Rules and Regulations of Mountain Gorilla trekking

Rules and Regulations of Mountain Gorilla trekking : Mountain gorilla trekking is much sought after activity in Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic republic of Congo. Gorilla trekking is done in four national parks and these are the Virunga national park in the Democratic republic of Congo, the Volcanoes national park of Rwanda, the Bwindi Impenetrable forest and the Mgahinga forest national park of Uganda. The mountain gorillas are one of the endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and were previously on the critically endangered species but with the conservation efforts of the stakeholders, the numbers of the mountain gorillas is steadily increasing.

The rules and regulations implemented for the Mountain gorilla trekking have contributed majorly to the increasing numbers of the mountain gorillas promoting them from critically endangered to endangered animal species. Visitors from all over the world are welcome to visit the mountain gorillas in their natural habitat but maintaining the set rules and regulations. The mountain gorilla species in the early 70s was on its way to extinction but there is growing hope for these creatures.

If you are booked for a mountain gorilla safari or are just planning on visiting the mountain gorillas in one of the above mentioned destinations, it is very important to make yourself acquainted with the rules you will be following in the park. The ranger guides of the national park ahead of your activity will share with you a briefing including some of the vital rules to follow.

One of the Rules and Regulations of Mountain Gorilla trekking you should know is each of these destinations have a maximum number of visitors per gorilla group per day. The mountain gorillas stay in groups known as a family with a silverback gorilla being the head of the family with members of up to 15 individuals. The national parks have up to 12 habituated gorilla families that only 8 trekkers are allowed to visit per group and this determines the number of available gorilla permits for booking per day. This rule helps to limit the effect of visitors in their natural habitat affecting their behaviors.

The morning briefing of the gorilla trekkers is done in groups of 8 individuals per gorilla family and the park has enough park rangers to handle up to 20 groups of 8 mountain gorilla trekkers. These rangers guides are trained and employed by the park authorities like Uganda wildlife Authority for Uganda, Virunga national park for DR Congo and the Rwanda Development Board for the Rwanda.

All trekkers who are having a cold or symptoms of a cold or cough will not be allowed to take on the gorilla trek and this is a measure to protect the mountain gorillas from contracting this airborne virus. The mountain gorilla shares up to 99% of the human DNA which implies they can contact human disease.

Guests will only be allowed to access the national park to trek the gorillas if they possess a gorilla trekking permit bought and issued only in Kampala at the Uganda Wildlife Authority or online for the guests going to Volcanoes national park on the official website of the park. If you get to the park reception with cash, you will be denied a permit so be sure to know this.

All guests booked for a mountain gorilla trekking will be expected to be 15 years of age and above to be issued a gorilla trekking permit.

Following post Covid-19 travel, all guests will also be expected to keep their face masks on at all times in the forest and also sanitize their hands while maintaining a social distance during the briefing and also while in the forest. Routine temperature checks will be held and guests with signs of high temperature will be asked to remain behind or have a test done. This is majorly because the mountain gorillas are suspected to be prone to catching the COVID-19 virus.

Guests may be excused from wearing the masks on much higher altitudes since they can cause suffocation or light headedness when worn for a long time. You are advised to carry a sanitizer and extra masks in your bag as once you get to the mountain gorillas, you will need to change to a fresh mask.

While in the forest searching for the mountain gorillas, you will be told to keep your conversations at a minimal and also to make little to no sound so as not to scare the wild animals or irritate them to attack you. Trekkers will lead the way according to where the gorillas were seen the last day or according to their pattern so you may quietly move behind them. You may raise some questions during the trek but do it in the most secret way possible.

There is a strict no littering policy for the guests at the parks and while in the forest and the main reason behind this is to conserve the natural habitat as it was found and also not to poison the mountain gorillas when they come across some of the litter. Every snack paper or water bottle taken with you into the forest, you will be expected to return back with it.

Once the mountain gorilla family of the day has been spotted, the guide and trekkers will be expected to drop their extra belongings at a distance of about 50 feet away from the gorilla family and only approach closer to the family with only your camera and phone to capture non sound and non-flash photos and videos.

The guests will only approach to a distance of about 32 feet that is approximately 10 meters so as not to scare the gorillas and also not to spread to them any airborne disease. The mountain gorillas on some occasions may come closer to the guests but you will need to stay as calm as possible. The ranger guides will also advise against direct eye contact with the mountain gorillas as it may agitate them and when they get close to you, you should get down slowly letting them pass by you.

Drinking, eating or smoking when near the gorillas is totally unacceptable as you will definitely be affecting the mountain gorilla’s natural habitat with the residue from the eats or smoke. These are habituated animals but you will still be expected to know that they are wild animals living in the wild so feeding and touching them is strictly prohibited and will only agitate them to attack you.

Once your magical hour with the mountain gorillas is done, you will leave quietly and still maintain the silence until you are about 200 meters away or until you exit the forest as you never know which other animals you may come across while in the forest. You may book yourself a mountain gorilla trekking permit or safari with us and let us handle the trip for you. Our knowledgeable team of tour consultants waits to hear from you.