Mountain gorillas are found in only 3 countries in the ENTIRE world, and we in Rwanda are lucky to have them right here in this small landlocked African country. Only about 880 individuals are thought to exist in DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo), Uganda and Rwanda.
The habitat where these giant beauties live, is 2 separated high elevation (7,000-14,000 ft above sea level) rain forests, one in Uganda (Bwindi with ~480 individuals) and one forest which straddles the 3 countries (Uganda, DRC and Rwanda with ~400 individuals) but where the animals can roam freely--though they do tend to keep in their own 'territory' within the park limits. This tri-country forest in Uganda is called Mgahinga, in DRC is called Virunga and it was in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park, where we went to visit them.
The map below shows Rwanda, with Kigali located in the middle of the country, and the dark green area up in the northern part of the country is the protected Volcanoes National Park. Remember the entire country of Rwanda is only about the size of Maryland.
(We are pretty sure you will want to click on some of the photos as you view them to enlarge them.)
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| Rwanda highlighting the Volcanoes National Park |
This is the same park where in the late 1960s Diane Fossey came to study the link between gorilla and man, under the direction of world renowned anthropologist Louis Leakey. Diane is widely credited for the survival of the mountain gorilla and she herself is buried up in the park while this mighty beast lives on.
Visiting the habituated gorillas is not difficult, it just takes some planning, some time...and money. So we, along with 2 friends, purchased our tickets in advanced ($350/person for residents and for non-residents it costs $750/person), hired a driver with a 4 x 4 vehicle and left Kigali at 4.30am on a Monday morning in October and drove the 2-hours up to the park headquarters outside of Musanze see above).
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| Volcanoes Gahinga and Muhabura en route |
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| driving the last stretch to Sabyinyo and the park headquarters |
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| Sabyinyo |
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| Mts Mikeno, Bisoke, Karisimbi (from left to right) |
We learned that there are about 19 gorilla groups habituated but only 10 are open to the public--the other 9 are trekked and studied for research. Daily trekkers follow the gorillas for continued habituation and also for their safety and security (in the past these forests have been home to poachers and rebels--thankfully the last poacher was caught in 2002).
Only 8 visitors/band (what you call a group of gorillas) are allowed for a 1-hour visit every day of the year. The band we were assigned to visit was the Agashya band, named after the silverback or alpha male of the family. Agashya's family has 22 members and at around 9am we set off looking for he and his family.
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| Buddy, Aly, Karen and Laura |
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| hiking through potatoes and daisy fields to get to the forest |
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| Bosco, our guide, giving us a talk just as we entered the forest |
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| the dense bamboo forest |
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the 1st gorilla we encountered...eating bamboo shoots that
gets them drunk |
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| contemplation |
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| got a string of bamboo possibly stuck in his teeth |
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| a mother with a ~3 month old baby |
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| look at those eyes and that 'do'! |
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| a bit tipsy |
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a 2nd mother with a few weeks old baby (the umbilical cord
is still attached) |
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| wonder if his head is spinning? |
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Mr. Agasha the alpha of the family--resting after
breakfast--he probably weighs near 500 lbs! |
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| pensive |
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Agasha's son--he is MASSIVE for a black back (young
male) |
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Agasha and some of his family resting after
breakfast |
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| they don't really care we are there |
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we are sure he was feeling tipsy from all the
bamboo shoots he ate |
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| part of the family at rest and our farewell photo |
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| the group who visited Agasha and family |
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| our certificates |
The trip was fabulous and we were so lucky not to have any rain nor have to hike far in the forest to visit Agasha and his family. We had about an hour hike before we found the trekkers, then with our 1-hour visit, the hike out, lunch in Musazne and the drive back to Kigali, we were home by 4.30pm. A must do trip!
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| view of Kigali after a super day trekking |
Until our next adventure...savannah and safari is what we're looking at! Stay tuned...
Amazing!
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