What to Expect when you are Expecting to See a Gorilla
You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla
African Proverb
The shy Mountain gorillas have never survived in captivity. They all live in only three countries; Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Here they are concentrated in the Virungas Mountain Range which runs through the three countries with Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda and the Virungas National Park in the DRC. These parks are interconnected and the gorillas roam freely between all three.
The DRC is the least stable country and the most dangerous place to see Mountain gorillas.
What is different about Gorilla trekking in Rwanda
Over 62% of all Mountain Gorillas live in Volcanoes National Park between altitudes of 7545 and 14760 ft (2300 and 4500 m).
Rwanda has a dozen habituated gorilla families. (Other families are set aside for research or are simply wild)
Each family can be visited by a maximum of eight guests every day. On the mountain, the only way for a silverback to have his own family is to fight a dominant silverback or to leave and poach females. When a new family is formed they are also given a name as part of the Gorilla naming ceremony Kwita Izina that takes place yearly.
The Mountain Gorilla families of Rwanda
Agashya Mountain gorilla Family
Taking its name from the silverback, Agashya means “the news” and refers to the fact that the silverback hijacked an entire gorilla family of 12 from Nyakarima- the silverback of Group 13.
Agashya now has 27 gorillas. The silverback is famous for snatching gorillas from other groups, attracting lone gorillas and procreating. Currently, the family has the highest number of baby gorillas. They occupy the same territory as the Sabyinyo group but can move deeper into the mountains when sensing danger. Agashya also has a habit of moving to a higher altitude and you must be physically fit to hike to this group.
Amahoro Mountain gorilla Family
Amahoro means “serenity” in Kinyarwanda and the family is known for being peaceful and congenial under the leadership of a sweet main silverback Ubumwe. This family of almost 20 members (including two silverbacks) established their home on the slopes of Mount Bisoke which makes for a fairly strenuous trek. The laidback nature of Amahoro’s leader has resulted in some breakaways creating the Umubano group.
Bwenge Mountain gorilla Family
A few years ago the Bwenge gorilla family lost six young gorillas and now is comprised of only 11 members and a silverback. The Bwenge silverback left its original group and started attracting females from other families a decade ago. The family can be tracked on the slopes of Karisoke between Karisimbi and Bisoke mountains. Established in 2007 when Bwenge, the silverback whose name means “wisdom”, split from his original family, the group is challenging to trek to as you have to navigate muddy, slippery and long slopes. The Bwenge group appeared in the movie ‘Gorillas in the Mist’
Hirwa Mountain gorilla Family
Hirwa means “the lucky one” and was formed in June 2006 with parts of the Sabyinyo and the Agashya families. A small family of around 16 with one silverback, this group also has twins. They inhabit the foothills of Mt. Sabyinyo to the side of Mt. Gahinga.
Kwitonda mountain gorilla Family
Kwitonda means “humble one” and refers to a group of around 23 gorillas including four silverbacks. The Kwitonda family came to Rwanda from the DRC. They wander the lower slopes of Mt. Muhabura and can be onerous to track, especially when they move to the upper slopes or far away.
Mgoza Mountain gorilla Family
A recently discovered family that has been named for the guide who found them.
Sabyinyo Mountain gorilla Family
The “old man’s teeth” Volcano of Sabyinyo Mountain features a family with the largest of all the gorillas in Rwanda. Guhonda is a prime attraction and fulfills the image of a fierce, huge silverback. The main challenger Ryango has not succeeded in toppling Guhonda. The family of 9 is also located on the park’s edge on the gentle slopes of Mount Sabyinyo and Gahinga and is one of the trekking favorites.
Susa A mountain gorilla family in Rwanda
Named after the River Susa that drains through their home range, it might be the most famous gorilla family in Rwanda as it was studied by Dian Fossey between 1967 and 1985. It is the oldest habituated gorilla group and hosts the oldest habituated gorilla, Poppy. Born in 1976, Poppy is believed to have been part of Dian Fossey’s original gorilla group.
Originally the group had 42 individuals but when it split in two in 2008 it was reduced to 33 gorillas including three silverbacks. Susa A also has playful young twin gorillas, Impano and Byishimo.
It is usually found at higher altitudes on the slopes of Mt. Karisimbi and is suitable for fit trekkers only. Prepare for an entire day of trekking to this distant location.
