The minimum age for tracking gorillas is 15 years. Special offers are currently available for residents of Rwanda and the East African community. Protecting gorillas involves significant investments in research, rangers, and scientists. Some of the money raised from gorilla permits is used to fund activities to protect these majestic primates.
In general, 15% of the money raised from gorilla permits goes to the government, 10% to local communities, and 75% to gorilla protection. It is also important to note that if the cost of gorilla permits were significantly reduced, too many tourists would visit the primates, compromising the overall well-being of the few inhabited gorilla groups. Traveling alone is more expensive as you have to pay for transportation, accommodation and fuel yourself. In addition, it is important to note that companies add some surcharges to the total trip to provide administrative services (tour guides, office staff, office functionality) — this is usually 10 -20% of the total cost.
Tipping during gorilla trekking is not mandatory and should only be paid after a service has been provided and you are happy with it. There is a whole range of activities related to mountain gorillas. The famous one is the Kwita Izina ceremony for naming gorillas for Rwanda safaris. It is an annual event where various celebrities are invited to celebrate the occasion. Trekking gorillas are professionally organized and well developed, making them an ecotourism adventure. Poppy is believed to be one of the gorillas that belonged to the first gorilla group that Dian Fossey did their research.
The removal of the Batwa people from the gorilla dweller was also another big step that authorities took in the 1990s, when the gorilla population was threatened with extinction. Those who decide to go gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park must first land in Kigali and then head to the Congo border on a journey that can take around 4 hours. Gorilla tourism has helped bring mountain gorilla populations back from extinction, but also threats to their survival that are still very real. A safari company should be able to arrange your gorilla permit, book accommodation near the park, provide transportation, and send you a scanned copy of your gorilla tracking permit a few weeks before the tour.
And then there would be no more gorilla tracking in Bwindi, or at least it would be very risky to track down the gorillas in Bwindi. Information on gorilla trekking permits in Rwanda can be obtained by contacting the Rwanda Development Board. Because of this, and as gorilla trekking has been published more frequently in recent years, it has become a bucket list activity for many general tourists. Uganda Gorilla Chimp Trek %26 Murchison Game Safari – 6 DaysUganda All Primates Gorilla Chimpanzees Golden Monkeys Safari – 6 Days
Gorilla trekking for older people is more complicated as they would use limousine chairs and would have to hire about eight porters to lift them to the pursuit point. In this process of collecting many mountain gorillas for the zoos, Akeley’s boldness fundamentally changed and for the rest of his life he worked to form a gorilla reserve.