Best Places to See gorillas in Africa – Uganda vs Rwanda Vs Congo

Gorilla Trekking in Africa is only possible within the east & Central part of Africa . When it comes to safe places to see the mountain gorillas, its recommended to consider only Uganda, Rwanda as self drive traveler within Africa. If your going for guided gorilla Safari , then consider the extension to cover Democratic republic of Congo that is the only home for the Eastern Lowland gorilla trekking.

Mountain Gorillas in Africa are open for Primate trekking through out the year and 4wd Africa do writes to recommend the most Safe places to see gorillas in Africa while on gorilla Safari with destination experts.

Mountain Gorillas in the Wild are only found in Africa ( Rwanda, Uganda and Democratic republic of Congo) . They are native to the equatorial forests of central and eastern Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species: the western gorilla and the eastern gorilla, both of which are found in different regions of Africa.

On this article we are focusing mainly on the Eastern gorillas which are mainly found in Rwanda, Uganda and Congo.  Choosing the best gorilla safari trekking experience depends on your budget and sense of adventure. Also, scientists have habituated a few groups for tourism out of the undocumented gorilla family groups roaming Africa’s tropical forests and that means that people can visit them in their natural environment without fear of harm.

Best Gorilla Safari – Safe Gorilla Trekking in Africa

When we discuss about the safety of gorilla trekkers during the gorilla trekking experience in Africa, we explore the process where the armed rangers will follow you on the gorilla trekking along side the experience gorilla trackers and porters to act as the support personal on the gorilla trekking . This is similar to everywhere within Africa where gorilla trekking is done . Uganda and Rwanda are the safest destinations for gorilla trekking and they are the very destinations that offer shorter gorilla trekking tours like 1 Days Gorilla Trek , 2 Days gorilla Safaris yet for Kahuzi biega in Congo the shortest is 3 Days Gorilla trekking . Never miss to come face to face with the mountain gorilla or eastern lowland gorillas within the wilderness of tropical rain forests in Africa.

Comparison guide to Gorilla Trekking Rwanda vs Uganda vs Congo

The popular gorilla trekking in Africa are Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park , Uganda’s Mgahinga National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and Virunga National Park ( Closed) in Congo then the favorite destination of Kahuzi Biega National Park for Eastern Lowland Gorillas in the wilderness of Africa .  It should be noted that Rwanda and Uganda have massive gorilla trekking compared to Congo.

Volcanoes national park- Gorilla Trekking Rwanda

Rwanda is one of the best places to see gorillas in the wild. Rwanda is home to about 30 percent of the remaining population of mountain gorillas. All gorillas of Rwanda are found in the Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda.

This is where the famous primatologist Dian Fossey established base in the 1960’s to study the behavior of these majestic creatures. Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park is very popular and attracts thousands of visitors to the country every year. There are ten habituated mountain gorilla groups in Rwanda at the moment. Rwanda is thought to be the most convenient place to spot mountain gorillas in the world. Rwanda is perfect for seeing gorillas because of well-developed tourism infrastructure and comparably more professional services.

Bwindi impenetrable National park & Mgahinga National park

Uganda is one of the best places to see mountain gorillas. Half of the overall population of mountain gorillas are found in Uganda and in two national parks – Bwindi Impenetrable national park and Mgahinga National Park. Mgahinga National Park has only one habituated gorilla group while Bwindi has 17. The mountain gorillas in Mgahinga live in relatively high altitudes while those in Bwindi prefer lower land. Because of the high numbers, many of the gorilla groups in Uganda remain wild. Uganda also stands out as the only country where one can take part in the gorilla habituation experience.

This unique experience involves observing the primates for about 4 hours compared to standard gorilla trekking where tourists are only allowed one hour with a gorilla group. Uganda is also blessed with a greater variety of wildlife and activities which visitors can get involved in after seeing the gorillas. Uganda is arguably the better destination for gorilla trekking but the government isn’t as aggressive in promoting the activity as Rwanda. The driving distance from the capital Kampala or Entebbe to Bwindi or Mgahinga is very long hence discouraging some tourists. Many prefer crossing to Uganda from Rwanda to avoid the long driving distance.

