Age Limit For Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda, Uganda and Congo?
Age Limit For Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda, Uganda and Congo? The eligibility for gorilla trekking decides whether you will be able to view mountain gorillas in Africa’s untamed rainforests. Gorilla trekking is one of the finest travel experiences in the world since it allows you to spend time with gorillas in their natural habitat and gaze into their sorrowful, compassionate, and peaceful crimson eyes. Another draw is that mountain gorillas can only be found in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Gorilla trekking is extremely restricted for conservation reasons, and while everyone is welcome, there are specific qualifying conditions that must be satisfied. Continue reading to find out if you can visit gorillas in their natural habitat.
Age Limit For Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda, Uganda and Congo.
Age Restriction for Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda, Uganda and Congo.
The most significant limitation for gorilla trekking is the age limit. To enter the rainforests for mountain gorilla trekking, all visitors must be at least 15 years old.
This age is selected for the sake of conservation and safety for both children and gorillas. With younger people present, the criteria maintained to ensure that gorilla trekking remains a non-disruptive activity for the gorillas and their natural surroundings would be difficult to follow.
Furthermore, gorillas and humans are connected and can transmit diseases that should be avoided, especially in youngsters who are still developing. Please keep in mind that the age limit is rigorously enforced, and guests must provide a valid passport or ID before beginning their gorilla walk.
Other activities can be arranged on the day of gorilla trekking if you are traveling as a family with children under the age of 15. Speak with our experts, and we can advise you on what is best for your individual situation.
Why is there an age limit for Gorilla Trekking in Rwanda, Uganda and Congo?
To Control the number of visitors per day who get to see Mountain Gorillas in the wild.
To protect the gorillas’ lives and ecology from over tourism and human activities, everyone who travels to visit gorillas must obtain a fully paid gorilla trekking permit for a specified day. The gorilla permit is valid for a certain day and gorilla tracking site within the designated national park. Gorillas live in groups or families, and each family receives a maximum of eight visitors each day. This is why it is essential to book your permits in advance so that you do not have any disappointments as a result of late bookings.
Gorilla permits are always in great demand, and they can sell out at any time of year, whether it is peak tourist season or not. As your tour operator, we ensure that your permission is arranged and paid for on your behalf, so that when you arrive in Uganda, we have taken care of everything. This allows you to fully enjoy all of the activities you’ve been looking forward to, in this example, a firsthand encounter with endangered mountain gorillas.
To Prevent Transmittable Diseases Between Humans and Gorillas.
We share around 98% of our DNA with gorillas, which poses the possibility of us transmitting illnesses to them and vice versa. Humans can spread diseases including cough, flu, colds, covid19, yellow fever, and diarrhea to gorillas.
This means you should make sure you are rid of them before embarking on your gorilla adventure. These infections are simple to get and transmit, raising the possibility of an outbreak among gorillas. Diseases are more difficult to track and treat in gorillas since they move every day and interact with one another.
Physical Fitness Required to track Gorillas in the wild.
Gorillas inhabit high-altitude mountain ranges with steep slopes and dense rainforests and vegetation. Gorilla hikes are difficult and might take anything from 1 hour to 6 hours to discover the gorillas.
This is why having a decent level of physical fitness is crucial, since you will walk and feel your legs. It’s not going to be easy. With this in mind, there are certain tracking zones with significantly easier terrain. We can organize your gorilla trek in Rwanda, Uganda or Congo to be in a somewhat gentler region if you let us know ahead of time.
We can plan and acquire several local porters from adjacent towns to carry you for the gorilla hike for those with impairments who want to view gorillas. This comes at an additional fee, but many people with impairments or who are older have had close interactions with gorillas.
Finally, While the limits have certainly delayed or even prevented some visitors from seeing gorillas, the motives behind them are admirable, and we wholeheartedly support them.
Most of the above eligibility criteria are totally OK and not a concern in our experience when communication is done correctly and ahead of time. The age restriction is the most stringent, but as previously said, there is always a method for us to plan your vacation while adhering to the laws.
We’d love to hear from you if you have any questions about gorilla trekking in Uganda and Rwanda, or if there’s anything else we can do for you. If you are considering organizing a vacation, we are confident that the itineraries on this page will inspire your next great adventure.
