What Should I Bring on a Gorilla Trek?
“A life-changing experience” This is what most tourists say after they visit the mountain gorillas in Uganda. We totally agree since we spend many days in a year taking tourists to see gorillas each day is exciting, and discoveries happen all the time. But doing so involves an Indiana Jones-style journey into the depths of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Park and Mgahinga National Park.
The jungle is a seemingly everlasting thicket of tangled emerald green with no street signs, walking trails, or Google Maps voice directions. To find the gorillas’ nest, you must get up early and, with the protection of park rangers, religiously follow the footsteps of a local tracker. The tracker uses a machete to clear a path through the jungle, detecting and tracking gorilla trail from the last spot where a gorilla group was seen. These traces can include hand and footprints, bent vegetation, remains of plants the gorillas have eaten, and other signs. Every tiny detail is investigated as the trackers determine the gorillas’ direction.
The hike up or down the mountain slopes that tourists take to get to the mountain gorillas is an exciting experience in itself because it brings you to one of the most beautiful places on earth. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is one of the few remaining tropical mountain forests located on the Albertine Rift edge.
The park is inhabited by about 500 mountain gorillas, known as the Bwindi population, which makes up about half of all the mountain gorillas in the world. The rest of the worldwide mountain gorilla population is in the nearby Virunga Mountains shared between Uganda’s Mgahinga NP, DR Congo’s Virunga NP, and Rwanda’s Volcanoes NP.
With four trail-heads spread over the edges of Bwindi Impenetrable NP (Buhoma, Rushaga, Nkuringo & Ruhija), make sure you pick the right one that will be gentle on your physical fitness and great for forest lodging. The walk to reach a gorilla group can take from one to several hours, but no matter how long it is, the result is always amazing.
It’s not possible to predict how far the gorillas have moved from the previous day or what direction they’ve taken, so patience is definitely a good state of mind while following trackers at this time. But sooner or later, they will find the group they are seeking.
The gorilla trekking permit
Because Bwindi and Mgahinga are protected environments, the local governments introduced trekking permits to control tourists flocking the destination. This serves to maintain the natural habitat and avoid the gorillas becoming overexposed to humans and continue funding the gorilla conservation efforts.
This has made the demand for gorilla permits higher than the supply. Tourists are flooding to this part of the continent to get a piece of the action, don’t be the last one.
With just about 19 habituated gorilla groups in Bwindi available for tourism, 8 permits are issued for each gorilla group per day, making it just about 152 permits issued out for Bwindi gorilla trekking per day. Will you get yours when you need it? Luckily enough, our local partners deal with the permits, so you won’t have to.
A Uganda gorilla permit costs US$700 per person since July 2020. It is issued by Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) at face value, and when you book a gorilla trip, you get the permit processed for free, and you find the original with your tour manager.
Packing List for gorilla trekking
Gorilla Permit and Passport: These two documents must be with you at all times. The gorilla permit and passport must be present at the head offices for verification so that the authorities can ascertain whether a traveler is eligible to track the gorillas. The passport is presented to the park officials to know if the permit is yours and that you are old enough to track the gorillas. According to the gorilla trekking rules, one needs to be at least 15 years to track gorillas. Gorilla groups are allocated based on the age and the physical fitness of travelers. A passport will therefore help determine if you get an easy or harder trek
Hiking Boots: As we mentioned earlier, gorilla trekking requires one to hike for long distances in dense forest. The forest trails can be muddy and steep hence presenting challenges to trackers. With the challenges in mind, a tracker needs to acquire shoes with good grip/traction and can cover the feet/ankles. With such shoes, one can easily walk for long hours in the forest without slipping or getting pierced by thorns.
Clothing: Not all clothes are suitable for the African jungle. The clothes for gorilla trekking should be made of light material and water proof. They should cover most parts of your body to protect you from thorns and sharp vegetation in the jungle. A tracker must wear a long sleeved top and a long pair of trousers. A tracker must also be selective of the colors. He or she should choose what is known as jungle colors – cream, brown, grey and dark green. Very bright colors make you stand out and could attract unnecessary attention from the gorillas.