Virunga National park Vs Kahuzi Beiga National park

I must state that this is a great mistake to compare Virunga National park and Kahuzi biega National Park due to the uniqueness of each place right from the things to do in each park to the travel destinations and lodges . Kahuzi Biega National Park hosts the Eastern Lowland Gorillas and Virunga National Park hosts Mountain Gorillas hence the unique destination for Primate Trekking tours with Africa.

Virunga National Park offers extra things to do like Nyiragongo Trekking , Golden monkey tracking , Chimpanzee watching , Mount Mikeno Hike and Mount Nyamuragira which is not open for hiking . Yet the Kahuzi Biega National Park offers hike to Mount Biega , Mount Kahuzi , Lwiro Chimpanzee Visit , Water falls and Tea plantation, never miss to see the old Mubuto presidential house.

Congo Gorilla Trekking – explore Eastern Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo is also home to 3 of the 4 mountain gorilla subspecies.  Gorilla Trekking in Congo is not more developed like the case for Rwanda and Uganda which is well organized and Congo has more gorillas in the wild than the habituated gorilla families.  Also it has three destinations that host the gorillas that is Kahuzi Biega National Park, Maiko National Park, Virunga National Park but many tour operators offer gorilla trekking in only 2 Parks. Maiko National Park has never been opened for  Gorilla trekking so its not safe for gorilla tours. Gorillas can be spotted in the Congo at the Kahuzi Biega National Park, Virunga National Park.

The eastern lowland gorillas have a stronghold in Kahuzi Biega National Park, which offers one of the best opportunities for gorilla watching if your interest is the Eastern lowland gorillas. Although Bakavu is also the closest town and has some nice hotels,  You will have to cross from Rwanda, Spend a night in Bukavu and the next day in the morning drive to the park for gorilla trekking . This is the reason many tour operators state that Kahuzi Biega gorilla trekking starts from Rwanda.

Mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park are amazing and currently its closed. Each gorilla permit costs 400USD here, making gorilla trekking in Africa a budget-friendly option. Virunga offers gorilla safaris as well as hikes up Mount Nyiragongo.

Safe Destinations for Gorilla Trekking in Africa?

Safety is every travelers concerns as well as tour operators like 4wd Africa that offers gorilla trekking, there are always updated about the safety conditions of places where to see gorillas in Africa and we recommend that if your planning self drive Safari in Africa focus on Rwanda and Uganda for gorilla watching . The cost of the Rwanda gorilla permit is abit expensive compare to Uganda permit.  Congo has cheap permits but its not safe for Self drive Safaris and its among the reason few operators do accept cars to cross to Democratic republic of Congo on Self drive.

How do gorillas behave on trekking?

Mountain Gorillas are very peaceful animals, and since they are omnivores, gorillas are uninterested in humans. Gorillas are safe and are not aggressive to human presence since they are already habituated and in case you meet the wild gorillas, the rangers will see how to handle it.

On Gorilla Trekking, the gorilla families that are to visited are also used to human presence since they are habituated since researchers take time to habituate these apes, a process that helps gorillas to understand that the visiting humans are friends not enemies.

You will get close encounter with the gorillas, and a distance of 20 feet from these animals must be maintained. There are several safety measures that are addressed to you at the time of briefing and you are expected to adhere to these rules.

Visiting the twin lakes of Ruhondo and Burera

Relax from the tiresome activities of gorilla trekking, golden monkey tracking and hiking by taking part in the boat cruise experience on the deep waters of the twin lakes of Ruhondo and Burera. During the boat cruise, sight beautiful features like birds, hill landscapes and waterfalls.

Best time to go gorilla trekking in Africa.

As its well noted that all adventures comes with Risks the same goes to Gorilla trekking Africa which is an incredible adventure that brings you face-to-face with one of the world’s most majestic animals in their natural habitats, and miss the chance once you decide to visit Uganda, Rwanda and Congo.

Accessibility to Gorilla Trekking Parks in Rwanda vs Uganda vs Congo

As your already aware that when you talk about Africa, all travelers think of 4wd Landcruiser that are made for Africa – Accessibility to all gorilla trekking in Africa doesn’t come on silver plate and requires you to have extreme care from the time of selecting the Car type on your adventure . All National Parks are located in remote areas which require you to have a strong landcruiser and us as 4wd Africa we recommend that you hire Landcruiser lX for ultimate safari experience in Africa .