Susa B or Karisimbi Mountain gorilla Family
Having split from the original Susa in 2008, the Karisimbi family is hard to track as it lives on the upper slopes of Mt Karisimbi at an altitude of 14,786 ft (4507m). Treks are long and steep to the higher parts of the volcano on top of the Karisimbi caldera slopes and only for serious hikers who can climb for an entire day. The group has around 16 members including two silverbacks.
Titus Mountain gorilla family
Titus was born when Dian Fossey studied his group at Karisoke. He lost his entire family, including his father, uncle, and brother to poachers. His mother and sister joined other families and Titus was orphaned and raised by unrelated male gorillas. When young, Dian described Titus as underdeveloped and spindly with breathing difficulties… in 1991 he became the leader of his group when he took it over from the silverback Beetsme in a coup. In 2007 he had to fight his son Kuryama for leadership. Kuryama passed away in 2012. Titus overcame many obstacles and so is considered one of the most successful of all the gorillas. He died on 14 September 2009.
This group is used primarily for research but can occasionally be visited.
Ugenda Mountain gorilla Family
The Ugenda family is named for their habit of always being “on the move” or “mobile”. Their unique habit of constantly changing area makes this group of around 11 gorillas difficult to track.
Umubano Mountain gorilla Family
Umubano meaning “living together” or “neighborliness” was formed by Charles, a silverback from Amahoro who defeated the dominant male Ubumwe after months of disagreements and left with a few of his females. There are 11 individuals and two silver back. (Today Ubumwe and Charles get on really well.)
Summary of all the gorilla families
What to Expect When You are Expecting to See a Gorilla
It is every bit as exciting as your wildest dreams and being prepared will ensure you can make the most of it.
On the Day of your Trek
There will be an early start to get you to the park offices by 7 am. Coffee and tea are available.
Visitors all meet and are assigned to the various gorilla families.
At around 7:30 am you will be called to your group and you will go to your assigned gorilla family’s specific briefing area.
The two gorilla guides who will go out with you will now brief you by introducing themselves, telling you more about the gorilla family you have and providing you with general tips and guidance. All the dos and donts will be covered.
(While you are at the park offices gorilla trackers have already left the park early in the morning to find the families that will meet the visitors and so, you will be directed to the park entrance closest to your family to make the trek shorter.)
Porters will wait at your designated park gate. They are optional but using them assists the community and they do leave your hands free to negotiate the soft and sliding volcanic soil, thick vegetation, rivers and streams, barbed branches, stinging nettles, bamboo thickets, extreme undergrowth, and slippery mud. Porters can also create miracles for people who dream of visiting gorillas but are not physically able to trek to them. They have even carried people on stretchers through the forest.
Trekking inside the park boundaries is hard work and so you might stick to farmland on the boundary until you have to enter the park.
The trek might last an hour but could be several or an entire day.
Your trackers will wait a few meters from the gorillas and you will have a quick reminder of the dos and donts. You will leave all your belongings with the trackers while you spend time with the gorillas (this is to protect the natural habitat and way of life of the gorillas by keeping human food away from them).
Park rangers will carry guns and you will smell the gorillas before you see them.
The guide will tell the silverback ‘We come in peace’
You will now have one hour with your family. You can move with them and the experience remains dynamic.
At the end of the hour, guides and visitors depart while the trackers stay behind collecting data and observing where the gorillas make their beds for the night.
You trek back to the closest park gate (which might be far away). You can tip your porters when you arrive at your pick-up car.
Dos and Donts
The Mountain Gorillas are wild but as the families introduced to tourists are habituated they are aware of the fact that we are not a threat.
Having said that they remain unpredictable.
Age requirements
In order to go on your gorilla trekking tour, you need to be at least 15 years old.
No flash
Although you can take as many photographs and videos as you like, you cannot use flash photography as this could scare the gorillas and cause them to react violently.
Only 1 hour a day
Habituated gorilla groups spend only one hour a day with visitors. The golden hour is strictly adhered to in order to preserve the natural gorilla activities.
22 ft Rule
Guests are requested to stay 22 ft (7 m) from the gorillas although this is not always entirely practical and depending on the forest, the guides and the silverback, you may get much closer. IF a gorilla approaches you the guide will talk to them to make them back off.
