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.
Several researchers and ranger guides take about 2 years to habituate these gorillas in the forest.
Mountain gorillas are endangered primates that share 98% DNA with humans. These primates live in the forested highland areas of East and Central Africa.
Travelers trek gorillas in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
As of today, they can trek gorillas in Uganda and Rwanda.
Travelers trek gorillas in Uganda’s Mgahinga Gorilla National Park and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. Both parks lie 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 a gorilla trekking permit in Uganda is 800 USD for foreign non-residents.
Foreign residents pay 700 USD for the permit.
Residents from other African countries are charged 500 USD.
East African residents pay 300,000 Uganda shillings for the permit.
Where to stay during the gorilla trekking in Uganda?
Several accommodation facilities surround Mgahinga Gorilla and Bwindi Impenetrable National Parks on a gorilla trekking safari.These facilities range from budget to luxury. Some examples include Volcano Lodge, Buhoma Lodge, and Lake Mulehe Lodge.
Others are Gorilla Valley Lodge, Chemelone Lodge, Mutanda Lake Resort, and Gorilla Leisure Lodge.
You can also stay at 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. The park lies in the north-northwestern province of Rwanda, within 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.
The park currently hosts several gorilla families, with about 12 habituated groups available for tracking.
To encounter the gorillas, you must obtain a gorilla trekking permit.
The Rwanda Development Board issues this gorilla permit in Rwanda. In Rwanda, there are about 96 gorilla permits available each day.
The gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda costs 1500 USD for foreign non-residents.
For foreign residents, the cost is 500 USD.
East African residents pay 200 USD for the permit.
Where to stay during the gorilla safari in Rwanda?
If you’re considering where to stay during a gorilla safari in Rwanda, you’ll find several accommodation facilities in Volcanoes National Park.. Volcanoes National Park offers several excellent facilities. These include Bisate Lodge, Mountain View Lodge, Singita Kwitonda Lodge, and One & Only Gorilla Nest.
Other options are Sabyinyo Silverback, Virunga Lodge, Da Vinci Lodge, and many more.
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. Millions of wildlife move in a large circular route, an event also known as the wildebeest migration.
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.
Seasonal rains drive the migration by providing fresh grazing and water sources.
We categorize the great wildlife migration into four seasons: the Calving Season, the Trek North and the Rut, the Start of the Calving Season, and the River Crossing Season.
Calving season
Calving season usually occurs in the southern Serengeti’s Ndutu region and western 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 trek north and the Rut season occurs between April and mid-June. During this time, the rains end and the area dries.Then, wildlife make their way to the central Serengeti, and this area usually has fresh grass.
In this season, males also battle for mating. Large groups of wild elephants gather on the southern banks of the Gurumenti River. Crossing the river is challenging because it is infested with crocodiles.
The river crossing season
This season takes place in the north Serengeti and Masai Mara, where wildlife herds cross the Mara and Telek rivers.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.