Cong gorilla trekking, Congo Mountain Gorilla Trekking, Congo Lowland Gorilla Trekking
The democratic republic of Congo is one of the African countries that harbor both the endangered mountain gorillas and the lowland gorillas in their natural habitat. Gorilla trekking is one of the key leading safari activities that has boosted the economic growth of the country and it has played a big role to assist in recovering the country’s economy due to the fact it has been affected by the political instabilities all the time. Gorilla trekking in Congo is famous best done in two national parks such as the Virunga national park which is home to the endangered mountain gorillas and Kahuzi Biega national park that is home to the eastern lowland gorillas.
Virunga national park
Virunga national is situated in the heart of Goma district in the democratic republic of Congo. Virunga national park is one of volcanoes massif conservation area where it coexists with Mgahinga gorilla national park of Uganda and volcanoes national park of Rwanda. The Virunga massif conservation area is home to the remaining mountain gorilla population that situated in the respective parks ad there about their country that shares this massif conservation area where every country controls its own portion. Besides the Virunga conservation massif, Bwindi impenetrable national park is a home to almost half of the gorilla population remaining in the world.
Virunga national park is famous for the mountain gorilla trekking experience although there are species that can be spotted in the park such as the forest elephants, buffaloes, the olive baboons the white and black colobus monks, the golden monkeys, the red tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, forest hogs among others.
Virunga national park is dominated by the tropical rainforests and the mountain gorillas in the park are found in the high altitude areas therefore mountain gorilla trekking adventure in Virunga will require some hiking to find gorilla family. The endangered mountain gorillas feed on huge amounts of plants leaves, branches, roots, fruits and they are smaller compared to the lowland gorillas.
There are 450 mountain gorilla populations in Virunga national park and it has about 8 habituated gorilla families that are open for tourism throughout the year such as Kabirizi gorilla family, Rugendo gorilla family, Humba gorilla family, Bageni gorilla family, Lulengo gorilla family, Nyakamwe gorilla family, Munyaga gorilla family. Due to the fact that the mountains are rare and endangered, travelers are only allowed to spend only hour with the mountain gorilla family from the time they meet with the gorilla group and they are requested to keep a distance when they meet with these giants. The habituated mountain gorillas are so calm and gentle and they have been trained enough to get used to the presence of the human beings.
Kahuzi Biega national park
This is located in the southern region of Congo and it is famous for the eastern low land gorillas (grauer) thus it offers exciting and interesting lowland gorilla trekking safari in Congo. The park is dominated by the afro-montane forests as well as lowland rainforests which favors the survive of the lowland gorilla in the Congo.
The eastern lowland gorillas are big in size compared to the mountain gorillas due to fact that they feed on mostly on fruits which grow in the lowland forests and they might not be found in the mountain area of the tropical rainforest of Virunga national park and the names have also been given to the gorillas basing on its habitat location.
There about 12 lowland gorilla families that are found in Kahuzi Biega national park however only two have been habituated for gorilla tourism such as Chimanuka and Mugaruka. Just like the mountain gorillas in Virunga national park, a gorilla trekking permit for the lowland gorillas allows travelers to spend only one hour with the gorilla family.
How much is the cost of the gorilla trekking in Congo
Congo is the only African country among the three African countries that have a very cheap and affordable gorilla trekking permit. The gorilla trekking permit in Congo costs 400 USD per person to either see the mountain gorilla family or the lowland gorillas while the gorilla trekking permit for Uganda is 600 USD and 1500 USD person for Rwanda. The democratic republic of Congo is the best destination for all budget travelers who would like to enjoy gorilla trekking experience in Africa due to fact that it has affordable gorilla trekking permit.
Best time to go gorilla trekking in Congo.
The best time to visit Virunga national park and Kahuzi Biega is during the dry season in the months December to February which is the short dry season and between the months of June to October which is the long dry season of the year. During this period the weather is cool, hot during the day and in the evening hours its cold. During the dry season there is little no rainfall expected to destruct the gorilla trekking experience however due to fact the Virunga and Kahuzi Biega national are dominated by tropical rainforests that receive rainfall throughout the year thus travelers are advised to carry strong waterproof rain jackets for emergency in case it rains. For information contact adventure in the wild safaris for one of the leading safari experts to organize your gorilla trekking safari when you contact we will let you know of which is the best time to enjoy gorilla safaris in Congo for the perfect lifetime experiences.
Adventure in the wild safaris is tour operator specializing in Bwindi Gorilla and Uganda wildlife safaris. We offer a wide range of Gorilla trekking and wildlife safari packages at affordable rates with a focus on delivering high quality services for all travelers who book their trips with us.
