Mountain Gorilla tracking also called trekking is regarded as an ultimate adventure and a major highlight to most visitors to Uganda. A trek through the dense rainforests for a face to face encounter with this largest of apes is the most humbling and rewarding experience to many that have undertaken this adventure. Uganda is a home to half of the global population of the endangered species of Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla. g. beringei) protected in two distinct rainforests of Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and the Maghinga Gorilla National Park.
Gorilla Tracking in Uganda – First things First.
- Booking the Gorilla Permit
To track the mountain gorillas in Uganda one requires a tracking permit purchased from the registered tour operators or with time and patience directly from Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) office. Gorilla tracking permits come into two different categories and price offering different duration experiences with mountain gorillas. These experiences are ordinary mountain gorilla tracking costing 800USD and habituation tracking experiences going for 1500USD. Uganda has up to 22 mountain gorilla family groups available for daily trekking experiences where by only 8 visitors on ordinary tracking and 4 visitors on habituation experience are allowed to trek along the habituated gorilla families. The permits are high-in-demand especially in peak season and require to be booked well in advance. Booked permits indicate the date and tracking location (not a particular gorilla family) and are valid for that date. On a mountain gorilla tracking-day, visitors are required to check in at 7:30 am for the experience therefore it is important to book and and stay in accommodations near the starting point/trail head.
- Packing list for Gorilla Tracking
With a gorilla tracking permit, the next on agenda is a packing list for the tracking experience. Gorilla tracking is a physical activity reparation Visitors ought to prepare in well in advance considering mountain gorillas occur on high-altitudes between 1650m to over 4000m asl throughout its range therefore moderate fitness levels is required. Regardless of the season, good walking shoes, long pants and shirts/browses, rain gear, plenty of drinking water and parked lunch are required on a track day. On trailheads, walking sticks are provided for free and while here, one is advised to hire a porter to help carry your backpacks and give you a push on difficult terrains on the treks. This is another way to support the communities that surround the national parks.
A Personal Account on Gorilla Tracking at Mghinga NP
Uganda’s smallest park of Mgahinga NP protects the Uganda side of the greater Virunga conservation Areas that is shared with Rwanda, and DRC. The park is a home to one habituated gorilla group that ranges along the regenerating forest from 2965m, all the way up the montane forests at around 4000m asl.
The park’s two main trails include Muhabura and Ntebeko trails that lead out through a selection of a regenerating forest and then to a bamboo edge, where another resident primate, the Golden Monkey occur, we managed to find fresh broken bamboo shoots a major diet for these mobile primates. Our patient ranger guides and escorts allowed several rest stops as we gained altitude pointing out several flora and fauna plus incredible views of distant terraced highlands and crater lakes below and even clearer mountain peaks.
After 3-hours of anticipation and sweat our ranger pointed our attention to freshly broken twigs, and half-eaten vegetation typical of the vegetarian apes scattered in the fresh morning trails, and finally we are here!!
Face to face with the King
“…kindly pull on your masks, let helpers, heavy backpacks stay behind and only approach with camera and phones, please ensure your camera flashes are off” …. our ranger softly said as our excitement filled the cold air.
Behold the King…..!!
On the first sight, as everyone was getting in position, a young female walked straight our way, and through the middle of our group; I supposed it was a welcome gesture! And all of the sudden, a blackbuck followed on standing with his eyes firmly fixed at us, now we were advised NOT to stare directly as this could be interpreted as a challenge to the apes. Then came a somersaulting juvenile that gave us a treat of his own, mock charging and climbing over his elder siblings. Our guide signaled us to step ahead about 3m where we found him, the king himself, a family head, a large silverback feeding gently with his first lady (ies) that looked un-interested at thousands of camera clicks.
Large, robust with muscular arms, potbellied and with a massive head, standing at about 1.6m was Ndungutse the ultimate silverback sitting in the shade chewing on fresh vegetation slowly, “that’s their leader” our guide commented. Bigger and with more silver on the back, he commanded respect from both us the visitors and his 2 young subordinate silverbacks that fed on the flanks of the group. Female gorillas appearing smaller in size from their male counterparts groomed and fed cautiously as the curious youngsters played and rolled around including mock-charges against each and climbing over short tress and putting on chest-beating displays. The safe recommended distance of 10m was broken by these curious youngsters that kept coming as close as 1m from one guest but the ever-watching mothers and boss kept pulling them out.
Strangely, as if he knew the clock, the silverback growled gently as if to beckon his family to move on and from the blackbucks, followed by mums and youngsters off they went disappearing in the nearby bushes and that was it…time out! Standing up on all fours, the boss through his deep sunk in red eyes gave us the last stare as if bidding us fare well before he followed on his troop deep in the vegetation. Watching the troop coordination, facial expressions, the play, one feels the connection, respect, and a recognition; its what makes this activity special!!
Later on as we sat to eat our packed lunches, each traveler meditatively reflected on this moment. Thoughts ran in my mind wondering about the stare; What had the boss communicated to me? Was it an appreciation? Recognition? Did he see me as his own or, is it…? From our lunch break, we headed out to the trailhead to be awarded a souvenir as a token of thanks for supporting conservation work here and off I hitched a lift to my humble guest house room downhill in the quiet town of Kisoro.
My memories of a stare from Ndugutse shall forever be engrained in my memories.
About the Nyakagezi Gorilla Family at Mgahinga
This one habituated group occurs in the small 33sq.Km reserve that covers the three Ugandan volcanic slopes of Muhabura 4127m, Gahinga 3675m, and Sabyinyo at 3669m. This trio of extinct volcanoes is a part of the larger Virunga chain of mountain ranges that host half of the critically endangered mountain gorillas protected as a joint trans frontier conservation agency within the three counties of Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC.
This mountain gorilla population in the Mgahinga and Bwindi have lived separately for about 500yrs as the result of Bantu agriculturalists clearing the forest corridor between these ecosystems. Studies on the isolated population of Bwindi have indicated several behavior patterns distinct from the Virunga groups sighting adaptations influenced by competition and quality of foods, terrain, and human pressure on their ecosystems but maintained the two groups are the same species of mountain gorillas.