Rwanda Gorilla Trekking and Visit the Dian Fossey Museum
Gorilla trekking in Rwanda and visit the Dian Fossey museum is one of the major tourist activity in the country. Gorilla trekking cannot be mentioned alone without involving Dian Fossey. A gorilla trek in Rwanda can only be experienced in the Volcanoes National Park. The park spans around 160 square kilometers northwestern region of the country.
Gorilla trekking involves moving on foot in the mountainous jungles of the park in search of these endangered species. After you have encountered these primates, you are given a maximum of an hour. Each gorilla family in the park is trekked by 8 people a day. This makes this activity a very demanding and highly sought-after activity to many tourists visiting Rwanda. Tourists always book their lots of encountering these primates in the park over 3 months before the trekking date.
About Dian Fossey
The Dian Fossey Museum was set up in Volcanoes to remember the legacy of Dian Fossey. she was a primatologist and conservationist who arrived in this Park in 1967 after living in the Virunga a year before. She fled the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Virunga National Park after a civil war broke out. She also established her base between Mount Karisimbi and Mount Bisoke and named it Karisoke Research Center.
Dian Fossey studied the behavior of mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park for many years. She went ahead to raise awareness campaigns against the poaching of the endangered mountain gorillas. She formed the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International to raise funds to fight for these primates. Dian Fossey is considered the mother of mountain gorillas because she fought and protected so much. Unfortunately, she was later the target of the poachers who killed her. On the 26th of December 1985, she was murdered and buried in the park close to the grave of her favorite gorilla Digit.
About Volcanoes National Park
Ranking as the oldest protected area in Africa, Volcanoes National Park was established in 1925. The park is located in the Virunga conservation area. This makes it one of the few places to encounter the endangered Mountain Gorillas in the wild. Volcanoes National Park is part of the Virunga Massifs, composed of 5 of the 8 Virunga volcanoes. These include Mount Gahinga, Mount Bisoke, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Muhabura, and Mount Sabyinyo. The park is on the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The park hosts over 13 habituated gorilla families that are available for trekking.
Other Tourist Activities in Volcanoes National Park
Although Volcanoes National Park is popular for gorilla trekking adventures, it offers a variety of other incredible activities. These activities include the following.
Golden Monkey Trekking
Trekking of the golden monkeys in the Volcanoes National Park allows visitors a chance to observe rare monkeys in their natural habitat. Trekking starts early at 7 am local time immediately after the briefing. Volcanoes National Park has only two habituated groups of 80 individual golden monkeys. Trekking these golden monkeys is not very difficult. This is because they live in lowland areas of bamboo vegetation.
Birding
Visitors interested in birding are guided by professional birding guides along the different designated birding trails in the park. The park is rich with over 200 bird species, including 17 of the 24 rare Albertine rift endemics, which are must-watch for many birders. Some of the bird species include, Rwenzori double-collared sunbird, red-faced woodland warbler, strange weaver, collared apalis, and Rwenzori batis, to mention but a few. These bird species stay in the different ecological systems in the park.
Hiking
With over 5 of the 8 volcanic mountains of the Virunga Massif, Volcanoes National Park is a hotspot for hiking experiences. These mountains in the park include Mount Gahinga, Mount Bisoke, Mount Karisimbi, Mount Muhabura, and Mount Sabyinyo. During these walks, you can easily spot different wild animals like forest elephants, buffaloes, bush pigs, giant forest hogs, and duikers, among others, as they graze in the forest. Hiking is an important and healthy activity for building physical fitness and burning calories. Guided nature walks will give you an opportunity and a feeling of being part of the wild and also to breath in cool fresh air.
How much is a gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda?
A visitor interested in taking on a gorilla trekking experience in Volcanoes National Park is required to purchase a gorilla permit from the Rwanda Development Board through a local tour operator. As mentioned earlier, a permit is best obtained about 3 months before the trekking date since the permits are limited to only 8 people per gorilla family per day. The cost of a gorilla trekking permit in Rwanda varies depending on the nationality. For foreign non-residents, the permit costs USD 1500, for foreign residents and the rest of Africa, a permit is USD 500, and USD 200 for Rwandan residents and East Africans.
