver comprising about 8 members.
Kwisanga gorilla family.
Kwisanga is one of the newest gorilla groups that was formed due to the splitting of the Kwitonda group. It had to split on 4th May 2021 under the leadership of Kigoma who left Kwitonda with about 16 members.
Currently, the group is composed of 10 members under the leadership of Lisanga Silverback.
Amahooro family
Under the leadership of the dominant silverback Gahinga, the habituation of this family started way back in 1996 and 1997 stopped due to political instabilities in Rwanda. It was opened for tracking in 2000 and the Amahooro Silver Back died in 2004 which was named after the group. Amahooro is a local word meaning “peace ” since this silver back was so peaceful.
After the death of Amahooro, the group had disputes over leadership due to the two silverbacks that are Ubumwe and Charles. Later on, Gahing Silver Back took over and currently the group has over 22 members.
Karismbi gorilla family.
Karismbi is also referred to as Susa B which broke from Susa which was the main group in the park whcih is led by a dominant silver back Nyagakangaga. Nyagakangaga silver had to leave Susa with about 13 members to form his own family.
Later in 2010, this game was named Karismbi during the Kwiti Izina festival.
Isimbi gorilla family.
Isimbi gorilla family came out from the Spiliting of the Karismbi group where this group left with 7 members from the Karismbi family under the leadership of Getty Silver who died in December 2022. After the death of Getty, young silverback Muturengere took over with the help of an adult female Poppy.
Muturengere silver back fought with the other groups to bring in more members in the family. Currently the group is made up of 22 members.
Muhoza gorilla family.
Muhoza gorilla family is another family that you encounter on their safaris in Volcanoes National park that was formed on december2016 under leadership of Marambo . Marambo grabbed other members from Hirwa and Agashya group .
The Muhoza gorilla family is currently made up of 22 members.
Where to stay during the safaris to encounter the several gorilla families in Volcanoes National Park?
Volcanoes National Park is dotted with several accommodation facilities which you can choose to stay in during the gorilla safaris to Volcanoes National Park.
These facilities are ranked from Budget to Luxury and some of these include Sambora Kinigi, Bisate Lodge, Mountian View Lodge, My Hill Eco Lodge, Garr Lodge, Da Vinci Gorilla Lodge, Garden Palace Hotel, Le Bambou Gorilla Lodge, and many others.
What is the cost of the gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park?
To encounter the several gorilla families in the Volcanoes National Park, there are about 10 gorilla families available for tracking and you are supposed to have acquired a gorilla trekking permit. A gorilla trekking permit is a legal document issued by the Rwanda Development Board.
In Rwanda, there are about 80 gorilla trekking permits available each day for tracking each day. The cost of the gorilla trekking is 1500 USD for the foreign nonresidents,500 USD for the foreign residents , and 200 USD for the east african residents.
Ideal safaris that you can engage in to encounter the gorillas in Volcanoes National Park.
3 days gorilla trekking Rwanda
3 days gorilla trekking in volcanoes National park