Quiet, calm and non-threatening
Always remain calm and quiet. Never make direct eye contact with a silverback.
No cold or disease
Gorillas share almost all our DNA but none of our resistance. A simple cold could kill them. If you feel unwell your trek will be rescheduled.
What to Pack
Fun Facts about Gorillas
🦍 History of Gorillas
The first gorilla ever to be seen alive in the wild was found by Paul Du Chaillu in his travels through western equatorial Africa between 1856 and 1859.
Mountain gorillas evolved together with humans but they kept a very low profile until a German Army Officer named Captain Robert von Beringe went to meet the Sultan Msinga of Rwanda and killed two in the jungles of Congo in 1902.
The scientific name is Gorilla beringei beringei in his honor.
🦍 The Types
There are Western Gorillas and Eastern Gorillas (both species are critically endangered) depending on which side of the Congo they live on.
Eastern Gorilla Subspecies
The Mountain Gorilla and the Grauer Gorilla. — Mountain Gorillas have thicker and longer hair for protection.
Western Gorilla Subspecies
The Western Lowland Gorilla (living in Cameroon, Gabon, the DRC, Congo, Angola or Equatorial Guinea) and the Cross-Border Gorilla (living on the border between Nigeria and Cameroon).
The Cross-River Gorilla is the most scarce and Western Lowland Gorillas the most numerous. The Mountain Gorilla is the only population showing good, steady growth.
🦍 Reasons for their critically endangered listing
- Loss of habitat as a result of human development, uncontrolled logging, mining projects, and subsistence farming.
- Deaths derived from ongoing conflict.
- They are hunted for bushmeat or as trophies or pets.
- Diseases are a threat to gorilla populations across Africa, especially Ebola and illnesses humans are immune to.
- Gorillas have a slow reproduction cycle and few babies per lifetime.
🦍 The Silverback
A silverback is a male gorilla that has turned 12 which is the age when their shiny black fur starts to turn grey. All subspecies of Gorilla have silverbacks. The silverback is the only member of the family allowed to mate with the female gorillas.
There can be more than one silverback in a family.
When a young gorilla male reaches maturity he usually has to leave his group.
🦍 Other facts
Gorillas are the largest living apes.
Baby gorillas have a mortality rate of 30% and remain with their mothers for three years.
Gorillas are incredibly shy, intelligent, peaceful creatures with individual personalities. They are also 8–9 times stronger than humans.
Their only predator is humans.
They are herbivores who eat 44–66 pounds (20- 30 kg) a day of the fruits, seeds, leaves, shoots, and vinesthey find. They can occasionally eat insects. They never eat meat and they don’t drink water.
They build a new tree nest to sleep in every night.
They can be identified by their nose print.
Rule of the Jungle
As mentioned you might only walk for an hour before finding your family on one day. On another, the trek will be 5 hours of climbing in the pouring rain.
As a rule, you can always hope for the best but it is essential to be prepared for the worst.
From bringing snacks to all weather gear, prior preparation is essential.
Other activities to enjoy in Rwanda
🇷🇼 The capital is beautifully clean and vibrant with an exciting gastro scene.
🇷🇼 Tea and coffee plantations welcome visitors with great charm and will treat you to an African idyll of hospitality.
🇷🇼 Lake Kivu is incredibly safe. It has no hippos or crocodiles and this makes it the perfect African location for a multiple day water trip. Camp overnight on small islands under the full splendor of the milky way and spend each day kayaking, standup paddleboarding and canoeing. Whether you holiday for romance, relaxation or to build memories with your family this Rwandan holiday should be at the top of your bucket list.
Water not your thing? No problem.
🇷🇼 Mountain bike through ancient forests.
🇷🇼 Enjoy the discovery and challenge of a forest trek on foot.
🇷🇼 Take on the ultimate multi-day volcano climb.
🇷🇼 Twitchers will be thrilled by the rare species in Ramsar… and the chance to curtsey to a Spoonbill.
If your heart beats to the rhythm of adventure,
Rwanda knows your song.
The Land of a Thousand Hills is the ultimate dream destination.
Images via markjordahl, Stevebidmead, markjordahl, MonikaP, markjordahl, Pixabay, Wikimedia Commons