Raincoat and sweater: The weather in most of the gorilla parks is very unpredictable. You can start the hike when the sun is bright and the rains come suddenly. As a tracker, you must carry a rain jacket before going out to look for the gorillas. The Volcanoes and Mgahinga National Park are located in areas of high altitude. It can get very cold especially during the wet season. A sweater will help you keep warm during and after gorilla trekking. You also need a cap to protect your head from sunlight and sunglasses to protect your eyes from the same. Hand gloves will help protect your hands from sharp tree branches.
Insect Repellents: Mountain gorillas live in countries lying in the tropics with many irritating insects like mosquitos. We recommend that you carry an insect repellent to protect yourself from insect bites. Try to pack deodorants, perfumes, shavers and hand sanitizers so that you can look and smell good during your trip. You should even consider packing toilet paper, wipes, tooth paste and a tooth brush.
Snacks, packed lunch and drinking water: Gorilla trekking takes between 2 to 6 hours depending on the group you will be tracking. You might find yourself exhausted, thirsty and hungry. You will therefore need drinking water, energy drinks and light snacks for lunch. The packed lunch and water can be arranged from your lodge but if that is not possible, and then you can buy them from a supermarket in the nearby towns.
Walking stick: Gorilla tracking is very unpredictable depending on which national park you visit. The trails are not demarcated and you will find yourself hiking through thick forests, mountain slopes, river streams and valleys. We recommend that you acquire a suitable hiking stick to support and help you hike through hills and valleys. Basic walking sticks are given free of charge at the starting point but you can acquire higher-end ones at a cost.
Camera with a great focus, strong battery and memory: Why would you go for a gorilla trekking without taking any photos? Gorilla trekking is a very special wildlife experience and you need to have both mental and physical memories that you can show your friends/family. A very good camera is important to capture the primates but also the beautiful volcanoes and forest creatures. Do not use flash cameras while with the gorillas.
Binoculars: Gorilla trekking is not all about gorillas. You will be encountering pristine wilderness with an amazing collection of wildlife including small primates, butterflies, moths, birds, antelopes, forest hogs and much more. A binocular will help you spot all these creatures as you search for the gorillas.
Phone simcard: In order to keep in touch with your friends and family while in Africa, you need to acquire a local simcard. The simcard will help you make calls back home and also gain access to internet even while out in the jungle.
Porters: Are you planning to travel with a heavy bag or equipment (video cameras, binoculars and other gadgets)? If the answer is yes, then you might need to hire a porter to relieve you of the burden of carrying heavy stuff. The porters will also lend a hand during the more difficult sections of the hike. Porters consist of students looking for school fees, former poachers, fathers and mothers. By hiring their services, you are indirectly making a difference in their lives. Porters are available just after the briefing or at the starting point of the trek. The services of a porter costs about $15.
Tipping: One thing you will notice throughout your gorilla tour is the dedication, enthusiasm and friendliness of the people you meet. The people could include Park rangers, hotel personnel, Drivers and Guides. It’s a nice gesture to reward them with tip if they go out of their way to make your time memorable in Africa. Tip of $10 would be great. Only give out tip if you want to.
Other essential items for packing: Apart from the items we already mentioned, there are some other essential items that you should consider including in your gorilla trekking packing list. They include travel maps, a guide book, and an itinerary from your tour company, cash or a visa card for buying souvenir. A traveler should also consider traveling with a first-aid kid and medications for any lifestyle diseases they have.
Conclusion
Wondering about what to wear for gorilla trekking in Uganda? Look at the above article and for more information contact Primate Safari Experiences. And one of the mistakes most people have made is to go for gorilla trekking dressed inappropriately some wear sandals, shorts which are not the right clothes for such an activity.