Gorilla trekking and the great migration of wildlife are among the most fascinating combined adventures you can experience during a safari in Africa. This combination offers a blended mixture of the savannah wildlife and large primates situated in high-altitude, lush forests.
Gorilla trekking and the Great Migration offer a great experience in East Africa’s destinations. These destinations will take you through the encounter of several destinations in Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
This comprehensive guide to both gorilla trekking and the great migration will offer the best time, location, weather conditions, and what to expect during the safari.
Gorilla trekking
Gorilla trekking is a primate activity that takes you to encounter the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat. It is one of the best experiences that offers you to spend 1 hour with the habituated gorillas in the jungle.
Habituation of these gorillas takes about 2 years in the forest, which is done by several researchers and ranger guides.
Mountain gorillas are endangered primates that share 98% DNA with humans. These primates live in the forested highland areas of East and Central Africa.
Gorilla trekking is done in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. AS of today, gorilla trekking is currently carried out in Uganda and Rwanda.
In Uganda, gorilla trekking is done in the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. All these destinations are nested in southwestern Uganda.
There are about 21 gorilla habituated families in Uganda available for tracking. Uganda is home to almost half of the world’s population of mountain gorillas.
To encounter the gorillas in Uganda, you are supposed to have acquired the gorilla trekking permits. A gorilla trekking permit is a legal permit that is issued by the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
As you plan to acquire a gorilla permit, you are supposed to use reliable and licensed tour operators. In Uganda, there are about 168 gorilla permits each day.
The cost of the gorilla trekking permit in Uganda is 800 USD for foreign non-residents,700USD for foreign residents, 500USD for the rest of the African residents, and 300000 Uganda shillings for the East African residents.
Where to stay during the gorilla trekking in Uganda?
On a gorilla trekking safari, several accommodation facilities are dotted around the Mgahinga Gorilla and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. These facilities are rated from budget to luxury, and some of these facilities include Volcano lodge, Buhoma lodge, Lake Mulehe lodge, Gorilla Valley lodge, Chemelone lodge, Mutanda Lake resort, Gorilla Leisure lodge, Buhoma lodge, Rushaga haven lodge, Four Gorilla lodge, and many others.
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda takes you to the Volcanoes National Park, which is one of the oldest national parks in Africa. This park is situated within north northwestern province of Rwanda and the Virunga region.
This park holds a history of the gorilla conservation works that were led by the late Dian Fossey. The conservation works led to an increase in the number of gorillas in this park.
Currently, the park is home to a number of several gorilla families, and they are about 12 habituated and available for tracking. To encounter the gorillas, you are required to have a gorilla trekking permit.
This gorilla permit in Rwanda is issued by the Rwanda Development Board. In Rwanda, there are about 96 gorilla permits available each day.
The cost of the gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda is 1500 USD for foreign non-residents, 500 USD for foreign residents, and 200 USD for East African residents.
Where to stay during the gorilla safari in Rwanda?
Considering where to stay during a gorilla safari in Rwanda, Volcanoes National Park is dotted with several accommodation facilities. Some of these facilities in Volcanoes National Park include Bisate lodge, Mountain View lodge, Singita Kwitonda lodge, One & Only Gorilla Nest lodge, Sabyinyo Silverback, Virunga lodge, Da Vinci lodge, and many others.
wildlife migration
Wildlife migration is a seasonal movement of wildlife from one area to another in search of food, better breeding conditions, and escaping harsh weather conditions. It is also known as the wildbeest migration which involves the large circular movement of the wildlife of over millions of wildlife.
This migration involves a large movement of the wildebeests, zebras, and gazelles. The circular movement of the wildlife occurs between the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti National Park, and the Masai Mara National Reserve.
The migration is driven by the fresh grazing and water sources, driven by seasonal rains. The great wildlife migration is categorised in four seasons that include the Calving season, the season of the Trek north and the Rut, the start of the calving season, and the river crossing season.
Calving season
The calving season takes place usually in the southern plains of the Serengeti in the Ndutu region and the western region of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. In this season, over 500000 Calves are born in 2 to 3 weeks of February.
In this season, the grass is still fresh, young, and nutritious for calves to feed on. Several predators are seeing these calves as prey.
Season of the trek north and the Rut
The season of the trek north and the Rut occurs between April to mid mid-June, where in this season, as the rains come to an end and the area dries. Then, wildlife make their way to the central Serengeti, and this area usually has fresh grass.
In this season, the males also battle for the mating. Also, there are large concentrations of wild elephants on the southern banks of the Gurumenti river, with challenges to crossing the river since it is infested with crocodiles.
The river crossing season
This season occurs in the north Serengeti and Masai Mara National Reserve, where several herds of wildlife must cross the Mara River and the Telek River. Crossing the Mara River is so iconic that wildlife drown, face crocodile attacks, stampedes, and a lot of chaos.
This is the best season when you can encounter the wildlife crossing the Mara River.
What is the best time to combine gorilla trekking and the great wildlife migration?
The best time to combine gorilla trekking and the great wildlife migration is during the dry season from June to August. In this season, the trekking trails of the gorillas are dry for easy tracking.
Wildlife migration has a high concentration in the dry season, so it is the best time to combine gorilla trekking and great wildlife migration.